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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Info needed. Applying for medicine please.

12 replies

Theas18 · 09/07/2012 20:10

Here we go!

DS has finally kind of gathered up the courage to say that he wants to do medicine (he's at a fiercely competitive grammar and lots of them apply for med/dentistry/vet med). It think he really did't believe he could actually do it till now.

He's just taken GCSEs . Predicted grades are good enough. Taking Biology chemistry Maths Music at AS- Depending on how things go and how a " narrative" subject" is regarded for applications he hopes to continue with music to A2- he's extremely good and the performance aspect gives easy ish marks for him. He's hoping to do as much maths, stats etc that he can do at AS then drop maths (he's good at it but there are a lot of very very high flighers at school!).

What else does he need to be doing in preparation for applications for next year? (He could well be looking at Oxbridge, medicine is so competitive he may as well shoot as high as he can as long as the course is good).

OP posts:

JustGettingByMum · 09/07/2012 20:16

Hi
There's a really good thread in further education in this subject, I think in essence it comes down to work experience, and lots of it, in a care environment.

chibi · 09/07/2012 20:21

work experience is great but not always essential, i had a student accepted to study medicine after deciding in september in a2 that that is what she wanted, no work experiences or anything

He absolutely must have outstanding grades in academic subjects, one of which must be chemistry. biology is optional! fantastic grades and a glowing ucas reference from his teachers will get him an interview, and it will go from there...

mumsneedwine · 09/07/2012 20:24

Music is a good 4th option. He needs to get lots of experience - not necessarily in medicine but in a caring environment (care home, hospice, GPs surgery). He should get lots of advice from school if they have experience and make sure he takes every opportunity to talk to any med school admissions people. Also, it's important to not only list his work experience but to say what he has learned from it. I speak from parental experience as one of mine got in last year and had fab advice from school. Oh and get a bit of practice with the Bmat or GMAT tests - are a bit expensive but no way round them. Good luck.

121 · 09/07/2012 20:29

Isn't maths compulsary (along with chemistry?), meaning he wouldn't be able to drop it after AS?

maddiemostmerry · 09/07/2012 20:31

Hi Theas18, we are in exactly the same boat as you

Get as much work experience as possible. Clinical placements are very hard to come by and tend to be for a week.

If he isn't already doing it he needs to undertake relevant volunteer work band.

I second everything else posted above.

I looked at old posts here re uni choices and I think the advice that best suited us was to start with all the med uni's and start to rule out all those that don't fit your ds. Teaching style, entry requirements etc.

senua · 09/07/2012 21:24

Also, it's important to not only list his work experience but to say what he has learned from it.

For example, medicine admissions prob won't be especially excited by his non-science AS/A2 (i.e. Music) but if he mentions in the PS what wonderful aspects of teamwork he has learned from orchestra (cos medicine is all about teamwork) then that will get a big tick.

The thread in the FE topic (depressing reading: I'm so glad mine never wanted to go this route)

complexnumber · 09/07/2012 21:33

I would have thought that for an Oxbridge entry, a student should already be demonstrating the expected commitment to out of the class activities. To see them suddenly appear during the 6th form would appear a little contrived.

With regards mathematics, I am going to try to paraphrase a quote I heard some years ago: 'Whenever you chose to drop a mathematics course, listen very carefully, you may just hear the sound of doors of opportunity closing.'

I know that all sounds very terse and pompous, sorry.

senua · 09/07/2012 22:18

demonstrating the expected commitment to out of the class activities. To see them suddenly appear during the 6th form would appear a little contrived.

I was wondering about that earlier this evening. Do admissions get sick of PS that read 'I have wanted to be a doctor since the age of two. I have a passion for ...' Is their response and ?
Is it actually more interesting to say ' because I am so bright I could have turned my hand to anything but after mature reflextion I have decided that being a doctor is where it's at and, after this revelation, this is how I have gone about getting experience and insight into the world of medicine.'

Original poster

Theas18 · 10/07/2012 09:25

Thanks complexnumber.

Totally agree re dropping maths. However he really doesn't enjoy it much. its a chore- he can do it but it's a chore never the less. Hopefully he'll enjoy it more in 6th form and maybe change his plan. At least he intends to "throw his best effort at it" and get as much as he can done next year.

I don't think not having anything in his portfolio till 6th form will be too bad. It's not easy to do stuff below the age of 16 I reckon anyway , in a health care setting surely?

A statement to the effect of "I always thought about it but knew it was very academically rigorous. Given that my school is highly selective I have a group of peers that make it difficult to assess my self against. With my GCSE results under my belt it gave me the confidence to see that I was able and the study would be within my grasp, I always felt I had the personal skills of communication, empathy and care for others that could make me a good doctor" would do?

OP posts:

campergirls · 10/07/2012 09:46

'its a chore- he can do it but it's a chore never the less'. Excellent practice for medical training then...

I am an admissions tutor, though not for medicine. I think the second half of your proposed statement ('With my GCSE results...' on) could work well. The sentence about his brainy peers could easily come out sounding oddly 'poor me, disadvantaged by going to a selective school'. Which would not make a good impression from several points of view.

mollymole · 10/07/2012 10:12

agree with not dropping maths, and as campergirls says - the personal statement should not dwell on the negatives - they have no interest as to how you see yourself amongst your peers.
get loads and loads of work experience in and good luck

Yellowtip · 10/07/2012 10:26

Definitely don't mention the level of selectivity of his school Theas. Do let him write his own PS: part of each interview will focus on it, so it needs to be natural, not ghost written or forced. He should choose medical schools wisely, playing to his strengths (sounds as though he's going to have a bunch of A*s, some schools set a lot of store on those: Birmingham and Bristol are two). For Oxford or Cambridge, look at the different entrance procedures if he doesn't have strong feelings for one over the other: Oxford offers interviews after feeding in the applicant's GCSE scores, as modified by their school, and the BMAT score - interviews are dished out solely on that, nothing else (unless there are mitigating factors). For Oxford or Cambridge he should get stuck into some serious extra reading. And finally, when he gets to the interviews, be savvy about which school wants what: some actively don't want the overwhelmingly academic type, some definitely do - that naturally impacts on what to put in the PS....

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