Going into Year 13 this year? Want to study medicine? Well listen up...

Well first of all, well done on coming to the conclusion that you want to study medicine! I'm sure it is a great opportunity but it isn't all fun and games! You should know that. Ever since you've confirmed to yourself that you're definitely sure you want to study medicine, you've been working hard to get there, but wait, the hard work doesn't stop until you retire! A levels is just a small part of the hard work, but I think it is definitely worth it (especially at your stage) when you see a conditional offer from one of your choices!

So here is my advice about year 13 and handling your UCAS application:

• It is summer now, so make sure you have some form of work experience or voluntary work and extra-curricular activity you can put on your personal statement. If not, you can just state on your personal statement you do have some work experience lined up and write what you do hope to gain from it (and make sure this is the truth!). Work experience and voluntary work is very important as you do gain insight into the world of healthcare as it helps confirm that this is what you want to do. It also allows you to show your reflective skills in your personal statement - something you must do!
• Start your personal statement early! I reiterate, START EARLY, as you should know the deadline for medical applications is Oct 15. And you do want your personal statement to be the best it could be so you don't want to be rushed last minute. It does carefully need to be checked over multiple times. This could be done by friends, family, teachers etc. Make sure you do not post bits and bobs of your personal statement online as UCAS do have a plagarism checker! But do take their advice with a pinch of salt, in the end it is your application and you should do what you feel is right.
• Make sure you have done your research carefully on the medical schools you wish to apply to so do you want to go for a PBL (Problem Based Learning), traditional or integrated course? Do you want the option of dissection? Do you want the opportunity to intercalate? Do you want city-based or campus based? And also apply to your strengths! For instance, If you have a moderately low UKCAT score you wouldn't apply to Kings or if you are confident you would do well on the BMAT, apply to unis like UCL or Imperial. Definitely do research!
• Well from Jan 2014, as you are all aware there are NO January exams (booo) but A2 does get harder especially when you have a lot of work and you have interviews to prepare for, extra-curricular activities, voluntary work etc etc but I would strongly advise you to stay on top of your work and continuously do revision. Since there are no Jan A2 exams, you will have more pressure to do well in June but I encourage you to stay calm and take it easy. Stressing out is not worth it and will cause you do not as well as you expected. Trust me, this happened to me this January. I was more worried about my interview at Bristol than my exams and came out with BBBCC which was disappointed. If you do become stressed out, take a break its fine to do so. Its not going to kill you! Remember you are still young, not everything is about work, work, work. You have to play too!

If there is anything you do want advice on or something you want me to discuss, I'd be very happy to do it! I couldn't think of anything else to talk about (it is like 11:22pm and I'm distracted by the TV, lol). So just leave a comment down below with a suggestion!  Next week (after results day) I'll will do a post specifically focussed on the personal statement for medicine and the structure. I'll do a dissection of my own personal statement! 

Thanks for reading!

Where have I been? Woah!

Woah!

So I haven't posted on here since April, sorry! Obviously since getting the offer, I had to work really REALLY hard for the upcoming exams so I took a long hiatus from blogging but I'm back!! The week before results day (9 days left!) and I'm ready to begin blogging. I will be doing live blogging on the actual day so it will be a bit hectic.  I do have a few posts planned which I'll be doing over the next few days including tips for those heading into year 13 applying for 2014 entry and study tips and etc etc. So should be really fun for me and helpful for you! I really want to update the blog and the look of it and get more interactive so feel free to pass the blog on! 
(If you're a graphic designer or good with website stuff please get in touch! I'd love your help on how to improve my site, just comment below, thanks!!!)

So as everyone knows, A level results day is next Thursday (15th August 2013) and everyone I know is feeling the anxious and terrified. To be honest I don't know how to feel. One minute I'm calm the next I'm panicking and worried. But there is no point! It is far better to be chilled out (even though it is VERY hard) than worried because it does make it harder to make clear decisions plus it just wastes time. We will still be hurdling towards results day whether you worry or not!

But here is my plan for actual results day:

15th August - 

00:01am - Clearing lists are released on UCAS and the Telegraph's UCAS clearing app (really recommend you download it if you have a smartphone). I'll be definitely up all night (trust me, no one will be sleeping that night) and I'll be preparing my own list of choices just in case everything goes tits up! 

1am til 7am - Probably just be up thinking up my options, trying to get some sleep (if I can) and just trying to calm my nerves so probably praying lol.

7:01am til 8:30am - Start trying to log into UCAS track, it is very likely it will crash, as it usually does, so I will try to keep calm and I'll try and check Bristol's portal (my firm) to see if I've gotten in.

In the case I do get in - Cry, scream, roll down my stairs to my parents room. Celebrate and get ready to go into college to collect my results and go forth and part-ayyyyy!

In the case I don't get in - Check if I've gotten into my insurance and if I have be slightly disappointed but still try and be happy and grateful I got in.

If I enter clearing - Get my clearing list I had prepared earlier on, check my results online via the college website and start calling up the universities. I wouldn't feel comfortable going into college because I don't feel I'll make the decision considering the immense pressure I'd be feeling. I would only go in if I couldn't get my results online.

Hopefully I do get into study medicine at my firm so I can continue this blog. I would love to continue this blog up until I am an FY2 doctor! So I can look back on the journey I've had into medicine. If I don't, hopefully I still will be continuing this blog if I do decide to carry on trying to become a doctor. But as of now, I don't feel it is very likely that I would try for graduate entry medicine if I did another course. I may decide to change my career path. But hopefully it doesn't come to that!!

Thanks for reading, look out for those posts coming up this week!
Good luck for results day!! I wish you the best!

Firming my choice!!

Yeah so of course I firmed Bristol for medicine with the offer of AAA and my insurance is Queen Mary (University of London) with Biochemistry with the offer of ABB. So a lot of hard work needs to be put in for my journey to be officially complete! Wooo!

Wish me luck!!

OMG OMG OMG

OMG OMG OMG OMG GUESS WHAT!?!?!!?!

I just received an offer from Bristol to study medicine!!!

I have never been so happier in my entire life!! I was literally so close to giving up as well, that is probably one of the reasons why I haven't posted on the blog in so long (and of course, revision stuff). Wow, I really can't believe this. Its dependent on me getting 3 A's, so a LOT of hard work is required. So my journey into medicine is quite close to ending! Hopefully it ends on a good note!!

Since I haven't posted in a while, I guess its time for a mini update as well!

So I'm not sure if I posted that I had an interview at Kings for their EMDP (Extended Medicine Degree Programme) course. It was an MMI (Mini-multiple interview) and I felt it went well but I received a rejection. It was my (essentially) third rejection from a medical school and I was feeling down because I assumed that I would get rejected from Bristol too. I was even beginning to plan my gap year, I was planning all sorts like whether I should apply for post-grad instead and such. I was so down I actually lost all motivation and my revision slowed down to a gradual halt. But I picked myself and thought if I did get rejected whatever like I should move on and focus on getting the grades then this happens!

I feel so good right now! God is good!!! So it looks like I'll be posting even less frequently (sorry guys!) but when I do have time I will post up some tips and advice for MMI's because they are a strange setup but quite good. So please be patient with that. I have 3 A grades to try and achieve!!

Thanks for reading and good luck with your own journeys!!

Satta

Interview tips

So for interviews, the medical school that you have chosen to apply to, will have posted certain criteria they look for in their applicants - this will be in their admissions policy. ALWAYS look there to see if you are suitable for their course, sometimes they hid key pieces of information in there that is not on their website. So check here to minimise the chances of rejection in addition to doing loads of research. This is strictly what they will apply their questions on, and if you know it well, you'll be able to spot what they are looking for in their questions so you can "sell" yourself in a way that shows them you ARE what they are looking for.

Here is an example by using Bristol's criteria:

Criteria for assessing the candidate's performance at interview:

a) Why they wish to study medicine and attributes

b) Ability to communicate

c) Self-confidence and enthusiasm

d) Evidence of extramural activities

e) Awareness of current developments

f) Ability to develop coherent stance on a topical subject

g) Informed about University and course

h) Informed about career

i) Overall impression created by candidate.

This is what they will base their questions on. You can definitely tell what they are looking for in their questions (I did during mine). As long as you answer in a way that shows these things, you are doing really well. So here are my best tips:

• Definitely know why you want to do medicine - be enthusiastic and genuine but obviously if you really want it, it will show!
• Be prepared to discuss your work experience - examples too; be reflective
• Prepare two or three medical/health stories in the news recently that you can discuss at length just in case (BBC News and the Guardian are brilliant!!) so do some extra research alongside the news story.
• Discuss extra curricular - It would be fantastic if you could link what skills you've learnt from your extra curricular activities to how you could use them whilst being a doctor.
• Make sure you know their course inside out! They asked me why Bristol (typical question) and then they asked what how the course is laid out ie what happens during the five years
• Make sure you know what happens after medical school too ie, FY1/2 >>> SpT/CT etc etc; they asked me why do we do the foundation years and how long it takes to become a GP and paediatrician. So it would help if you knew about the progression to becoming a consultant after medical for really popular specialities such as GPs or paediatricians. You never know what specialist doctor could be interviewing you! (You'll find out on the day)
• They also ask an ethical question; my question was on organ donation. So prepare and know typical ethical issues and be prepared to discuss pros & cons and even alternative solutions! So maybe things on organ donation, consent, compentency etc. If you have the popular 150 interview questions by ICS Medical they have some great ones in there.
• Don't forget to SMILE!!!!

But overall, Bristol are extremely, extremely friendly and made me feel so at ease and comfortable. So don't worry and go in there confident (but not over confident, no one likes a cocky prick) and your passion will shine through. I hope this was really helpful.

Overall my advice would be make sure you do research CAREFULLY what medical school you are interested in and what THEY are looking for in an ideal candidate. They will usually post such information on their website if you can't find it do not hesitate to go on The Student Room or just google it up! Because they will tend to ask you questions based on their criteria and if you miss this information, it can come with consequences.

Ok so its been a longgg while!

Wow, it has been a while right?! 

The last time I posted was the 11th January, posting about the interview invite to Bristol and it is now the 6th March (the day before results day) and a lot has happened since then!

Plus I've had over 9000 views on this page! The last time I checked it was like 3000+! I'm really grateful, so thanks for reading! Even though I haven't been posting often. January and February were quite hectic to be fair and I didn't have enough time to post!

Heres a quick overview what happened in January and February:

• Bristol interview on the 28th January! - Went very well to be honest, and I will be posting up some interview tips in the next post (as requested). The interviewers were very friendly and made me comfortable! I won't be hearing any news until mid-April since I've been put on the hold pile but at least there is hope! I can only hope and pray I do get good news in April! Wish me luck!
• I quit my job at the GP, to be honest it was long and draining. It also took away time from my revision and studying, I was behind in nearly all my classes and wasn't doing as well as I should have in my class tests but I'm back on track now! If you're applying for medicine, I wouldn't advise having a job in this period even though money is something we need as teens, your grades are way more important and of course you want to do well to get into medical school! I couldn't handle it and had to choose between my grades and money and obviously I chose my grades which is sad because I need moneyyyy! But I guess it works out for the greater good, right?
• I got rejected from Leeds for medicine a few days ago (4th March) and to be very honest, I was sort of pleased because Leeds is a long way from London, and I wouldn't be able to see my friends or family very often. I wasn't really into their course structure anyway, which is really silly. I shouldn't have wasted such an option.
• I have an interview at Kings College London for their extended medical degree programme, which is 6 years in length (as opposed to the normal 5 year degree). Its on the 11th March which is really close! Its an MMI (Mini Multiple Interview) set-up so I'm really worried how that will pan out as I don't even know how to prepare for it as I've heard some really scary stories about the MMI.

I'm really grateful I've had two interview invites for this  UCAS cycle, I'm really lucky!! I just hope I've done well enough to get an offer this round. 

Good luck to those who have to pick up their results tomorrow!

Satta x

MAJORRRR UPDATEEEE

Sorry for the lack of posts! 

I've been so busy revising for exams, school and work so I don't have time to really post as frequently as I used to! But guess what?!!!

I GOT AN INTERVIEW INVITE FROM BRISTOLLLLLLL

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I have yet to book the actual date though. As I have exams up until the 25th Jan 2013 and the only dates available to book are the 18th and 28th which are a bit soon so I wouldn't feel comfortable or prepared doing it so soon. I received the email on the 10th Jan 2013 during my biology lesson (on my phone). I felt so shocked, I really wasn't expecting it so I didn't know how to react! It was really unexpected because my friend got rejected the night before so I was expecting one too but this is fantastic! Looking forward to it, after exams of course.
Heres the email (well part of it):

Dear Satta,

The admissions team have now considered your application, and I am pleased to invite you to attend an interview at Bristol for Medicine A100.

That feels so good to look at. I'm just really happy because I never really expected it. I assumed I would get rejected from all. Bristol was the last one I'd expect to invite me to an interview!

Then there is bad news (sort of) I got rejected from BSMS (awwwwwww) by letter. I received the later the day (9th Jan 2013) before the interview invite from Bristol so I guess I feel wanted! But they said my application was strong but due to the competition but they've offered me a chance to study an alternative course at either the university of Brighton or Sussex. I've decided to go for Neuroscience with Cognitive Science at Sussex because I really like the sound of it and I believe that Neuroscience is future (cliche, I know). So I have to reply to them by the 23rd Jan otherwise "Unsuccessful" will appear on my UCAS track.

I still have not heard back from Leeds A100 or KCL EMDP.

But fantastic news all in all!

I have to go revise now, so hopefully after exams I will be blogging more! Hopefully more interview prep stuff.

GOOD LUCK FOR A2 and AS EXAMS THIS MONTH!
BRING IT ON!!!

Ok, Its been a while, right!

Woah!

Hey guys, its been a while right?! I've noticed my last post was in November and it is now Dec 27th ! So over  month! And what a month it has been!

I haven't been posting because its been a busy month preparing for Jan exams and mock interviews and stuff. I also had no internet for the last month either and posting on my phone was really annoying. I had mock interviews in Nov/Dec and I went to a lecture at the RSM (Royal Society of Medicine in London - Central, that is) by Max Pemberton himself! I was excited! The famous doctor who wrote "Trust Me, I'm a Junior Doctor" and its sequel, "Where does it hurt?" What an awesome lecture it was. 

And in terms of my UCAS application, nothing so far! I've had a few emails from Leeds saying we wouldn't hear anything until the new year and I'm guessing its the same now for my other medical schools so I really won't be posting until then. Right now, it has just been revision, stalking The Student Room stalking threads and waiting.

Waiting is really draining. Hopefully I get some results in the new year though.

Until then, Happy New Year!

A major post about what I've learnt so far from the job...

So you guys know I got a job at a GP as a receptionist, right? Its pretty good and the pay is decent for my age, the only problem is that its like a (maximum) 2 hour journey to get there! But thats fine, I can live with that. I could do some reading or extra revision on the journey to and from work. But this is a post on things I've learnt whilst working there. This will be a majorly long post, sorry about that! :)

One of the first things I'll talk about is work one Saturday I did. Firstly, there were a few weeks where I'd be left on my own, running the GP with no one to help me. This was quite a scary few weeks as I hadn't received any formal training of any sort. So I had to go with my initiative on things, which of course is really good because this is the way (I believe) you'd learn on the job whilst you're doing your F1/F2 years. Someone isn't going to be there to constantly tell you what to do, so being able to learn how to take initiative during the job has really helped me. I've also learnt to be more of a independent learner as I had to learn certain things pretty quickly. For example, writing up blood test forms for the patients to do blood tests at the local hospital or learning how to use the Vision system (software on the computer) to book or cancel patients' appointments.

Anyway, that day I was working alone as I said earlier. On Saturdays, the clinic usually starts at 1 and ends at 3, so that is when the GP would come in and see all the patients booked in between then. On this particular day, the GP calls 20 minutes before he is due to come in to see the patients and tells me he is going to be late and will be there around 2pm. So it was left to me to call up the patients and try to reschedule their appointments. I used the system to find out who was booked in for that day and I called them up. I told them calmly and reasoned with them if it was possible for them to come in at a later time. But the GP eventually came in at 1:30 so it was kind of an inconvience but at least he wasn't really late. Surprisingly, there were no angry patients and everything went fine for that day.

But it reminds me of another time, when I had to call patients to tell them to reschedule their appointments as the GP for that day had cancelled her appointments due to prior engagements. That was the first time I had to deal with angry patients over the phone, but to be honest it is far easier than dealing with angry patients face to face (as seen in this post..). What had happened is that this patient had an appointment for a certain time, I asked her since the GP was engaged in other things, would it be possible for her to see the doctor at a later time but on the same day. She got really angry! She mentioned how this is not possible as she has kids (which is understandable) and she has to travel a long distance and stuff. I spoke to her in a calm tone and tried to reason with her but she wasn't having it! She eventually got so angry, she dropped the phone on me. I still wonder if she did have her appointment eventually. Through these experiences I learnt that I had to be able to deal with angry people often. In medicine, you will have to work and deal with people with a wide range of emotions. Through this process, you do have to keep a calm and poised exterior even if you are shaking inside (I know I was!) and try to speak in a calm voice. If one of you is calm and collected it makes the situation so much easier to deal with. Try to sympathise with them and see things from their point of view. Eventually this should work and you should be able to sort out everything.

I'll do more posts on what I've learnt and things I've experienced more often actually - well, when I have time to. I had to cut this post quite abruptly because I have a lesson in 5 minutes. I'm actually writing this post from school.

But thanks for reading this post. Comments will be appreciated!

Satta

Micro-update!

Just a really short reminder for myself and an update for you guys!

First day back after half term. Even harder work begins today. We're in the last weeks before January exams! Ahhh scaryyyy!

Plus, I need to do posts on 

• Work, maybe some stories and what I've learnt a few weekends ago
• Interview tips! Yes, I went to a mini session on interview tips given by a speaker from Nottingham university. Very interesting.
• Health stories? I'm going to see if I can start posting up some recent health and medical news up on here for myself and for you guys as well! Including background research and stuff
• Some of my interview prep stuff.
• General things

But yeah, those are coming up very soon - as soon as I'm free! I'm so busy trying to stay on top of my work.

Until then, just got to push myself!

Satta

x

OFFERRRRRRR!!!

I was supposed to do this yesterday but things got in the way...

But yes, as my title suggests, yesterday (23/10/12) I got an email from UCAS. "Something has changed on your track" - when I saw it, my heart started beating fast, I was shaking, I was so nervous! I quickly logged onto to track and what do I see....

YESSSSSSS, GET INNNNN

Queen Mary, University of London has only gone and given me an offer of ABB in 3 GCE subjects! WOOOP! For Biochemistry, mind you!

So I've DEFINITELY got a chance of getting into university next year. The way I'm seeing it, if I don't get into medicine next year (God forbid) I'll go do the biochemistry degree and see where life takes me!

Now I have to wait until the others start giving out interviews, hopefully I have a shot then!

Plus tomorrow, I have a medical interview prep thing tomorrow at a grammar school local to mine, so I'm looking forward to that. I haven't really done much practice with interviews to be fair, so doing this should give me a kick in the right direction.

But its late, and I do have to be in school early, so I'm off.
I'll post tomorrow with some interview advice and tips!

Satta

Trackk!!

Ok so since my application was sent off, I've been able to log into track (even though I haven't got my welcome letter yet). I was really excited.

But heres how it looks at the moment:

So now all I can do is wait!

But yesterday, I got an email from Queen Mary university, stating that they've received my application and it will take 6-8 weeks for a reply on a decision!

So yeah, now I play the waiting game. Hopefully, this waiting doesn't make me anxious!

UCASSSS

Ok, its official.

My college sent off my application today, in fact this morning. I got the email whilst at work! This is what they emailed today:

We are pleased to let you know that your school, college or centre has sent us your UCAS application, which we received on 13 October 2012.

What happens next?
It will usually take up to 48 hours for us to process and send it to the universities and colleges that you have applied to. At deadlines this may be longer.

We will send you a welcome letter and a Your UCAS Welcome Guide in the post when we have processed it. The letter is important as it lists all the courses that you have applied to as well as your Personal ID and username.

So UCAS 2013 has officially started. All I've got to do now is just wait for the welcome letter and wait for interviews/offers to start rolling in! Let the anxiety and waiting begin!

Okay, guys I've got a dilemma...

Right, as you all know I've sent off my UCAS form, but thankfully my reference hasn't been added yet. From my previous posts, I told you guys that I went to the BSMS open day and I loved it! But unfortunately, my AS grades (I thought) weren't good enough but I recently received an email from one of the admissions tutors saying :

Hello Satta

Sorry for the delay

We prefer to see AS grades, but if they are missing or poor then we will look at GCSE’s.

I sent him an email asking about whether they prefer to see AS results. I'm not sure if mine are poor - BBBCD, B's in Bio, Chem and Maths - but my GCSE grades are far better. I've been predicted AAA as well. I really loved BSMS when I went to the open day. What do I do? I need to ask for my college to send back my application form so I can change my fifth option anyway, I'm changing from chem and biochem at Queen Mary's to just biochem. Plus I'm really considering changing Nottingham to BSMS. But is it worth the risk? What do I do? But applying to medicine is a risk in itself anyway but I'm so confused!

I need some advice please!

Thanks!

Dudeee, Work on Saturday was just...

Sorry, I haven't been posting as regularly! A2 is taking over my life and really does require a lot of dedication and stuff. So yeah, doing three subjects, I assumed will be so much easier than doing 5 AS's but boy, was I wrong! My A2 subjects require so much time! Its really draining, but by God's grace, I will be able to survive, and you will too! Just less than a year to go!

Right, onto what this post was really about. Work on Saturday. 

Its Saturday morning, 9am, I collect the GP's keys from the local corner shop and open up the surgery. As time goes on, I realise I'm manning the GP surgery all by myself. Oh. My. Gosh. A whole GP surgery left to a 17 year old again! Suddenly I started to worry, oh my gosh, what if things go wrong? What do I do? What if I make a mistake? But I had to calm myself down, and take it on the chin. I was only there until 4pm, what's the worst that could happen, right?

It is now 1pm and the clinic starts. Patients start coming in. One patient comes in with her son, he's expecting a pre-school booster. First of all, the doctor who does the clinic on Saturday does not do injections without them being prepared for him, because otherwise he wastes time preparing them. But me being me, I assumed he'd prepare this one on his own. Just before she was due to go and see the doctor for her son, the doctor calls me through the telephone from his office into the reception and tells me he cannot do it without the injection being prepared for him. Unfortunately, I was not trained to prepare the injections! And I was alone, so who else would prepare it, certainly not the doctor.

So guess who had to break the news to the patient? Me, of course. With the drop of the phone, I called the patient over to the reception desk and told her the news. It went something like this:

Me: I'm really sorry about this, but I'm afraid your son cannot get his injection because we don't have someone to prepare the injection for your son today but I can reschedule another appointment for it to be done, is Monday fine for you?

Obviously, she flipped out! Well, of course she would, she had been waiting to see the doctor and at the last minute this was cancelled on her. So her being angry was totally justified. But this was my first time dealing with an angry patient! Inside, I was panicking, terrified and upset at the same time, but I couldn't show this emotion. So how did I deal with it? I apologised profusely and carried a calm tone when speaking to her even though I was the total opposite inside. I tried to calm her down by offering an appointment for Monday and it worked! It was a total relief when she left though. I guess, I'm not used to such anger towards me. But I used it as a lesson, as obviously if I want to be a doctor, I do have to learn to deal with such patients at times, not all patients will come in happy as rainbows and unicorns.

UCAS

Wow,wow, wow, oh. my. gosh

The day has arrived.
Today I sent off my UCAS form.
It is finished.
It is done.
Well, except for the part where the college now receives it and adds my reference to it. But besides that (which will probably take a week), I've done it.
I've applied for medicine.
Wish me luck guys!

For the next few weeks, my posts will mainly be on stuff for interview prep!

Catch uppppppp

Oh. My. Gosh. Guys. 

September 2012 is here, which only means one thing. Medical deadlines are next month. But first off, let me start with how A2 is going. Well, we only started like 6 days ago (not including weekends) and I'm already soooo tired! I honestly believe I've done more work in this week than in my whole AS year. Its that tiring, believe it or not. A2 requires a lot more effort and hard work. Just chilling is not going to get you by! I'm practically trying to extend the hours I'm awake so this means roughly 6 hours sleep so I have 18 hours to put as much work in as possible. The workload is a lot, so much dedication is required. I can't what until school ends so I can just sleep!

You guys remember I have a job at the GP, right? Well yes I'm still working there. I do mainly Saturdays  The only thing is Saturdays is really quiet! Not many patients come in, so its mainly just scanning and filing for me. The summer hols were way busier! But I'm still learning about how the GP works and stuff, so its still an interesting experience for me.

Its going to be such a busy week for me, I have volunteering tomorrow, I meet my mentor on Wednesday (from SMF; see previous posts all about that), that day I also meet my mentees in the lower sixth which I'm excited about and Thursday I return to my drama classes after school. I've really missed them. Finally Saturday, I have work again. But its all good. I'm happy I have a lot of free time in my timetable because I can catch up with homework and stuff.

Back to the whole medical school application thing. A lot of people I've met who wanted to be doctors have all fallen out of the game. That is how serious and competitive medicine is. It actually hurt me, so many who seemed so much more passionate than me have all dropped out due to one reason of the other. Sometimes, I still question whether it will soon be me dropping out soon too. But the support I've received from my friends, family and even some readers here have been immense, and I'd like to say thank you for the support and for reading the blog! But on another positive note, I'm very close to finishing my UCAS application, it should be ready to submit by next week or so.

Heres where I've decided to apply:

• Leeds A100
• Bristol A100
• Nottingham A100
• Kings EMDP (Extended Medical Degree Programme)
• Queen Marys (Chemistry + Biochemistry)

So yeah, those are the luck 5 universities I've chosen. If I do get rejected, I'll be more than happy to take a gap year and reapply. It will give me a chance to focus more on my grades which are really important. 

So thats really been a catch up of September so far. Its going to be a long 9 months or short; my teachers keep saying it will whizz by. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't petrified. To be growing up so fast, woooow. Time really does go fast.

I really do wish every other medical applicant (or non medical) the best of luck in this UCAS cycle. I'm sure you'll do well and get offers! 

Good luck!!!

Satta. 

x

Ok sooo....

I've been reflecting on this journey and I've realised a lot of friends of mine who wanted to do medicine have all dropped out. I've survived this long, and I feel like its time for me to bow out of the race too. I've been having doubts whether to continue as others around me doubt whether its possible for me to get in. Of course, leading to me in believing them and just feeling like its time to end this journey. I'm seriously contemplating whether I want to continue this journey or not; its been a great ride and all, but it is a lot of stress but that's what I love. But I love medicine as a whole but I'm seriously doubting my abilities now. I'm losing hope.

If I was to continue heres where I'd apply to now:

• Hull York
• Bristol
• Lancaster/Leeds
• Keele

And Queens as a back-up to study Chemistry and biochemistry. Whether its time to let the journey end, I cannot be sure....

Righty-O!

Right, first things first, my UKCAT score!!

I know I was supposed to post it after doing the test, but I was upset about it. Even though its not bad, I thought I had no chance with my score! But eventually I got over it, and realised I still have a shot at getting in - no room for negative thoughts here!!!

Heres what I got:

Verbal Reasoning - 570
Quantitative Reasoning - 590
Abstract Reasoning - 660
Decision Analysis - 660

Average - 620

When I worked out the average, I panicked and was like "Oh no! I have no hope!" I instantly started planning a gap year. but I believe I still a chance! How could I assume I have no chance if I hadn't applied yet? My grades can be predicted AAA, I've had work experience and voluntary work. My personal statement is coming along great! Why would I not have a shot? 

UKCAT DAY!!!!1!!!1!

Today is the big dayyyyy!

Doing my UKCAT later on today. My test is at 5pm.
Quite nervous, but whatever happens, happens.

I'll post my score on later!