Need to sell off!

Hello!

I am trying to sell off my UKCAT Books as well as Interview books.

They are all mostly in good condition and most are just like new!

Here is a list of things that I am selling:
UKCAT Books:
UKCAT For Dummies
600 UKCAT Practice Questions
BMAT and UKCAT Uncovered
Interview books:
Succeed in your Medical school Interview
Medical School Interviews
Personal Statement book:
Write the Perfect Personal Statement
Others:
A Career in medicine: do you have what it takes? 


SOLD:
KAPLAN UKCAT Course book- 20Pounds
How to Master the UKCAT-3rd edition 
The Knowledge: Medical school interviews, all you need to know
 So you want to be a doctor?

Do email me at lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you are interested! Prices are negotiable!

Rejection?

If you have been rejected by all your medicals schools here are some things you may want to consider doing:
1.Ask for feedback and reflect
How far had you been successful throughout the application process?
Pre-interview rejections:
Your weakness may then have to do with the following:
Predicted Grades
If you were not given the predicted grade that you needed, it may be advisable for you to complete your A level course and achieve the AAA grade and then reapply!
GCSEs/Achieved A Level Result
If your achieved results were the reason for your rejection, then you may have to consider an alternative route into medicine or even an alternative career.
UKCAT Score
If this was a reason, work hard and practise for it again , resit it and reapply. If you are unable to achieve a satisfactory score, consider applying to BMAT schools or schools that do not look at the UKCAT.(Refer to my previous post for advice on the UKCAT: http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html)
Reference
Personally, I don't think that this would be a huge factor, but if this was something that had been a hinder to you, you will have to just prove yourself to your teacher/referee to get a better reference for your next application.
Personal Statement
I would think that this would be a common aspect of the application that has shattered the dreams of many. If the feedback you have received from your universities has to do with your lack of experience/maturity/insight/etc; you will ahve to really look at your personal statement, ask yourself, what could you improve? Could you have reflected more?To work on improving your personal statement you may .like to consider taking a gap year to gain more work experience and  do some volunteering to help strengthen you application. I have touched on these aspects of the application in my previous posts.
Rejected Post-interview
If you've received interviews but had gotten rejections, i would say that your weakness would most probably lie in your interviewing skills and how you presented yourself.
Think back tonthe days of your interviews, how were you feeling? Could you have performed better?
If your nerves were the reason that you were unable to have a successful interview, you might want to take up some self-improvement courses such as public speaking courses or even take some time out to go for interview workshops!
You had already gotten quite far into the application process so no doubt, you would be a strong applicant if you reapply!


Also think about your choices, did you apply strategically, could you have made better choices?

2.Take a gap year and improve on the different aspects of your applications as stated above)
Here are some ideas for a gap year:
In your Local area
Apply for work experience at your local hospital/clinics
Volunteer at your local old age home/hospice
Sign up to help out with any activities to do with helping others!
Get a job- it may or may not have to be in a caring environment, as long as you learn something while doing it(for instance,teamwork,organisation or leadership)
Abroad:
You may want to consider going on placements/volunteering with companies such as gapmedics. A quick google search should be able to get you a long list of companies that organise these kind of things!

3.Reconsider medicine as a career.
If this is not your first rejection, you may have to decide if medicine is really the career for you.there have been cases of applicants being successful on their third application to medical school. If your situation allows for this, then by all means, go ahead!(:

4. Consider alternative routes into medicine
I touched on this in my previous post!(:

The very best of luck to everyone out there! Don't give up and keep chasing your dreams!

Things I fussed over but later found to be useless

1.Looking at other Personal Statements
I even bought a book for it! In the end, it just makes you feel so stressed because you will be wondering if your experiences can match up with what other applicants have! Sure, read some personal statements to get some idea of the structure and what you should include, after that, don't mull over it and stress yourself up! Your personal statement has to show you and your passion, channel all your energy into doing that and you'll be fine!
2.Looking at the stats of others(How much work/volunteering experience they had, how many A*s they got at GCSEs, what extra curricular activities they did, etc;)
Doing this just made me so so stressed and i kept comparing myself to them! Especially on TSR where i compared what i have done to people who had applied in past years and have been successful! Even those who had been unsuccessful had a whole list of work experiences!!!Do not waste your time doing this, and just focus on what you can do , because ultimately, your application would be compared against those applying with you and never forget that people on TSR are usually over-achievers(not all though><) Just do your best for your own application!
3.Cramming my summer with work experience
I must say that I was really fortunate to have gotten so many work experiences but in the end, I could not even fit some of them into my personal statement and I could have used some of that time preparing for my UKCAT or doing up my Personal statement. However, in a way, although i find it useless, I do not regret having had all of them because from there I have really come to understand that medicine is something that I really am interested in and am serious about!
4.The need to call every university and ask what they look for in an application
It's all stated in the admissions policy of each university and on their websites!! Calling up the different universities would just be a waste if time unless you have a question that can't be answered by the websites

Things to start doing RIGHT NOW!

I would think that students who are intending to apply to Medical schools for 2014 entry would be starting to prepare for the submission of their applications this October.

Here are some things you may want to consider doing to be well prepared for the stressful application when it comes:
1. Study for the UKCAT
Like,start right now!
Get your books, sign up for online UKCAT Practises, start using the sample tests on the UKCAT website!
Yes! You can study.. well, actually, practise.. you can practise for the UKCAT! Trust me! There are a lot of resources out there and the more you do the more used to you'll get to the questions and also you will have exposure to a good range of resources so you'll be very prepared for any type of question that comes out in your actual test!
Refer to my previous post for resources and advice on it : http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ukcat.html

2. Arrange for work experience
Start early! Some hospitals in the UK have waiting lists of 2 YEARS! Be it volunteering at a charity shop or at a elderly home, start early! The longer your commitment, the better your experience would be a reflection of your commitment and determination.

3.Your Personal Statement
Draft it, ask people around you for opinions,ask the PS helpers on TSR to look at it and give you advice, START EARLY. It really sucks if you start panicking a week before you submit your personal statement and have to keep rushing to complete it only to feel unsatisfied with it after you've sent it off! Look at my previous posts on my advice for doing your personal statement here : http://ajourneytofufilmydreams.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Personal%20Statement

4. Study for your June exams
These exams are your last chance to prove yourself to your teachers, your last chance to show that you are worth being predicted the required AAA. Not forgetting, you also have to declare all your results in your UCAS form, it won't look nice if you have a D or an E, so hit the books and start studying!
Here are some good sites for Chemistry and Biology(AQA):
http://sciencemathsmaster.weebly.com/biology.html
http://vbio.weebly.com/a2-level.html
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1288539 (AWESOME AWESOME NOTES!)
https://www.heckgrammar.co.uk/index.php?p=10312
http://a-levelchemistry.co.uk/( OCR and AQA)

5.Check out some universities
Go for open days this Easter/Summer, go to as many as possible and talk to medical students. Look at the schools' campus, ask what universities look at strongly on your application. If you can't order prospectuses from the universities and look through them. It's always good to have a goal in your mind!

That really is about it. focus all your energy on doing all these and then start thinking about other stuff when you've sent your application off!

Best of luck!

Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you have any questions!

What is enough?

I think this is a question many to-be applicants would have with regards to their application and my answer to that ,really, would be : enough to fill your personal statement up.

This does not mean that you LIST what you did. NO.

The key to a good personal statement , in my opinion, is to SHOW not TELL .
For example , you were part of a team.
Telling would be something like this:
In my high school, I was a member of my school's basketball team. From my experience with working with my team, I have gained communication skills which , I feel, is one of the most important aspects of a good leader.
Showing , on the other hand, would be like this :
I enjoyed being an active member of my high school's basketball team . By often playing the role of a mediator between members with different personalities I have come to appreciate the differences between members of a team and learn to create a sense of unity between members.

By showing , you are telling a story of an aspect of your experience and hence giving insight into your personality and thoughts.

So, back to the main question, what is enough?

As long as you have experiences where you are able to show that you have qualities that a doctor would need , you would be alright , the most important thing is bringing it across effectively to the admissions tutor.
Here are some ideas for qualities that you may have picked up though extracurricular activities that you may want to include in your personal statement :
Teamwork
Leadership
Empathy
Ability to cope with stress
Perseverance
Wide range of interests
Good time management
Good organisation
Responsible

The list is endless , really, you just really have to reflect on everything you've done since high school and then try to think back on activities you did that brought out the best in you.

For work experience, aspects that you could have learnt that you may want to bring across in your PS could possibly be:
Teamwork in a multidisciplinary team
Role of a doctor
Difficulties involved in the career
Aspects of the career that appeals to you
Ethics

Everything really depends a lot on what you see while you are at your work experience. For example, if you worked as a receptionist for a GP, then you may often have encountered anxious patients , you can then perhaps talk about how you've seen the doctor(s) have the ability to calm them down and provide them with reassurance .

In conclusion, you do not need to go on a month worth of work experience , neither do you need to achieve gold DofE, all you just need is a good brain and good reflection of what you have done and learnt. You do not need to safe a person's life or anything dramatic, just show that you are able to learn from what you've been shown/observed and that it enough. Do not feel intimidated by the long list of things that others may have done (especially those on TSR!) have faith in yourself , your passion will definitely be conveyed to the admissions tutor!

Interview questions and how to tackle them! #2

Work Experience Questions
With regards to this question, to make this question easier to answer in your interview, I would advise that you make it easier for yourself by writing specific aspects of your work experience that you feel you can talk well about in your personal statement.
How do you do this?
Write 'stories of particular incidents you witnessed'
For example, you can say you witnessed how a doctor reassured a patient. The possible questions that then could be asked from there would be: What have you learnt from that?What aspects of a doctor do you think are important  for him/her to succeed in his/her career? What are your feelings on how the doctor handled the patient? If you were in the doctor's shoes, what would you have done?
The questions become very specific so it makes you preparation much easier!
If you list everything that you've done, instead on going slightly 'in depth' you will then have a lot to prepare for and it then becomes very difficult for you to predict what questions could possibly come out!

Some common questions with regards to your work experience would be:
Your feelings/thoughts on particular events
What have you learnt from ______/ How do you think this will make you a better a doctor?
What is the most memorable thing from your work experience?
Who do you think is the leader in a healthcare team?
Why do you think ______ is an important of the team?/What is the role of a _(Doctor/nurse/physiotherapists)_ ?
What would you have done differently?
Do you think this is something that is common?
Ethical questions(depending if you have hinted on them in you PS)

Conclusion: This question would usually largely depend on what had been written in your personal statement so plan beforehand!

If you have any questions you would like to suggest I blog about, email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com !

Before your interview

The night before:
Stop any interview practice/digesting of new information
Re-read your personal statement
>You were called in for an interview based on your personal statement, so make sure you sound like it!
Sleep early

What to bring:
Identification documents
Any documents the University may have requested/sent to you in advance
A bottle of water
Some snacks(if you are travelling a long way to your interview venue)

On the day of your interview:
Arrive at least 15minutes before your interview time!
If you are unfamiliar with the city, either arrive early to find the university or stay the night
Try to take a nice long walk before your interview to calm yourself down
Dress appropriately
SMILE

This is all i have to say for now!

Random Advice

I was recently talking to some of my juniors in school and i did up a document for them with some advice and i thought some of you might find it useful(: Some may be a repeat of my previous posts><

Here it is:

Things to start on:

Read on-medical history, medical ethics, recent advancement in medicine

-this is for your interest and for you to understand more about the career you are planning to go into

-here are some sources you should consider reading from:

BBC

Guardian health

Student BMJ

NHS choices

New Scientist

Attend Medical school preparatory courses(if you have the time and money to spare)

These are not essential, in my opinion, but they may help you find out more about the career

Medlink-www.medlink-uk.com

Medisix-www.synergysolutions.org.uk/medisix.html(easter)

Medsim- www.synergysolutions.org.uk/medisim.html(july)

*These are in the UK

Practise UKCAT questions

START EARLY

A Ukcat prep course with Kaplan may prove to be useful

Think abt personal statement which includes :

Interest and motivation for medicine
Well informed about demanding nature and requirements for a successful career in medicine

Independence 

Responsibility

Compassion 

Commitment to helping and caring for ppl through relevant work or personal experience(work experience is very important!!!)

Participation in a wide range of activities

Contributions to school/community

Teamwork

Why UK(if you are an international applicant)

Here are some tips to get started:

Come up with a list of things you have done all the way starting from high school(achievements/voluntary work/school activities/school leadership positions/etc;)

Read some examples of personal statements and try to understand what elements are essential in every successful personal statement

It is okay to have to constantly change it! So start early !

If you are sure of which medical school you would like to apply to , you may want to consider reading from their websites what they expect from your personal statement so that may help you frame up your personal statement

Start early on this and you might want to consider asking help from people who have already applied to edit your personal statement for you via TSR-go under personal statement help on the student room.(i used it personally and the PS Helpers on TSR are truly AWESOME(: A BIG Thank You~! to them!!)

Find work attachment

‘shadowing’ the following people(the list is not exhaustive, as long as it is a caring role):

Doctor(GP/Specialist/consultant/Surgeon)

Nurse

Physiotherapist

Pathologist

Dietitian

Social worker

Junior doctor

Note; the most important thing about work experience is not the amount, it is WHAT you learn that counts

Also, remember to have a reflective diary of some sort during your work experience, it would be helpful to read it before your interview

If you are unable to find work experience you may consider going on a work experience programme overseas with companies such as Gapmedics

Read more: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine_Work_Experience(like I said, TSR will be your best friend!)

Find voluntary work

Here are some places you can consider volunteering at:

Hospitals

Residential homes

Nursing home

Hospices

Charity shops (eg Oxfam)-if you do it on weekends alongside studying for you’re a levels it could possibly show commitment and the ability to handle extra-curricular activities and your studies, but your grades are more important than anything else, without them you won’t be able to go to medical school, regardless of how strong your application is.

Think about University choices (sensible and achievable)

Things to consider:

Campus or City university?

PBL/traditional/integrated course structure?

Location

Look through the university website and CHECK THEIR ADMISSION POLICY.

Get/read books about medicine (fiction/non fiction)

If you have more time this could be helpful in the future when you get interviews and it also gives you some insight into the career and will help you decide if this is really what you want to do.

Take part in school activities

Join different clubs so you have a range of things you can add to your personal statement(especially if you have a leadership position !)

Useful websites

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Medicine

http://www.doceatdoc.com/

http://www.aspirantmedic.com/medical-news/

http://www.wanttobeadoctor.co.uk/main.php

http://mylifeasamedstudent.tumblr.com/ (blog of a medical student)

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/medicine/prospective/planning/application/ ( advice for personal statement from University of Aberdeen)

http://medicalschoolinterviewstheknowledge.wordpress.com/

http://bma.org.uk/developing-your-career/becoming-a-doctor

*I have not been paid by any company/person to write these, all these are based on my personal experience!!

**As i have said, TSR will be your best friend(:

 

I hope this is of some help to you! Sorry if it is repetitive!

Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you need any help/ have any questions!(:

UCAS

Today, I think I shall talk about the UCAS applications.

I was really lucky as I'd gotten quite a lot of guidance from my school on this aspect of my application.

Here are some basics on it:
1.You can have only FOUR medical school choices
2. Your fifth choice should (preferably) be a non-occupational course choice(this was what i was advised)
3.The different sections:
Personal Details(Check through it a few times before sending it in)
Student Finance(this is simple, just read through it)
Choices( One thing to be careful with is choosing of campuses(Eg; Newcastle-Newcastle campus,Durham Campus or No preference)
Education(Your previous schools and what subjects you are currently taking, please declare all the modules you have already taken, some schools are really strict on this, and if you look carefully, you can also find a part of it where you can input your UKCAT results, it may help you in getting an interview invite earlier:/you never know!)
Employment(it wont affect you unless you had a job before)
Personal statement(Use the 'box' to check your statement's word limit!Much more effective!)

And that's about it!

You will also need a referee's statement.

Here are somethings to consider when choosing a referee/approaching you referee:
1.Choose someone who knows you well(a teacher/lecturer), someone who knows of all the work you've done and who appreciated all your efforts
2.Consider giving your referee a 'list' of things you have done/achieved-this makes it easier for them to start on writing your statement, also, if you know that the schools you are applying to look for certain things in your application(Eg: Academic achievements,leadership positions,dedication,etc;) that you could not fit in your personal statement, you may consider urging your referee to mention some of these things
3. Try to find someone who has experience in doing this
4.Ask of your referee this favour early, it would not only be good for you referee but it will be beneficial for you too because your referee will then have more time to consider what to put in your statement!

I think this is all for now:/

As usual, feel free to ask me any questions @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com !(:

Work experience

This is a HUGE part in your preparation to applying to medical school!(for your interview and Personal Statement!)

Start early and start arranging for work experience really really early(preferably right after you read this post!)

Here are some places where you can look for work experience/voluntary work:
GP
Hospitals-nurses, physiotherapist,radiologist,specialist, junior doctor,consultant
Hospices
Care homes
Charity shops(eg: Oxfam)
Youth-related programmes(eg, tutoring children form less fortunate backgrounds )

Here are some useful websites:

vinspired.com                               

www.do-it.org.uk/

www.volunteering.org.uk

 Personally, i decided to invest in a company called Gapmedics and i have to say i was really happy with what i got. Gapmedics really gave me the experience that i needed and i really enjoyed myself for the 2 weeks I was in Chiangmai!

Some tips before you go on a trip with them:

1.Make sure you are clear in what you say you expect for the placements(do you want to see surgeries? Pathology labs? A&E?)

2. Have fun, but not TOO much! remember, ultimately , you are there to gain work experience after all!)

3.Try to keep a work experience diary, you'll be doing many things and seeing many interesting things so try to note them all down so you can remember them really clearly when it comes to writing your personal statement or even your interview!

Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you want more information about my experience and also the diary i kept on my experience with gapmedics if you need help in deciding if you should go for it or not!

Personal Statement

Now,  I shall talk about one of the most important parts of the entire application process:

THE PERSONAL STATEMENT.

1) START EARLY
2)HAVE MANY MANY DRAFTS( I had 19)
3) Re-read it like a thousand times and pass it along to your teachers/parents/friends/anyone who can read to ask for improvements, suggestions and to check for any grammar errors!

Alright, so this 4000 word/37lines piece of essay is about YOU. Not about anyone else, just YOU. SO how should you write it?

Personally, i started it off by listing a whole bunch of things i have done/accomplished since high school:

Here is an example of what i had on my list:

Volunteered for the Youth Olympic Games (2010)

Volunteered for the Asian Youth Games (2009)

Achieved Gold Award in Swimming

Achieved 1 Star Award in Kayaking

Edusave Awards for Achievement, Good leadership and Service (EAGLES) -2007

And then next to each achievement/thing i have done, i write what I've learnt and a short reflection on it (about 3 sentences)

So. for example:

Member of School’s Student representative council

By working with my peers from different countries and cultures,I've gotten to understand better how teamwork works and how communication is key . For example, i was placed in charge of setting up a haunted house for a Halloween party where i had to work with my peers to set up the setting in a short of period time. I have learnt how to appreciate the dynamics of different teams as well by working with 2 different groups of people-my seniors and my juniors.

And then, after that start drafting your personal statement out. You would need to first have a structure in mind, this i what i suggest:

1.Why you want to study medicine

2.Your work experience/volunteering experience*

3.Your Extra Curricular activity*

4.Your academics( not so much on your grades but what extra things have you done? For example, i did a project on Penicillin alongside studying for my A levels)

5.Conclusion

To make your personal statement PERSONAL, i suggest adding stories to them, stories are a form of reflection and it makes your PS unique to only you and it also gives room for discussion during your interview.

 I've places an asterisk next to the parts where you can write a story.

so what is a story?

Here are some examples:

Through my experience in a Uniformed Group, I have experienced many setbacks, such as when my team lost a competition which we had trained very hard for. However, we learnt from our mistakes and in the next competition, achieved better results. From that, I understood the importance of perseverance and a positive mind-set.

Volunteering at a hospice has taught me how to communicate with patients. Acting as a translator between patients and a physiotherapist to describe the execution of exercises, has shown me how important it is to be patient when questioning patients. For instance, when the physiotherapist asked an elderly patient if he had any concerns regarding his health, he neglected to inform her that he constantly felt breathless. It took further questioning, for this and the fact that he used to be a heavy smoker to be revealed. With this information the therapist could then advise him on what exercises he could carry out to improve his condition.

These were some stories i had initially wanted to include i my personal statement but had not managed to due to the word limit , please do not copy them as this may cause a problem to you when UCAS does the similarity detection test!

Stories are very important! They make your personal statement more interesting to read but to have an effective story, you have to first be able to reflect on your experience so i would suggest keeping a work experience diary when you are doing your work experience or during your voluntary work. 

Also, they make your interviews(when you get them!) easier in a way because 'personal' questions are much easier to answer than 'technical questions"(aka science questions) when you are under stress!

I think this is all i have to say about the Personal statement now!

Feel free to email me @ lovebullets1995@gmail.com if you have any questions! and good luck for your applications!(: