Interviews and Offers

This is the blog I never thought I would get to post. 

I commenced the journey to becoming a medical student in 2010 when I started my BSc and after a number of hiccups along the way, I applied this year praying to get one interview, I didn't, I got all 4. This by itself was beyond anything I could have hoped would happen, I felt incredibly lucky and grateful to know that once I got past the UKCAT and someone actually looked at my personal statement they thought I was worth a second glance! 

In the last blog post I had completed 2 of the interviews, so before we get to the offers part I want to briefly talk about the other two. The 3rd interview I was completely dreading, it did not feel as if it went well and I fully expected a rejection, I was very nervous and it didn't feel like I had covered the bases at all, I thought it would be a 'no' for sure.  The 4th and final interview was lovely, a really nice Uni, great people, all in all a positive experience, however I was incredibly nervous. 

The waiting after interviews is horrendous...I found myself checking my emails at every opportunity!  Then, I finally saw the email 'your track has been updated'....I logged in and there it was in black and white, a conditional offer (I needed AS Chemistry) from interview number 3! I felt it would be so unlikely that I would get an offer from them after the interview I checked my track several times just to make sure they hadn't changed it to 'unsuccessful'.  However, I didn't allow myself to get too excited as it was a conditional offer, but to have the confirmation that I wasn't crazy, that after all this time the barrier between me and a place at medical school was the UKCAT was fabulous! 

Then finally, what I was praying for all along, an unconditional offer!  From the 2nd interview; a Uni I fell completely in love with!  I cried and cried with joy, I could finally say the words I am going to be a doctor!!!! So there it is, a lesson in perseverance right here.  6 years after I started the journey I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and I will be starting 5 years of medical school this year!  

This has been an incredibly hard journey, and the hard work hasn't even started yet! If you're in my position, my advice is don't give up....the happiness at the point where you get an offer is worth every moment of heartache! Thank you to those who believed in me, particularly my twitter friends! I'm going to be a medic! 

Interviews

I'm so sorry I haven't updated sooner but yes, I have (at long last) been interviewed by two medical schools so far!  After the last 5 years of waiting to get to this point just to have the opportunity to have the experience of being interviewed for medical school has been incredible whatever the outcome! Of course I want to get an offer but just to know that when my UKCAT was finally high enough for someone to actually look at my application I have been invited for three interviews so far! 

I am not going to write where I have been/am being interviewed, nor am I going to discuss the interview format or content - so please don't ask. I just wanted to share how exciting this has been! 

The first interview was very nerve wracking, I had no idea what to expect and I don't know if I was able to communicate as clearly as I would have liked due to nerves and the feeling of the last 5 years sitting heavily on my shoulders. I had an afternoon interview and I think that was definitely harder for me as I had all morning to over think and get nervous. 

The second interview was in the morning, which was much better. I was far more relaxed and it was on the whole a longer process however despite this the time flew by. I found myself enjoying it (completely wasn't expecting that to happen). However as before, I missed saying things I wanted to say and I am not sure it was enough for an offer. 

The third interview is this month and I am already nervous about it! I love the medical school but I feel like this is my final shot (I haven't had a rejection from the 4th yet but we will see).  I really love all three of the schools I have been offered interviews for and I would happily accept an offer from any of them! 

So...after 5 years of longing for this I finally managed to reach the interview stage....keep everything crossed it will be enough....it is going to be a long couple of months!!!!!

Nerves

I've entered myself for the UKCAT this cycle fully expecting it to go badly. My practice scores are so up and down it is impossible to tell what my average truly is and I am aware that I am frankly not very good at the exam. But I am more nervous time time than any other (I have taken it twice before). I think it is because I have decided that there isn't really an alternative career that I will be happy in other than medicine which although I know this year it is unlikely to happen for me feels like a heavy weight on my shoulders! 

My VR (should be my best section) because of the larger proportion of comprehension questions rather than true, false, can't tell seems to be an issue. I am not absorbing the necessary information quickly enough. My QR is as always average - I tend to get the questions right now at least 65-70% of the time, but time is the enemy here and I do run out of it as my maths is painfully slow. AR is always pot luck for me, I usually find a pattern, different to the ones the various resources want me to find, but still a pattern regardless, 60-65%. DA last time was amazing I had 860, this time I'm right only 70% of the time which is a shame as it was DA that bumped my score up last time, I'm not altogether too sure why this is happening either which is frustrating as I can't fix it! I'm not too worried about SJT, on the one resource it isn't going well but the Unis I think I will be applying to don't really look at it and I had band 1 last time so I'm hoping I'll manage a Band 1/2 this time around.  But all in all, I don't think I can achieve the same mark I had last time and I'm predicting a 650 or there abouts, but we will see. 

Why can't we go back to how it was when I was a 6th former, A levels, interview off you go! These tests are so hard to get right!!!! 

Keep everything crossed for me.... I will update with whatever news I have to share, lets hope it is positive. 

UKCAT

So after not being well for the GAMSAT (again!) I was starting to lose hope of being able to apply for med school this year, but I decided to bite the bullet and take the UKCAT this week.

I was so scared, I literally was feeling petrified! Had to take two trains to get there and then walk for about 20 mins to find the centre, when I got there it wasn't open as they were closed for lunch so I spent ages praying I was in the right place surrounded by people who were incredibly calm waiting to go for their driving theory tests. So after getting all signed in I sat down and took a few deep breaths for a moment and then started the test!  I found the VR section rather stressful and the QR section incredibly stressful, in fact I didn't manage to put anything at all for the last question as I ran out of time and had to guess about 10 questions as I just wasn't quick enough!  Abstract reasoning started to make me feel slightly better about it all as to be honest after QR I was starting to feel a little hopeless, and DA went really well.  The SJT was completely fine and about 30 questions from the end of the section I started to really look forward to the whole thing being over...and then panicked that I wouldn't have done very well in it.

I finally finished and went to collect my stuff from the locker whilst waiting for the results. My heart was pounding and I was over the moon when I saw I had 710 overall and SJT band 1!

I was thrilled as I genuinely was just praying for 650 so as you can imagine I feel very very lucky.  Now comes the hard part....choosing where to apply and writing my personal statement (I didn't want to start it before I took the UKCAT as I felt as if I was jinxing myself).  So here we go....fingers crossed my luck continues!

Stress of Moving

I've moved house a number of times as an adult.  As a child I had one family home which we kept my whole life, we briefly had a second home in another area of the country for work purposes, but this was only for a few years and it was never our permanent base.  When my other half moved in with me I had been living in my apartment for only a couple of months, I fully intended to stay there for a good few years however it was really only a place for one person.  It was a two bed apartment but it just didn't fit our needs as a couple, so after we got engaged (4 years ago) we decided to buy.  

We bought a lovely house which I still adore, in a beautiful area right by a country park (which I equally still adore).  We had a new bathroom fitted, we redecorated, made the garden look lovely and made it our home.  Special highlights included being the first people into the country park after heavy snowfall, running through so much fresh snow when everything was still blue! Living near the coast for 4 years has also been a real treat for me and I will really miss it.  But we're ready to move on, to a new area of the country with more culture, more to do, yet still beautiful country parks around (but sadly no coast!). If I could pick our house up and move it to the new area I really would!  But I can't and we've found a lovely new home, slightly smaller than we have now, but its really gorgeous and we're thrilled about it.  

So, whats the catch? In honestly, the answer is actually moving! I've never found it stressful before, even when we moved from the apartment together it just wasn't difficult - yet this time it really feels like it is! We've got a lot of stuff, so much so that we've even been doing car boot sales (which are surprisingly lucrative).  But I can already feel myself getting anxious about packing, what should stay what should go...should we get new furniture, will this fit?  I always remember being told that 3 of the most stressful things in life are getting married (wasn't stressful it was exciting!), getting divorced (hoping this won't be something I have to go through!) and moving house (which I always thought of as an adventure previously).  

Hopefully this will be the last big move for a number of years as we've really fallen in love with the area! Fingers crossed my applications for med school agree with my new found love and let me stay there! My other half will be a student for the next 3 years and I'm doing my MSc next year, but if I'm lucky enough to get into med school it would be so lovely to not have to move again! But whatever will be will be, I will be grateful to get into med school anywhere!  

I shall report on the house-move progress as the packing progresses...for now its time to quickly hoover as we have a viewing this afternoon, fingers crossed!!!! 

Final Results Pending

Don't ask me how I did it, in honesty I have no idea, but I had a first for my dissertation and one of my final exams.  In fact I've only had 30 2:1 credits all year, the rest have all been firsts! I'm over the moon, I still don't know what my final exam result will be, but even if I don't get a first overall my lowest possible mark is a very high 2:1!  I feel very lucky after having such a stressful year last year to have had such a wonderful year so I'm over the moon.  I've really enjoyed the year and I'm actually really sad that my Undergraduate degree is over, I'm going to miss my friends but we're going to all be relatively close to each other.  Some are going on to do masters like I am, others have jobs lined up.  I'm now getting ready to start looking at the UKCAT, GAMSAT and BMAT. 

I'm hoping that this year I will get high enough marks in those exams to be competitive, if not then I will be taking a year out and reapplying next year!  I'm going to keep trying!  I'm hoping that eventually I will get there in the end.  Although I didn't put an application in last year I'm considering applying for at least one 5 year course to try and increase my chances....we shall see though.  
The house is on the market (yay!) so the wheels are firmly in motion for our big move.  My other half is also starting uni in September which will be very exciting.  I'm encouraged by my success in my BSc and looking forward to the MSc more and more each day.  Just waiting for my confirmation of my 2:1 (or above!). 

I'm a little nervous about my result for my final exam, although I'm not terribly good at guessing my results, this exam was quite a beast! I suppose it is good practice for the GAMSAT though.  I'm trying to decide how I'm going to tackle the revision for that, currently just considering what topics I need to go over.  I'm only going to be applying for one GAMSAT uni probably as I don't like the thought of putting several choices down when I don't already have the results in case I'm just wasting choices as I don't know the score.  

Anyway, enough rambling on.  I'm off to watch 24 hours in A and E on catch up! Thanks for reading :). 

Dissertation work

I'm nearly at the end of my third and final year.  So far my marks have been really high this year, my lowest was just 2 marks off a first, I don't know whether my overall final grade will be, but either way I'm over the moon with how this year has gone.  Its been hard work, but I couldn't have asked for better marks.  I'm in the middle of writing my dissertation, I'm actually really enjoying it (mostly) although I have my days where I would rather be doing almost anything else (as I'm sure most people do), overall I'm finding it really interesting and I definitely picked the right topic.  

Then I have my two final exams.  I'm actually REALLY nervous about these, I haven't finished my dissertation so I'm not dedicating enough time to my revision yet, which is frustrating as there are a lot of topics to cover.  I need to get my head in gear really and have my dissertation finished by the beginning of next month so I can plough head first into my revision. I think I am also overthinking my dissertation a little, perhaps I need to concentrate more on writing words on the page rather than making sure everything I write is absolutely perfect.  This is the largest piece of work I've ever done and I think it is good practice for my MSc, hopefully it will go well and I will get a good mark.  

Other than that I can't really think of anything to report, getting the house ready to sell still, we've planned where we're going to be living and my other half is getting ready to become and Undergraduate at the same uni I'm going to be doing my MSc.  Overall everything is slowly slipping into place (fingers crossed!). 

Hope everything is going well for everyone in their final year (and every other year of course), not long to go now! 

Personal Statement

So as you know I am a mature student.  I've written personal statements before, in fact I used to help my friends write them when we were in 6th form, yet I can't seem to write mine for my medicine application.  I don't understand what is wrong with me, I have written everything out in bullet points, I know what I want to say but it just doesn't feel strong enough!  I have no idea what is missing from it, but I know I need to get it finished by next week to send to my tutor who is going to be writing my reference.  I don't know what is wrong with me, this is the most important thing I'm ever going to write and I can't seem to get it sorted.  

I have work experience all next week and then the GAMSAT next Friday so I really have to get it sorted this weekend, why does this seem so impossible?  I think it is because I've been planning it for over 2 years now that I just want it to be perfect, when truthfully nothing ever is.  I want to study medicine, I'd love to study next year, but I know it is unlikely.  I'll be happy to do my MSc, but I don't want to not get an interview because I've not produced a strong enough Personal Statement!!!  

I can write blog posts with ease, I talk comfortably, I can even write essays with very little difficulty, yet a statement telling admissions tutor why I'm a good candidate to study medicine is really scary! I'm positive I'm not the only one who feels this way, I just know that the competition for places will just be so intense and I want to make my application stand out more than anything!

Anyway, I'm going to go and sit and make some more notes and hope a draft magically appears!  

Medical School Panic

So, in one month I'll be finishing my 2nd year.  Excellent and I'm finally healthy enough and my ankle seems stable enough (touch wood!) to begin my volunteering, which is amazing.  I also have the shadowing sorted for the summer, alongside the project I've been working on which has been amazing, but I can't help feeling my application isn't going to be strong enough for this year.  I did a practice UKCAT test yesterday for the first time (I didn't even know what was involved) and it was ok I suppose for a first attempt, aside from the numerical section which was absolutely appalling, which does not bode well for me at all.  I really didn't want to rely on the GAMSAT too much as it is such a beast I wanted 2 UKCAT Unis and 2 GAMSAT Unis and now I'm worried that I'm going to have to go for 4 GAMSAT unis.  

I have absolutely no idea how this is all going to pan out, I had everything planned to the nth degree and then I messed it all up by getting injured.  Completely my fault, but it isn't going to make me feel great when I have to take yet another year to apply again if I don't get in this time.  I'm a mature student (I'm still the right side of 30 but still!) and I just feel frustrated. I'm seeing on forums that people who are quite honestly fantastic candidates getting rejected from all 4 choices, even with high scores, high academic grades etc. 

If people who are:
a) Younger than me
b) Have better academic credentials than me
c) Have higher GAMSAT/UKCAT scores than I can ever hope for
d) Have more voluntary work experience than me
Aren't getting offers, what am I supposed to do?  I just hope that I get one offer, I don't mind where, I really truly don't, I'll be happy with any of the 6 places I want to apply to (I haven't narrowed it down yet, open day season is upon us!) were kind enough to offer me a place I'd be over the moon.  I can't quite get my head around people being offered places and then saying that they're not sure they're going to take them as it wasn't their "first choice"... *DON'T APPLY TO A UNI UNLESS YOU'RE HAPPY TO TAKE THE PLACE*. 

Anyway, I'm going to stop ranting, just having a moment of complete and utter blind panic! I'm going to go and revise, because one thing is for sure, I'm not going anywhere unless I pass my degree!  Thanks for reading.  

GAMSAT Ireland

Initially I had planned to take the GAMSAT twice, I wanted to know what I was heading for before the final attempt in September.  Unfortunately as I've mentioned on here before, life has a funny way of getting in the way of things and after my injuries this year, I'm only just about caught up on my Undergrad stuff in time for exams let alone adding to my stress with GAMSAT revision.  So I didn't take it last weekend. 

A couple of my friends however, did.  They went to Dublin and they took the dreaded exam, and apparently, it was awful.  They said that the humanities side of it wasn't as bad as they thought, but the science side was dreadful. I believe them, I'm sure it was a horrific day but I'm optimistic that it will be ok in Sept. I don't truly know how much prep they did for it.  We've had essays etc due in, and I just don't know how much work they did.  I don't know when they had the time to fit in the amount of prep needed this term, so I'm still hopeful that it won't be a complete disaster in September.  

I'm not sure how it will go for me, but I'm also planning on taking the UKCAT and if I do alright in that I will apply to some GAMSAT and some UKCAT unis.  Still keeping my fingers crossed for a miraculous interview after applications.  I start hospice work soon and I have work experience lined up (only short shadowing), but I also have that exciting project I have spoken about before to talk about in interview, which I've really enjoyed (and I'm looking forward to finishing before my exams start in 11 weeks time fingers crossed!).  So I'm still hopeful, if not MSc here I come.....!