Perth College - Pathway to Medicine Access Course

[Enia]

hii
I wanna apply to any access to medicine course, however usually applicants are asked for work experience and I don't have any.
Do they ask for work experince in Perth College? Do they have any age restrictions?
Regards,
Enia

[PTMNO1]

Hi Enia,

Perth do not require work experience but it does help your application as you are essentially interviewed by a St Andrews/Perth interview panel. The course at Perth actually includes work experience in a hospital in Semester 2.

There are no official age restrictions but due to other stipulations you would have to be over 21 around the start of the course. There is no upper age limit. Other than this I have listed the main prerequisites of the couse on the first page of this thread. I would advise you to read through the whole thread as there is a lot of good advice throughout.

Additionally, if you're in any doubt about the application process then you should contact Dr Boyd directly at Perth College. I'm only passing on past experience.

Good luck,

Alex

[NickJM08]

Any idea when the interviews are set to start? I know its March sometime, but with it being the end of February I'm assuming we'll hear soon?

[PTMNO1]

Hi Nick,

Luckily I'm meeting Dr Boyd and a host of the current Pathway to Medicine students in St Andrews tomorrow. I'll ask him and try to give you a rough idea.

I think there are interviews over the coming weeks in St Andrews which run until mid march at least. Your interview date should fall towards the end of March if that's anything to go by.

Alex

[NickJM08]

Ironically, today I received a letter detailing my intervew as next thursday. A lot sooner than I had expected. Though I'm guessing it will be a while after before I know if i'm successful or not since the interview is so early on?

[PTMNO1]

If you have a strong interview, I wouldn't imagine it would take too long. When they say, "do you have any questions?" Ask them

[PTMNO1]

Hi everyone,

This years course has 6 students on the Pathway to Medicine. This is after interviewing several hundred for the course. I can only assume that some of the candidates are "mental," or they are grossly unprepared.

Hence, it would be nice if we continued to share knowledge of the application and interview process. If anyone has had an interview, could they share their experience and give hints for other candidates... Questions asked, format etc.

Don't worry, you're not in competition that way, like other medical schools... If you're good enough at interview, you get a shot

Thanks,

Alex

[NickJM08]

Hi.

Firstly I wanted to thank Alex for all this advice and for posting this thread on the forums with all the added information.

I received my unconditional last week for this course and wanted to share my experience of the application and interview process. I had my interview two weeks ago and found it to be very calm and not as scary as you would imagine! Both Dr Boyd and the St Andrews representative were Dr Boyd merely said that this interview was different from others in that he wanted to know 'where you have been, where you are now and where you want to go.' The questions related to where you have been in your life, your present situation and ambitons. As well as this knowledge relating to both the Perth course and the St. Andrews course so studying up on this thread and the associated websites should stand you in good stead. Asking what the Perth course contains, which areas you may have studied in relation to this previously, the length of the St. Andrews course, what the qualification is after 3 yrs and why the clinical years are elsewhere etc. Most of the questions however were in relation to the personal statement I had written so make sure and rebrief yourself prior to interview. As mentioned several times by Alex, it has a lot to do with reflection - so the work experience (or even any life experience you can relate) you have is key for demonstrating your desire and determination to pursue this course and a career in medicine subsequently.

I am gathering from my interview and previous posts that it is advisable to pursue some kind of work experience prior to the interview (or if not even to arrange it to discuss at your interview). I personally read up on a whole load more than I needed to(including a book on medical ethics and practice haha) - but I think it's better to be over prepared than under.

The application process was basically to submit an application form to Perth ( I think it is still quite early days yet with regard to applications, although I could be wrong. It seems from previous comments that applications seem to run right through to June).

One final point I'd like to say is that in agreement with Alex it doesn't appear to be competitive. I get the feeling there's a place for you if you have a good enough interview.

Hope this helps - just got around to posting it - had a 5 NAB unit exams this past two weeks so I had a lot on.

Best of luck to applicants!

Nick

[!PsyChirurgus!]

Hi.

Firstly I wanted to thank Alex for all this advice and for posting this thread on the forums with all the added information.

I received my unconditional last week for this course and wanted to share my experience of the application and interview process. I had my interview two weeks ago and found it to be very calm and not as scary as you would imagine! Both Dr Boyd and the St Andrews representative were Dr Boyd merely said that this interview was different from others in that he wanted to know 'where you have been, where you are now and where you want to go.' The questions related to where you have been in your life, your present situation and ambitons. As well as this knowledge relating to both the Perth course and the St. Andrews course so studying up on this thread and the associated websites should stand you in good stead. Asking what the Perth course contains, which areas you may have studied in relation to this previously, the length of the St. Andrews course, what the qualification is after 3 yrs and why the clinical years are elsewhere etc. Most of the questions however were in relation to the personal statement I had written so make sure and rebrief yourself prior to interview. As mentioned several times by Alex, it has a lot to do with reflection - so the work experience (or even any life experience you can relate) you have is key for demonstrating your desire and determination to pursue this course and a career in medicine subsequently.

I am gathering from my interview and previous posts that it is advisable to pursue some kind of work experience prior to the interview (or if not even to arrange it to discuss at your interview). I personally read up on a whole load more than I needed to(including a book on medical ethics and practice haha) - but I think it's better to be over prepared than under.

The application process was basically to submit an application form to Perth ( I think it is still quite early days yet with regard to applications, although I could be wrong. It seems from previous comments that applications seem to run right through to June).

One final point I'd like to say is that in agreement with Alex it doesn't appear to be competitive. I get the feeling there's a place for you if you have a good enough interview.

Hope this helps - just got around to posting it - had a 5 NAB unit exams this past two weeks so I had a lot on.

Best of luck to applicants!

Nick

Thanks for the info and advice, Nick! Congrats on your offer.

Did you ask them how many students are they planning to take this year? Also, do you know if we have to apply formally to St. Andrews University through UCAS or sitting the UKCAT test would be enough?

Please reply. Thanks!

[NickJM08]

Hi and thanks !

Well, the general rule with the course is that you get interviewed by both Perth and St Andrews (hence the need for a St Andrew's representative at the Perth interview) so that if you get admitted to Perth you technically have a place in St Andrews (although you still need to apply to UCAS this is merely a formality) should you be in the top 5 at the end of the year. As far as I know those successful in getting a place on the A2M at perth sit the UKCAT in Sept/October. As for how many places there are - I think alex mentioned 20? though I'm not actually sure 100% about this. Alex also mentioned that the full 20 haven't been filled so it sounds like if you interview well - you get a place.

Have you applied or are you in the process of doing so?

Hope this helps somewhat

Nick