Imperial College School of Medicine

zoë · 28-08-2005, 12:45 AM

In the first year you don't need to do any real work until the holidays unless you want to (i didn't do any and got a distinction but i did work really hard in the holidays), just make sure you go to lectures (much easier than trying to teach yourself from the slides on the intranet and they also give you useful tips such as what to learn for exams, so do go to them).

Mocks are in january and just after easter. They don't officially count for anything and nobody gets kicked out until after resits which are in the following september. If you do fail the mocks they are less likely to let you back in to redo the year if you fail the resits as well, but I know people who failed the mocks and got distinctions in the real things.

15% is a little far fetched as far as getting kicked out is concerned - a fair few people choose leave during the first term - maybe up to 20 or so, and then some choose to leave after june exams when they decide they don't really want to do it. Some leave voluntarily after failing resits, some get back in to the same year having passed a viva, some can resit the year (some of these have to take a gap year before resitting) and a few get kicked out. Not very many, though.

Anyway, if you really want to do the course you will pass and you will do what it takes to stay in so if you are sure that it is for you then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

As for pass marks, there are 2 types of questions on the first year exams, Short Answer Questions (SAQs) and Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) which is actually a bit misleading as the questions consist of a stem and 5 responses, each of which you must respond to as being true or false. They are harder than they sound! The pass mark for SAQs is 50%, and the pass mark for the MCQs is 75% (as you could get 50% by putting true for everything!) [I think the first years also have some Extended Matching Questions now as well but they didn't in my day so I can't tell you anything about them, but I believe they are only for the "Evidence Based Medicine" course which is some new-fangled funky thing* that I don't know about]

*description may not be accurate

Do not buy any books until you get there, in the first term you will be doing Molecules, Cells and Disease and are best off buying "The Cell" rather than "Essential Cell Biology" as the latter will be no use whatsoever in second year and the former will be very useful. Both are useful in the first year. The former is more expensive though, but in my opinion is definitely worth it as you will get much more use out of it. It will be worth getting "Clinical Medicine" by Kumar and Clark for things like PBL (you can get it out of the library but in my opinion it is too heavy so just buy a copy). Don't buy the sociology book they tell you to get, it is a waste of money. In the other two terms you will need some more books but ask me nearer the time - they are certainly not obsolete after first year and I am not sure where you have got this idea from!!

Any more questions, send em this way.

makkers · 28-08-2005, 04:31 PM

ah, people people people, the worrying begins already, and you haven't even started!

First things first, they do NOT deliberately cull anyone from the year. Think why a university exists: to educate, but also to get money. You have no idea the amount of moolah Sir Dicky Sykes gets for every one of us who study at ICSM, they really really do not want to let you go unless they have to. That is why you have resits in September, and if you spazz up, they sometimes let you redo the year, or if it's borderline, you have a viva and see how it goes from there.

Secondly, it is not 75% pass mark, the 'pass mark' is 50%, but that's all graded up or down, depending on how the year performs as a whole, they can't decide a definite pass mark because each year the exams are different.

Thirdly, we have very clever people at ICSM (like Zoë!), but there's also not so clever people like me. I failed all my modules in first year, and resat in September. That was a big kick up the arse, but I'm still here now, and loving every minute of it. I don't know what the meaning of this point was but hey...

Fourthly, I am in the biggest year Imperial has ever taken. At the end of my third year, we were totalling almost 400. They had to built an annexe for us for the lecture theatre for our first year because they never expected so many, so of course, there will be room for you guys if you are 380

Fifthly, you will hear horror stories from all years, especially maybe, Zoë's year, as a lot of them failed their first year, in fact, the most we've had in a while, but since then, they've done fine in their 2nd year exams, which in my opinion are the biggest raping exams ever....

Lastly, Bookswise, you don't really need to buy anything, as has been mentioned. I bought Essential Cell cos they recommended it, and I did use it, but as long as you have a decent Anatomy and Physiology book, you'll be sorted. Kumar and Clark is the *actual* bible of medicine for a lot of the course, until you get to 3rd year, then the Oxford Handbook(we call it the Cheese and Onion) becomes your New Best Friend (tm). Sociology book is crap.

Hope this helps....

Matt

PS. Also getting quite excited about freshers fortnight...we're stuffing all your envelopes and sending them out next week so keep waiting for your post!

zoë · 29-08-2005, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makkers

I failed all my modules in first year, and resat in September. That was a big kick up the arse, but I'm still here now, and loving every minute of it. I don't know what the meaning of this point was but hey...

Bonjour Mr Mak! Hope all is well..

I think that point just proves this one...?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoë

Anyway, if you really want to do the course you will pass and you will do what it takes to stay in so if you are sure that it is for you then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

PS am liking the sound of the bad taste bop...

Jiny · 29-08-2005, 09:04 AM

I thought that the reason why the medical schools work so hard to get the right number of students is because they don't receive any funding for over-quota students? That would make first year culling logical. I've similar worries as I'm going to UCL and rumour has it that they are over-filled too.

BeCuZ_iT_rOcKs · 29-08-2005, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiny

I thought that the reason why the medical schools work so hard to get the right number of students is because they don't receive any funding for over-quota students? That would make first year culling logical. I've similar worries as I'm going to UCL and rumour has it that they are over-filled too.

thats true and the logic makes sense......unfortunately; last yr our own yr seemed more than normal and that was the same worry

the bright side is that u have to be pretty much crap at everything to get chucked out; i mean if u mess up throughout and at everything and do sod all all yr then u pretty much deserve to be chucked to be fair - this IS med school - kinda imp to do more than bog standard to treat ppl

that said u will also have the biggest social life of the entire uni - medics have a rep for the wildest parties

- well deserved from my exp

crazyperson · 29-08-2005, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makkers

PS. Also getting quite excited about freshers fortnight...we're stuffing all your envelopes and sending them out next week so keep waiting for your post!

Lol I think I'll set up tent by my letter box

Yep totally excited! Bring on October!!