Imperial.. for clinicals?

[elles]

so, this upcoming term i need to start thinking about clinical school applications - no doubt will be deluged with prospectuses & blurb & open day invitations with nice buffet lunches (ok, latter might be wishful thinking.. )

but i thought i'd try & see if any of you guys (& bringing the Qs to the specific school subforums rather than the general one now in desperation!) could be any help with the more anecdotal type queries i wonder about, rather than structure of the course type things which i should (& will, honestly ) look up myself so i can try & start narrowing down my options.


location
whereabouts are the teaching hospitals & facilities based? what's the area like? i find london a tad scary.. transport links?
where do most of your medics live?
i take it by clinicals there's no chance of any uni/college accomodation?


academics
SSM choice?
help finding an elective? (when is this done?)
decent careers advice centre?
PRHO (F1, whatever it'll be) shadowing as part of the course?
honours/distinctions for the clinical part?


atmosphere
any comments of oxbridge preclinical medics integration with the rest of your year?
pastoral care/personal tutor system?


financial
transport to attachements paid?
travel grants for electives?
book grants?
scholarships/prizes?


extracurriculars
any chance of participating in sports at college level or would i have to do it on a university wide one?
any particular admissions-access-widening participation-summer school type schemes in the specific college?
many college medical societies? obligatory union/medsoc - what's that like? & any other speaker event type ones?


thank you!

[Helena]

Elles, good to see you, but why would you want to leave your cliquey Oxbridge lot to visit us

Sorry, I'm just bored and have nothing useful to add to the above, or answer any of your questions. Although Zoe and Moople I think seem (they could just be blagging it for all I know ) to be well informed. I'm sure we'll all look down our noses at you snobby lot, and you'll just ignore us because you're clearly above us

Where are you considering for clinicals? ICL looks great (although I'm not even there yet).

Oh heck I'll answer the questions and Zoe will correct me.

I had thought most of the Medics live in the Hammersmith area. On a slight tangent, I was looking for a house for the 2nd year (to rent overpriced rooms to gullable people, or friends, one or the other) and for the money I cannot find anything cheap enough the Imperial side of Brentford!.

I was told that pastoral/tutor care is great, and clinical students can get hall accommodation.

Hospitals (as I sketchily recall) include the Hammersmith and Fullham, Royal Bromford, Chelsea and Westminster.

I think location is great. ICL is in a great/safe area, just a short hop to Nottinghill (go Pembridge), Knightsbridge, Hydepark, Oxford Street and most of the hospitals.

A regards sports - it seems everyone is in the rowing team (the 2 girls who showed me around were not built like rowers yet were in the rowing team). For rowing team read drinking club . There are some serious rowers, there is a lovely little boathouse at Putney with sports massage and accommodation for 8 rowers - it's alright for some. Anyone a rower?

There's loads of med socs and standard union socs:

http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/

http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/medic/home.php

I really should go and do something with my life. Hope the above helps,

Helena

[Plumber]

The major hospitals are the Charing Cross (fulham), St Marys (paddington) and Chelsea and Westminster. There are numerous others that you will be sent to as part of the clinical rotations ( St Peters, Hillingdon, Northwick Park, Ealing, Central Middlesex) and the transport links are generally good. It might be pretty difficult to get accomodation in halls as places are at a premium. And Helena is right the vast majority of us do live around Hammersmith.

[elles]

Originally Posted by Helena

Elles, good to see you, but why would you want to leave your cliquey Oxbridge lot to visit us

well sure i can fit in a day trip at least.. some of my best friends from home are at imperial

thanks for the response - to answer where am i considering, basically all the london ones - cambridge doesn't appeal, nor does manchester. though i think oxford might well be my first choice (we do an old UCAS stylee thing in ranking our choices) unless any london ones are veeery impressive!

A regards sports - it seems everyone is in the rowing team (the 2 girls who showed me around were not built like rowers yet were in the rowing team). For rowing team read drinking club . There are some serious rowers, there is a lovely little boathouse at Putney with sports massage and accommodation for 8 rowers - it's alright for some. Anyone a rower?

oh dear.. don't talk to me about rowers! i have enough of rowing vicariously through a boyf at oxford who probably counts as a hardcore rower..
but it is a good way to keep fit & very sociable - so i'd endorse it. if i wasn't already commited to a few other sports & go along to all the rowing socials anyway as a +1 i might have considered it!


Thanks for the location info too, Plumber. i think i need to find myself a map of london..