What do Medical schools look for in a graduate student?

**e_bruce** · 18-06-2012, 05:29 PM

Hi, I am 22 years old and have just completed a degree in Psychology (predicted a 2:1). Last year I applied to a few graduate courses for which I was rejected and one pre-med course at Manc where I was given an interview and put on hold- I was sadly unsuccessful past that point. I still really want to do Medicine and will probably stick with pre-med courses just because I only got 4 Bs at A level (Biology, Psychology, French, Philosophy & Religion) and have not previously studied Chemistry which I think could be why I was initially rejected from my graduate entry choices. I have done voluntary work during my time at university with children & also been a team leader of an international 'buddy' scheme. More related to medicine I have been volunteering on the wards of a hospice since I was 17 and with my father being a doctor I have been fortunate enough to shadow him a couple of times. What else can I do so that I will stand out to medical schools? I am literally willing to do anything and being that I only got 1 interview last year for medicine, I know I have to do something differently.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

**algy_lacey** · 19-06-2012, 09:32 PM

What are your plans for the coming year? By the time you attend for interview, 6 - 9 months will have passed since you finished your degree. Universities will want to see that you've filled your time well. Even by the time you submit your application, it would be good to have a clear idea of how you will be using that time - ideally you would have started doing whatever it is you are going to be doing. The job market is awful at the moment, especially for a recent graduate looking for relatively short-term employment. I worked as a healthcare assistant during the two years between my two degrees, but increasingly those posts are only available to people with previous paid caring experience and/or relevant NVQs (though work may be easier to come by via an agency or NHS professionals). It certainly isn't necessary to do care work to get interviews though - other graduates I know worked in a wide variety of different fields (military, counselling, full-time parent, academia, city council work, nanny, registered nurse, lab work etc.) in the time leading up to starting medical school. Any job will look good, especially if it's full-time and you have a reasonable level of responsibility. The money will certainly come in helpful giving the extortionate fees now being charged to graduates studying medical degrees. If you can continue doing some volunteering in your spare time, even better. The most important thing is that you are doing something particular with your time - if you are travelling, you need to have a clear itinerary and you need to be able to show what you are gaining from the experience (it needs to not just look like you are having a responsibility-free drunk-fest in multiple countries at your parents' expense). If you don't do paid work, but volunteer instead, you need to do enough hours that people reading your application/interviewing you aren't left with the impression that you are spending the bulk of your time lying in or doing nothing much. The key thing you want to avoid is the appearance that you're drifting from one thing to another just because the job market for psychology graduates isn't great!

Not sure if this was the sort of advice you were looking for. If you have a more specific question, I can try and help - although I'm a little out of date now!

**e_bruce** · 20-06-2012, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by algy_lacey

What are your plans for the coming year? By the time you attend for interview, 6 - 9 months will have passed since you finished your degree. Universities will want to see that you've filled your time well. Even by the time you submit your application, it would be good to have a clear idea of how you will be using that time - ideally you would have started doing whatever it is you are going to be doing. The job market is awful at the moment, especially for a recent graduate looking for relatively short-term employment. I worked as a healthcare assistant during the two years between my two degrees, but increasingly those posts are only available to people with previous paid caring experience and/or relevant NVQs (though work may be easier to come by via an agency or NHS professionals). It certainly isn't necessary to do care work to get interviews though - other graduates I know worked in a wide variety of different fields (military, counselling, full-time parent, academia, city council work, nanny, registered nurse, lab work etc.) in the time leading up to starting medical school. Any job will look good, especially if it's full-time and you have a reasonable level of responsibility. The money will certainly come in helpful giving the extortionate fees now being charged to graduates studying medical degrees. If you can continue doing some volunteering in your spare time, even better. The most important thing is that you are doing something particular with your time - if you are travelling, you need to have a clear itinerary and you need to be able to show what you are gaining from the experience (it needs to not just look like you are having a responsibility-free drunk-fest in multiple countries at your parents' expense). If you don't do paid work, but volunteer instead, you need to do enough hours that people reading your application/interviewing you aren't left with the impression that you are spending the bulk of your time lying in or doing nothing much. The key thing you want to avoid is the appearance that you're drifting from one thing to another just because the job market for psychology graduates isn't great!

Not sure if this was the sort of advice you were looking for. If you have a more specific question, I can try and help - although I'm a little out of date now!

Thank you, this is exactly the type of reply I was hoping for. Right now I am applying for jobs and still keeping up with my voluntary work at the hospice. I am struggling with the HCA posts (which is what I would most like to do) because a lot of them require a certain level of experience, as you mentioned. I was hoping for a job in healthcare, but I think I may have to widen my search. While the job search is going on, I am pretty worried that medical schools will think I'm wasting time or sat around. Would it be a good idea for me to try and find more voluntary work? And would this have to be in a health care environment, just out of interest? Thanks again for your reply, it was really helpful.

**algy_lacey** · 20-06-2012, 11:11 PM

More voluntary work will probably be appealing to both medical schools and potential employers - as long as it isn't something where you will be leaving a charitable organisation in the lurch when you do find a job. I don't think it needs to be directly healthcare related, as long as you are making a meaningful contribution and gaining useful experience from it.

Jobs in healthcare are in very short supply right now. Taking an NHS job that you know you intend to leave in a year's time is also a bit or an ethical conundrum (in my opinion, I know others differ). I was clear in my applications that I would be available for less than two years when I applied for HCA jobs. I suspect that was one of the reasons that I was rejected from about 40 posts without interview! I did get the first job I actually interviewed for, but it took a while. Seven years later, and the job market is very much against you. My brother lost his job a year ago and apart from a brief stint of part-time work, has had no luck getting back into employment. Admittedly, he's an arts graduate, but I suspect that anyone finding themselves out of work at the moment is going to find it difficult to get a job. If I was you, I would take any job going and use your free time to show your commitment to medicine.

**e_bruce** · 22-06-2012, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by algy_lacey

More voluntary work will probably be appealing to both medical schools and potential employers - as long as it isn't something where you will be leaving a charitable organisation in the lurch when you do find a job. I don't think it needs to be directly healthcare related, as long as you are making a meaningful contribution and gaining useful experience from it.

Jobs in healthcare are in very short supply right now. Taking an NHS job that you know you intend to leave in a year's time is also a bit or an ethical conundrum (in my opinion, I know others differ). I was clear in my applications that I would be available for less than two years when I applied for HCA jobs. I suspect that was one of the reasons that I was rejected from about 40 posts without interview! I did get the first job I actually interviewed for, but it took a while. Seven years later, and the job market is very much against you. My brother lost his job a year ago and apart from a brief stint of part-time work, has had no luck getting back into employment. Admittedly, he's an arts graduate, but I suspect that anyone finding themselves out of work at the moment is going to find it difficult to get a job. If I was you, I would take any job going and use your free time to show your commitment to medicine.

Thanks, I'll have to find some more voluntary work. I'll do something I can keep up in my spare time and I have always done with the hospice, so as not to leave them in the lurch. Luckily, all the jobs I've been applying for are only temp contracts (for 12 months max) at the minute---it's just a case of getting one of them! But for now I'll literally take anything and spend the rest of my time doing something worthwhile. Did you get in for post graduate medicine the first time you applied then? I am really hoping I get it this time..

**algy_lacey** · 22-06-2012, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by e_bruce

Did you get in for post graduate medicine the first time you applied then? I am really hoping I get it this time..

I didn't apply to any GEM courses because I was too chicken

I did get interviews for the five-year courses at Sheffield, UEA and Hull-York (Leeds rejected me out of hand). I only went to the interviews at Sheffield and UEA. When I got my offer from Sheffield, I withdrew from UEA and Hull-York so I never got to find out if I would have received any more offers. (Which was pretty gutting, after I'd spent 5.5 hours on a train and over £100 getting to my UEA interview!)

I had worried that I'd need to go through more than one round of applications, but I was lucky enough to get in first time. Funnily enough, I ended up studying at the medical school whose entry criteria I wasn't sure I met! (I don't recommend applying to anywhere unless you're sure you meet its criteria - it was pretty silly of me not to check first, even though it did work out.)

**algy_lacey** · 22-06-2012, 02:46 AM

As an aside, with your background, you could be a candidate for one of the Sheffield courses. Their entrance requirements can be a bit tricky to pin down if you aren't coming straight from A-levels. As far as I can tell, they might not accept you on the foundation course because you have two A-levels that they consider sciences (biology and psych) though since you're a graduate, they may consider you differently. Alternatively, they might accept Psychology as a science degree which would make it possible for you to apply for the five-year course (see entry requirements). Either way, it might be worth contacting them for advice, especially if your previous UKCAT scores have been good (Sheffield often has a higher UKCAT cut-off than any other university). Sheffield is a great place to study and they seem to admit plenty of graduates (maybe a fifth of my year?)

**e_bruce** · 22-06-2012, 05:34 PM

I'll be honest...I'm a little worried about applying for GEM courses being that I got rejected from them last year and only had an interview with the foundation course at Manc which I applied for. I think I may actually stick with foundation course (only ones where passing them guarantees you entry onto a Medicine course) being that I have no Chemistry. Still, I've emailed every university about their requirements for 4,5 and 6 year courses and Sheffield were actually the only ones who I couldn't get an email address for so I'll have to ring them up. Thankyou!