Any medical students from Oxford University out there ??

**Madhumanti** · 13-11-2006, 10:52 PM

Hello all the current medical students at Oxford University. I have applied here for medicine 2007 entry. A few questions about the university and the application process...

Why did you choose Oxford University for medicine ?
What is the best part of studying at Oxford University ? And the bad ? How do you cope with the bad?

How is the interview like ? How many different types of interviews do you have ?What kind of questions do you get asked ?How long is each interview approximately and how many people interview you ?

Please explain a bit more about the course structure, how everything is taught and organised and how does it all help you to become a good doctor ?

Please add any other info which a candidate ought to know to be successful and get an offer.Any general tips to do well at the interview at specifically Oxford . Any help would me much appreciated. Thank you very much for your help.

**The Messiah** · 23-11-2006, 04:11 PM

Why did you choose Oxford University for medicine ?

I didn't apply until the very last minute, but I had various reasons. I'd spent a weekend there as part of the Oxford Access Scheme and found that a lot of the stories I'd heard about the place weren't true. I still had issues with fitting in though - black Londoner from state school etc. I'm here because they gave me an offer and you can't really turn them down. I would have been just as happy going to Leicester.

What is the best part of studying at Oxford University ? And the bad ? How do you cope with the bad?

The Good: It's different for different people. For me it's the range of people you can meet.
The Bad: Ridiculous amounts of work. most people at other universities have an essay to do once every couple of weeks. 2/3 essays a week here is the norm. How do I cope? Sleep deprivation...

How is the interview like? How many different types of interviews do you have? What kind of questions do you get asked ? How long is each interview approximately and how many people interview you ?

Again it's different for different people and at different colleges. I explained my interview process along with others in depth in a thread made two years ago. Search for it because I won't repeat it again.

Please explain a bit more about the course structure, how everything is taught and organised and how does it all help you to become a good doctor?

The course is "very" sciency for the first three years. This is a fact you need to bear in mind when you apply because some people hate it. The reasoning behind this is that it's better for you to be able to treat the patient, if you know and understand the mechanisms behind their condition well.

Please add any other info which a candidate ought to know to be successful and get an offer.Any general tips to do well at the interview at specifically Oxford.

Be yourself. If you try to be anything other than that, the majority of the time - they will catch you out. Think before you speak, but talk them through your method of thinking. eg. You are shown a skull and asked "What kind of animal is it?" "Well, I think it might be a nocturnal animal because it has big eye sockets...."

**Dr.Hassie** · 23-11-2006, 05:57 PM

lol the skull question

**89laura89** · 07-12-2006, 12:19 AM

Don't do medicine in oxford! The lockers are enough to drive you over the edge!

Only joking, i get on fine with hassan there to open my locker for me!

**Dr.Hassie** · 07-12-2006, 12:36 AM

ooh yes ..im laura's personal locker-opener..really think i should drop medicine and go into full-time employment..wot dya think about that laura? lol

**Ching** · 07-12-2006, 02:03 PM

LOL it took me the entire MT '05 to figure out my locker. And I've forgotten the code at least 3 times. So embarassing!

Back to the point though-

Why Oxford?

Because of the course, the resources, the town. Everything really.

The good?

The work- interesting and challenging.

The bad?

The work.

In fact, it's all about the work. Always.

And once again, what makes you become a good doctor?

The work. No, seriously; the fact that we do a very science- oriented pre- clinical part before progressing on to clinical means that you get a fairly comprehensive understanding of the phyisology of the body. I can't remember which lecturer said it, but anyway- apparently 'People can prescribe drugs because they work. We prescribe drugs because we know how they work.' Not to be taken literally, but you get the idea.

**The Madness** · 07-12-2006, 03:07 PM

My locker is just at angry-kick level ...

Why did you choose Oxford University for medicine ?

I nearly didn't! My school were quite pushy about the students they considered 'Oxbridge material' (whatever that actually means) applying, which put me off as I wanted to apply for my own reasons, not to boost my school's reputation. In the end, I applied because I loved the course; the heavy scientific emphasis really appealed to me (eleven essays and countless tutorials later, I wonder why...), and the BA we get sounded like it had some good options. Even after I got the offer, I was sure I didn't want to end up in some reenactment of Brideshead, but I realised Oxford wasn't all like that. I came here and on the whole really enjoyed my first term.

What is the best part of studying at Oxford University ? And the bad ? How do you cope with the bad?

I just like the whole university experience - I don't know how much of that is unique to Oxford, but finally getting rid of the parents and being able to grow up a bit (sadly not literally) is great. I love the course, and being a part of a college. Tutorials are good, although some I enjoy more than others. The work is interesting, and I do enjoy it. Apart from biochem.

The bad is probably the (at times) insane amount of work - I hate the feeling at 1am when you know you've got too much to do and you're not going to get to bed before 5am, if at all. And then you get back the essay with a tiny one-line comment on the science, but red pen scribbling over all your spelling/grammar mistakes. But you get used to it, and it's certainly not work 24/7!

Please explain a bit more about the course structure, how everything is taught and organised and how does it all help you to become a good doctor?

There's a lot of information on the website about the course, and I guess you'll have to draw your own conclusions about whether/how it makes you a good doctor.

In general though, the course is split onto three streams - biochemistry, organisation of the body (anatomy), and physiology & pharmacology. There is also a course in medical statistics in the first year, and in sociology. The core material (stuff you need to know or you'll fail) is taught through lectures, as is some extention material (stuff you need to know some of or you'll just scrape a pass). Extention material is mainly covered in tutorials though, or in the 'suggested extra reading' (!) that some lecturers list at the end of their talk. We also have sessions once a week (in first year) in the microscope lab, and in the dissection room, and a few other practicals too.

Please add any other info which a candidate ought to know to be successful and get an offer. Any general tips to do well at the interview at specifically Oxford.

I really don't think there's any tricks to doing well - they will see through any 'Oxbridge preperation' courses. When given a question, don't panic - just think carefully through the possibilties, and say what you're thinking. It doesn't necessarily matter if you're wrong (I think I demonstrated that pretty well in my interview!), as they want to see how you think, rather than what you already know.

**89laura89** · 08-12-2006, 12:05 AM

I dunno, the locker job is quite hard work. Perhaps you could go on a job share with stephen?

Why did you choose Oxford University for medicine ?

Had my heart set on london but thought i 'should' apply for oxford, visited and thought awww, its sooo nice. Also, realised that although i always thought i wanted to go to kings i hated the idea of PBL and wanted the science basis first cos on medlink and things like that i always hate roleplaying when you don't know anything.

What is the best part of studying at Oxford University ? And the bad ? How do you cope with the bad?

Lecture timetable nowhere near as bad as i expected-dunno what its like elsewhere. But yeah, 2/3 essays a week sometimes. Tutes are good though. I find them really beneficial and usually come out feeling better about things although there've been a few 'im failing' fits after others!

How is the interview like? How many different types of interviews do you have? What kind of questions do you get asked ? How long is each interview approximately and how many people interview you ?

3 20min interviews in 2 colleges. All completely different and as above i've talked all about them in another thread.

Please explain a bit more about the course structure, how everything is taught and organised and how does it all help you to become a good doctor?

I'd say an average week for me is:
Monday-3/4 lectures
Tuesday-4 of my tuesdays in the first term were free and the other 4 were half days
Wednesday-1 lecture, CAL, dissection, 2 tutorials
Thursday- 3/4 lectures, maybe a tute
Friday- 1/2 lectures, CAL, histology
On top of this there's a couple of afternoons at a GP when you realise the science you've been learning is relevant, and an essay or 2 or sometimes 3 but i find i can do an essay in a day ok.

Please add any other info which a candidate ought to know to be successful and get an offer.Any general tips to do well at the interview at specifically Oxford.

There were some people at my interview who made me feel really dumb but i haven't seen any of them around so i guess they didn't get in! So don't worry and don't just feel compared to everyone else you have no chance!