Advice on constructing a Personal Statement and Referee info

[Babli]

can u suggest a ratio for medicine related: other achievements?

[tripty]

hi babli
u got AAAABB ???????wow............

[Babli]

thats in scottish highers so its not v. good.

[jay-mob]

Originally Posted by Babli

thats in scottish highers so its not v. good.

Well depends, you may get an interview at dundee, aberdeen or st andrews, the glasgow and edinburgh medical school are harder but give it a try, if you have these grades in science related subjetcs, if you are doing advanced higher this year its even a bonus.

I did four advanced highers but you don't need so many, just two should be fine, minimum one shows your enthusiams towards deepening your knowledge in the fields.

babli if you got any questions pm me.

[pilly84]

Dandelionfluff -

It is fine to mention your instruments etc in a bit of a list (I play 3 too) but I think the most important thing is to say what you have learnt from it all e.g. - teamwork from playing in an orchestra. As for relevance - EVERYTHING is relevant. You aren't at medical school yet so they aren't expecting everything that you do to be medically based. If you think of the qualities doctors need (e.g. communication skills), you can relate loads of things you have done (but aren't necessarily anything to do with medicine) to them.

Your sections on why medicine and work experience need to be a bit more substantial than the rest. As an idea, I remember in my ps (and in quite a few of the others I've seen) why medicine and work experience/voluntary work tend to be longish paragraphs and the rest fits in with the 47 lines limit. I'm sorry I couldn't be anymore vague but I don't want you to think that you HAVE to stick to these guidelines.

As for work experience - its not the amount you do, its what you gain from it. Make sure you point out in your ps what you learnt not only about medicine but also about the NHS, teamwork, stress (lol!) etc. Hospital, Brownies, old folks' home - its all good. The point is, you didn't actually have to be there but you still turned up - again it is important to mention what you gained from all of this. You could also mention what you think you could offer the medical profession. Really sell yourself!

Hope that helps

Pilly

Originally Posted by dandelionfluff

how much detail do they really want about hobbies/interests etc? i play 3 instruments, am in practically every band in school, play hockey, basketball, do d of e, debating, did world challenge and all that-but how much is actually relevant?

i don't want it to just sound like a list, and i need room for other things (why medicine, why me, work experience etc).

another question (sorry)- how much work exp do i need. i've done some work shadowing at various places (gp, neurosurgeon, radiologist), i worked in a hospital for a bit and i help at brownies and since quite recently an old folks' home. i also went on medlink... does this help show interest or is it again irrelevant?

thanks
(sorry for all the questions)

Try and avoid making lists, it uses too much space and sounds dull. Never bullet point. All those experiences are great but what's important is what YOU got out of doing them, what YOU learnt and how they will help YOU in your future.

Good luck, writing the PS was the hardest part of the sdmissions process I found.

[Babli]

thx 4 all your help. wish me good luck.

[pilly84]

Good luck!

[samed]

AS i am taking a gap year i will be continuing with my voluntary work. However i have done a fair bit and i have 4 paragraphs about each placement and what i learned at each one, is that ok?

[mysterious]

im kinda stuck. as a mature applicant, im applying as an individual. my ref is old tutor from uni. the ref section- when i viewed it as a printerable version, it says DO NOT SEND THIS PRINTOUT TO UCAS, wat does tht mean? where AM i meant to send it to?
some1 help pleaseee!!