Graduate entry 2007? Here's hoping!!

[amy2705598]

I got a first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Am SOOO excited!! All the stressing and the worrying and hard work was worth it in the end!
Got 75% for my dissertation which helped pull my grades up a bit because I got 61, 64 and 70% for the exams.

Now got to start thinking about my application a bit more. Am getting really stuck on my personal statement, especially why a want to do medicine. I mean I know that I really want to do it, but I'm having difficulty putting it into words.
Might have a rethink on which uni's to apply to. At the moment it's Cambridge, Bristol, Warwick and Liverpool. Maybe Birmingham. Too many choices!

[amy2705598]

Haven't written here in ages. Think it's because I'm still struggling on my personal statement, and still can't finalise my final choice of uni's.

Gabby really kindly read over my personal statements and made loads of suggestions to help improve it, thanks Gabby!!! However, now I'm struggling to make the changes. Arghhh, if I can't even write a short statement about myself, how am I going to manage years of medicine!

Can't decide whether to go for all four GEM courses, or throw in one five year. Hmmm. Can't really afford the five year, but then hopefully at the end of it I'll be able to pay it back easily. What to do?
Hopefully if I put my mind to it, by the end of today my application will be finished. I had wanted to get it all finished ages before the deadline, never mind, still two weeks left. Just must finish it today.

[amy2705598]

Well there's no going back now!

My application's been sent through UCAS and is now waiting to be processed, or something like that.
In the end I went for Birmingham GEP, Liverpool GEP, Warwick GEP and Kings College London GEP. I was going to go for Cambridge, but wasn't sure how I would do with there interview process, so instead have gone for the equally unlikely to get into KCL.

A lot depends on the MSAT now, but I've always done quite well with IQ tests and things like that. I know you can't really prepare for it, but I'll try and brush up on my essay writing; haven't really had to do much in a long time.
I'm not entirely sure how it works with KCL. They say they automatically consider you for the five and six year courses if you are unsuccessful with the four year course, but is that still only if you are in the top 91 percentile?? Soon find out I guess...

[amy2705598]

Got a reply letter from Liverpool university in the post yesterday thanking me for my application. I did think that was a little bit strange because I thought that applications were only sent to uni's or processed after the closing date. I wish I had sent mine in earlier now, do you get prejudiced against for sending them in later?

I have a lot of hopes for Liverpool as it's sort of my back up uni (as is Warwick). Going to start doing practice speed essays soon for the MSAT, I figured that's the only way to really prepare for it. I'm not going to be conned into going on any courses or buying the books whatever. It seems like pretty much everyone gets invited to warwick's selection centre, and don't think I really stand any chance of getting into KCL, so am not going to get too stressed about the whole thing!

[amy2705598]

Haven't posted for a while, but haven't had much to post about. Have had acknowledgements from Liverpool and Birmingham, but nothing from Warwick or KCL, but think that is usual for KCL. I know that other people have heard from Warwick and that is bugging me a bit.

My life has been completely taken over at the moment by Strictly Come Dancing, it is so fantastic. I'm rooting for Mark and Karen to win at the moment, I love them.

Should be doing some sort of preparation for the MSAT at the moment I guess, but it still seems so far away. Not too worried bout the first two sections, but the essay writing ones have got me worried. Need to start practicing

[amy2705598]

Well I sat the MSAT yesterday along with about 250 others in Birmingham. Not really sure what to make of how it went. Think the first data analysis section went okay, the second 'emotional understanding' section seems a bit dodgy to me, it is so subjective. Often the answer I felt would have described the situation best wasn't there, and there were two answers I thought were nearly it, but not quite. Hmm, don't have a great feeling. Think I've probably done alright, but not up in the 90s which I would need for KCL. Don't think I did myself justice in the essay questions either, I really should have done some practice short timed essays, but somehow didn't get round to it in the end.

Have been trying to arrange a week's work shadowing at the medical centre at NCYPE (National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy) where I used to work. Was supposed to be going in a couple of weeks, but Mum's just had surgery and I don't really want to leave her on her own just yet. Hopefully, I'll manage to get there in January before I'm invited for any interviews.

[amy2705598]

Well, just heard that I've got an interview at Bham (17 Jan), so am pretty excited! Was getting a bit paranoid because I'd heard others had received their interview invites this week, so feel much better now.

Just a waiting game now with the MSAT results for Warwick & KCL, so fingers crossed. Though if I got accepted to Bham I would probably forget about Liverpool & Warwick (though not KCL). Oh well, just got to start on the interview preparation, hopefully I'll do more preparation then I did for the MSAT

[amy2705598]

Oops, just meant to add Happy Christmas everyone xx

[amy2705598]

Oh my God. What a day. I don't know where to start really. I was meant to be in Surrey today, I was going down to the Special Needs school that I used to work at, to do a week's work experience in the medical centre there. It's about 250 miles from where I live in Mid Wales to Lingfield in Surrey, and you have to drive on the dodgy Welsh A / B roads for about an hour before you reach the motorway. I set off about half 3 in the morning last night and was hoping to be there for nine. I've driven it hundreds of times. I don't know what happened. One minute I was driving along absolutely fine, the next I was battling with the steering and trying to keep the car on the road. It was sort of on a right hand bend at the brow of a low hill. I battled with the steering but ended up going along the bank on the opposite side of the road at about a 90 degree angle, then hit a telegraph pole. Can hardly remember what happened, apart from driving along with the car on it's side, and remembering myself screaming and screaming. God knows how but the car ended up the right way up in the middle of the road, and thank God nothing else was on the road at the time. Ended up diagnally across the carridgeway. Managed to get the car started again and pull it over to the side of the road then get out. It was really dark at about 4am.

I got out and dialled 999 because I didn't know what to do. A guy in a lorry stopped and came over to help me. I sat down at the side of the road on the grass and was crying. I told the police call centre what happened and they said they'd phone back. The lorry guy was so lovely, but I don't even know his name. He parked his lorry behind my car because my car was a hazard on the brow of a hill. Then he swept the road clear of debris. He kept trying to cheer me up because I was shaking so much and trying not to cry. He said he'd make me a cup of tea but he had no milk. The police phoned back and said they weren't going to come out because there was no other vehicle involved, they said I should just someone to tow the car away. When I hung up the lorry driver was really cross that they would leave a young girl alone on her own at night, and that my car was in a really dangerous place and would cause an accident, so I had to phone the police back up, this time they said they would come out. I phoned my Dad up, who was at work, because it was his car. He was really nice, but I couldn't give him much information at the time. Then I rang up the AA who I'm a member of, but they said because it was an accident and not a breakdown they wouldn't come out to move the vehicle.

Quite soon after, the police arrived. They were really nice to me. With the lorry guy they managed to get the car to a safe place and they let me sit in their car. There was damage to the telegraph pole that me and the lorry guy hadn't noticed, and because of that they had to do an incident form and everything. The pole was completely broken through in the middle, the top was just suspended from the wires. I don't know how me and the car came out of it so well, I guess we must have glanced of the pole rather than hit it straight on. They took a statement and breathalysed me, which was all fine, then I had to wake mum up and ask her to come and pick me up. I was about 3/4 hour away from home, so the police met my mum half way. The battery on my phone was dead so I had to use the police radio.

I'm trying to piece it all together in my head, but it's really hard because it was so dark and I was really disorientated. I don't know if the car spun round, because when the police set off to take me home I thought we should have gone in the opposite direction. The car was bad but really could have been much worse. Both headlights were smashed, and the offside one was really squashed down and pushed in. The bumper was all smashed and I think that was what made all the debris in the road. The passenger door was dented and would only open about 20cm when I tried to get my handbag out, and the back offside door was dented as well and had really deep scratches, probably from when the car went on it side. So it was bad, but could have been so much worse, and I walked out of it.

The police called an ambulance for me, but they said I was okay and the chest pain was just from the seatbelt. Mum and Peter, my younger brother, came to pick me up. I kept going from being absolutely fine and talking loads to crying my eyes out. Mum was so good though, because she must have been worried sick. I wish I know what happened. The roads were very wet, although it wasn't raining at the time. I didn't think I was really going fast but I must have misjudged it or hit water or something. Thank God no one else was hurt. I wish I knew the lorry driver's name and address so that I can thank him. Maybe if I phone the police up they will tell me, they said they would be sending him a thank you letter anyway, but I never got to say thank you because he went when I was in the police car.

[amy2705598]

Feeling a bit better now. I'm just so sad / disapointed / fed up about messing up so many things. I've trashed my dad's car and now they've got to take out a loan for a new one because the insurance wont cover the whole cost of a new car. I want to help them out with some of my savings but they wont let me because they say I'll need them. I've messed up their insurance because I had to claim on theirs, and my own because I'll have to declare an accident. I've messed up not doing my work experience this week. And I was really looking forward to it because I would have got to see the boys I used to look after again, see how they're all doing now. I am greatful for being so lucky though. It could have been so much worse & at least I walked out of it.

Trying to prepare for my interview at Birmingham next week. Apparently it's mainly just easyish 'cv style', 'why this university' style questions. Saying that now they'll probably grill me about the state of the NHS. Arghhh. Oh well, best to get this first one out the way, and then hope that someone else gives me an interview.