This student applied in the 2018/19 application cycle and therefore the selection process at Sheffield may have changed since then. You should read all the information a University sends you about the selection process to get the most up to date details!
Remember to check out the glossary at the bottom of the page for our explanations of all the jargon we medical students like to use!
More about this student
Gender: Woman
Ethnicity: Pakistani
I went to a grammar or selective state school.
Our Summary
Course: Standard Undergraduate
In person MMI interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT, BMAT
Recommended Resources:
Medify
UCAT and BMAT Books
Kaplan
Top tip: Always apply strategically, location is not as important as the actual course, at the end of the day medicine is medicine.
Before I made my application…
When did you decide you wanted to apply for medical school?
I had a vague idea when I was doing my GCSE’s.
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to? Through my UCAT score- it was quite promising so I applied strategically.
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, GP surgery, Care work (e.g. in residential care)
How much work experience did you do?
I did work experience in y10, 11 and 12- for around a week each
How did you find your work experience opportunities?
Through a formal scheme or work experience placement, Through asking someone I knew to take me on
During the application process…
What admissions test did you sit?
University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT): https://www.ucat.ac.uk/
Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT). Note that the BMAT will no longer be used after the 2023 admissions cycle.
How did you prepare for your admissions test?
I gave myself around 4 weeks of solid revision, UCAT was purely just practice and on the day performance
What resources did you use?
Kaplan online resource, Medify and books on UCAT and BMAT
What type of interview did you do?
MMI: Multiple Mini Interview. This type of interview usually includes several short interviews or ‘stations’ which may involve different types of questions and scenarios. This is different compared to a panel interview, which may cover the same scenarios/types of questions but be a more ‘traditional’ sit-down interview.
How did you prepare for your interview?
I used the questions provided by University of Sheffield and went through them with family and friends and also teachers at school.
What happened in your interview?
We had two ethical stations which I had to weigh up the pros and cons of different situations, a station specific to the area of my university and a couple about my personality and integrating into university. I feel like initially it was a bit stressful as it was my first ever uni interview however due to the MMI nature it really helped ease things as I got the ability to start afresh each time!
Glossary
Paid-for resources: Some students choose to pay for courses either online or in person to help them prepare for admissions tests and interviews. There is no evidence that they give you an advantage. There are good, free alternatives for preparation for admissions tests and interviews, and some offer bursaries and discounts to students who come from low income families. Check out our guides and uni websites for more details.
Support networks: While not every student will have a support network to help them prepare, there are plenty of other ways to prepare for your admissions tests and interviews, such as through free online resources, like on our website.
Medify: Medify is a popular website which provides resources for helping you prepare your medicine application. Medify has some free resources online but some are paid-for. There are good, free alternatives for preparation available online, so check out our subject guides and the university websites for details.
Books: Don’t worry if you’ve not been able to find this particular book or afford to pay for it. You might be able to find secondhand copies online which are usually much cheaper, or at your local library (sometimes, libraries will order in books that you’ve requested, so check out this as a possibility too!). Bear in mind that some books may become out of date, so make sure you check when they were published, and if any changes to the relevant admissions tests/interviews have been made since then.
