This student applied in the 2021/22 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: Indian
I went to a fee-paying school.
Our Summary
Course: Standard Undergraduate
Online panel interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Recommended Resources:
Medify
Before I made my application…
When did you decide you wanted to apply for medical school?
Always been the main choice in the back of my mind but became the solid option when my mum got ill and I saw first hand the hardworking and empathic nature of working as a doctor. Wanted to make a difference to someone’s life like my mum’s doctors made to ours.
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
Based mostly on the UCAT score they looked for, otherwise random
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, Care work (e.g. in residential care), Other healthcare setting e.g pharmacy, physiotherapy, Customer service role (voluntary), Customer service role (paid)
How much work experience did you do?
Had 3 years of different experiences!
How did you find your work experience opportunities?
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/
How did you prepare for your admissions test?
Did UCAT questions on Medify and official website for 2 months – took my time to work through areas of doubt but tried my best to not stress myself out too much
What type of interview did you do?
Panel: This type of interview is a ‘traditional’ sit down interview where you’ll be interviewed by a group of people, usually academic tutors and doctors. This differs from an MMI interview, which is based around ‘stations’ which have themes or scenarios attached to them.
How did you prepare for your interview?
Family helped me prepare – dad and sister (both doctors) helped me practice my answers as Sheffield provides questions prior to interview. Additionally, my form tutor also conducted 2 mock interviews for me.
What happened in your interview?
They asked 6/7 questions from the list we were sent. I was quite nervous and felt my voice crack a few times during the interview, but I felt calmer because I was in the study room in my parents house, which was a nice quiet environment.
Glossary
Clinical work experience: Not every student will complete clinical work experience before they apply to medical school. Don’t worry, this is not required to be able to apply. You can use non-clinical work experience (e.g. a caring role, like in a care home) or even reflect on paid work you’ve done (e.g. in customer service) in a productive way. See our guide to this here:
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.
Insiders: Don’t worry if you don’t know people like this. Most students don’t have friends who have already been through the process or healthcare professionals that they know who might be able to support them. You can meet current medical students to speak to at open days, or via free mentoring schemes, but it’s not a requirement for you to be successful.
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.
