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: Chinese
I went to a grammar or selective state school.
Our Summary
Course: Standard Undergraduate
Online panel interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Recommended Resources:
Medify
NHS Values
GMC Good Practice Guidelines
Before I made my application…
When did you decide you wanted to apply for medical school?
In 2019
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
Course structure, recommendations, admission details
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, Online work experience, Lab work
How much work experience did you do?
A year’s worth of online crisis volunteering
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?
Questions from Medify, then Youtube videos where they go through questions and explain how to do certain questions quickly, which to skip, how to utilise the number pad.
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?
Medical school gave out interview questions prior, so I practiced based on the questions. Looked at YouTube videos, looked at the NHS values, GMC guidelines. Used med school interview booklets.
What happened in your interview?
I was asked questions around my motivation for studying medicine. There was also a station that was based around a game.
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.
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.
YouTube: There are many current and recent medical students who create videos on YouTube about their experience and advice about applying. Remember that their experience is personal and individual, and may not reflect yours. They might provide some useful advice but remember that they might be advertising paid for services. Take their advice as part of a more holistic approach alongside moderated advice such as ours, and official advice from universities and test providers.
NHS Values: The NHS Values guide healthcare education and careers. It’s important to know and understand these values to help you be as successful as possible in your application. They can help you answer questions in your interview, or guide what you write about in your personal statement. Find out more here: NHS Values
GMC Good Practice Guidelines: These guidelines describe what it means to be a good doctor. These can help guide you during your preparation for your application and how you answer questions in interviews. GMC Good Practice
