This student applied in the 2021/22 application cycle and therefore the selection process at Southampton 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
Sometimes students share information with us about their demographics, which may help put their application experience into a bit more perspective.
This student identifies as a White man, and they attended a fee-paying school in the UK.
Our Summary
Course: Graduate entry
Online panel interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Recommended resources:
Medify
Before I made my application…
Choosing to study medicine
When did you decide to apply to medical school? In 2021
How did you choose which universities to apply to?
I had a house and mortgage in Southampton!
I was only eligible to apply to Newcastle and Warwick other than Southampton due to my undergraduate course.
Other universities wouldn’t take into consideration a PGDip according to their entry requirements.
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
I was a registered nurse when I applied to study medicine.
How much work experience did you do?
13 years..
How did you find your work experience opportunities?
Through a formal scheme or work experience placement
During the application process…
Admissions tests
What admissions test did you sit?
University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT): https://www.ucat.ac.uk/
How did you prepare for your admissions test?
3 months of Medify, which was great.
Tried the free resources but didn’t find these as useful (this is just one student’s opinion!)
What resources did you use?
Medify, very useful wouldn’t have been successful without it (this is just one opinion!)
Interviews
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.
Group task: At Southampton, most interviews have a group task, where multiple candidates are interviewed together.
How did you prepare for your interview?
I relied on google!!
- I talked to doctors/medical students about their experience
- Medic Portal
- Found other applicants on The Student Room and would ask questions to each other on teams weekly
- Paid for a mornings MMI training but in my opinion this was a waste of money
- Paid for a short talk on grad med-useful as had no idea of the process, at 35 didn’t have any careers advisers to go to!
- YouTube, looked at examples of MMI etc
- Wrote mock answers to every question I could think of.
What happened in your interview?
Generally just asked questions about my personal statement. Was a very pleasant interview
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.
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.
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.
The Medic Portal: The Medic Portal is a popular website that provides resources to help you prepare your medicine application. The Medic Portal has some free resources online but some are paid-for. There are good, free alternatives for preparation available online, so check out our guides and the university websites for 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.
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.
Online forums: Online forums can be great spaces to find advice and first-hand knowledge, but remember that it may not always be the most trustworthy source of information. Take what you read with a pinch of salt.
