This student applied in the 2016/17 application cycle and therefore the selection process at Keele 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 British woman who went to a fee-paying school.
Our Summary
Course: Standard undergraduate
In-person MMI interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Top tip: Reflecting on what you’ve done in terms of experience and how that relates to you wanting to study medicine is important.
Before I made my application…
Choosing to apply
When did you decide you wanted to apply to medicine?
At GCSEs
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
Based on location and UKCAT score cut-off
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, GP surgery, Care work (e.g. in residential care), Customer service role (voluntary)
How much work experience did you do?
I had two weeks of hospital shadowing. One week in GP. Care work which was voluntary and once a week over 12 months. Charity shop once weekly over 12 months. St John ambulance most weekends for 2 years.
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?
Practice papers, getting used to the question style, UKCAT 600 book
What resources did you use?
UKCAT 600 book – was useful as lots of practice questions
Interviews
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?
General medicine interview preparation – prepared for common questions. MMI interviews advice books. Looked at Keele Medicine website to see what values they have.
Read up on current affairs, latest scientific breakthroughs.
Ethical and moral topics – knowing the four pillars of ethics, Gillick competence.
I attended Medlink which was held at Nottingham University.
What happened during your interview?
Personal statement discussion. Given sources to read and explored ethical dilemmas related to this. How to communicate with someone about a sensitive issue.
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.
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.
Four pillars of medical ethics: These four pillars guide ideas about medical ethics. Knowing and understanding them can help you prepare for your interview and how you answer questions. Four Pillars
Gillick Competence: This is an ethical/legal test used to figure out if young people (under 16s) are mature enough to consent to medical treatment.
University outreach events: Lots of universities organise outreach events to help prospective applicants decide whether they want to apply, and to give them advice on how to go about it. You might be eligible for these based on certain criteria like where you live and what school you go to. Check out the University websites to find out more about these.
