This student applied in the 2018/19 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 Pakistani woman who went to a comprehensive school in the UK that doesn’t regularly send students to medical school. They received free school meals.
Our Summary
Course: Standard undergraduate entry
In-person MMI interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Best advice: If you really want to do medicine, do everything you can to find out entry requirements early, and get involved with work experience and make the most of studying.
Before I made my application…
Choosing to apply
When did you decide you wanted to apply to medicine?
When I was 16
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
I’m a postgraduate so whichever university I met the requirements of!
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, Care work (e.g. in residential care), Other healthcare setting e.g pharmacy, physiotherapy, I volunteered a lot and also work as a HCA
How much work experience did you do?
I did my experience over many years
How did you find your work experience opportunities?
Through a formal scheme or work experience placement, Asking around in the hospitals
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?
Online question bank and also the Kaplan course.
What resources did you use?
Kaplan (paid-for) UCAT course which really helped.
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?
Read information online and had a look at forums.
What happened during your interview?
I was happy and comfortable at the interview as I prefer interviews. There were many stations and the route was easy to follow. Some interviewers put me at ease others did not.
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.
Paid-for courses: 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.
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.
