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 an Asian British woman who went to a grammar or selective state school.
Our Summary
Course: Standard undergraduate
In person MMI interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Before I made my application…
Choosing to apply
When did you decide you wanted to apply to medicine?
2016
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
Distance to home and how much I liked the course
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Other healthcare setting e.g pharmacy, physiotherapy, Customer service role (voluntary)
How much work experience did you do?
2 years hospital volunteering, few months pharmacy work
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?
2 months of prep work with practice questions initially untimed and then timed and then moving to online resources to practice with the IT.
What resources did you use?
UKCAT 2000 Questions book- very useful!
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?
I researched the university course and why I wanted to go to that university. I made sure I was up to date with scientific topics in the news and read about common medical interview questions. I used the Medic Portal to teach me about the 4 pillars of medical ethics for ethics stations.
What happened during your interview?
I was given a station where I had to interact with an actor to show my communication and empathy. I was asked to discuss an ethical situation and also asked to discuss why I wanted to pursue medicine.
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.
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.
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
Role play: some interviews or interview stations may require you to engage in a bit of role play. You might have to act out being in a scenario where you might have to deliver bad news or a clinical decision.
