This student applied in the 2019/20 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 grammar or selective state school in the UK.
Our Summary
Course: Standard undergraduate entry
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?
When I was very young (primary school)
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
A combination of where the schools were on the ranking tables, student feedback, certain aspects of the course eg cadaveric dissection, location and the rest of the university eg location, social life
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Customer service role (paid), Volunteered in a residential home and on a ward in my local hospital
How much work experience did you do?
I had a part time job in hospitality anyway, and on top of that volunteered once a week in a residential home for about a year and then once a week in the hospital for 6 months, but did them for this length of time because I enjoyed it and not because I had to.
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?
I was given a second hand book full of UCAT questions that I started going through bit by bit a few months before the test, then started doing online practice questions closer to the time and then a few practice tests very close to the time.
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 used The Medic Portal website to look at common interview topics, I read up on information from Keele and looked at The Student Room.
What happened during your interview?
We had a variety of stations, some we were showing our communication skills by talking to actors, others we had discussions with tutors about medical and non-medical topics to see how you think and problem solve, and some discussed the information they had about you such as your personal statement. Also be prepared to talk about yourself, your experiences and qualities.
Glossary
Dissection: Some universities use (cadaveric) dissection as a teaching method. This is when you personally get to dissect and be involved in the removal and looking at certain aspects of the body. Some students like the idea of this, while others don’t. This might inform where you choose to apply to medical school, so check out the universities you’re considering to see whether this is part of their teaching style.
Books: Books can be expensive! 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.
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.
