This student applied in the 2020/21 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!
Our Summary
Course: Standard undergraduate entry
Online MMI interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Before I made my application…
Choosing to apply
When did you decide you wanted to apply to medicine?
Year 10 -12
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
I used the university websites and alot of google searches and made a visit when I could. (Covid)
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, Online work experience
How much work experience did you do?
I did a 4 day work experience at a hospital. And a online GP activity.
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?
I started by watching videos to get myself familiarised. I also watched some videos that were working through examples of each questions before I started any practise questions. I then got a practise question work book and the online website with a lot of UCAT practise questions and mocks so I could switch learning methods so I wouldn’t get bored.
I spent the whole summer making sure I had done all the practise questions for each sections and would make a document for corrections on questions that I would want to look at again. I spent the last 2 weeks before my exam doing the mocks which I was trying to “save” for the end. Looking back I wish I did do them earlier. I also made sure to have done all the questions from the UCAT website.
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 read all of the information and recommendations that my medical school had send me. I watched YouTube videos to get an idea of what it would be like. I did practise interviews with friends and gave feed back to each other. I also did some extra reading around topics I found interesting on my syllabus or from work experience. Additionally I tried to keep up with current medical news and when I found a topic interesting I would look more into it.
What happened during your interview?
It was my first interview so I felt very nervous and thought I did terrible but the feed back was actually good. I discussed my reasons and process of making the decision of wanting to study medicine. I also discussed a few hobbies and extracurricular activities where I felt I gained or developed certain skills. I described specific situations where I felt I improved on certain skills and tried to like it why I think it is a important skill for the medical profession. I also talked about my work experience and how much I enjoyed it and reflected on what I felt I learned from it.
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.
Observe GP: This is a free interactive video platform providing insights into the role of a GP and the wider primary care team. https://www.rcgp.org.uk/your-career/work-experience/observe-gp
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.
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.
Mock interview: Don’t worry if you didn’t have this opportunity. Interviews are designed to take into account that not everyone has the same level of preparation. See our guides and blogs on interviews to find out more about free online resources
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.
