This student applied in the 2021/22 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 man who went to a comprehensive school that doesn’t regularly send students to study medicine.
Our Summary
Course: Standard undergraduate entry
Online MMI interview
Admissions Tests: UCAT
Recommended resources:
ISC UCAT Book
Practice tests
Before I made my application…
Choosing to study medicine
When did you decide to apply to medicine?
A mix of previous science degree and subsequent work in a Greek refugee camp where medical assistance was really in need
How did you choose which universities to apply to?
1) Undergraduate options
2) North of the M4
3) PBL hybrid and patient contact before year 4
4) Countryside campus based uni
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, GP surgery
How much work experience did you do?
2 months as porter in hospital, 1 week in GP surgery
How did you find your work experience opportunities?
Through asking someone I knew to take me on, Applied for job
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?
Spent two weeks doing lots of practice tests.
What resources did you use?
ISC UCAT book – good practice questions
Website I can’t remember – loads of practice tests, very helpful!
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 ISC medical interviews book, brushed up on my knowledge of current medical topics (COVID obviously a big one at the time), wrote out NHS values and Keele Uni values and identified experiences in my life that aligned with them, asked some doctor friends to do a mock interview with me
What happened during your interview?
There was a question about a non-medical topic (one that noone would have prepared for). I think they were assessing how well we gave a balanced argument, maybe eventually falling on one side but having discussed both sides already. I also did some role play with an actor trying to identify what problem they were having – assessing empathy, knowledge of safeguarding (ish) and quick thinking. There were some other questions about leadership and project ownership so I applied any relevant life experiences here.
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.
NHS Values: The NHS Values guide healthcare education and careers. It’s important to know and understand these values to help you be as successful as possible in your application. They can help you answer questions in your interview, or guide what you write about in your personal statement. Find out more here: NHS Values
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.
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.
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.
