This student applied in the 2018/19 application cycle and therefore the selection process at Nottingham 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 British Cypriot woman who went to an international fee-paying school.
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?
Quite early on!
How did you choose what medical schools to apply to?
I didn’t apply for a 5th choice (non-medical); chose my other 4 based on entry requirements and UKCAT rankings and how applicants were weighted
Completing work experience
What types of work experience did you do?
Hospital shadowing, GP surgery, Care work (e.g. in residential care), Customer service role (voluntary)
How much work experience did you do?
1 week GP, 1 week hospice, 1 week hospital, 1 week cancer research centre, 7 years volunteering
How did you find your work experience opportunities?
Through asking someone I knew to take me on
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?
Had a paid course 2 months before the exam! Used the UCAT book for basics and also signed up to an online question bank
*Note that paid-for courses aren’t necessary; they don’t give you any advantage when you apply, and they’re not proven to be more effective means of preparation!
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?
Used any online resources I could find, used an MMI book for practice questions, practised with school and family.
What was your interview like?
We had one practical skill based station, 2 stations interacting with patients and other 4 stations talking about ourselves or talking through scenarios
Do you have any further advice?
The most important thing is applying tactically maximising your chance at an interview. This means taking the UCAT in August so you have time to evaluate your application as a whole and pick the unis which you think would probably give you an interview and from there rank them in preference. The priority should be to get into medicine not to get into a specific uni. I also think your grades are the be all and end all so do not neglect them at all (*this is one student’s opinion; there may be other circumstances affecting your grades, but do try to do well!)
If for whatever reason you don’t get an offer or meet a received offer, take a year out and apply again if you’re able to instead of doing something else and hoping to get in via graduate entry; there are less places overall for GEM across the country because less universities offer it (although it is not necessarily more competitive).
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 and resources: 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.
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.
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.
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.
