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A short summary of how I felt before I applied to med school and some vague tips

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Senior year, the final year of high school. It's and exciting time but a stressfull one too. Trust me when I say it was like yesterday when I think about it. Having to chase teachers up about predicted grades so that you can actually apply to medical school because anything below an A is an immediate rejection (slight exaggeration but there are others obviously). Preparing for the UKCAT by buying al the kaplan study guides and getting your predecessors to give you tips and tricks. Writing your personal statements to make sure you have everything medical schools want and adding a splash of personality to ensure that your application doesn't get swept up in the sea of other potential medical students applications. Yes, just writing this gives me major PTSD. Well, I am here many years after that particular event, to tell you that thinking back on it, we put way too much pressure on ourselves. I have always advised other potential medical students to be themselves because as daunting as interviews, applications and exams sound, they only way you can truly get into medical school is with your own unique personality. Of course to be a medical student you have to be smart - that's a given. But what differentiates you from others is what you did in highschool apart from studying. Get your work experience in, try out in your school's sports teams, pretty much just get out there and get all the experiences you can because trust me, when you get to the interview stage, you'll need to be able to talk the talk to get into medical school. So, if you are confident with your predicted grades, I would definitely recommend getting some good hands on work experiences at a care home, hospital, clinic etc. If you are like me and had to overcompensate for your grades by doing a little extra research into universities that accept students with predicted grades that are not 3 A's, stay tuned for more blogs on that or message me directly. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this blog and the upcoming blogs as well :)  

PS. this is my first ever blog and I felt like gossip girl writing this so I will sign off accordingly

xoxo

Gossip Girl

Written by: Samar Noushad Studying Medicine in United Kingdom on 16/08/2022