All sent off!

Sent off my application on Monday, the deadline day! (Yes, I'm still leaving everything to the last minute..)

I got 752.5 in my UKCAT so was incredibly pleased with that. I decided to apply to Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Leicester. But literally minutes before sending everything off, I switched Newcastle to Keele! I really loved Keele but was afraid my PS wasn't good enough and I'd have a guaranteed interview at Newcastle. I ended up switching because, for some reason, I just didn't like Newcastle and couldn't imagine myself there. Agh, hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the backside! D:

So yeah, the endless stressing is beginning again. I really didn't want to have to go through this a second time, but oh well. I am a firm believer in the saying that things always happen for a reason. I would not have been ready to start university this year as I lack so much confidence and have really low self-esteem, which is one of the main things I will be looking to improve on this year!

Just hope it's all worth it.

:D!

Biology - A*
Economics - A*
Chemistry - A
Business Studies - a

I couldn't have asked for better grades, so so happy right now! And it was completely unexpected as well.

Time to knuckle down and do some serious UKCAT revision now. As long as I can get a score like last years, I shall be satisfied.

I hope everyone waiting for results got the grades they needed! :)

Where have the months gone?!

It's been so long since I last blogged! :o

But yeah, I am really looking forward to my gap year, those four rejections are starting to seem like a blessing in disguise. But there's still one huge hurdle to jump over and that is RESULTS.

My exams went okay. Biology, I'm fairly confident of getting an A in. Economics, I'm not too sure about, the exams themselves weren't too bad but because I was self-teaching myself the whole A-Level in one year (and not very well at that, may I add) I'm not sure whether I did enough to get an A. And chemistry was AWFUL AND HORRIFIC. I don't think I got more than half of the questions right, if even that. :(

I just keep getting this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach and I can't get results day out of my head. If I don't get the grades then that's going to ruin everything. I will probably re-sit but I really don't want to.

Motivation is at an all-time low right now, and I should be studying for the UKCAT, but I don't see the point.

Do over.

'Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.'  -Henry Ford

I am the new owner of 4 rejections.

I shall be re-applying. :/

I'm actually kind of excited. A gap year will give me the chance to improve my confidence and make sure my application is amazing. I've emailed some consultants for some work experience and I'm going to do a lot more volunteering as well. Really need to start properly studying, gotta make sure I get the grades!

Congratulations to all those who got offers this cycle, and I hope anyone still waiting gets some good news very soon. :)

Get over it.

I've finally gotten over the whole 'first rejection' thing (yea, it took me a while).

Still no news from the other 3 unis.

I think what really let me down at my Manchester interview was my complete lack of confidence. I've always had very low confidence but have gotten a lot better in the last few years. But on the day of my interview, all my hard work just did a u-turn and I reverted back into the *extremely shy and unable to convey my thoughts into words* person that I was some years ago.

I'm worried that the same is gonna happen IF (big IF) I end up getting any more interviews. I'm secretly kind of hoping that I  maybe end up getting rejections (I know, I don't really understand it either..) A gap year will do me  a lot of good. I'll be able to do a lot more voluntary work than I did this time and I'm sure I'll be able to improve my confidence and whatnot. I'd also really love to work as a HCA.

Meh, I dunno, nothing's going to plan this year. I just think a gap year is gonna be the best thing for me. I've actually had thoughts about withdrawing from everywhere and just completely focusing on A Levels (why, oh why, did I decide to self-teach?!) Urgh, incredibly confused and unsure right now. >.<


And thanks for the comments on my last post guys, I've now realised that it wasn't the end of the world. :)

Rejected.

I'm absolutely gutted. I think I can safely say this is the worst day of my life. I'm so upset. :(

Correction.

Soo, in my last post I wrote that I thought my separate interview stations went quite well. After going over what I said, and doing lots of thinking, I have come to the conclusion that it didn't go well at all. Every time I think about some of the stupid stuff I said, I don't know whether to cry or laugh.

 And whenever someone asks me how it went, I just say it was good. Lately it's been feeling like people are out to see me fail. They tell me how difficult medicine is, how I'm not really cut out for such a career and how I might not even get 3 As at A-Level. Oh, and it has become quite common for people to greet me with the words, 'still not heard anything back?', with a pitying look. I try to ignore it and stay optimistic but it's getting difficult.

Some examples of my stupidity during the interview:

1-  I was talking about the difficulties of being a doctor and my mind went blank. The first thing I blurted out was 'it's not like Scrubs!' Ughh. Interviewer's response: *..ha.. (Only laughing because he so obviously pities me). Then I come out with, 'errr, they have to work long hours...' I had so many points in my head but nothing was coming out!

2- I was saying stuff about my hobbies and said playing badminton and debating helps me to relieve stress. Interviewer: 'what?! debating relieves stress? I'd think it would increase stress!' Me: 'um, it allows me to blow off steam?'  -___-

These are just the ones off the top of my head, there's quite a few more... Oh well, just trying not to think about it to much, and also hoping for some kind of miracle that doesn't involve me getting rejected!

Sorry for the depressing post, guys. Hope everyone had a good Christmas and that the new year brings good news for those waiting for a reply from universities! ^_^

The interview...

So, I had my interview at Manchester last week (15th December). I really don't know how it went. It was okay, my mother's reply when I told her that: 'okay? just okay? what does that even mean?' The thing is, I did well in some parts and not so well in others.

My interview was at 08:45am so I had to set off pretty early (at 7!) Even though we got into Manchester in about 20 minutes, we didn't get to the medical school until 08:15 - we got lost! So yeah, that really didn't help my already frayed nerves. And to top it all off I really wasn't feeling very well :(

The interview at Manchester is a little different to most interviews. You first have a group interview with other applicants (the part I was most dreading), where you discuss a scenario and try to come to a decision about what you think would be the best thing to do. Then you have 3 separate individual interview stations: one is about your PS and motivation for medicine, another is about how the group task went and the last one is an ethical scenario.

My group were all really nice, so that kind of calmed me down a little. But not enough. I only managed to get a couple of sentences out during the group task - my mind just went blank and most of the points I thought of had already been said. After that, we all went to the waiting room. At this point, all that was going through my head was REJECTION!

But, the 3 separate interview stations went quite well. The interviews were fairly relaxed and all the interviewers were really nice! It was more like we were just having a chat rather than them shooting questions at me (like I had imagined). The ethical question did stump me for a while but the interviewer pushed me quite a bit and I think I came up with some good points.

So yeah. That's it. I'm trying my best not to think too much about it but it's all I can think about! I just keep coming up with better answers that I could have given. I just really hope I did enough to get an offer, it's al I want!!

Also checked TSR this morning and people are starting to get offers from Manchester - I can't stop checking my emails! >.<

A visit to the doctors

Went to see my GP today and was told that I have chronic tension-type headache. A fancy way of saying 'you're stressing too much so your head hurts!' The doctor's advice: try not to stress! Much easier said than done. I told him that I've applied for medicine and I'm stressing about my interview and A-Levels. He just laughed and said the stress has only begun. -____-

The thing is though I really don't mind stress. I've been stressed for the last year and have kinda got used to it. I'm prepared to go through a whole heap o stress, it'll be more than worth it if I become a doctor. :)

Also had a blood test, the nurse jabbed the needle in so hard, my arm's still hurting! :/

Rain and aeroplanes.

My flight is booked for tommorow, can't wait! I really miss the rain (yes, I love rain). Have been checking the weather forecast and there's some snow warnings! Snow is great, well until it freezes over and I have to run to the shops. Then it's not so nice. >.<

I got an email from Liverpool yesterday, the subject was 'Liverpool Medical School' so I was super excited, turns out they just wanted to ask something about my grades! :(

I've been doing some prep from the ISC book - the hardest question by far is 'Why Medicine?' I know why I want to do medicine, the answer seems great in my head but when I come to actually telling someone why, it ends up sounding like a load of cliched crap. I really need to do well at my Manchester interview, since I'm getting the feeling that this is gonna be my only interview, but as long as I manage to get an offer I really won't mind. When I'm really nervous, my mind tends to go completely blank and my voice goes all weird. And I know I'm gonna be EXTREMELY nervous at my interview. Oh well, just have to do loads of prep and hope for the best.

Hm, I think that's all for now. My room's a tip and I've yet to start packing (why do I always leave everything to the last minute?), so I'll go do that now. I'll probably blog after my interview now, wish me luck! ^_^

Some background information.

I thought I'd write a little bit about myself first so that the rest of my posts make (a little) sense.
I'm 18 years old, from the North West of England. About two years ago my parents, out of the blue, decided the family were all moving abroad. I was extremely hesitant to go, what with A-Levels and all, and even though my parents said I could study wherever we went, I wasn't very optimistic. But yeah, I did my first year of A-Levels in a college that I didn't really like, I had to overcome a lot of barriers but I eventually got through the year. I only did 2 AS Levels; biology and chemistry. I came out with 2 As though, much to the surprise of my friends, teachers and parents!
For my second year, I decided to study at home as I was still having a fair amount of problems with college (communication being the main one). I'm trying not to be too pessimistic about this year, my main worry is whether I'll be able to get 3 As. I have around 8 months in which to teach myself: A2 biology, A2 chemistry, AS economics, A2 economics and AS business studies. I need to work really hard this year, which is going to be a problem with my huge tendency to procrastinate!

NOW THE MEDICINE PART:

I applied to Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool and Leeds and managed to get a UKCAT of 707.5 (was pleasantly surprised about this!) I sent off my app on the 14th of October and received an interview for Manchester last week for the 15th December. I'M SO EXCITED/NERVOUS ABOUT IT! I will be flying back home on the 9th. I really need to get serious about interview prep, have ordered the ISC book and it should be here on Saturday (I hope!)

This is all probably really boring, but I love the idea of a blog where I can just write about anything and everything that's on my mind. I'll be posting up some of my answers to questions for interview prep, would be grateful for any constructive criticism!

The first post!

After reading quite a few blogs by medicine applicants, I have finally decided to start one myself. It will mostly just be my ranting on pretty much anything and everything (but mostly on applying for medicine!) I'd also love to be able to help any aspiring medics, so will be giving advice on things like the UKCAT and reviewing some of the books that I've used. I will be updating soon with general information about my application process. ^_^