Mature Medicine Applicants Thread 2013

FairytaleGirl

Hi Guys and Gals,

Thought Id start a thread (in the hope that it doesnt die off:rolleyes:) for anyone applying this year.

Its my second time applying - Spent the year studying an Extended Diploma in Health Science.
Will start HPAT revision shortly, wanna improve miles from last year.

Just registered with CAO and now thinking on choices again. Im still a little confused as to where I'm actually eligible for, sent a few emails the last few weeks but have not had a lot of feedback

Hope to hear from others in the same boat!

Dee

spacecat

Hi Fairytalegirl,

Sooo, its time to start the rollercoaster ride again this year,lol. I guess I'm in the same boat as you, second time applying.

I'm going to reg with the CAO this weekend and like you start with the HPAT

Chin up al the way!!!!

RAnnaC

I'm applying this year as well. Just finished a Medicinal Chemistry degree, tried to apply through the gamsat last year with a score that would have got me into Limerick but missed my II.1 by a fraction so have to go the mature entry route...
As second-timers, where do you think it went wrong for you last year?

studentforever

Hi all,
The time has come to start prep work for repeating Bio and Chem and the dreaded HPAT... first time for the HPAT for me so I haven't a clue where to begin! Any tips are welcome!
Has anyone started writing their personal statements yet? I was working on a first draft the other day and it just sounds so soppy, I'd be mortified if anyone saw it!
Also, did anyone apply to the Trinity shadowing day on the ? I'm pretty sure I was too late submitting my application but sure you never know :rolleyes:

RAnnaC

I only saw about the shadowing day on Sunday so was too late to apply, I emailed the girl in charge but haven't heard anything back so I'm guessing it's full. There's an open evening in RCSI next week though, (20th November), I applied online for it a few weeks back.

studentforever

Thanks for the info! Don't know how I missed that?! I submitted my form to another TAP staff member but I'm not too optimistic! Both would be a benefit if we got interviews so all open days, shadowing etc. are welcome ;-)
What kind of experience does everyone have? I've very little direct medical experience so I'm pretty sure that will go against me :-(

RAnnaC

I sent in my shadowing application and got a place in that! Has anyone actually applied to the CAO yet? I did my application the other day, just the choices etc., but it has just dawned on me that the personal statement, CV, etc. has to be sent to them too, but when does that have to be in I wonder? I'm nowhere near starting that yet.
In terms of experience, I haven't got a whole lot. I volunteer once a week in a centre for people with intelectual disabilities but am hoping to get more volunteering as the year goes on. Log onto volunteer.ie and they'll set you up with something in your area.

studentforever

I'll be seeing you at the shadowing day, got the confirmation email and itinerary an hour ago. It looks pretty full on! Should be interesting enough. I've been begging hospital departments and gp's for some shadowing but no joy :-( I've an internship starting in January with a semi-health related organisation (ties in to my undergrad so two birds and all that jazz) so hopefully I can solicit some practical experience with some of the affilated doctors...
I haven't applied to CAO or Hpat yet. Putting it off like the plague! And those statements. ..sweet Jesus! Utterly dire so far. I'm convinced it's impossible to make yourself sound as competitive a candidate as possible without coming across as a conceited knobend

paperclip2

RAnnaC wrote: »

I sent in my shadowing application and got a place in that! Has anyone actually applied to the CAO yet? I did my application the other day, just the choices etc., but it has just dawned on me that the personal statement, CV, etc. has to be sent to them too, but when does that have to be in I wonder? I'm nowhere near starting that yet.
In terms of experience, I haven't got a whole lot. I volunteer once a week in a centre for people with intelectual disabilities but am hoping to get more volunteering as the year goes on. Log onto volunteer.ie and they'll set you up with something in your area.

The CAO handbook says that all accompanying docs including the statement have to be in a week after you apply online. They may give some leeway but not sure how much.

RAnnaC

yeah, emailed the CAO to ask about that today, if that is the case I really should have held off a couple of months to apply but I was anxious to apply for the HPAT... We'll see how this one pans out

paperclip2

They're pretty ok to deal with. I know last year the told one poster to get their statement in before the Feb deadline.

studentforever

Hey all, I was out in UCD yesterday for a graduate fair and got talking to the lovely people on the GEM booth. The woman was talking to me about mature entry and I asked what work experience would make an applicant competitive, but she said a lot of work experience can work against an applicant. She also said competition for places is ridiculous (which we all know ) and even with the limited places available, in past years not all places have been filled because of 'undesirable' candidates!!! So that was a little disheartening...
BTW today is the undergrad fair out there so if anyone wants to pop out and talk to the undergrad people in the med school, they'll be there in force

Abby19

One thing as a mature student is that you still need to meet the minimum subject requirements for medicine. Some require one science, some require two. If you don't have these they won't look at your application. However unlike direct school leavers your don't need to get this at the same time as the rest of your leaving cert (or equivalent).
Check with the various colleges what you actually need, and you would still have time to pick up a science subject in the leaving cert if you started now.

And you can then use this in your personal statement along the lines of, 'I am committed to study medicine and to that end I am sitting X, Y, or Z in the summer to complete my matriculation requirements' and it also shows you are serious and have done your homework.

eg. for Trinity http://www.tcd.ie/maturestudents/News/#linkc
Applicants must present a Grade B and a Grade C in two of Biology and Chemistry or Physics at higher Leaving Certificate level or equivalent.

It does not matter if you have since got a science degree, or a PhD, or whatever - you need these at LC level.

PingO_O

Hey guys! I'm another mature med hopeful, recognise some of you from other threads so glad to see you haven't given up on the dream!

If anyone reading this has actually gone back to do med as a mature student would you mind sharing your experiences here? Not just the course material but supporting yourself through college, workload compared to your first degree if you have one, social life ( ) and is it as good as you thought it would be now you've decided to go for it?

studentforever

Is everyone going back to repeat something in the LC? I haven't even started studying but have a fairly solid science base and all the studying for the GAMSAT will be put to use Does anyone have any recommendations for Hpat materials? No idea where to start.

Also is anyone applying to Trinity? I can't find the supplemental application anywhere on the site, although having said that I think they're updating their online application system so that could be it.

New mantra for the next 6 months 'everything will work out in the end'. (I hope.... )

Abby19

studentforever wrote: »

Also is anyone applying to Trinity? I can't find the supplemental application anywhere on the site, although having said that I think they're updating their online application system so that could be it.

This year it will be online and you need to have a CAO number to access it. There is info here (and copies of most of online form).
http://www.tcd.ie/maturestudents/content/pdf/00447_TCD_MatureGuide_2013.pdf

fiinch

had a quick flick through the tcd applications, max word counts of 400 and 500 for each section!? glad i applied last year, i think i had over 1000 for those sections, and that was after i cut it down by a considerable amount. 4/500 words for each of those sections isn't much

RAnnaC

Anyone at the RCSI evening last night? It was particularly aimed at mature students and was really informative. The only thing getting me worried are the fees which are 6 grand more in RCSI for mature students for some reason... Still banking on getting in with my LC points.
The one thing they did say about the HPAT was to really focus on section 3 (non-verbal reasoning), especially if you're female.

studentforever

I had booked to go but a last minute crisis meant I couldn't. The fees for RCSI are truly shocking. Fair enough, the GEM fees are so expensive, but the matures being the same is crazy! I've been looking for non verbal reasoning books so if I come across anything good I'll post it. There's a couple of online resources that give you the test and results, but no explaination which kind of defeats the purpose.

Anyone going to the TCD shadowing day today? My boyfriend and sister think I'm going to get some experience for a masters application ... just hope there's no bad karma for lying

FairytaleGirl

RAnnaC wrote: »

Anyone at the RCSI evening last night? It was particularly aimed at mature students and was really informative. The only thing getting me worried are the fees which are 6 grand more in RCSI for mature students for some reason... Still banking on getting in with my LC points.
The one thing they did say about the HPAT was to really focus on section 3 (non-verbal reasoning), especially if you're female.

I really have my heart set on Rcsi, as a mature student! Any thing else worth mentioning from the night? What did they say about competition and entry in general? Did they give a reason behind the Section 3 tip?

PingO_O

RAnnaC wrote: »

Anyone at the RCSI evening last night? It was particularly aimed at mature students and was really informative. The only thing getting me worried are the fees which are 6 grand more in RCSI for mature students for some reason... Still banking on getting in with my LC points.
The one thing they did say about the HPAT was to really focus on section 3 (non-verbal reasoning), especially if you're female.

Yeah the fees are the most difficult thing for me in deciding whether or not to go for it. Even if I had them all before I started you've still got to think about working part time for living costs etc. I'd hate to look back and think I didn't go for it because of money though so I'm staying hopeful and saving. It's a shame the institution couldn't wave the fees until you were earning or something along those lines.

speeding

I started as a mature on the med programme in rcsi this year. Best decision I ever made :-). I love this place. Anyone who wants to ask me anything feel free to pm and good luck with all your applications !

FairytaleGirl

good to hear from you speeding!glad its going well! Any application tips?

How have you been coping with the course?

speeding

FairytaleGirl wrote: »

good to hear from you speeding!glad its going well! Any application tips?

How have you been coping with the course?

Main application tip I suppose would be to make sure you have experience and have researched into what's involved in a doctor's career. References obviously are important so make you sure you get all these prepared now so you're not rushing around last minute in January.

Course is obviously a lot of work but I actually find the study easy cause the material is so interesting !! Rcsi really want you to keep on top of the study throughout the whole semester. They do this by having 2 midterm mcqs based on everything covered to date. We did the first one at the end of last month. I was pleased with my result :-). Next one is this Monday so hoping I can pull off a similar result for that. They're only worth 2.5 percent each but they're just there to give you an idea whether your study methods are working and what you need to improve on for exams on January. They also have three card signings per semester. Again these aren't worth very much but serve as a guide to how well you're learning anatomy. Card signing takes place on a Friday. An anatomy teacher for your group will then ask you a few questions concerning your cadaver in the dissection room to test your knowledge. Depending on how well you answer you'll be a given a grade of a, b or c.

Fiddles44

Hey All,

I'm also applying for mature entry. Seems like there is so much to do and so little time. HPAT is an absolute nightmare!

What kind of experience has everyone gotten so far? My local hospital and GPs are just not willing to take anyone looking for medical experience. Has anyone else had this problem?

FairytaleGirl

Try care homes, that's also seen as relevant experience of much easier to into-and home for getting you used to the dirty work that can come with medicine!

Fiddles44

Haven't been on this thread in a while but since time is getting closer and closer to the deadline I was thinking about starting to write up my personal statement.

Has anyone else started writing yet? How have you found it?

Do any of you that applied last year and got in have any advice with regards to writing the application?

julie2tubz

Does anyone know when abouts UCD hold interviews for mature medicine candidates?

NinjaK

when do mature students apply for courses?

Fiddles44

It says in the UCD booklet that offers as usually given out around July so I suppose interviews would be around May/June time but I'm not 100% on that, could be earlier

Sunnygrl

Hi, do you have any advice on writing a personal statement? And do you have to have a reference from a doc?