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Mature Medicine Applicants 2014
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Hi guys,
It was my first time applying and found reading about other peoples experiences on boards.ie and their application process really helpful so I thought I may as well post about my experience in the possibility of it being helpful to someone for next year!
I know I’ve read posts from people asking what the schools are looking for/ what’s their selection criteria and in my opinion I really feel that RCSI looks at each candidate on their own merit. Obviously I’ve no idea how they select people but from meeting other RCSI mature students (and also talking to people on the day of the interview) I really got a sense that RCSI offered them a place via the mature entry pathway because they saw that they would be good doctors and that they would be a good fit to the college. So the first thing I advise is play to your strengths, especially for your supporting documents.
So I’ve a very non-medical arts degree but to be honest, whatever your degree/background you need to show what you gained from it and how it’ll be of help to you studying medicine and being a doctor. In my case I talked about skills I developed such as problem-solving abilities and critical thinking etc. For some people, it may be a while since you were in school/college etc., whatever the case I do think its important that you show that you are somewhat academically capable, cause at the end of the day medicine is a long course with a lot information needed to be learnt and understood. For those whose results in the past may not be reflective of your capabilities, you could maybe look into doing a course or something that would be beneficial to your application and possibly also show your commitment to studying medicine and being a doctor…. but to be honest I don’t know, you just have to try think of it from the schools admission perspective, show that you are capable of getting through all the work and exams
My personal statement was 3 pages, I think, but I also know of mature students who had a personal statement of 1 and half pages and got called for an interview and offered places. So I think length is irrelevant, and sorry to sound cliché but it’s about what’s in it that counts!
For those applying next year, they call for supporting documents to be submitted sometime in April. However I wrote a draft personal statement and C.V. way way before that, and looking back I’m glad that I did cause there isn’t a lot of time between being asked to submit documents and the deadline to get them into the school. So then during those few days of trying to manage other commitments such as work/study and organising references, I could just put the finishing touches to my personal statement and tidy up my C.V. I also got friends and members of my family to give it a read through, which I think is important, not just to check for spelling mistakes but really to see “how do I come across”... Your personal statement is to give them a sense of what you are like and who you are … however I do think that whatever you write about it’s important to make it relevant to your application and to why you would be an amazing doctor!! my suggestions would be you could maybe draw on experiences of where you showed/learnt good communication skills, time management, responsibility, interpersonal skills, teamwork and also possibly where you worked independently etc etc. basically all the usually stuff but the important thing is to make it relevant and to back it up with your own experiences.
I’ve read a bit on this page that people are finding it hard to get clinical experience. Personally, I had very little clinical experience, and if I’m honest, reading this forum would make me a bit nervous cause I’d read loads of you’d be from a clinical background or have loads of clinical work experience. So if any body is like me and has very little clinical experience/hasn’t worked in the medical area don’t let it deter you! Apply but really focus on your strong points and give solid examples on where you built up your interpersonal and transferable skills. My experiences weren’t necessarily clinical or related to the medical field, but I did have volunteering experiences of working with people/charities and also working abroad etc. But as I said before draw on your own strengths and experiences! Your personal statement is about you and your achievements.
One thing I would say about clinical experience and why it might be important to your application would be in demonstrating why you are interested in studying medicine etc rather than showing why you’d be a good doctor. I can imagine that if you are changing your career, that having some insight into the health service and the work of a doctor would demonstrate your interest in medicine and why you are committed to working as doctor.
I gave in 4 references: two academics, one of which was my supervisor on my final year project, one from my supervisor at my previous job and another from a family friend who is a doctor. Looking back at it now, all my references were kinda complimentary to my personal statement, in the skills and achievements they mentioned, if that makes sense.
Another suggestion that I would make to those applying next year would be to find out more about the colleges, even just for yourself to find out which one would you would like to go to. I know realistically most of us just want to get in and would be happy to accept a place anywhere, however I do think it is important to know the schools, and if you can attend the open days to learn more about the course, its teachings and structure etc do. I had actually been to an RCSI open day first when I was 16 and loved it, and had a gut feeling since then that the school would be a good fit for me and that I would be really happy there if I got the opportunity to study medicine. Through the years I’ve gotten to know other students at RCSI and learnt about their time studying there and also about the school itself and so RCSI was always one of my top preferences. It just meant then that in the interview it was easy to answer the question when the panel asked “why do you want to study at RCSI”, because I could give a genuine answer.
With regards to the interview itself, Fiddles44 gave an amazing post about it and the kind of questions they ask, I found it really helpful! Thanks again! An important thing to remember about the interview is that they have all your documents, they know what you’ve accomplished etc. so look over your own copies to remind yourself of what you wrote in your personal statement. When I had my interview I really got a sense that they were trying to get to know my personality. So the advice that I would give for the interview would be to try be as calm, positive, confident and relaxed as possible.
Ok this post is turning out to be very long, and reading over it, I’ve realised that I haven’t given much specifics about my own application, but to be honest, and I know its gonna sound cringy but the application should show how ‘you’ would be a great doctor! So If you are thinking of applying next year, I ‘d say give it your all, do whatever you need to do over the next year to give it your best shot!
Best of luck to everyone applying next year and I hope my post can be of some help.0 -
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Howdy all!
Long time reader, first time poster here.
First and foremost congratulations to everyone who has been accepted into Medicine. And a very heartfelt commiserations to all those who have yet to be accepted . I empathise with you and I've been in your shoes for the last six years. Keep the faith and don't give up!! If you really want to get it, you should come back guns ablazin' year on year until you're in.
I'm writing this post as I've got spare time as I've just got discharged from the hospital following some major surgery (ouch!!!) I got accepted into the RCSI 5 year programme two weeks ago. I'm going to share a little bit about my mature entry to medicine journey so that it helps some people's application process in the future.
I'm a nursing home pharmacist with a 1.1 in my degree and masters of pharmacy. I missed out on medicine by 10 points when I sat the Leaving Cert in 2008. I didn't bother resitting the LC because I knew HPAT was being introduced for 2009. The first 3 years I sat the HPAT I was off by 5 points for NUIG or RCSI each time. Then I focused more on my degree and masters and my HPAT score dropped the 4th and 5th time.
As you all know things were unusual this year in that RCSI asked for submission of documents before getting wind of our HPAT results. I wasn't really expecting it this year as I'd sat the GAMSAT for the first time in march and was putting most of my focus on that. So when I got the email from RCSI one night after work it was straight to work! If you want to really have a good crack at getting in all your efforts have to go into accruing all the required paperwork. I got straight into writing my personal statement that night with the help of my sister who is a doctor and my boyfriend who is going into final med next year. Here's my first tip if there's any doctors or future doctors in your family or close circle of friends use them to your full advantage. They have all the buzz words that makes your PS stand out. My PS was three A4 pages long with size 12 new roman. You **HAVE** to tell them how badly you want to be a doctor and the steps you've taken to show that its the career for you. I shadowed a doctor for 3 weeks and a surgical team for 1 week. I know it's very hard to get shadowing experience but think of all the smaller peripheral hospitals or even long term care facilities that might oblige you. Shadowing doesn't have to be with the big university teaching hospitals. I stated my skill set and finally the reason why I wanted to be in that specific college (different for UCD, TCD, RCSI etc). Don't be overly hammy that you want to save the world or that future pay checks are enticing!! Typos are unforgivable. Get as many sets of eyes to have a flick over it as you can. I found this really difficult and cringeworthy to have everyone dissect my future ambitions to become a doctor. Remember there are 200+ applicants who want the same space as you so really hammer it home and add a personal touch. With regards to your references med school admissions officers absolutely love big titles. I only gave two. Upon reflection I wish I gave four because I know people would have given me good ones but I didn't want to bother them!! My academic and work references were both heads of departments and that really swung in my favour.
Always thank your references after they oblige you!!!
If you get the email to say you made it through to the interviews the first thing to do is give yourself a huge pat on the back you have about 10 days to prep so you have to hit the ground running. I'm just going to focus on the RCSI interview as I think TCD and NUIG were covered amazingly by Fiddles a few pages back. The email basically preps you for the interview. Three rooms, 2 interviewers in each, each lasting about 10-15 mins. The first two were made up of a physician and a lecturer in physiology/pharmacology. In the first room it's the question that you're expecting such as "Why do you want to study medicine?", "Why RCSI?" "What do you know about the course structure and modules?" "How do you feel coming back and being the "mature" student in the class". The only question that really threw me was about my hobbies because I was so tunnel visioned on medicine. As my account name suggests I'm very into tailoring and fashion design which they loved because it was quite left field.
The second room was comprised of a professor of physics and a professor of psychology. I knew she was a psychologist so I was REEEEEEALLY conscious of my body language and my non verbal cues. I saw lots of people outside the interview rooms with a dialogue of exactly what they were going to say ad verbatim but what about how you sit and move your hands?! They watch
everything and remember its called an interVIEW.
The second room are grill you on your clinical experience and your work (and your publications in journals if you have any!!). They also ask what area you'd like to see yourself going into and what exactly does it take to get there. The RCPI website is great for this information. Don't feel the need to crack jokes or be awkwardly funny...you're not Jennifer Lawrence on a talk show! It's not that type of ambience anyway, just keep smiling and be polite. Also when my time was up in this room they asked me if I wanted to say anything before I left - I said I wanted it more than any of the other applicants, I won't stop trying until I get it and I'll hit the ground running and I'd genuinely strive to be the best medical student and doctor I can.
They say themselves that the last room with the EU admissions officer is more of a chat than an interview but I was still in 100% interview mode. It's all about how you'll finance your way through the programme in a very matter of fact way. They have your CAO choice list on a laptop open in front of them so they can see where you've ranked what institution and in what order. DO NOT LIE. They can see. They asked if you interviewed anywhere else. And why not graduate entry if you are eligible (I was). So have a good reason to back you up on wanting the 5 year over the four year.
Other than that dress smart - suit for boys and nice dress for girls. If you're nervous Carmen is a great help by just chatting to you. I've heard some people go in on Beta Blockers for their nerves - I think it's a bad idea, you might faint and you'll have rebound tachycardia later that night.
Well that's all I can think of at the moment. Keep the faith if you didn't get it this year. Remember any work with charities or shadowing isn't a waste of time. The more HPATs and interviews you do make you stronger and better applicant each time. I hope to see you all on the wards in the not too distant future doctors-to-be!!
Bon courage 0 -
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adamdunne01 wrote: »Hi all,
I am writing in about Mature entry to Medicine. I am applying for the first time in 2015 as a Mature student. What I am wondering is what kind of experience have previous applicants and what types of degrees? I do not have a degree but plenty of relevant healthcare experience and ambulance work, as well as repeating biology and chemistry this year. Also what type of HPAT Scores have mature students had going in?
Thanks,
Adam
Hey Adam,
There is a lot of info on this thread so my advice would be to go back to the start and have a good read. I know it might take a bit of time but it'll be worth it. All your questions have been asked before so you'll definitely find the answers in here somewhere.
You'll also get a really good insight into people's experience that have applied before you. Keep an eye on this thread throughout the year. I thought it was a great resource when I was applying and any easy way to talk to others that are also applying.
The Hpat scores vary from year to year from 150-180 and above. What I would say its never too early to start studying for this exam.
Best of luck with apply and if you need any advice don't hassle to ask 0 -
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