Where to firm???

I know that it's probably got to the point now where most people will have received their offers for medical school. For those of you lucky enough to receive more than one offer, I thought I'd offer you some tips for deciding which to firm. Choosing between Nottingham and Newcastle was actually one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, because I absolutely loved both universities.

1. Where are they ranked? I know that you shouldn't always base you choice of university on their rankings, but sometimes it's important to look at, because different ranks of university attract different types of students. If you don't want students that do a lot of work and don't want to socialise too much, then it's obviously better not to go for the top ranked Oxbridge, because in general most students will have a LOT of work to do.
2. How is the course structured? Universities vary a lot in the structure of their courses. Even if you're deciding between two PBL, or two integrated universities there will probably be differences in the way that they are structured. For example, between Nottingham and Newcastle: in Newcastle you are in a hospital in third and fifth years for all of your time, and fourth year is spent doing your elective and lots of student selected modules. However, at Nottingham you have to do a compulsory BMedSci dissertation, and then you go into hospitals constantly from halfway through third year. These are things to consider, because you may not want to do a BMedSci! (like me).
3. Can you intercalate? This wasn't important for me, but my friend really wants to intercalate, and therefore Nottingham wasn't a good choice for her because she couldn't actually do a full integrate year, so you make want to look into this.
4. How far from home? Nothing to do with medicine, but I have found being so far from home can be annoying as trains are expensive and my parents are unwilling to drive the 7 hours to come and pick me up from uni.
5. City/city campus/campus? You may love being in a little tiny bubble of a campus (Nottingham), or you may really want to be in the middle of the buzz of a city. Or, you may want the best of both worlds with a bubble campus right in the middle of the city (Newcastle!!!).
6. Nightlife? Obviously shouldn't be the sole reason for choosing a uni, but still an important factor in deciding where to go!
7. People? Personally, I'm from London, and I didn't want to go to a uni where there were only mainly southerners, and where hundreds of people from my school went. However, you may enjoy the comfort of having friends at your university, so this is a factor to consider. I can't stress enough though how important it is to choose for yourself and not let anybody influence your decision by their choice of university.
8. Costs? The North is renowned for being cheap: cheap housing, alcohol, food. However, London is less student-y and therefore there are fewer student deals etc. This is definitely something to think about.
9. After uni? A lot of doctors stay at least for their foundation years, and live where they studied at medical school. You may want to consider whether you would be willing to live in the place where you are thinking of studying in the long run.
10. Societies/facilities? If you're really into a particular sport, you may want to check that the uni does that sport and has facilities for it. You might want a swimming pool etc. In terms of societies, just take a look and see if there are a wide range for you to join - you can't only study for 5/6 years!

Obviously there are sooo many other factors in choosing a uni, but these are just some of the things that I considered when deciding where to go! Sometimes it really does seem impossible but whichever decision you make will be the right one. I still wonder what would have happened if I chose Nottingham, but I can't change my decision and I've made some amazing friends so I definitely wouldn't go back and change it. Firming is so stressful and you always are going to hesitate over the confirm button, so don't worry!!!

Good luck in choosing and good luck in your exams!

Nicole xxx

Update!

Hey guys,

So I've survived my first term of medical school, and I can definitely say that I've loved every minute of it! I passed my first exam and assignment, met so many new people, survived freshers week, signed for my house next year! Literally so much has happened in the past 12 weeks, but although I've loved all of it, I am SO ready to go home. I miss my dog, and my family, and being able to eat food without worrying about how much it costs. I can't wait to have dinner cooked for me and to sleep in my own bed!

Honestly though, medical school has been so much fun. Although sometimes it is hard when you literally cannot understand the relevance of a lecture and all you want to do is sleep, it's sooo nice to be studying something that I really love! I don't enjoy revision, but it's definitely a lot more interesting than revising the process of photosynthesis for A level!

I really like our dissection sessions. We use prosection at Newcastle but I really like that because I feel like it's a lot better if it's actually been dissected properly. I've learnt how to take blood and do a respiratory exam as well which was so exciting, I felt like such a proper doctor! (Even though I'm definitely far from it!). We've also had a GP and hospital visit, and both of those were so much fun - it was so nice to feel like you vaguely belonged in the hospital.

I think they've been quite nice to us this term, but looking at next term our timetable seems a lot more intense (LOADS of 9ams ahhh!), but I'm excited as well!

I really hope the application process is going well for you if you're applying! Good luck!

Nicole xxx

Surviving the application process

I wanted to make a post just about my tips for the year that all of you have ahead. It's just over a month until the deadline for medical school applications, and so I just want to give you some advice on what to expect and how to deal with it.

1. Once you submit your UCAS form, do not expect a track update within 30 seconds. I know I'm going to tell you this and you'll all do it anyway, but you're not going to get an offer the next day! On your phone, switch your email updates to manual, so that you only get notifications for emails if you're on the actual email app. It means you're not going to constantly check your email because you won't be getting the notifications.

2. Ignore other peoples offers. I know how hard it is when your friends who haven't applied for medicine are getting offers every other day, and you're having to sit there with no decisions on your UCAS track except maybe your back-up offer. (Which you should celebrate! You still have an offer!). But be happy for your friends! You'd want them to be happy for you, so be happy for them.

3. Talk to your fellow medical applicant friends. When waiting for offers/interviews, it is soooo nice to be able to rant to someone and for them to understand. Medicine applicants don't get bored of talking about their medicine applications, so instead of boring your friends who haven't applied to medicine, speak to people who understand what you're going through! This also comes in really useful leading up to results day. Rant to your medicine friends about how you're terrified you won't get the grades and won't get in and will have to wait at least three years to study medicine. Trust me, it will help A LOT.

4. Keep looking at the websites of the medical schools you've applied to, or the medical school you've firmed. When it comes to revision, this keeps you so motivated, because it reminds you of what you're working for! I found if I just looked on the websites it made me so excited about studying medicine that I wanted to work so hard so that I could definitely get in.

5. Work for your interviews. I cannot stress this enough. Work so hard for your interviews. Your interview is down to YOU and noone else. It's no longer up to the medical school to decide whether your grades/UKCAT are good enough for you to get an interview. At the majority of medical schools, after the interview no other factors are considered, so make sure that you don't cause all that time you spent on your personal statement to be wasted by not trying for your interview.

6. Take rejections in your stride. It's okay to cry over a rejection for a few hours, but don't let it ruin everything! If it's not your final rejection, then you still have a chance. It's not over until all of your decisions on UCAS have been made.

7. WORK! Don't assume if you get the offer you'll get the grades. Work so hard. If you get the grades then even if you get 4 rejections, you will get into medical school one day. Work for your interviews, work for your mocks, work for class tests, work for your exams! Work for everything. It's one year of your life, which will determine the rest of your life. Enjoy what you're learning and make sure that there is no way that you will not get those 3As or not impress your interviewers. Let yourself get a little (or a lot) competitive - it's good for you! Just don't go overboard.

8. Lastly, stay positive. I know how painstaking it is waiting for those track emails. I know that sometimes it's literally all you can think about, and it stops you from sleeping. I know it makes you upset when your friend gets an offer and you don't (trust me, the day my friend got an offer I watched Marley & Me and cried for about half an hour). Let yourself be a bit upset but then pick yourself up and don't let it affect your work or anything. You will know when you know - don't let it take over your life.

Massive, massive good luck for all of your applications. I really hope that all of you get in where you want to, and receive at least that one golden offer.

Bye!xxx

Results Day

I'm sorry for not posting for a while! Once exams were over I kind of just forgot everything and relaxed and didn't think about this blog!

Anyway, so results day.

The night before I was sooo nervous. Every 10 minutes I would get these horrible butteflies in my stomach as I remembered that it was results day the next day. I went to bed at about 11:30 and then spent about two and a half hours trying to get to sleep. I watched the Great British Bake Off but that didn't help, however eventually at about 2am I finally got to sleep!

I woke up at 6:30am and attempted to fall back asleep but the butterflies had already hit! So I began texting people about my nerves, and checking track to see if it was possible to log on. Eventually at about 7 I decided to get ready so I did my makeup and got dressed, then went downstairs to eat breakfast (which I didn't do due to nerves hahaa). At 7:30 I randomly decided to refresh track to see if it would magically open early, and to my horror I was faced with the log in page! After about three minutes of deliberating with myself over whether to log on I slowly typed in my details and waited for the page to load, and was faced with te message "Congratulations! Your place at Newcastle University to study Medicine has been confirmed."

I literally just jumped in the air and ran over to my dog and hugged him, and then sprinted upstairs to my parents room shouting "I got in!!!!!! That means I got an A in chemistry?!?! Yessss!!!!!"

I then actually managed to eat some breakfast. Me and my mum headed to school at about 8:20 and I got the butterflies again, wondering what results I'd got. I wrote down the details of my course and university and then got my yearbook. Then I walked down the hill to get my envelope. My hands were literally shaking as I opened it, and then I pulled out the piece of paper. A*A*A*.

What?!?! Literally I sprinted up the hill and jumped on my friend, and handed the envelope to my mum. An A* in Chemistry?! Literally wtf.

I still can't really believe it, I never ever in my whole life thought I would get those grades, but I am so so happy.

I'm going to Newcastle and I'm going to be a doctor!!!!!!

If any of you were getting your results last Thursday, I really really hope they were what you wanted!

Bye!xxx

Nearly there...

So whilst all of my friends are currently free and have started their summer, I'm sitting at home about to mark my S2 paper. Whyyyyyy.

I hate stats, so it's just really irritating when the one exam that I have three days straight to revise for is the one that I hate the most.

Anyway! I'm nearly there! Last week was absolutely horrible - I had 4 exams in 5 days and it was just so stressful. I had a breakdown on Thursday before Biology Unit 5 on Friday because I was just so stressed because I felt like I didn't know anything, and I was terrified that they would give us a horrible exam. The exam itself actually went okay, and I'm really pleased because I came out of the exam hall feeling happy!

So, last week I had C3 on Monday. When I was actually in the exam I literally sat there thinking "I've failed." but when I came out I actually realised I probably hadn't failed, because loads of people had got similar answers to me! I know I made some silly mistakes, which is really frustrating, but there's nothing that I can do now!

Then On Tuesday I had Chemistry unit 5, omggggg that exam is just so hard! The exam itself wasn't terrible, I mean it could have been a lot worse. But looking back, there are things that I knew and I just didn't write them down and it's so frustrating:( I'm definitely the most worried about my grade in chemistry out of all of my subjects because I really just don't know. I'm the worst for over-thinking exams and assuming I've failed though. I'm literally just praying for an A.

Then C4 on Wednesday was okay. The first five questions were great, and then I turned over to question 6 and was like oh. The last 3 questions took me longer to do than the first 3 questions, and I still didn't manage to finish. I know that I also dropped some marks in that exam for irritating mistakes as well. That seems to be a big thing for me this year: silly mistakes.

And then, as I said, unit 5 biology definitely went better than expected! I liked the questions on the article, except for one which was a genetic diagram question that I just couldn't get my head around. I'm sooo pleased that I revised my AS stuff, because it was so so useful.

My advice for your A2 exams is don't panic. I think I've dropped quite a few marks this year from panicking when I saw a question that I didn't know the answer to immediately, and then just all I could think was "I'm not going to uni.". Just concentrate, forget what the exam's for, and focus on doing your best rather than panicking because you're not sure about one question.

This time tomorrow I will be freeeeee! But I better get back to stats, so that I can finish on a high rather than having an awful last exam!

Bye!xxx

First exam done!

So yesterday I did my first exam - Chemistry Unit 4!

I really don't know how I did - I found the first two questions quite difficult so then I was so scared for the last two questions, because I thought it must get harder, but then I thought that the last two questions were okay? Everybody on the student room said that they thought it was really hard, which is a good sign because at least I'm not the only one who struggled on those first two questions! I came out feeling alright-ish, and then obviously have made myself start panicking that I've done really badly. But there's nothing that I can do now anyway so I'm just going to have to move on and do really well in my unit 5 chemistry (probably easier said than done!).

I have Biology on Friday and then my horrible week next week, and after that only one more exam! Two weeks today until I finish!

I literally can't wait because there are so many exciting things happening after exams! I have my prom, and I'm going on holiday with my friends and then my family, and then I'm looking after my cousins for two weeks! And then we have results day which could either be great or not so great... Hopefully great! And then fingers crossed if I manage to get those 3As, I'll be heading up North in September to start being a medical student! It's so exciting!

Anyway, back to chemistry unit 5 revision... so much fun!!!!!

Bye!xxx

Boredom and Revision

So it's nearly time for my exams to start! A week tomorrow and I will have sat my first exam ahhhhh

I finished school just over a week ago now, and it was so sad:( I can't believe that I've finished! At my school we dress up in fancy dress on our last day of sixth form, and so me and my friend came dressed as lab rats. We wore lab coats, and tied up our hair in buns and sprayed our hair white with dry shampoo. We also put black eyeshadow all over our faces to make it look as though we'd been in an explosion. After school we all went to the pub and some of the teachers came, and it was just really nice for all of our year to go out together on our last day! It's probably the last time I'll ever see some people, as some people can't come to prom, and I might not see people on Results Day.

So the whole of half term has just been revision mainly. I've started worrying about Unit 5 Chemistry because it's just so difficult and it counts for 50% of my A2 grade! I need to know all of the synpotic information too, which is so annoying to have to revise, because I just want to focus on the new, harder things. I'm just doing past papers and then revising things that I mess up on - I'm also trying to learn all of the reaction conditions which is sooo difficult because there are literally so many reactions to know, and when it comes to having to apply them to a synthesis or something, I just get so stuck.

I've been out a bit as well! I went to see Matilda on Wednesday, because I got tickets for my friend for her birthday so that was really fun! And then today I'm going to see Maleficent with my mum because I just need to leave the house because I'm going mad from just sitting at my desk all day. I've also rediscovered the piano, so that's become a useful method of procrastination!

I literally just want my exams to start so that they can be over sooner. I'm so fed up of just revising and waiting for them to arrive! I want it to be the Summer so that I can just go out, and go on holiday and catch a tan.

I'm really not looking forward to my second week of exams though. It goes: Monday - C3, Tuesday - Chem unit 5, Wednesday - C4, Thursday - break, Friday -Biology unit 5. Help! I also have an exam on Friday 13th (Biology unit 4) so I'm going to be shaking before that exam starts hahaa

I hope that revision is going well for everybody!

Bye!xxx