If you're new here, I'm Loveleen a King's College London medic. As someone who had no doctors in the family I understand the struggles of navigating the medicine application process. I'm here to help you along the way so you can achieve your dream of studying medicine! I also love helping out aspiring medics, by sharing the hidden getting into medicine curriculum as someone who received 4/4 post-interview offers.

My aim is to create a community of supporting aspiring medics and making the medicine application process feel as accessible as possible. Therefore I always encourage discussion within the community. I love hearing from you and what your concerns are.

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I’ve spoken about strategic application before, and as the UCAS deadline comes closer, I will continue to give you my top tips for the application journey. However, it’s important to remember strategic application is NOT everything. Of course, you want to apply to medical schools where you have a high chance of being called for an interview. But you need to remember that in the end, you will be attending that medical school. Do you like their course structure? Do you like the area? Can you see yourself living there?

These are just as important to consider. For example, I preferred a busy city environment, so most of the universities I applied to were located in cities.

So to help you make an informed decision on which universities to apply to, beyond your academics, I’m going to tell you about the variations in course structure and how you can work out which is best for you.

Traditional Course

• This involves splitting the course into pre-clinical and clinical years
• Pre-clinical years involve learning all the scientific theory first, typically through lectures and anatomy sessions
• The clinical years involve working on different rotations in healthcare under supervision
• This course structure is offered by the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge

Integrated/Systems-based Approach

• This is the approach used by many medical schools now
• Instead of having pre-clinical and clinical stages, these two have been integrated, which encourages early patient contact and placement opportunities
• It’s important to highlight that some universities have their course more integrated in comparison to others
• There are different methods to integrate learning, including PBL, CBL and EBL

Problem-based learning (PBL)

• Students often work in groups, working to resolve different medical cases or problems, whilst also learning
• This often relies on self-directed learning, group work and an enjoyment for problem solving, as facilitators guide students, but this relies more on interaction between students
• An example of some universities that teach the medicine course in this style includes the University of Manchester and the University of East Anglia

Case-Based learning (CBL)

• Small groups are led by tutors where a medical case is explored, and this is often supplemented by seminars, lectures and clinical skills practice, so learning is done from real-world cases
• CBL places a greater emphasis on learning within clinical settings, and often students take part in CBL alongside clinical placements
• The University of Liverpool is one of the medical schools that teaches in this style

Enquiry-based learning (EBL)

• This is very similar to PBL, as a facilitator establishes facts or questions, then students conduct self-directed learning into research issues and questions to develop knowledge
• This is one of the newest teaching styles

Intercalation Options

An intercalation is the opportunity to do an additional degree by taking a year out of your medicine degree. This is compulsory at some universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Imperial, which is why their medicine course is 6 years long. However, at many universities, it is optional. This is your chance to explore a topic that interests you in more detail. Again, make sure to check specific universities on their intercalation opportunities. Although this isn’t something you need to decide right now, it’s a good idea to work out if this is something you want to do. If you’re unsure, picking a university where intercalation is optional is a good idea, giving you flexibility.

Dissections

In full body dissections, students actively dissect a whole body to learn anatomy, which can be beneficial as they have an opportunity to see the anatomy of the body themselves. This is considered to be a more hands-on experience and useful for you if you enjoy learning through experience. This is offered by fewer medical schools. In prosection, structures have already been dissected for you, so you are looking at all the structures preserved and explained to you instead. This can allow for a more focused approach, and you often have the opportunity to see different variations of structures, too. This is offered by many medical schools.

It’s important to highlight that both methods are highly effective in teaching anatomy, and it is best for you to decide on a medical school based on how you would prefer to learn anatomy, as everyone has different learning styles. As you can see, there is a variety of different course structures and ways to learn medicine. This is beneficial as you can pick the teaching style that works best for you! To help you decide, I have written the pros, cons and summary of what each teaching style requires.

A traditional course helps you to have a very deep understanding of anatomy, biochemistry and the fundamentals of medicine before going onto placement. This could help you feel more prepared

However, it’s important to consider that during your pre-clinical years, you will not have any patient contact either, so you may not see the theories you’re learning come into action.

If you are someone who loves problem-solving, then considering teaching styles like PBL and EBL is a good idea. These teaching styles help you to constantly improve your intrapersonal skills, such as teamwork and communication. However, it’s important to remember that PBL and EBL often rely more on self-directed learning and discussions within your groups.

Within CBL, teamwork and self-directed learning are still important, and this focuses on analysing clinical cases very early on.

The 4 medical schools you decide on should not just be decided through strategic application, but also through course structure, location and knowing that you could see yourself going to that university too.

And if you’re looking to get ahead with your interviews, I am hosting a FREE interview webinar where I will teach you how to revise for interviews. Sign up to one of the available dates using the link below!

Free Interview Webinar

To help you, I’ve created a general guide of some low, mid and high UCAT universities. Access the university guide using the link below!

University Guide

Let’s be honest. Applying to medicine is a lot. Between UCAT prep, drafting (and redrafting) your personal statement, arranging work experience, keeping up with extracurriculars, and then interview prep on top of it all, something has to give. Usually, it’s your A-levels that end up squeezed in around everything else, which is exactly the one thing admissions teams won’t let slide.

I know this because I was exactly where you are. Last year I sat all 4 of my medical school interviews within 10 days, straight after two weeks of mocks. So I get how hard it is to keep your grades where they need to be when everything else is competing for your time.

That’s where I can help. I offer A-level Biology and Chemistry tutoring (OCR and AQA) in small groups of 2-3 people, so sessions stay interactive and focused rather than just talking at you. It’s £25 an hour, and I’ve been tutoring for coming up to 3 years now, helping students consistently hit their target grades.

If you want one less thing to worry about while you focus on the rest of your application, email me at loveleenj241@gmail.com and let’s get started.

For this week's questions there are 2 big themes I've been asked about. First is strategic applications. This is something that is really important to maximise your chances of getting called for interview. Therefore, I have created a complete step by step guide on How to make a strategic application. This was part of last week's newsletter edition so make sure you check it out. You can view old newsletters by clicking on 'My Website' and viewing the posts section.

The second big theme questions revolved around was interviews. There is a technique for approaching interviews to help you convert as many invites into offers. And as someone who achieved 4/4 offers I'm going to be teaching you exactly how to revise for them. So if you haven't already, sign up to my free interview webinar using the link above! In this we'll be going over everything you need to know including hot topics, question structures and the most important skills.

I'm Loveleen, a medical student at King's College London and I remember being an applying student feeling confused by the entire process. I had no doctors in the family, yet went on to achieve a top decile UCAT score and 4/4 medicine offers. I'm passionate about helping other aspiring medics, so I work really hard to create the resources I wish I had in your situation.

Check out my website for my UCAT Crash Course and my Ultimate Medicine Interview Course, where 100% of my students who reached interview stage secured at least one medical school offer. Secure your spot to achieve your dream of getting into medicine!

And as a tutor for nearly 3 years, I help students in GCSE and A-level biology and chemistry, to secure their dream grade! As someone who got A*A*A I teach you all the content and exact revision methods to make studying feel easier, especially if your managing multiple aspects like interviews, UCAS applications and interests. Email me to book a place as there are limited slots.

📸Here are the links to each of my social media pages, so make sure you follow! In all, I detail the advice and tips you need to help make your application to medicine so much easier! If you ever need any help, feel free to reach out to me at loveleenj241@gmail.com