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.

This is why I've created this google form, which is completely anonymous. If there are any questions, content or products you want to see from me, you can let me know directly!

Click here to respond!

And you can find the answer to any questions you've sent me on these newsletter editions or videos on my social media pages!

As we get closer to the end of August, many of you will be coming to the final weeks of your UCAT preparation. So in this week’s edition I’m giving some of the top last-minute UCAT tips so you keep seeing improvement in your scores.

Make the keyboard your superpower

Learning some keyboard shortcuts is going to save you a couple of seconds per question. This is valuable time in the UCAT. You don’t need to learn every single keyboard shortcut out there. Just the main ones which will actually save you time.

• Alt + N - next question
• Alt + P - previous question
• Alt + F - flag the question
• Alt + C - open or close the calculator

These were the ones I used, which helped me save time. You can definitely learn more if you’d like to but these are the most important ones. Make sure you practice using them during your timed practice and mock exams. It is also important to train your calculator speed by practicing using the number pad. The skills trainers on Medify or Medentry are a great way to get daily practice into this skill. For 10% off your Medentry purchase, use code MEDWLOVE

Reflect and refine

If you are just spamming mock exams and practice papers in the last few weeks, then you NEED to hear this. Spamming questions will not improve your score. After EVERY practice session you need to be reflecting to identify why you are making mistakes. Here is my reflection framework to help you go through your mock exams and questions effectively.

1. After each UCAT mock, the most important thing is to go and take a break. Go outside, have something to eat and just step away from your screen for at least 10 minutes. Then you can begin the key stages of reflection to see improvement for your next mock scores.
2. You need to go through all of the questions you have guessed, flagged or gotten incorrect. For all of these, go back and read the explanation to make sure you understand your mistake. If the mistake was a ‘silly’ mistake and now makes sense, add this to your error log. This can be a document or flashcard set, and here you create a bank of all your mistakes. Make sure to review it regularly, like reading over it every morning.
3. However, if this is a question type you are repeatedly getting wrong or you just don’t know how to do it, then it’s time to do targeted practice on your weaker areas. First, refine and learn your technique by watching tutorials or reviewing notes (like my UCAT strategy document). Once you understand the technique again, do a combination of untimed and timed practice

Stop answering all the questions

Its important to understand that the UCAT is designed to be time-pressured and you are NOT meant to answer every question. The UCAT has purposely created some questions which are harder to answer and waste your time, causing you to mess up the rest if the section and lose marks on easier questions. So you need to be able to identify these questions, guess an answer, flag and come back to at the end.

• VR → authors intent/writer questions
• QR → tax questions
• DM → interpretating information

This one hack will improve your scores without any extra effort.

UCAT Tutoring

Want some extra support that’s just for you?

I know everyone’s UCAT journey looks a little different. Maybe there’s one section that just won’t click, or you’d love someone to sit with you and figure out exactly what’s holding your score back. That’s exactly what our 1-2-1 sessions are for.

You’ll be working with one of our well-trained tutors, and you’ll have access to all the resources we use to help students really understand the UCAT (not just memorise tricks). It’s relaxed, personal, and built entirely around what you need.

Sessions are £35/hour. If that sounds like something you’d like, just drop me an email at loveleenj241@gmail.com and I’ll help you get booked in - I’d love to help however I can.

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, so sessions stay interactive and focused rather than just talking at you. It’s £30/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 students who are reapplying for medicine by taking gap years or resitting A-levels, how will it affect your application? Firstly I want to highlight that these are some, but not the only alternative pathways for getting into medicine.

Taking a gap year does not negatively impact you, but universities may ask you in your interviews what you did during this time. It is a good time to explore the career of medicine in greater depth and try new experiences. It is possible that you could be asked what you have learnt during this time.

The impact of resitting A-levels varies between universities. My advice is to check the latest information of the admissions page or directly call the admissions team to see what their policy is relating to retaking A-levels. It is still possible to get into medicine just make sure you do your research on the university before applying!

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