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Writer's pictureCamWAMS Team

February 2022 Newsletter

Welcome to the Cambridge Widening Access to Medicine Society monthly newsletter 😊. We hope you have had a restful half term! We're so excited to make this a fantastic year for CamWAMS and we look forward to seeing you all at our exciting events! In our first newsletter from the new 2022 committee, we discuss the mechanisms of drowning, the impacts of the new COVID variant on the response to the pandemic, advice and experience for working-class students wanting to apply to Cambridge and a recommendation for the Junior Doctor YouTuber, Dr Ollie Burton! Food for Thought: an example interview question

'What is drowning? How does the mechanism of drowning in freshwater differ from that in saltwater?' Have a think and read the answer to the question here on our website. Myth-buster

Myth: You have to be posh to go to Cambridge Kieran, our co-president, busts this common myth.

This myth is one you hear all the time - that most Cambridge students are privileged, or attended private schools; with the usual subtext being that if you’re from a working-class background you won’t feel like you fit in. While there are definitely some students from upper-class backgrounds it’s definitely not true that you need to be from an upper-class background to attend, or enjoy Cambridge and the truth is that most Cambridge Students were state-educated. To break down why this is wrong let’s look at the application statistics for 2020. Overall only 22% of acceptances were from students at private schools, with 53% from state schools (the rest is made up of international students). Of those 53% state schools 16% went to grammar schools, the rest attended sixth form colleges, comprehensives or FE/tertiary education colleges. This is not to say that there isn’t an issue with access at Cambridge - there definitely is! That’s why we as a society try hard to support students from working-class backgrounds to attend. Private schools and grammar schools are still overrepresented compared to the national average but as a working-class student, you definitely won’t feel excluded, or be unable to find people from a similar background as yourself. Furthermore, if you’re a student applying from a disadvantaged background your application will be marked by a flag, and this can help you with gaining entry to the course.

On a slightly less statistical note, I can say personally that as a working-class student I’ve always felt at home in my college. Whatever your background, there’s a good chance you can find a society within the university that will help support you - and probably also one within your college. The SU’s class act campaign works to provide a place to support working-class students, and most colleges will have a class act officer helping to run socials and events. Similarly, most ethnic groups have a university society with Cambridge African Caribbean Society, Cambridge PakSoc, and Cambridge University Bangla Society being examples of some of the larger ones.

Finally, financial support at Cambridge is extremely good. As a medical student, you will receive the Cambridge bursary on top of your student loan as a minimum, with the max award of £3500 providing significant help to students. This is available in all 6 years of the course, and most colleges will provide some financial support above this too, at the higher end St John’s College provides a max combined award of £11,130. Being working class at Cambridge is not perfect, but there is definitely a good amount of support - and the more of us here the better. There are many reasons why one might choose not to apply to Cambridge but don’t let your background be one of them! Behind the Headlines: Buraq, a member of our general committee, has written a brilliant summary on two articles, about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Omicron variant and the impact of the variant, which you can read here! Link of the Month Dr Ollie Burton https://www.youtube.com/c/OllieBurtonMed/featured

Dr Ollie Burton is a Junior Doctor YouTuber, who has great videos on medical school interviews, applications and even how to get through medical school when you’re there! Dr Burton has great videos to increase your understanding of current medical topics and news articles, as well as to get an insight into both medical school and life as a junior doctor! Whether you want to know more about a particular speciality or wonder what it was like for a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Burton has videos on it! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, then as ever, please just email us at access@clinsoc.co.uk! Hope you have a great month! Love, CamWAMS 2022 Committee

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