Dear Reader,
Welcome to the Cambridge Widening Access to Medicine Society monthly newsletter 😊. We hope that exams, for those currently doing them, are going fine and wish you the best of luck! In this month's newsletter, we will be exploring the issues posed by the ageing population in the UK, drug therapies against previously untreatable mycobacterial infections, busting the myth you need perfect GCSEs to study at Cambridge and the amazing website 'The Medic Portal'. Food for Thought: an example interview question What is an ageing population and what issues does this pose for healthcare services? This interview question is testing: knowledge of public health, interest in medicine and your ability to think critically. Cory, one of our graduate officers, discusses how he would tackle the question here. Myth-buster Myth: “I have GCSE grades that are not all A*s/9s, therefore I cannot apply to Cambridge” Safa, our collaboration officer, tells us why this is is not the case.
While it is true that most students at Cambridge have achieved high GCSE grades, it is definitely not an absolute requirement. In fact, Cambridge does not have any minimum GCSE requirements for Medicine. Rather, they are used alongside all other aspects of your application such as the personal statement and BMAT scores. A low grade in a few subjects may well be overlooked if you have very impressive predicted A-Level (or equivalent) grades instead. Your GCSE grades are also used in the context of the performance of the school/college where they were achieved. This means that you would not be at any disadvantage in comparison to students from a private school who may have received more study support than you.
Moreover, if you believe that you have had specific circumstances that caused you to perform worse than expected, then you can fill out an Extenuating Circumstances form, which will provide the university with additional information that would hopefully allow them to evaluate your application more fairly. I myself used the form to explain how my GCSE grades were affected by educational disruption from moving schools in Year 11. You can find more information by clicking on this link https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/decisions/extenuating-circumstances-form
Behind the Headlines Cecilia, a member of our general committee, tells us about a fascinating discovery that may help treat mycobacterial infections which were previously untreatable by conventional treatment here. Link of the Month Pravinija, our secretary, talks about how much ‘Medic Portal’ helped her to get a better background understanding of medicine.
The Medic Portal
https://www.themedicportal.com/application-guide/
‘The Medic Portal’ is what I mostly used to prepare for interviews. At first, it may look like you need to buy a package however the sections I used for interviews such as this can be accessed freely. This website is amazing as it has a range of questions from questions about ‘background and motivation’, and ‘knowledge of the medical school to demonstrating empathy and guidance on how to answer them hence covering many bases. Personally, this platform helped me get a good understanding of what interviewers may be looking for in answers and acted as a starting point for my answers. The Medic Portal also has a question in NHS Hot Topics such as BAME in medicine which is very relevant considering BAME individuals appear to be more affected by COVID1-9 as well as AI in medicine which may mention at interview when talking about the future of medicine or may give you an idea of what type of article you would find interesting to read to keep up to date for your medical application. The section on ethics is also applicable to BMAT section 3 and you may end up drawing on ideas such as ‘consequentialism’ and ‘utilitarianism’ to support your argument and this website gives brilliant descriptions and numerous examples of ideas in medical ethics.
That's the end of the newsletter this month and if you have any questions, then as ever, please just email us at access@clinsoc.co.uk!
Have an amazing month and good luck for all with exams!
Love,
CamWAMS 2022 Committee
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