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Showing posts from October, 2013

Work vs Play

So as soon as my UKCAT was done, that morning I sent off my UCAS and that afternoon I got a train to London to stay with my cousins. I always enjoy staying there, it gives me some headspace, it lets me chill out and I can just shop till I drop. Always, always love it. I then came back home, had a shower, slept and then took a train to stay with a friend living in Leicester halls. She's studying Economics and is having a ball of a time. We went out with all of her roomates, it was a GREAT night I had so much fun and it was awesome to check out the university properly. Is Leicester for me though? Not. At. All. The morning I wake in Leicester, I take a train straight to Sheffield to stay with a friend living in their halls. I love  Sheffield. I had 2 really great crazy nights, the university looks amazing, the people were exactly the type of people I can't wait to meet and I'm so glad it's one of my university choices this year. Somewhere amongst this, I gathered a d

The Choices

So the UKCAT debacle goes on. There I was, so pleased with my 700+ score...last year I would have been in the top decile - I could go anywhere! My final choices: University of Leeds University of East Anglia University of Manchester University of Sheffield And then.... UKCAT released this years decile boundaries  I was now barely in the top 25%. Don't get me wrong, this is still waaay better than last year, but still. That's a pretty steep drop and now I'm far less convinced with my choices than I was :S Originally UoS said that this year, they would give anyone with a score of 2600 equal consideration. Last year I am pretty sure they were inundated with applicants after setting there score at 2400, so in an attempt to slice the number of applicants but still not appear as "UKCAT heavy" they set it at 2600. And now the statistics are saying - 2600 is actually below average. Who knows what UoS will resort to apart from ruthless PS checking?? At UEA, A-l

The UKCAT

The whole medical cycle makes it a natural occurence for you to question your own self-worth, ability, patience, character.... Should I have taken a gap year? Should I do my UKCAT this late? Wouldn't it have been better and more worthwhile if I went to university along with my friends, did a worthwhile course and then if I still wanted to, go grad-entry for medicine? Would I even be a good doctor? Even now, when I get in touch with friends and hear all about their brand-new-life, I am panged with jealousy. That should have, would have, could have been me. I did my UKCAT. And then I remembered why I made the correct decision all this time.  This year, I have AAAa achieved at A-level.   702.5 i n the UKCAT, and SJT band 1 . I have had some of the best experience you can get (despite how much I bitch about it) working as a HCA. I am spoilt for choice. Last year this time, I was looking at: ABCC at AS.  627.5 on the UKCAT = really limited number of places for m