Guest DDOCS Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi, I've recently applied to 4 British Med Schools, namely: Glasgow, Nottingham, Leicester, and Birmingham. I have received an interview offer from Nottingham yesterday which prompted me to post a msg in this forum. First off, I would like to get some more opinions (from current students would be fantastic!!) about the 4 schools I've applied to especially Nottingham. Secondly, I have not received any contacts from the others i.e. Glgw, Lei, and Birm, I was wondering whether it is the norm. to contact students late....I'm a bit worried! Thirdly, I was wondering if any one out there had sat through one of Nottingham's interviews or any of the schools and if you could give me some advice. Fourthly, does anyone know of economical or cheap fares to Nottingham e.g. rail or how to get there..... Fifthly, this might sound dumb, but what's the dress code for interviews??? dress shirt & pants, blazer? Lastly, does anyone know of residencies in the US that are definitely approved by RCPS(Canada) especially in anaesthesiology??? Any advice will be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AliatUofT Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi there first of all Congrats on the interview. i too have applied to 4 schools in the UK. St. Andrew's, Edinburgh, St. George and Kings college. but i have heard from all four regarding supplemental info. etc. so if u havent heard anything from them, u might wanna give them a ring or email, asking them if they have recieved your application and if they require any additional info. as for what to wear, i would think a suit and tie would be appropriate good luck on the interview and with the rest of the package. are u a canadian citizen? and what were your stats if you dont mind me asking? cheers Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Congrats on the interview! I've applied to Nottingham, Leicester, Newcastle and Leeds. Only heard back from Leicester. Just out of curiosity, when did you submit your application/questionnaire for Nottingham. I was wondering how long it takes them to determine whether they should invite one for an interview. Sounds Exciting, Maybe I'll see you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Thnxs for replying, much appreciated. About stats...I'm actually a high school student living in Toronto and yes I'm Canadian. I have a low to mid 90s avg. I sent my Nottingham questionare approx. 2 weeks ago. Nottingham is pretty quick in terms of admin processing, I'm quite surprised. If you don't mind me asking, MacStudent, when did you hear from Leicester? Also, if you don't mind me askin, AlistaUofT and MacStudent, what are your stats??? Best of luck to both of u. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Hey, Wow, you're just a kid! Good for you!!! I heard back from Leichester on Nov/26. Sent in UCAS app on Oct/15. As for stats, I'm an old-foggie. Fourth year physics student to be exact. My cgpa is 3.5-ish. Can't really tell you what that is percent-wise, but i guess you could try dividing it by 4. Did you write your A-levels? Best of Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 I'm supposing the A-levels means the British standardized tests. I'm Canadian so I have not done them. I was wondering if you considered doing your residency in the UK, USA or elsewhere? Apparently, doing rez in Britain is lengthy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AliatUofT Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 wow straight out of high school that is really exciting... i wish i had done that too back in the days well i am sciency guy. i have a BSc and MSc from UofT. my undergrad marks not to high cum. GPA is about 3.3 (B+ish) with my last 3 years around 3.7 (Aish). My master's GPA is perfect (A+) i have 5 years of research experience, and pretty decent extra curriculars. i havent heard much from the schools other than a quick email or letter saying they have recieved it from UCAS. i contacted all the schools regarding supplemental info. as for residency in the UK or USA... that is a tough call. i havent heard about the length of residency but i have heard that the pay is much lower...infact even after u finish u are payed very little. for the cost of living in England it doesnt appear that doctors make a lot of money in the UK. a GP makes about 90,000 pounds if they are lucky (i have heard) so the US is a good option if u wanna be back in N. America and perhaps by then provincial and federal govnt. will relax some of the rules regarding FMG especially Canadian citizens. cheers and good luck when is the interview by the way? Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 You're certainly well educated...Bachelors and Masters! My scheduled interview is the beginning of February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Interesting. So you didn't have to write any standardized tests? They only looked at your grades? Haven't decided whether I'd like to stay in the UK. I don't want to have to go through the whole immigration thing. That and I don't want to be too far away from my family, so I'd probably try the U.S. route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 No didn't write anything and I guess they only looked at my grades and application. The whole immigration thing as in to Britain? Wouldn't you have to go through the "immigration thing" when traveling to the U.S.A. and shouldn't it be more stringent than Britain due to 9/11? Yes, I certainly understand the family part, that I must say is very very hard.:\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Well, I imagine that it is harder to immigrate to the UK and become a UK citizen than it is to get a work visa for the states. If I end up doing med in the UK, my plan is to go to the states to do my residency and then try to return to canada afterwards. It's a long road, which is why I'd would prefer to gain acceptance in canada. Personally, family is very very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 3, 2004 Report Share Posted December 3, 2004 Actually the path you stated is what I'm considering too:p !! Yes, it would be nice to be able to study in Canada, but too many uncertainties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 I've just got an offer from Leicester!!! ....Now I have to worry about the interview itself YIKES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Awesome. Do you know if any of the British schools will offer phone interviews. I'd hate to drop all that $$$ for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Phone interviews would be AWESOME!!! but :\ I don't think they would do it b/c it's almost always in person. They wanna see you and how you present yourself and your facial expressions etc. But it doesn't hurt to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 I read that some of the schools offer admission w/o an interview. Can't remember which ones, but i do know that they exist. I better got on the whole passport thing. Don't want to be offered an interview w/o one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geckoUBC Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 I'm actually at Nottingham just finishing a semester on exchange, so I can answer any questions you have about the area. I have met a lot of med students here, including a couple from Canada - one straight out of high school, one grad from U of T - and they seem to be enjoying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DDOCS Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Hi geckoUBC, Are u a medical student just spending a summer in Nottingham? Also, could you give me a sense of Nottingham City and the University such as learning atmosphere, facilities, social life etc. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MacStudent Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 Hey geckoUBC, How safe is Nottingham? I've read that it is rumored to be one of the most crime-ridden areas of England. (How frequently do crimes like that which happened to Danielle Beccan, occur?) Also, are you living on campus or off campus? Which would you recommend? How much does a decent place go for? Much Obliged! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geckoUBC Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 DDOCs- No, I'm just a pre-med doing an exchange semester here. Wish I was here for medicine! The university is renowned as one of the biggest party schools in the UK.. there are tons of clubs, bars, and pubs in town and people go out drinking alllll the time and have a social life revolving around this. My workload is definitely much lighter than in Canada, but I imagine the med school could be somewhat different. But from what I have seen, first and second year med students have a lot of free time and I don't think it is as stressful as med school in Canada could be. The university has good facilities and has many great professors. From what I have seen the hospital is very good, if confusing to navigate. Teaching style in my classes is very different. Less perscribed readings, less spoon-feeding, less lecture hours, much more reading around the subject on your own. There are tons of student clubs and activities to get involved in. MacStudent - Yes, Nottingham is the "gun capital" of the UK. There are occasionally some scary stories, but it hasn't affected me at all, nor any other students I know directly. I do feel slightly less "safe" here walking around late than I did in Vancouver. The campus is outside of the city centre and I feel relatively safe on campus. There's just some areas of town that you avoid. Regarding living costs - it's expensive here! The only thing I am paying the same for as I would in Canada is groceries. Everything else - phone calls, bus fares, accommodation, eating out - is noticeably more expensive. I am living in university-governed accommodations off-campus called Raleigh Park, paying around 60 pounds a week. 60 pounds seems about the norm for housing around here. The cheapest you could possibly find would be 40-50. Raleigh Park is basically a bunch of flats/apartments with 4-6 sharing, and it's self-catering - lots of first years, and international students, some older. Relatively nice, but the first years are tiring and it's kind of far from campus. Other options are on campus housing in halls with nasty meal plans (and crazy kids everywhere), or renting with a group of people off campus. Typically, it's mainly first years living on campus here, and some international students; older students rent houses in groups. However it appears that you have to do this EARLY - as in, people are signing contracts for the following year in December/January. There are some signs advertising rooms available in September, not a lot, but you could potentially find a room off of ads soon after you arrived. I'd recommend having a university-rented place for the first year, either on or off campus, and then you can find a group of people to rent off campus the following years. Hopefully that answers all your questions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ukmedschool Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Hey Wow I wish i had found this page a lot earlier. I applied to St.Georges, Sheffield, Birmingham and Leeds. I heard from three of the four and had my first interview at St.Georges in early Feb. I have decided to forget about the other interviews because I have been offered admission to St.Georges - has anyone else got admission anywhere in the UK? I guess now is the time i really need to start thinking about going there - i mean it is a huge decision, as everyone has been talking about. I am basically just wondering about anyone else with admission and what their plans are. Even better - Maybe someone has some clues about getting back here to Canada after graduating there (everything on the forum seems to be directed towards ireland, australia and other places). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jinfat Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 wow, i'm still waiting to hear from st. george's!! i havent sent in my official highschool transcripts tho i emailed them, maybe that's what's holding up the application. how were you notified about your interview ukmedschool?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ukmedschool Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Hey jinfat Yeah i think you should send them your transcripts for sure - they really require it. I heard about an interview through email - thats pretty much how every school informed me. St.Georges wasnt flexible at all, compared to the other schools. They only interview one week a month - so you have to go on your specific day. It was kind of a pain because I had to go there, then had the rest of my interviews during my reading week 2 weeks later. Ah well - it was fun. Where did you apply to? Well I can answer anyother questions you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AliatUofT Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Hi guys Did any of you guys have to a certificate of comparibility? i had to do that for St. George for my BSc and MSc degree in addition i sent them all my transcripts, both high school and university just curious thanks Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PanjabiMD Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Sorry to hijack here, but I was very interested to learn that in the UK, you apply right out of high school. Does anyone know how hard it would be to get a Canadian/US residency after med school in the UK? If I do get a US Residency, how hard will it be for me to practice in Canada? Again, Im really sorry for hijacking your thread Thanks in advance, PanjabiMD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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