[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-199530-en":3,"doc-seo-199530-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},199530,19241457091524,"Gelato","https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c",7,"Healthcare","Applying to Medicine 2020 - A Student’s Experience and Guide","First-year medicine student Amy Johnson shares a detailed, first-person account of applying to medicine in 2020, including academic choices, strengthening grades, and building relevant clinical experience. The guide explains key steps from UCAS preparation to selecting universities, entrance tests (UCAT vs BMAT), exam structure, practice approach, and interview preparation. Focuses on how work experience, diary keeping, and targeted preparation can improve performance and readiness for medical training.","2020 LeaverAmy Johnson tells us about her experience of applying to Medicine and time at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Amy provides a detailed account of the medical tests and the interview process. A must read for anyone considering Medicine!  \nApplying to Medicine 2020  \nI only recently left RMGS in 2020 and am now studying my first year of medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. I did 3 A-levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths as well as the extra qualification of the EPQ. I achieved 3 A’s in my subjects which were the minimum grades to meet my offer, and I was able to start medicine in September 2020. Medicine has been an interest of mine for some time, there wasn’t a particular event that changed my life and made me want to pursue it, it has just always been a passion for me. The 3 subjects I chose to study are definitely the typical subjects that most candidates take in order to pursue medicine. Biology and Chemistry are essential however, universities have started to take students with a different 3rd subject, some examples I am aware of are English, Geography and Computer Science. From my experience I would recommend choosing something you enjoy, and you don’t mind spending extra time on in order to achieve the higher grades. During Year 12 I very much struggled with Maths and found I had to attend extra sessions in order to see improvements in my results, which required a lot of motivation. Eventually I started to see improvements in my grades and was therefore able to get into medical school.  \nApplication process  \nApplying to medicine is a relatively long process, and therefore it is important to make sure you really do want to study this course. Before applying to UCAS I found it useful to gain some experience in a clinical setting to see what the role of a doctor entails and whether it is was the right choice for me. I was fortunate enough to get some work experience at my local hospital for 2 weeks and also volunteered at a care home for a period of 9 months. The experiences I gained from these opportunities not only helped inform my decision about studying medicine but were useful additions to my personal statement for UCAS and talking points in my interviews. If you are able to get some experience, I would highly recommend keeping a diary of the days and events that stood out to you. Believe me when I say this makes preparing for interviews a lot easier as you have all the details of a particular event that made you reflect on the actions of those involved, and it’s much easier to portray to an interviewer the characteristics you saw or demonstrated in the situation.  \nThe next step in applying to medicine was looking at which universities I was interested in studying at. An important aspect of this was which entrance tests were required for each university. There are 2 types of entrance tests for medicine, the UCAT and the BMAT. Most universities have opted to use the UCAT as their entrance test however some, including Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton and Sussex prefer to use the BMAT. If you choose between  \na mixture of UCAT and BMAT universities, you unfortunately have to do both exams like me. In my experience, the overall score from the entrance tests heavily influenced if you were given an interview offer however some universities look at lots of other criteria, so it is important that if you struggle with the exams you look into universities that don’t rely as much on the tests. Over time you’ll learn more about the UCAT and BMAT, but I’ll give a quick overview of the 2 exams, so you have an idea of what to expect.  \nUCAT  \nThe UCAT exam is a time-pressured exam to be completed in a 2-hour period at a local test centre. The dates of the exam vary but typically it runs from early summer through until October. I would recommend doing it during the summer before Year 13 so it is out of the way and you don’t have to think about it anymore. The test is comprised of 5 sections each with their ind","cbCaivJ6VyYAARO7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivJ6VyYAARO7","pdf",132057,3,1,4,"English","en",105,"# Applying to Medicine 2020\n## Application process\n## UCAT\n## BMAT\n## Interviews","[{\"question\":\"What should applicants do before applying through UCAS to medicine?\",\"answer\":\"Gaining clinical experience helps confirm whether medicine is the right choice. Amy recommends hospital work experience and volunteering, plus keeping notes to support personal statements and interview discussions.\"},{\"question\":\"How do UCAT and BMAT differ for UK medical school applications?\",\"answer\":\"Most universities use UCAT, while some prefer BMAT (including Oxford, Cambridge, and Brighton and Sussex). If you apply to a mix, you may need to sit both exams, and exam performance can strongly influence interview offers.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the structure of the UCAT exam and how should candidates prepare?\",\"answer\":\"UCAT is time-pressured over two hours at a test centre and includes five sections: verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, and situational judgement. Amy advises early familiarity with sections, timed practice tests, and using preparation resources like Medify.\"}]","Applying to Medicine 2020 - A Student’s Experience and Guide | PDF",1788506237,10,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":29},"applying-to-medicine-2020-a-students-experience-and-guide","",{"@graph":37,"@context":85},[38,53,68],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,49,51],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":50,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/applying-to-medicine-2020-a-students-experience-and-guide/199530/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":42,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-06","2026-09-04",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What should applicants do before applying through UCAS to medicine?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Gaining clinical experience helps confirm whether medicine is the right choice. Amy recommends hospital work experience and volunteering, plus keeping notes to support personal statements and interview discussions.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"How do UCAT and BMAT differ for UK medical school applications?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"Most universities use UCAT, while some prefer BMAT (including Oxford, Cambridge, and Brighton and Sussex). If you apply to a mix, you may need to sit both exams, and exam performance can strongly influence interview offers.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What is the structure of the UCAT exam and how should candidates prepare?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"UCAT is time-pressured over two hours at a test centre and includes five sections: verbal reasoning, decision making, quantitative reasoning, abstract reasoning, and situational judgement. 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