The MD Programme at Abbey College London

University and Beyond

Our MD Programme combines preparation for an effective UCAS application along with interview training to maximise the chances of gaining a conditional offer. 

UCAS Success

Our students' success, your success, is partly due to admissions tutors being prepared to view every application on their merits and due to our approach at Abbey.

In order to stand a realistic change of securing a place, students must, obviously, be predicted to gain the requisite A level grades.  In addition, they need expert guidance regarding:

1. Choice of University
2. Work Experience & Voluntary Work
3. The UCAS Personal Statement
4. The Academic Reference
5. The Interview

Over the last nine years, students at Abbey College London secured 163 places at Medical or Dental School

Areas 2-5 combine to form the Applicant's Personal Profile (APP).  An outstanding APP increases your chances of gaining a place.  The MD Programme at Abbey College London ensures that you maximise your APP.  We work with you to develop the attributes you need to impress admissions tutors.  Therefore, this non-academic component for our preparation focuses on the skills, knowledge and confidence that must be developed for the UCAS process rather than on the academic demands of A level work.

1. Choice of University

Choosing a University

The right choice of universities is a vital ingredient in the UCAS mix.  However, the location of the university and the structure of the course are luxuries that a student should, in our opinion, ignore.

• If you are a retake student i.e. you completed A-levels in 2012, did you apply last year?
• If so, what was the response?  Rejected or interviewed?
• After interview, were you rejected or given an offer?
• Did you contact them on receipt of your results? How did they react?
• What is the attitude of your target university to you (not generally) as a retake student?
• Do you have any extenuating circumstances? If so, your Senior Tutor must be made aware of the latter.

A crucial point: if you are joining Abbey for a one year course having completed AS-levels in summer 2012, you are NOT a retake student. For such students:

• Why did you under perform at AS-level? This information must be drawn to your Senior Tutor's notice.

• Do you have any extenuating circumstances? If so, your Senior Tutor must be made aware of the latter.

• Do your AS-level grades contrast sharply with your GCSE grades?

International students applying for 2012 entry to a UK medical or dental school must achieve a minimum of IELTS 7.0. In some cases 7.5 will be required. IELTS examinations are taken by Abbey students at the University of Westminster. Examination entry forms for IELTS can be obtained from the Head of English. Some of the new medical and dental schools in the U.K. are NOT permitted to offer places to international students so check this carefully when you are selecting your preferred medical or dental schools. 

The Research Process

Abbey's staff have first class knowledge of the university system and will work with you to ensure that you choose the most appropriate universities for your circumstances. However, it is of crucial importance that A-level retake students write to the medical or dental schools and obtain feedback in response to the question "will you consider an application from me?"  All medical and dental school applicants are expected to undertake their own research into medical/dental schools are draw up a target list of at least six medical schools. Our role is to:

• Check your draft letters/emails
• Provide you with the contact details for all the admissions tutors
• Make IT facilities available to you
• Narrow down your short-listed medical/dental school choices to the four that you are permitted to apply to

UKCAT and BMAT

BMAT is required from medicine applicants by Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and UCL. The College will provide information and guidance relevant to this. BMAT can be found at www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk. The College is a BMAT examination centre. BMAT examination entry forms can be obtained from the Examinations Officer in room 6.

UKCAT is required by the vast majority of UK medical and dental schools. It is an online test and is only available at Pearson VUE centres. You have to book an exam online via www.ukcat.ac.uk where you can also read about the structure and nature of the course. If you sat UKCAT last year for a 2012 entry application you MUST sit UKCAT again.

Work Experience and Voluntary Work
 
The Importance of Work Experience and Voluntary Work

Thorough knowledge of a chosen career is fundamental for admission to medicine or dentistry.  A range of high quality work experience reinforces that you know what you are getting into and why you will enjoy it.

Adding to Work Experience

Most students should have undertaken a good deal of relevant work experience and voluntary work prior to applying for medicine or dentistry.  However, you might choose to augment your portfolio.  This could be because the portfolio is limited in terms of:

• Quantity
• Quality
• Range

Alternatively, it could simply be that you thoroughly enjoy voluntary work and wish to maintain it whilst you retake.  This point is particularly important because admissions tutors like to see on-going commitment to work experience or voluntary work.  Work experience should not be treated as a hoop through which admissions tutors make you jump and once cleared it is finished.  "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt" does not show the commitment that admissions tutors are looking for.

Part-time Jobs

In our experience, students at all levels, tend to underestimate the value of part-time jobs.  So often, students will dismiss their Saturday or holiday jobs as 'simply shop work' or 'only in a restaurant'.  They do this partly because the jobs are, apparently, unrelated to their future career but also because their original purpose was purely functional - to earn some money.

However, part-time jobs should be elevated to a position of importance in the application process.  Think of the qualities that a part-time job can help create:

• Responsibility
• Team work
• Working with customers
• Calmness under pressure
• Stamina
• Dealing with difficult situations
• Leadership
• Communication skills
     
Arrangements for Work Experience at Abbey

The College will aims to support students in finding suitable work experience however, it is ALWAYS more impressive if a student has arranged his/her own work experience and has not had to rely on the College to set this up. To arrange work experience you should try:

• Your local hospital
• Your own GP
• A local Hospice
• Local schools/support organisations/charities working with disabled children
• Local Nursing Home

Work experience must:

• Enhance your application
• Fit your schedule

The academic work at Abbey is very intense and, obviously, we do not wish extra-curricular activities to interfere with your progress.  However, medical and dental professionals must juggle time between competing demands and we expect you to do this whilst you are with us.

2.      The UCAS Personal Statement

The Importance of the Personal Statement

From a student's perspective, the Personal Statement within the UCAS application is the only opportunity you have to write whatever you wish about yourself.  It is your opportunity to 'sell' yourself.  It is, therefore, essential that you learn to do so.

From an admissions tutor's perspective, they can gather the required personal and academic information from the initial stages of the form.  However, only the Personal Statement allows them to find out a little more about your character, your knowledge of your chosen career, your experience and wider interests. The majority of medical and dental schools will score your personal statement. In essence they are looking for evidence of commitment, understanding, leadership, self-awareness work experience teamwork.

This part of the UCAS form is designed to give you an opportunity and to give admissions tutors an insight.  If you do not take the opportunity, the admissions tutor will not benefit from the insight.

You MUST email your draft personal statements to your Senior Tutor.

Senior tutor (boys) - Kevin.Rayfield@abbeylondon.co.uk;
Senior tutor (girls) - Elizabeth.Sweeney@abbeylondon.co.uk.

Personal Statements MUST be finalised and agreed with your Senior Tutor.

3.      The Academic Reference

Reinforcing the APP

You might be surprised to find the Academic Reference included as part of your APP.  Isn't it an outsider's view of your suitability and, largely, out of your control?  Not at all.

The Personal Statement is intended to show you in your best light and the Academic Reference should therefore support that image.  These two elements of the UCAS form must not contradict each other.  Therefore, the Reference is an integral part of the APP.

Gaining a Strong Reference

How can you influence the reference?  There is no need to resort to bribery or threats.  The simplest way to gain the reference you need is to behave in a manner you have portrayed in your Personal Statement.  If you claim to be good with people and an excellent communicator you should be able to develop constructive relationships with your teachers.  If you claim to have the commitment and stamina required to be a doctor or dentist, this should be apparent in your academic performance.  Everything you do at the College should reinforce your APP and so, influence your reference.

4.      The Interview

Demystifying the Interview

The final hurdle in the application process is the interview.  This is the opportunity for the university to decide if you have what it takes to join them.  All students know that by the time they reach this stage their dream is within touching distance.  Naturally, this simply increases the pressure on them.

At Abbey we believe that much of the pressure and stress of the interview situation comes from the fear of the unknown.  If we can make the conduct and content of interviews 'knowable' then the whole event becomes less of a trial and simply one more opportunity to impress.

The Style and Content of Interviews

An interview for medicine and dentistry all take similar, though not identical, forms.  Some will use a panel, some include a written component, some will use students and others will use external interviewers.  Nevertheless, all interviewers are assessing you on similar criteria:

• Your commitment to your chosen career
• Your knowledge of your chosen career
• Your ability to contribute to the university
• Your character and attitude
• Your understanding of moral, ethical and current issues

These criteria are very broad and not easily assessed in a relatively short time.  Therefore, it is vital that you understand how to make a good impression on all of these fronts in a limited time.

The Interview Process at Abbey

At Abbey, as soon as the UCAS applications are submitted, the interview preparation begins.  In order to cover all of the criteria mentioned above our programme is carefully structured drawing on experience from a variety of sources.  It includes:

• Interview coaching 
• Mock interviews
• Issues workshops
• Ethics workshops

Mock Interviews and Coaching

In order to help you feel calm and confident at interview, we put you through a series of mock interviews.  As far as possible, these recreate the atmosphere and content of 'the real thing'.  To do this, we draw on the experience of teaching staff, Senior Tutors, the Academic Principal and the Principal.

The mock interview process includes:

• Unlimited mock interviews
• Interviews with individuals and panels
• Performance feedback
• One-to-one coaching
• Favourite questions

Debating society

Debates are arranged on a diverse set of issues including those of relevance to medicine and dentistry.  Our aim is to ensure that students are well equipped to engage in deep discussion of, and reflection upon, a diverse range of areas.  The development of a reasoned response, rather than a correct response, is always the primary purpose of such debates.