This page provides information for prospective students who are either applying to study in the UK or are just interested in finding out more about studying in the UK.
For students who still have not decided whether to study in the UK, please read the section “Making a Decision: Singapore or United Kingdom”. Hopefully, you would have a clearer idea of where to pursue your studies after reading this.
Why Study in the UK?
Multicultural Experience
• Cosmopolitan society
- able to taste different cuisines easily
• People from all over the world
- Make friends from different cultures
Extensive, State-of-the-Art Facilities
• Self-contained campuses out of London
- Lecture theatres, classrooms, library and dormitories are all within walking distance from each other
• City campuses within easy reach of everything you need!
- Usually 1 main larger campus with most halls located within walking distance. Some lessons are held in other campuses which require public transport
Personal Growth and Development
• Probably the first time living on your own
- Gain experiences on being independent
• A new meaning to independence
- Managing everything by yourself such as cooking (if self-catered), housekeeping, laundry, banking, school admin, studies, staying safe etc
UK versus Singapore
• Independent learning
- Less spoon feeding (not much thick notes) although able to obtain lecturer’s slides, references with textbooks
• Anatomy: dissections, guidance
- Supply of cadavers are more than in Singapore, so no. of students per cadaver is less and students able to have more opportunity to be hands on. More demonstrators around to explain what you’re looking at
• Patient contact
- Might have 1 patient to a couple/few students from first year. Singapore improving on this with clinical attachments in clinics and wards.
General Course Structure
• 2 years pre-clinical
- Learn the science: the anatomy, physiology, pathology, mechanics, etc., by systems/regions
• 3 years clinical
- Go into the wards, rotating every several weeks in different hospitals
• 1 year intercalated BSc
- optional/compulsory depending on the schools
- Years 3, 4 OR 5
• Methods of teaching:
o Lectures
o Tutorials
o PBL (Problem-based learning)
- Case study discussion led by a chairperson with a scribe, with teacher guidance. Form learning objectives, work allocation and research before presenting findings
o Clinical skills teaching
- Includes sociology, medical ethics and communication skills
o Patient interaction
o Dissection/prosections
Admissions
• Application through UCAS
5 Choices, 4 medical schools max
• Minimum A-level requirements
AAB, Chemistry (essential), Biology (most require at least at AS level)
• London/Oxbridge prefer 4 subjects
(London colleges usually ask for a minimum AABB or AABC)
• References and personal statements
- Perfect your personal statement
o Talk about personal experiences that shape your decision in wanting to do medicine, why you want to do medicine, work experiences, anything you learnt that you think can help you through medical school/career. Be very familiar with it as interviewers like to ask about personal statements!
- Get a good reference
• Interviews
- Most likely have to fly to UK for Oxbridge and London interviews. They usually will not offer a place if you can’t fly in for interview
- Universities and Course Structures
- Read up on the prospectuses of medical schools
- Anything in your personal statement can be asked, so be familiar with it!
- General medical updates or recent breakthrough research
- Medical ethics
Admission Tests
There are 2 types of admission tests required for entry to UK medical schools – the UKCAT and BMAT. Different universities require either UKCAT or BMAT but not both.
UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)
Taken from: www.ukcat.ac.uk
For candidates sitting the examination in summer 2009, the UKCAT will consist of five subtests:
• Verbal reasoning
- Ability to think logically about written information and to arrive at a reasoned conclusion
• Quantitative reasoning
- Ability to solve numerical problems
• Abstract reasoning
- Ability to infer relationships from information by convergent and divergent thinking
• Decision analysis
- Ability to deal with various forms of information, to infer relationships, to make informed judgments, and to decide on an appropriate response, in situations of complexity and ambiguity
• Non-cognitive analysis
- Identifies the attributes and characteristics of robustness, empathy and integrity that may contribute to successful health professional practice
The UKCAT consists of 5 sections as seen from above, all which are multiple choice questions, and is a 2 hour long paper. There is 1 test center at international plaza in Singapore and the test is administered on many days. More information can be found on the official UKCAT website.
A list of the more popular schools requiring UKCAT is given below.
UKCAT
• University of Aberdeen A100
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School A100
• Cardiff University A100, A104, A200, A204
• University of Dundee A100, A104, A200, A204
• University of Durham A106
• University of East Anglia A100, A104
• University of Edinburgh A100, A104
• University of Glasgow A100, A200
• Hull York Medical School A100
• Keele University A100
• King’s College London A100, A101, A102, A103, A202, A203, A205
• Imperial College London Graduate Entry A101
• University of Leeds A100
• University of Leicester A100, A101
• University of Manchester A104, A106, A204, A206
• University of Newcastle A101, A106, A206
• University of Nottingham A100
• University of Oxford Graduate Entry A101
• Peninsula Medical School A100
• Queen Mary, University of London A100, A101, A200, A201
• Queen’s University Belfast A100, A200
• University of Sheffield A100, A104, A200
• University of Southampton A100, A102
• University of St Andrews A100
• St George’s, University of London A100
• Warwick University Graduate Entry A101
BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)
Taken from: http://www.admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/bmat/about
The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is a 2 hour pen and paper test consisting of 3 separate sections. The BMAT does not require a great amount of extra study as it relies on skills and knowledge that candidates should already have.
The test consists of the following three sections:
• Aptitude and Skills
• Scientific Knowledge and Application
• Writing Task
The format of the three sections is as follow:
• 1st section: multiple choice/short answer a€“ tests reasoning
• 2nd section: multiple choice/short answer a€“ tests scientific knowledge
• 3rd section: essay a€“ 1 out of 3 choices
The test is only administered once every year. This year, it is on the 2nd November 2011 – don’t miss it!
A list of schools requiring BMAT is given below.
BMAT
• Imperial
• UCL
• Oxford
• Cambridge
For Oxford or Imperial Graduate entries, UKCAT IS required instead of BMAT.
Cost of Living
Current exchange rate: ￡1 = S$2.1
Tuition Fees
• = ￡14 000 (Pre-clinical) and ￡23 000 (Clinical)
• Costs vary with different universities
• London colleges generally more expensive e.g. Imperial preclinical 23k; Clinical 35k now!! So tuition fees
are very variable, refer to their prospectus for specific figures
Accommodation
• ￡120-160 per week (catered)
• ￡80-120 per week (self-catered)
• ￡95-200 per week (private e.g. studio flats)
• Accommodation costs may vary for different universities as well
Other costs (food, travel, misc)
• About 70 pounds/wk if non-catered
Living Expenses (Annual)
• ￡8500-9000 (Accommodation + Transport + Shopping + Bills + TV license)
• Outside London generally cheaper
Total Expenditure for the MBBS course = ￡200 000 (6 years) = S$480 000
Sources of Funding
These are means of supplementing your living expenses, and NOT a source to fund all your expenses
• Getting a Job
- 20 hours a week max, unlimited during holidays on student visa
• Scholarships from the universities/colleges
- Usually a few thousand pounds, generally not enough to cover your tuition fees
• Prize Exams
- Few hundred pounds if you can attain one of the top 3 positions in your cohort
• Post-Graduate Scholarships
- E.g. Gates-Cambridge Scholarship
Useful Websites
• SMSUK: http://www.sms-uk.net
• The British Council: www.britishcouncil.org/singapore
• UCAS: http://www.ucas.ac.uk
• The British Medical Association: http://www.bma.org.uk
• UKCAT: http://www.ukcat.ac.uk
• BMAT: http://www.bmat.org.uk/index.html
• Times Online (UK University Rankings): http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/tol_gug/gooduniversityguide.php
• Useful forums for medical students
- General discussion on all aspects of medical school, interview questions etc
- http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php
FAQ
Q1. What are the recognized medical universities in the UK?
• Full list at http://www.smc.gov.sg/html/1153709442948.html
Q2. What kind of questions do they ask in interviews?
• Why do you want to study Medicine?
• What do you expect to find difficult/challenging in medicine?
• Ethical issues (eg euthanasia, abortions)
• Anything from your personal statement!
• What qualities do you possess that will make you a good doctor?
• How can you contribute to the University?
• Why do you choose to study medicine here? What do you like about the course we have here?
• What are your views on current research (e.g. Stem cell)
• Visit the student medical forums online to check out med sch applicants who shares their own interview
questions!
Q3. What are the Life Science courses that I can apply for?
• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bio-Medical Science
• Biochemical Engineering
Q4. What are the alternatives if I do not get into a medical course in the UK?
• Australia
• USA
• Ireland
• http://www.smc.gov.sg/html/1153709442948.html
Who to Contact?
Don’t hesitate to contact SMSUK representatives from various universities! Find them after the talk or ask questions via email about any other queries that you may have.
• Yap Zhi Min (UCL)
zhimin.yap@gmail.com
• Tessa Koh (QMUL)
tessakohliyen@gmail.com
• Lim Ju Yee (SGUL)
juyeel@gmail.com
• Tan Jun Wei (KCL)
jaetie@gmail.com
• Ho Gui Yi (IC)
cowfriend89@gmail.com
• Poo Zi Xi (IC)
zi.poo07@imperial.ac.uk
• Graeme Loh (UCL)
graemekenneth@gmail.com
• Caroline Hoong (IC)
caroline.hoong06@imperial.ac.uk
• Loh Wei Guang (UCL)
weiguangloh@gmail.com
• Lau Wei Ren (IC)
lau.wei.ren@gmail.com
• Chua Wei Ming (UCL)
chuawm1@hotmail.com
• Ng Zheng Yuan (IC)
Zheng.ng06@imperial.ac.uk
