Week in the life of a biomed student

For anyone stumbling across this blog who actually wants to do Biomed, or for medics thinking of accepting a reserve offer, here is a week in my life (well Monday til Wednesday anyways).

We don't have a set timetable (very annoyingly) so this is by no means representative.

Monday

Morning: The usual 9am start with a presentation tutorial - 4 hours sitting through everyone nervously giving presentations on lab techniques such as immunofluorescence, PCR and electrophoresis. Very boring - I think the more technical side of this degree is the worst aspect for a wannabe doctor.

Afternoon: An essay is due at 2pm, this means fighting for a computer in the med school / harassing your medic friends for their computers as all the biomed students bumble about trying to print their essays last minute.

Evening: 5pm finish after some cardiovascular lectures. I cannot work at all back in halls because of all the distractions so I (in a weird moment of keenness) stayed at med school til 7:30pm working. A lot of people do this, especially students in their clinical years.

Go back to halls and eat / socialise / spend too long on the internet.

Tuesday

Morning: 9am start (as per) this is term has been really bad for them, I can count the number of later starts on one hand. Lectures on an infection module we're doing at the moment - it's pretty interesting stuff and I'm enjoying it. But once you're getting to the third lecture in a row it's pretty hard to keep your eyes open, this is where pod-casts come in. Us students love pod-casts.

Afternoon: A few periods free, because we're at med school 9-4 most days, everyone on the course is really good friends, or at least amicable, so frees tend to be spent socialising. Had a 2 hour practical - I strongly dislike practicals, it's like a slap in the face that you are doing a course designed to make you a researcher. But this isn't just me, no-one seems to like practicals? Maybe we're all too lazy / don't understand what's going enough to appreciate them.

Evening: Food, kayaking training, socialise in the bar underneath my halls, SLEEEEEEPPPPPP. I promise you that despite all the 9am starts, you do not learn to go to bed before 3am like all your Humanities friends, most people solve this problem with the wonderful concept of afternoon naps. University campus' are actually pretty dead places 4-6pm.

Wednesday

Morning: Lectures on gene mutations - kind of like A-Level but a bit harder, and highlighting how many lies they told you :) You experience this feeling a lot.
Afternoon: 9-1 lectures on a Wednesday and then FREE AFTERNOON YAY. I spend my time training for sports and then volunteering at an elderly peoples home. It was an open day today so there was lots of negotiating between crowds of fresh faced school children and anxious parents.

Evening: Was once again super kee-heen and spent a few slow hours in med school working; I sometimes don't know why I bother when it's so likely I'll be leaving, but I guess it will give me a head start next year. Then back to halls, food, and pre-drinking / getting ready for SPORTS NIGHT. I'm pretty sure this is universal around UK universities - Wednesday is sports night, everyone who does any kind of sport, gets dressed up and goes out.

Cool beans! Have fun weeks everyone and good luck for applicants

My story

I felt like getting all up close and personal today after a commenter asked me about my own offers etc... If you really do just want to know what GCSE's you need - LOOK AT POSTS BELOW
If you want to know about my little life, well read on

I've gone about getting into Medicine a bit of weird route, so I shall bullet point:

• Last year, when I was in A2, I got offers YAY
• August rolled on, missed my A in Chemistry by a few UMS - got A*AB overall
• Begged and pleaded down the phone, but nope they were having none of it
• After a few agonising weeks of shittyness, I decided to take my reserve offer of Biomed
• Got to Uni and decided that, whilst the course was fascinating, I still wanted to do Medicine
• Re-applied in October 2011 as a re-sit applicant at University (there really aren't many places you can apply)
• Continued on my biomed course, really enjoying it - great teaching, great Uni, wonderful friends, societies etc - I genuinely thought I would get straight rejections, the chances of an offer seemed so slim
• AN INTERVIEW - January 2012 - so shocked, literally couldn't believe it
• AN OFFER - January 2012, from a different Uni - I almost started crying on the phone to my Mum
• Really kicked Chemistry revision into high gear
• Resat Chem5 (today 1St Feb 2012)

So that's my story really! I'm still on my Biomed course here at Uni, I'm going to ask for a transfer to Medicine at the end of the year, but if I don't get that (and get my A in Chemistry) I will be off

Please don't miss your grades haha, it was horrific, probably one of the worst months of my life. You will feel embarrassed, like you have let everyone down (Mum) and mostly you hate yourself a little bit, because what kind of f*cking IDIOT gives up the chance to do what they desperately want to do.

I tried to put on a front for my friends etc who didn't really understand what it means to give up Medicine when you have put so much hard work into getting there. They thought Biomed was the same and didn't get the fuss, I never explained.

It has taken me a longer time (and I mean months) to come to terms with the fact I missed my grades, I KNOW this sounds ridiculous and melodramatic, but just 3 years of hard work wasted on one exam. I spent ages feeling confused and lost and sad.

ANYHOW, at the moment I feel super positive about everything, it's kind of all turned out to be a silver lining situation.

I've had all the greatness of being a fresher at Uni; the friends, the independence, the nights out, the societies instead of being stuck at home on a Gap Yah missing all my friends and not making many new ones, stalking their photos while I'm working full time with my whole LIFE being about Medicine.

And now I have an offer!! :D

I think I'm going to take my student loan for 3rd term, drop out, and bugger off travelling.

Essentially meaning, I'm going to have the experience of freshers at uni (on a less demanding course), a gap year with all the travelling and none of the work, AND get to do medicine at the end of it!

Despite this, PLEASE DON'T TAKE THE ROUTE I TOOK hahaha

I'm still making sacrifices: I'm going to have leave all my friends, sports etc behind, and go through the whole "getting to know" people process again :S I'm loosing all my security

I've also already signed for a house, meaning I'm losing a hefty deposit

I feel like I've grown up a lot, my perspective on life has changed a lot, and ultimately while it was a slightly unpleasant experience, it was probably one of the most important ones I've had so far (well educationally anyway...)

Anyways, enough poignant stuff, back to analysing all of your GCSE grades.....

Good luck my bambinis!

If you have any questions, post below and I will try my best to answer them