Two Cambridge University offers for Medicine

Maya Shah and Isobel Thornton, both in Year 13, have recently received offers to study medicine at The University of Cambridge. We asked Maya about her experience while applying for the university and why she applied in the first place….

Maya writes: "I think the main reason I appliedto Cambridgewas the impression it gave & the friendly students I met when visiting my sisterthere;thoughit's reputationasoneoftheworld'stop unisdefinitelyhelped! For medicine, you have to take the BMAT (BioMedical Admissions Test) and then be interviewed before you can receive an offer from Cambridge. After already dedicating my summer to the UCAT(UK ClinicalAptitudeTest) , I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of another admissions test but I knew I had to work hard if I wanted a chance of an interview, whichpaidoff. The interview for Oxbridge is different from most medical schools as it is more science-based, rather than more skills/personality-based. So I made sure IhadreadaroundcertaintopicsIhadwrittenabout in my personal statement & and things that had been in the news: Alzheimer's Disease, medical inequalities, the Covid-19 vaccines. You also needto know your A-levelsubjects wellas they may ask youquestionsonthisorneedthisknowledgetoanswercertainquestions. I also did a mock interview with my sister's friend who is a Cambridge medic whichwas extremely helpfulas itgot me usedto the style ofquestions asked& when I didn't know the answershegaveme hintstohelpmegetthere. My actualinterview was quite different to what Iexpected, andthisthrewmeoffabitandafterwardsI actually thought it had gone very badly & I really thought I hadlittle chance ofan offer, so I was very pleasantlysurprisedcomethe25thofJanuary.

We are both very grateful to be a part of the Franklin team this year. We loved reading everybody’s articles and it was impressive to see such a wide variety of topics being covered. This experience has broadened our knowledge and we hope that everyone can find an article that stands out to them. A big thank you to everyone who submitted their articles and to anyone who was part of the team, we are delighted with the final product. We hope you enjoy!

SylvieReayandAditiAryal, Editors

SophieAlexander, Illustrator

Shivani Parthipun, Eva Hitchens, Shreya Gover, Alexia Suceveanu, Noushi Hirachand, Johanna KolawoleandLexieSwaine, Photographers

MsBrown, Editor in Chief

And last but not least…

… Footage from NHEHS "Chick Cam", captured at 3pm on the 11th of March 2022, in advance of Science Week 2022.

Interested in writing for The Franklin? Contact Ms Brown, l.brown@nhehs