JotCast | Year 12 RfE - Student Question Time 29.05.19

Return to

Year 12 RfE - Student Question Time 29.05.19

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Anonymous

4:14

When applying to dentistry, it’s very apparent within your personal statement that you would like to study a something within the dental field. What if I want to make a course like optometry or radiography my back up?

Emily

4:15

Hi Alesha! I started off by listing everything that I had done that I thought I could include. I then picked something easy to write about so I started off with my part time job and explained it and the skills that I gained and reflected on my experiences. Then I picked something else and wrote about that until I had wrote all the middle bits. I left the introduction and the conclusion till the end as I found these the most daunting and it was horrible trying to think of the starting line while looking at a blank page. I then just did loads of drafts and got everyone to read it so I could get as much feedback as possible. Make sure that you take the opportunity to come to one of the one to one personal statement sessions run by RfE to get some great feedback from them too.

Zainub

4:15

For those who are studying medicine could you please tell me how the transition is like from A levels to 1st year of Uni, is the content a lot harder? Plus what advice would you give for personal statements for applying to medicine, is there a certain criteria or specific key skills that places you in a good position or is there any resources that provides good tips for writing your personal statement?

Molly

4:16

@Anonymous admissions teams are trained to look at these personal statements in a different way, as they know everyone has to have a 5th choice. The skills and experiences you discuss in your statement will be applicable to optometry/radiography/whatever you decide to put as your 5th option, so I wouldn't be too concerned about this.

Karima

4:17

What would you say is the most important to include in your personal statement

Guest

4:19

How many hours of volunteering would be recommended if I wanted to apply for dentistry ?

Molly

4:20

@Guest it's all about how you talk about what you got out of it, rather than the length of time of your placements/volunteering. 4 hrs could be as valuable as 4months!

Aneesah

4:20

Can I still study Dentistry if I don’t meet the BMAT requirements?

What would you say the ideal answer would be if they asked you ‘Why Dentistry and not Medicine?’

Maisie

4:21

Hi @Karima! There isn't a set formula or template for how to write a good personal statement - lots of statements can be good in different ways! It's more about how you write about yourself and the course you want to study, and how to demonstrate why you would be a great student for the university to take on. It's generally good to include a mix of what within the course you are interested in as well as what you are interested in as a person - its good to show you're a well-rounded person with hobbies and interests too! Try to avoid including cliches for the sake of it and think about what you really want to say and why you really want to study that course.

Hassaan

4:23

When studying at Leeds how far are students sent when doing placements

Maddie

4:24

Hi @Hassaan, for which course are you referring to?

Emily

4:25

Hi Zainub! I found the transitions ok and the content doesn't really get much harder than a levels there's just abit more of it. However, I did find the workload a lot more manageable as you are only studying the one subject unlike a levels. In terms of your personal statement, a good way to find out what places are looking for is by searching the university and the medicine admissions statement. I know the Leeds one is really good at setting out what they are looking for.

Molly

4:25

@Aneesah BMAT requirements are really important - if there's any criteria that you don't meet for a particular University, whether it's GCSEs, BMAT/UKCAT, Interview scores etc, then you will likely be rejected automatically. In terms of an 'ideal answer' for Why
Dentistry and not Medicine, this is really up to you - that's why they ask the question! You need a personal answer to this question, not a formulaic one, otherwise everyone's answer would be the same and it makes them all worthless.

Corina

4:25

What would make a personal statement for medicine stand out to an admissions tutor?

Guest

4:26

How is the timetable for a typical week of medicine?

Zainub

4:28

Thank You @Emily and @Molly

Pearls

4:28

Hi there, I was just wondering if there is a way to find out an up-to-date list of all the modules offered at the Leeds Law School? Also, is there going to be any law-specific content during the summer school? Finally, when are the RfE going to be reviewing Personal Statements? Many thanks!

Molly

4:29

@Corina personal statements need to be just that - personal! It's all about *how* you talk about the things you've done, and how you can make them relate to your course, rather than just a big list of stuff. Standing out is difficult, but as long as your personal statement is true, personal and well written then you've got a good chance.

Hassaan

4:29

@maddie, I was referring to medicine(my bad, should have added it in)

Molly

4:29

@Pearls hello! TH undergraduate module catalogue for Law is here: http://webprod3.leeds.ac.uk/catalogue/dynprogrammes.asp?Y=201920&P=LLB...

Maddie

4:30

No problem @Hassaan, normally it would be up to 90 mins travel time. Accommodation is offered as well.

Guest

4:30

Also do you get a lot of free time in uni when studying medicine at Leeds?

Molly

4:30

@Pearls we also hope to have a law session on the summer school, and Personal Statement Surgeries will be across September and October!

Guest333

4:31

If you had a lot of work experience but no voluntary work would you be rejected for Medicine application, Also does anyone know where you could find good voluntary work

Hassaan

4:31

@Maddie thank you

Maddie

4:31

You're welcome @Hassaan :-) Any other questions let us know!

Molly

4:33

@Guest333 there's no specific requirements about Work Experience vs Volunteering, like most things in your personal statement it's all about how you can talk about these experiences rather than how many you have. There was an article in the newsletter a while ago about finding work experience and volunteering, so have a look back through your emails!

Pearls

4:33

Thanks again! @Molly

Emily

4:33

Hi Guest& Guest! It depends on your year and it depends largely on your university. You will always be in Monday to Friday and in later years this will be 9-5. However in first and second year we definitely had 2 half days a week. You are in a lot but I found that I tended to have a bit less independent study than people of other courses because of this and I did manage to join societies and still make the most of university!

Hassaan

4:34

In terms of personal statements, how much detail should you go into regarding experiences such as volunteering. And roughly how long should the paragraph be

Molly

4:37

@Hassaan you should go into as much detail as necessary to make the most of the experiences you have - there's no right or wrong answer. If you end up with too much stuff to say then remember you can talk about things in more detail at interview - try and avoid storytelling in your statement, just stick to what you've done in brief, and then expand on what you learned and how it benefitted you. You ideally want 4-5 paragraphs for your statement, including your introduction, so that should be a guide as to how long they need to be!

Victor Tang

4:37

Hey random question, but what's a food science degree like?

Molly

4:39

Hi Victor! Food Science combines some chemistry with a look at the production, processing and storage of food, as well as the effect it can have on our health/bodies - so some biology too! Leeds is ranked in the top 3 unis in the UK for Food Science - https://physicalsciences.leeds.ac.uk/courses/ug/3335/food-science-bsc

Anonymous

4:40

Hi I’ve just read @Aneesah answer that you gave her but I thought one of the students said she didn’t too too well and got in?

Victor Tang

4:41

@molly thx

Anonymous

4:42

That’s bmat*

Muhammad zain mussa

4:42

This may be a weird question, but do you have student ambassador job within the university I would be interested in it when I start