FAQs
Question: How do you write your personal statement to appeal to the requirements of different universities?
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Answer: It is difficult to make your personal statement appeal to everyone. However, there can be different threads throughout your statement that subtly tick the box of multiple universities at once.
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For example, if one university prefers more academic experience and another university prefers more practical extra-curricular experience, then a thought may be to say what the work experience covered and link this to one of your A-level subjects.... and how this has made you think further in your studies and want to read into this more.
Not only does this make you sound like a considered and well-thought out person but also shows you're intrigued to do more (this ticks the academic universities' boxes), and the experience and practical side ticks the boxes of the other universities' requirements.
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If this is something that applies to you and you’d like some guidance then please get in touch and our team are on hand to help you. Drop us an email about exactly what you’d like help in and we can tailor our service to suit your request!
Question: How can Step2Med help me?
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Answer: Step2Med can provide students with guidance and mentoring throughout the whole process of applying to medical or dental school. With support prior to submitting your application, right up until you go to university… and we’d love to see how you’re getting on after your offer too!
Question: I also have MMI as an interview, can Step2Med help with that?
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Answer: Yes! We offer group courses that are tailored to all interview types such as group interviews, one-to-one panel interviews and MMIs. When you know which medical school you have an interview from, we also offer one-to-one institution-specific sessions so that you’re as prepared as possible!
Question: How can I sound unique for general questions that medical schools ask?
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Answer: There are some very generic questions such as: "Why Medicine/Dentistry?" "Why this university" "What in particular do you like about our course" etc. These questions can be made personal by using your own examples. By adding your work experience or personal observations adds authenticity to your answer. It may also lead the interviewer to ask you more about it - so essentially you've guided your interview! If there are any questions you would like help with thinking about, then please get in touch and one of our tutors can try their best to help you brainstorm ideas and structure your answers.
Answer: Questions that are asked in the mock interviews that our tutors carry out can range from general questions, to ethical scenarios or questions regarding the NHS etc. There are different areas that we ask purely to cover huge breadth of questions to ensure you are as prepared as possible. Many of the questions are put together by the tutors themselves and others are from sources such as books, student forums and general questions widely available. What's important is your ability to formulate answers that are coherent and logical. Our intention is not to replicate what you will receive as we have no control over that and questions we ask aim to tackle the different potential areas. Please note tutors will not predict questions for you. We aim to instil you with correct skillset and confidence to tackle any question you are asked. Each student receives a copy of their mock interview with their feedback on so that they can improve upon this.
Question: What kind of questions are asked in your mock interviews?
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Answer: Step2Med was created with the hope to access as many students as possible. Therefore after covering our overheads, from any profits we aim to provide as many bursaries as we can for students so that they can also benefit from our courses. Please drop us an email if you feel this applies to you and we will send you an application form to assess if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Question: How does the Bursary Scheme work?
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Question: Why are the courses run by Step2Med much cheaper than others out there? Are there any additional costs?
Answer: The whole ethos underpinning Step2Med is to provide courses at non-extortionate prices that are accessible to as many students as possible from all walks of life. Our Founder truly believes that some students just require that slight push whether that is to do with grammar in their personal statement or articulation at interview. However, sometimes this may not be provided at schools or may be provided by other courses at ridiculous prices. Hence, she founded Step2Med. Courses are run at cost price therefore the money that is paid is used to cover costs of resources and venues for where courses are run. There are no additional costs unless you choose add on services e.g. Interview Course and Personal Statement mentoring, as both are separate entities.
Question: Why is the UKCAT now called UCAT?
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Answer: UKCAT has now changed to UCAT as of January 2019. This is to account for the adoption of this admissions test by Australia and New Zealand. Thus UCAT now stands for University Clinical Aptitude Test. Read our article on www.step2med.co.uk/blog to find out more about this change. Essentially UKCAT Consortium have said there should be no change in content between the UKCAT and UCAT - simply a name change. To read more visit www.ucat.ac.uk.
Question: Will Step2Med be running anymore courses in 2020 because of the Coronavirus situation?
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Answer: In line with government guidance we will not be having any of our courses until June 2020. This will then be re-assessed according to national guidelines. We will however be helping all our students through our online channels. We will be holding a webinar in the coming months for those applying for Medicine and Dentistry in 2020.
Question: Will we be able to attend open days because of the coronavirus pandemic?
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Answer: In line with government guidance universities are currently closed. Until they re-open it is unlikely that any open days will go ahead in the months of April and May. Some universities have still kept their dates for June 2020 open, however this is constantly under review. However, as we adapt to the situations many universities are now having virtual open days with lots of helpful videos regarding the application process. To read more about this, read our recent articles here. In the coming months, we will be releasing a document regarding the profiles of all the universities to try and help you a little bit more. Please email hello@step2med.co.uk if you have any specific questions.
Question: How can I know what the university is actually like without seeing te university for myself?
Answer: Expanding on the question previously, some universities have still kept their dates for June 2020 open, however this is constantly under review. In the coming months, we will be releasing a document regarding the profiles of all the universities to try and help you a little bit more. Many universities are now having virtual open days with lots of helpful videos regarding the application process. To read more about this, read our recent articles here. Please email hello@step2med.co.uk if you have any specific questions. Likewise, you can download our list of questions which we recommend to take to universities but instead you could email them or call them ask them all your questions over the phone - sometimes this is the best way to really find out.