Norwich (UEA) University
Overview
Norwich Medical School is part of a campus-based university situated on 360 acres of parkland, which captures the natural beauty and scenery of the East of England. The campus is also known as a concrete jungle, to reflect the architectural style of the time it was built. However, embedded amongst campus are more modern and state-of-the-art facilities to cater for teaching, clinical research, and a unique social university experience.
University Life
Near the entrance to campus is the medical centre, dentist, and pharmacy. Central campus consists of the square and the street which contains facilities such as the multi-faith centre, bank, 24hr laundrette, food outlet and a shop including a post office. Above central campus is the Student Union which is the hub of student life, support, and opportunities on campus! The library is open 24hrs and has recently been refurbished to provide additional study spaces. It has both silent, individual and group study areas to cater for all students with fantastic views overlooking the UEA lake. On the edge of campus sits our beautiful lake with several BBQ stands available for student use. It’s a popular place for walking, duck feeding and relaxation! Nearby is the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts which houses exciting exhibitions and extraordinary collections of world art, free for students and staff. Dotted throughout campus is the accommodation, so you are never too far from your lecture buildings or facilities. The housing blocks come in different shapes and sizes, with variations in the room size, kitchen, and showering facilities. Overall, the accommodation is a fun, comfortable and reasonably priced place to live in your first year.
Social Life
Norwich is a friendly and safe area. The student population is diverse and inclusive allowing the opportunity to explore your own or different cultures and religions. There are over 200 clubs and societies, which provide a great opportunity to make life-long friends and meet others with shared interests. The nightlife is vibrant, and the campus contains its own live music venue. As well as the Sportspark, one of the largest indoor sport centres in England. Away from campus, the city centre contains a vast array of independent restaurants and stores, easily accessible from campus by bus, bike or on foot!
Interview
The interview style is MMI and lasts roughly 50mins.
It consists of 6 individual, 5-minute stations each with a different interviewer.
There will be a 1-and-a-half-minutes in between for changeover/preparation.
From late November – February. The aim of the interview is to assess your critical thinking, personal values, and certain characteristics indicative of one’s potential to succeed on the programme. Topics includes:
insight into medicine as a career
understanding of the course structure,
areas of your personal statement and work experience form,
a scenario assessing your approach to overcoming a difficult situation,
demonstration of soft skills, leadership, communication, honesty, and empathy etc.
Tips
For your personal statement, make a list of the skills you must demonstrate and think of an example of each. Then select the most appropriate example which demonstrates the skill the most. It helps to describe your skills in the following format: point, evidence, explanation.
There is a holistic approach towards deciding who is invited for interviews. Equal emphasis is placed on your academics (GCSEs, predicted or achieved A-levels, or equivalent), personal statement, and UCAT. There is no UCAT cut off score, but a high score is advantageous. Likewise, you will increase your chances of selection, if you perform well on any component of the application process. Interviewed students will be ranked (by interview and UCAT scores including SJT component score) and top-ranking applicants will receive offers.
Femi Adetunji, 5th Year, @Femoski97