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Homeschooling Uncategorized

Succession Planning: How important is education?

There is no single solution to ensuring successful family succession plans, which is why Think Tutors offers multiple services ranging from long-term mentoring and blue-chip internships to full-time tuition and cultural enrichment opportunities. Though wealth depletion can occur through taxes, inflation, investment volatility, and the natural dilution of assets once shared among heirs, the major problems besetting many family offices revolve around issues with communication, entitlement, education, control, and character development. That is why Think Tutors works closely with leading family offices around the world, designing bespoke full-time educational solutions for our UHNW clients. Our schemes of learning foster an ethos of hard work, providing unrivalled insight and preparation into the challenge of business leadership.

Bespoke Educational Solutions

Think Tutors can begin work with a family’s ‘next generation’ at any time, providing cradle to career opportunities in the UK and abroad. Working closely with leading nurseries, independent schools, and universities, we typically combine conventional schooling with internships, and professional and academic mentorship. To this we add bespoke, age-appropriate training courses on financial literacy, strategic thinking, communication, and business technology. Should a family prefer different arrangements, however, our industry leading live-in tutors, travelling tutors, and full-time tutors can easily accommodate such requests. Either way, we ensure that the next generation is introduced to the scope and scale of the opportunities and responsibilities facing them, while also ensuring they are supported through every stage with the best ideas, contacts, practices, and opportunities for their growth.

Young Leaders

To that end our Young Leaders programme offers a one off, highly unique, and exclusive service. It combines tuition, mentoring and academic advisory with real-world, relevant experiences. Designed for students aged 14-18, the course simulates the challenge of stewarding a multi-generational family office. Seminars, work-placements, one-to-one tuition, and interactive simulations provide an exceptional chance for participants to develop themselves personally and professionally, as well as make lasting and meaningful business relationships.

Contact Think Tutors

Whatever approach a family chooses, Think Tutors can provide industry leading solutions to support the entire family through the process of succession planning. Contact us to find out more.

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Homeschooling

Full-time Private Tuition: Travelling Tutors

The Journey

The holiday began with a private flight from southwest England to the French Riviera. Whilst on board the children (aged 11 and 13) and I took advantage of the cloudy skies to do an assignment on the hydrologic cycle and could genera, with added bonuses for accurate cloud formation spotting! We followed this with reading a chapter from our holiday-themed novel. As we’ll be spending a week sailing on a yacht, we’re reading a Horatio Hornblower book. Afterwards, when discussing the chapter, our conversation turned to the history of naval warfare in the Mediterranean. Seeing how excited my students were about this subject I devised an additional lesson for when we’re aboard the yacht covering the scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon in 1942—a site we’ll be sailing directly past. With the youngest student working towards Independent School Entrance at 13+, and the eldest developing a strong interest in History, our sessions were designed to be both enjoyable, and goal-driven.

The Trip

The first week of the holiday was based on a family estate near the famous city of Avignon. From a historical perspective this was ideal as we studied some of the city’s medieval history, including the reigns of its antipopes. The fact that we got to supplement these lessons with first-hand access to city’s historic centre (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) was an incredible experience. During this time, we followed a pre-set schedule of classes after breakfast and fieldtrips before lunch, with the afternoon set aside for family time. That said, by traveling together we were able to adapt lesson times to fit with their evolving schedule. Though we often enjoyed meals together and afternoon excursions, there was personal time set aside and I had plenty of opportunities both for lesson planning and for exploring Avignon on my own.

 

 

Having left the land behind we sailed along the coastline from near Marseilles to Monaco. I’m happy to report that the extra lesson on the Scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon went down like a treat. It was likewise incredibly exciting to cover other aspects of our holiday aboard our sailing classroom, which included a science lesson on buoyancy (topped with a snorkelling field trip) and a marine biology lesson on the local aquatic life. Sometimes in the evening we’d play card games or charades together, and one evening the children and I adapted and enacted a scene from Horatio Hornblower. Though it didn’t earn us a spot at Cannes (which we sailed past), it was widely praised by all those aboard!

Outside The Classroom

The last day was a particular highlight for me as a professional tutor, which was spent in the Principality of Monaco. As a massive Formula 1 fan the family kindly indulged me in listening to a brief history of the sport, which was followed by a walking tour along some of the street circuit’s most famous sights. As a last assignment the students watched race highlights from the previous Grand Prix and then we wrote and recorded their own scripted race commentary. On the flight back we used editing software to match their commentary to the highlight segments. It was, without a doubt, an enjoyable way to finish the holiday. Indeed, the children thrived in our summer sessions so much that we’ve booked a second holiday together for next year.

 

 

Looking back, I greatly enjoyed the integrated learning and educational adventures that travelling with a family provided. Tailoring each session to our unique surroundings – whether it was land, sea, or air – and incorporating aspects of the local history and environment into our lessons made for exciting learning opportunities. It was, without a doubt, the best way to simultaneously learn and travel.

Contact Think Tutors

If you’re thinking about travelling with your children, I’d recommend getting in touch with Think Tutors. We provide world-class education to accompany your family anywhere you want to go.

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GCSE A-Level and IB Homeschooling Topical

Think Tutors’ Summer Reading List

Best Summer Reads

Below are a few books recommended by our industry leading tutors. Spanning fiction and non-fiction, politics and science, they represent what some of the best and brightest are stimulating their minds with this summer.

 

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

 

Soon to be a major Netflix production, this award-winning Chinese science fiction book (the first in a trilogy) takes place in a world where science has hit its limits at the worst possible time—just as earth has made first contact with a threatening alien race. It’s a fascinating and imaginative read and all the more interesting for being written from a contemporary Chinese perspective.

 

Silverview by John le Carré

 

The last novel to come from the pen of one of Britain’s finest authors, this spy novel investigates the secret world (and the secrets people keep) hidden within a small seaside town in England. A fascinating depiction public duties vs private morals, this espionage novel is a classic from a now-classic author.

 

Liberalism and its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama 

 

This slim volume by one of the world’s leading political scientists provides an insightful study into why liberalism is both the source and the solution to many of the world’s identity-driven problems.

 

The Age of AI: and our human future by Henry Kissinger

 

This fascinating book is co-written by Henry Kissinger (the most famous diplomat of the 20th century), Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Google), and Daniel Huttenlocher (Dean of the College of Computing at MIT). Together they explore AI and the ways it is transforming human society and human identity – and what it means for us all, both now and in the future.

 

Why We Sleep: the new science of sleep and dreams by Matthew Walker

 

This book is a perennial favourite at Think Tutors. It’s a masterful scientific account about why sleep is not only vital, but how impaired we become – in both the short and long term – by a lack of sleep opportunities. Read this and you’ll never sleep the same again!

Learn a New Subject

Perhaps you are a budding historian, but you’d like to know more about cognitive psychology; or a future biologist who’s interested in learning more about ethics. If so, the Oxford Very Short Introduction series is perfect for you. Written at a first-year undergraduate level, these short introductions cover a huge array of subjects and are highly accessible. They offer up-to-date scholarly research and are academically reliable. You can read one for fun in an afternoon and quote them in your essays next year… how good is that?

 

Earth System Science: A Very Short Introduction by Tim Lenton

 

Lenton explores the concept of the Earth’s atmosphere, biosphere, oceans, soil, and rocks operating as a closely interacting system. Drawing on elements of geology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, it explores whether Earth system science can help guide us on to a sustainable course before we alter the Earth system to the point where we destroy ourselves and current civilization.

 

Robotics: A Very Short Introduction by Alan Winfield

 

This book explains how it is that robotics can simultaneously present us with success and disappointment, how they can remain both commonplace and extraordinary, and investigates recent developments in science with a view to their applications in everyday life.

 

Environmental Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by Robin Attfield

 

This book explores the principles and values that are involved in combating environmental issues like pollution, loss of habitats and species, and climate change. Exploring a wide array of approaches to ethical decision making and judgements, it stresses the importance of making both production and consumption sustainable, addressing human population levels, and what must be done policy-wise to preserve species, sub-species, and their habitats.

Make the Most of Audio Books

If you don’t want to spend all summer indoors reading books, Think Tutors highly recommends using audio books (such as those provided by Amazon’s Audible). Not only does this enable you to listen to a book while on the move, but you can also listen at faster than 1x speed (you can listen at 1.5x speed and won’t miss a word). This way you can get through more books than you would otherwise and come out the other side of the summer as brain buff as never before.

 

To discuss more strategies and recommendations for maximizing your summer reading and learning, be sure to connect with Think Tutors. Our industry leading team is well equipped to create bespoke programmes that will help you or your child to flourish this summer and beyond.

Categories
University Admissions

Top Tips for Effective Reading at a University Level

Targeted Reading

Knowing what you are reading is sometimes as important as knowing what you’ve read. That’s because not all reading requires the same methods and approach. How you read a novel for leisure should be different from how you read journal articles for an essay. Knowing the difference can save you hours of unnecessary effort.

 

At university you’ll need to become adept at surveying or skim reading (and ideally speed reading too), which is useful for developing an overall impression and overview of a work, identifying essential/core information, and finding several specific points. This technique is then repeated across multiple sources (ranging from entire books to chapters and journal articles).

 

Once you have formed a broad overview of the relevant material it’s important to engage in more deliberate reading and finer analysis of relevant passages and chapters, which can involve cross-checking information, defining concepts, understanding terminology, comparing viewpoints, and taking notes. This type of reading is generally slower than skimming or survey reading.

Reading Goals

Before you commence with your reading, determine what it is you are reading for. Consider asking yourself what it is that you hope to ascertain: is it specific information, something to quote, or an overall understanding of your topic? If it’s just a quote, for instance, you can scan more quickly, but gaining understanding requires a more moderate pace.

 

Develop an agenda or a wish list that helps you identify what you are reading for, which will help your brain to filter out non-essential information. This will improve your overall reading efficiency.

 

It can also be helpful to keep track of how much you’ve already gleaned (such as keeping a running tally or developing a bank of research quotes) and deciding ahead of time how much research you may need. Perhaps thirty quotes or ten pages of notes is sufficient. Developing a sense of how much reading is enough (at least in preliminary form) is important, because a common mistake in writing essays is to dedicate too much time to reading and research and not enough to composition. Sometimes it is much easier and faster to come back to research in order to satisfy a specific need rather than try to cover everything all at once at the beginning. Be sure to record the bibliographical details for each item you read, along with page numbers for notes and quotes, which will save you time at the end when you write your essay.

Select The Right Sources

Use reading lists wisely and selectively. The first thing to do is to divide your reading into primary, secondary, and tertiary or specialised categories. Primary material usually comes in book-length or chapter form and is useful for building your general knowledge and confidence with a topic. Begin with core texts, textbooks, general introductions (like Oxford’s Very Short Introduction series) and anything designated essential on a reading list. It is often prudent to read the introduction and conclusion to any academic material before reading it from back to front (this often applies to individual chapters as well), because it is common practice to assert and reassert important information in these places. Primary reading should normally require 40-50% of your allotted reading and researching.

 

Secondary reading often represents 30-40% of your time and usually represents a deeper focus on specific themes or topics that you identified in your primary reading. These will usually be found in journals and articles, and specific chapters or passages in books. Likewise, your tertiary or specialised reading should be left until last, representing about 20-30% of your efforts. This is where you want to scour the index and footnotes/endnotes of books, review relevant abstracts, and look for finer details that add specific value to your essay.

Contact Think Tutors

Taken together, these three tips should help improve your reading and research skills. Don’t forget to get in touch with Think Tutors to discuss how we can further hone these and other skills.

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GCSE A-Level and IB

Top Tips for Exam Week

Address Knowledge Gaps

Uncertainty increases student stress and anxiety, which is why it can be helpful to divide your revision in two: focussing less on what you already know, and more on what you know you don’t know. That is, it’s important to address the knowledge gaps you have for any subject before proceeding onto writing mocks/past papers. This will put you in the best position for being able to knowledgably answer a wider array of questions.

Create a Realistic Revision Schedule

The human brain’s capacity for storing information is amazing, but it can only do so much! It’s necessary to work with rather than against your normal capabilities. If you can only focus for an hour at a time, don’t try to do three hours in one go. Create a realistic revision schedule which seeks to minimize distractions rather than maximize studying (not that maximization is not important, but there’s no point scheduling in five hours of non-stop revision and failing to do that. It’s much better to do four one-hour blocks with fifteen-minute breaks in between).

Personalise Your Revision Style

As with revision schedules, the main goal is to minimize distractions while studying, thus improving the quality of the time you spend revising, which is not necessarily the same as increasing the quantity of the time spent in revision. As such, you need to work in a manner that fits you best. For some, that’s alone and in silence, for others listening to music or perhaps with a friend. Whatever helps you to maximize your focus is best, just make sure to avoid distractions (so turn off your notifications, close your browser, and wait until your break to check your messages).

Write Things Out

One of the best ways to master material is to begin by writing it out in your own handwriting. This is more effective than typing it because it requires more intentional and specific mental processes. This will help you to internalise information and can likewise prime the pump for memorizing quotes, equations, and more.

It’s Never too Late to Ask

If there is something that you do not understand remedy it by asking a friend, parent, teacher, or even googling it. Hoping that something you don’t understand simply won’t come up on your exam is not the best way to prepare.

Utilise Past Papers

Reviewing past exam papers will help you to become familiar with both the style, layout, and approach of the exam. Just as importantly, research the mark schemes available for past papers, as these are just as helpful in briefing you on what is expected and how best to succeed.

Short Breaks are Important

Exam revision is neither a sprint nor a marathon. It’s a campaign. For every unit of studying you do, it’s important to have a short break so you can regain your focus and deploy your energies once more. If you’re working in hour long blocks, we recommend a ten-minute break in between sessions. Once you’ve completed two or three of these sessions, reward yourself with a twenty-minute break. The important thing is not to exhaust yourself or your mind in the first few hours of revision.

 

When you take a break, we recommend moving about and leaving the room. This will not only provide you with a bit of fresh energy but will help to maintain the study atmosphere that you have created in your revision space.

Don’t Forget to Eat, Sleep, and Exercise

The more you study the more your body will need the benefits of healthy eating, sleeping, and exercising. Don’t sacrifice these vital activities on the altar of studying. Instead, work them into your revision schedule, making sure that you maintain healthy habits, as these are not merely important in themselves, but are essential for scoring high marks on any exam.

Contact Think Tutors

Our team of industry leading tutors are expertly equipped to help maximize your potential. We can work with you on both a long- and short-term basis providing assistance, coaching, and revision guidance with a view to ensuring your academic success.

Categories
University Admissions

Interested in reading PPE at Oxford?

PPE at Oxford

The primary conviction undergirding PPE is the belief that learning great modern works of social, economic, political, and philosophical thought would not merely transform the intellectual lives of students, but positively impact nations and societies in turn. While students study all three subjects at the beginning of their degree, they may drop one later. Not surprisingly, PPE is a highly popular and extremely competitive programme of study. Nor can it be studied everywhere, especially as Cambridge does not have an exact equivalent.

Admissions Requirements for PPE

The entrance requirement for PPE at Oxford is AAA. While there are a range of subjects that prospective applicants will have studied at A-Level, the more customary subjects include (but are not limited to) Maths, Economics, History, Politics, and English Literature. If your school provides instruction in philosophy and theology these can also be suitable A Level choices.

 

Applicants are also required to take the TSA, which is a Thinking Skills Assessment. The TSA is a computer-based test divided into two parts. Part 1 is a 90-minute, multiple-choice test that measures problem-solving skills, including numerical reasoning, as well as critical thinking skills, which includes understanding of arguments and reasoning using everyday language. Part 2 is a writing task, that aims to evaluate one’s capacity to order ideas in a concise and clear way and communicating them effectively in writing. Questions for Part 2 are not subject-specific, and applicants must answer one question from amongst four options.

Which Colleges Offer PPE at Oxford?

Almost every college at Oxford offers PPE. The intake for each college can differ however, with some colleges only admitting two or three PPE students a year, while others may admit as many as ten or more. While it’s vitally important that applicants put time into thinking about which college suits them personally, it is also necessary to consider which college one may have a stronger chance of admittance, as some colleges will be oversubscribed for PPE.

Top Tips for Getting into PPE

More than 2,000 people apply to read PPE at Oxford each year. Of those, roughly 30% (or 700) are shortlisted for college interviews and roughly 11% (250) are offered places. As such, the need to excel in every aspect of your application is of paramount importance, which includes everything from crafting your UCAS statement to making your college choice, TSA practice and conducting interview preparations.

 

At Think Tutors, our team of remarkable, industry-leading professional tutors, consultants, and education directors are expertly equipped to help optimise your potential. Many of our team have studied at Oxford and include successful PPE graduates. Together we can partner to help you or your child to excel in every aspect of the admissions process.

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University Admissions

What to expect from medical school interviews?

Interviews for medical school are broadly split into two very different formats. The traditional, panel based interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) type interviews.

Panel Interviews

Panel interviews generally involve between two and four panel members quizzing you for 20 minutes to half an hour.  Panel members will range from senior doctors and nurses to junior doctors and sometimes even medical students themselves. Panel interviews will focus on your motivation for studying medicine, your reason for choosing that university and your specific qualities that make you suitable to study medicine.

Multiple Mini Interviews

MMI interviews involve a selection of short, one on one interviews undertaken on a circuit of interview stations. Some of the MMI stations will focus on similar aspects to a panel interview but some stations will be task focused and involve mental maths calculations, role play simulation and ethical discussions. MMI interviews are generally much longer than panel interviews and can last over an hour.

 

MMI interviews are generally considered a fairer assessment of candidates as you are given more opportunity to sell yourself and your overall score will be based on the opinion of a wider group of people. On the other hand, MMI interviews can be more gruelling and require you to stay focused and alert for far longer.

How can I prepare for medical school interviews?

Regardless of where you apply, there are some key tips to help you maximise your changes of acing the interview:

 

  • Understand the universities course structure and be able to talk about why you want to attend that specific university.
  • Reflect on your work experience. Think of things you saw that you felt were examples of good qualities in a doctor.
  • Read the news. The NHS is constantly in the news and being informed about current issues stories will help you demonstrate your interest in being part of the medical profession.
  • Read the GMCs “Good medical practice” which outlines the qualities that UK doctors should have.
  • Know your ethics. A classic interview question is asking you to evaluate an ethical situation in medicine and so it is essential to know your beneficence form your non-maleficence.

Contact Us

If you have been invited to a medical school interview, pat yourself on the back because many people don’t make it this far. Interviews can be hugely daunting, and it sometimes feels like they could ask you any question under the sun. Luckily, with enough preparation and the right knowledge you will have all the tools you need to show them why you would make a brilliant junior doctor.

 

For any help and support with the application and interview process including arranging mock interviews and practice stations, please contact us.

Categories
University Admissions

How to prepare for the UCAT exam

You should start preparation for the UCAT exam between two and three months before your exam date. On average you should spend between four and six hours a week on your revision and this will naturally increase the closer you get to the exam.  Here are some simple ways in which you can structure your preparation for the UCAT.

Understand the Structure

The UCAT exam is a two hour exam split into five sections. The first four of which give you a score out of 900. Each of these four sections are worth the same number of points and the average of these scores will become your final score. The last section, a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is graded between bands 1-4 with 1 being the best and 4 being the worse. Each final score will therefore be a score out of 900 and a banding for section 5 (SJT). E.g. 759 – Band One.

 

Learn the Theory

One of the most challenging aspects of UCAT preparation is working out where to begin. Each section tests a different mental skill and it can be daunting trying to work out exactly what each question is asking. This is especially important for the SJT section. To ace this part of the UCAT you have to understand the rules and regulations that govern how doctors work and the ethical principles on which all medical decisions are based. This is where tutoring can be incredibly useful as our tutors can help you navigate this maze and make sense of each UCAT section. We can help you understand the variations on each question type.

Reflect on your Mistakes

One of the most challenging aspects of UCAT preparation is working out where to begin. Each section tests a different mental skill and it can be daunting trying to work out exactly what each question is asking. This is especially important for the SJT section. To ace this part of the UCAT you have to understand the rules and regulations that govern how doctors work and the ethical principles on which all medical decisions are based. This is where tutoring can be incredibly useful as our tutors can help you navigate this maze and make sense of each UCAT section. We can help you understand the variations on each question type.

Finesse your Exam Technique

The best advice I received before taking the UCAT exam was to practice under exam conditions. That meant, phone away, use the computer calculator and keep my timing strict. The more you practice under exam conditions, the fewer surprises you’ll get on the day. One of the easiest ways to drop points on the day is to run out of time on a section because you’re not used to doing questions under the right time pressure.

Take Mock Exams

A big challenge of the UCAT exam is sustaining focus for two hours straight. In the three weeks before your exam you should practice running through whole past papers under exam conditions. The more of these you do, the fewer surprises there will be on the day and the less mentally tiring the exam will be.

Contact Think Tutors

Overall, with the right planning and tailored practice you can shift the UCAT from being a source of anxiety and stress to being a huge asset for your medicine application. Having a UCAT tutor can go a long way to helping ease this burden and provide personalised support that is tailored to the unique way in which each student thinks. If you would like to learn more about how a UCAT tutor can help achieve your goals, please contact us.

 

 

 

Categories
University Admissions

Writing a personal statement for medical school

Structure

While every personal statement will be different, most will have a recognisable structure. Contained in your 4000 characters will be the answers to the following three questions.

 

  1. What qualities do you possess that will make you a safe, ethical and professional doctor? These are you attributes.
  2. What is it about medicine that attracts you? This is your motivation.
  3. What have you done to understand the world you’re trying to join? This is your perception of medicine.

 

Each paragraph of your personal statement should answer one of the three questions above. For any support or help in navigating this process including tuition for UCAT and BMAT exams, interview preparation please do contact us.

Content

The content of your personal statement is, as it’s title suggests, personal.  This is a good thing as it gives you a certain degree of flexibility and the opportunity to speak honestly about yourself. While the words you put to paper are your own, you would be foolish not to reference these key personal statement topics.

 

Why you want to be a doctor. This is generally how students will begin their personal statements and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone will have a different motivation to study medicine and you do not have to have a challenging personal experience to justify you application. If you simply find the combination of biology and human interaction interesting then say that. Equally, if you were inspired by seeing an impressive doctor at some point then it is also ok to say this. As long as you are speaking truthfully it will come across in your personal statement and interview.

 

Work experience and volunteering. Work experience is an invaluable opportunity to see the reality of working in the NHS and you personal statement should rightfully highlight this. Crucially, your personal statement should not be a trophy room of various impressive shadowing opportunities you have completed. This doesn’t demonstrate why you would make a good doctor and whether you truly understand working in the NHS. Your work experience paragraph should instead focus on what you learnt and gained in your work experience. Was this watch an example of good communication skills? Was this a difficult ethical situation that you have reflected on?

 

Extracurricular activities. Being captain of you hockey team at school unfortunately does not automatically make you a good doctor. The key with your extracurricular achievements is to relate them back to important skills that doctors must have. For example, being calm under pressure or assessing and utilizing the different skills of a team.

 

Sometimes the hardest part of writing a personal statement is just getting started. Try writing some paragraphs on the topics listed above in as many words as it takes. Don’t worry about it being too long, it is always easier to cut it down afterwards.

Contact Think Tutors

If you need help from somebody who has written a successful personal statement before, or perhaps was involved in shortlisting candidates, please contact us.

 

We also offer tuition and expert advice on every major entrance exam, from Cambridge Law Test to the LNAT, MAT, STEP, BMAT, GAMSAT, UCAT, CAT, ELAT, GAA, HAT, PAT, MLAT, MML, OLAT, TSA and the Oxford Philosophy Test.

Categories
University Admissions

Which medical schools should I apply to?

Start with the entry requirements

Close to 28000 students apply to study medicine in the UK each year. In order to help filter students each medical school will set its own entry criteria that students must meet in order to be considered for interview. This is usually a combination of GCSE grades, A level / IB predicted grades and the UCAT / BMAT score.

It is vital to understand the entry criteria as medical schools will not even look at your personal statement if you don’t meet their entry criteria. Conversely, understanding which medical schools you can apply to will help bring down the number of medical schools you need to research and choose between.

Research the shortlisting process

Unfortunately, meeting the entry criteria is not enough to be invited for an interview. For all students that meet the entry criteria, medical schools will then look at each students individual application (school grades, UCAT / BMAL score, personal statement, work experience) before shortlisting the top students for interview. Each university will have information on their website outlining their shortlisting process and which aspects of the application they rate the highest. No medical school is easy to get into but some the shortlisting process of some universities may play to your strengths more than others.

Understand the course design

Most medical schools combine classroom and lecture based learning with clinical placements where student learn on the job. The exact balance between clinical placements and lectures will vary between medical schools. If getting onto the wards as early as possible is important for you, consider universities like Nottingham that have clinical placements from Year 1. Conversely, if you are happier in a lecture hall or tutorial, universities like Cambridge or Oxford might interest you more.

Problem Based Learning

A minority of medical schools rely on Problem Based Learning (PBL) as a key teaching approach. PBL is a group based learning tool in which students are encouraged to do their own research and tackle problems in a small group environment with the help of an instructor. PBL isn’t for everyone and so knowing the medical schools that do and don’t use it is an important consideration.

Where do I want to live?

Does the idea of being at university 200 miles away from home sound like a nightmare? For many students, location plays a key role in choosing medical school as some students will be happy to compromise on certain aspects of a course if it means being close to home. If you don’t think you’re going to happy living in the city the medical school is based in then there is little point in applying.

To intercalate or not to intercalate?

Intercalation in the term for undertaking an additional, one-year science degree as part of you medical degree. Not all universities offer the chance to intercalate and an extra year at university means another year of student loans so whether you would want to intercalate should also be part of your process of choosing universities.

Contact Think Tutors

Whatever medical schools you settle on, remember to research the entry criteria, understand the shortlisting process, review the course structure, and ask an expert for some sound advice.

 

For any support or help in navigating this process including tuition for UCAT and BMAT exams, interview preparation please do contact us.

 

We also offer tuition and expert advice on every major entrance exam, from Cambridge Law Test to the LNAT, MAT, STEP, BMAT, GAMSAT, UCAT, CAT, ELAT, GAA, HAT, PAT, MLAT, MML, OLAT, TSA and the Oxford Philosophy Test.