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In Focus - Peter Preston

Peter Preston

Year of Study: Year 3

Third Year student Peter Preston discusses his experiences on the BrightMed programme, preparing for admissions tests, and preparing for medical school.

What made you want to study at BSMS?

I enrolled in the BrightMed programme at BSMS when I was 13 and remained in it until I was 17. I enjoyed my time with the programme and the medical students all seemed to enjoy studying at the school, so it felt like a natural choice for me to apply to BSMS.

What work experience did you undertake before applying to medicine? How was it beneficial?

I personally didn't have as much clinical work experience as I expect most other candidates did. Most of my medical experience came from the BrightMed programme at BSMS. However, I found a lot of extracurricular activities I did such as rugby and air cadets did have a lot of transferable skills which helped with my application. That being said, I feel having more clinical work experience would have been more beneficial to my own personal development and strengthened my application to medical school.

How did you prepare for the BMAT/UCAT?

For the UCAT I downloaded the app with revision questions which I worked through in my free time. I also found doing a mock test online a few days before the exam helped me better understand the timings and format of the exam. The BMAT has three sections, section 1 is similar in nature to the UCAT so I felt I didn't need to revise this as much as I'd already sat the UCAT. Section 2 is more knowledge based on Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Since I was already studying Chemistry and Biology at A-level I felt relatively confident in these areas. Some of the Physics I was also pretty confident on as I covered a fair bit of mechanics in my Maths and Further Maths A-levels. I also accessed the equation sheet and memorised the equations from Physics I was less familiar with before the exam. For section three I watched some YouTube videos explaining how to approach the section and did some practice plans on questions online.

How did you prepare for your interview(s) for medical school?

The BrightMed programme at BSMS gave me the opportunity to prepare for interviews with mock MMIs and panel interviews. This was valuable in getting to know what to expect when I got to the real thing. I was also quite lucky in that my sixth form had groups specifically for med students where I was able to discuss likely interview topics and how to approach certain questions.

Do you have top tips for interviews?

Make sure you know your personal statement well and keep up to date with current events. Also don't be afraid to sell yourself at interviews. Interviews can feel a bit artificial but the interviewers are only trying to understand you and what you know, they aren't there to trick you.

Is there a piece of advice you wish you could have given your younger self when thinking about/applying to medicine?

Be as proactive as you can in getting clinical experiences or any experiences which may aid your application.

How did you choose which medical schools to apply to?

BSMS was always going to be a choice for me to apply to due to me participating in their BrightMed programme. For the other universities I split my choices between BMAT and UCAT universities so I would have 2 unis for each exam (BSMS being a BMAT medical school). Regarding how I chose these universities, I didn't put too much thought into it, for me you get the same qualification regardless of which university you go, and I wasn't too fussed about location.

How did you find/ manage the transition to university?

I lived at home for my first year at university as I wasn't in student accommodation due to BSMS being my local medical school. I would've preferred to be in student halls but was able to get to know people regardless. The main difference I noticed in course content compared to A-levels is the increase in volume of knowledge you are expected to learn. There was also a big shift in personal responsibility regarding how you learn and what is expected of you. You are provided with all the information, but it is up to you to keep on to of revision, keep to assignment deadlines and to read around subjects you may be unsure of.

Which part of your course have you found the most interesting so far?

Any of the clinical sessions, especially in the emergency room in my first two years. I enjoy these parts of the course because they give you the best experience as to what you're studying medicine for and they allow you to apply the theoretical teaching from lectures and seminars to the real world.

What has been your BSMS highlight so far?

The doctors match with the rugby team. It was great to see loads of the doctors who studied at BSMS come back for a game and there was a good social afterwards.

What is your favourite thing about studying and living in Brighton?

The amount of stuff to do outside of university. As I've lived in Brighton all my life I wasn't really aware of just how much there was available to do in the city until I met people from across the country who said how little there was to do in their home towns/city in comparison.

Do you have a favourite place to visit in Brighton?

The Walrus in the laines has a pretty cool upstairs garden area.

What is your top tip for prospective applicants applying to study medicine?

Try not to get too anxious about the whole process of getting in. Also don't compare yourselves to others or get too worried about stats, as the only thing you can focus on is improving your own exam results and working on your own development.