What Happens To Your Application?
Applications will initially be checked that they meet our minimum academic requirements. We will look at the results of all your previous qualifications and the predictions of any qualifications that you are currently studying for. If these conditions are met, your application will then be sent out to trained assessors who will grade your application according to your personal qualities.
When the assessors read your personal statement they are looking for:
- motivation for medicine
- evidence of commitment for caring
- work experience
- understanding the nature of medicine
- breadth and depth of interests, and linking these with ability to cope with stress
- evidence of team work, leadership skills, communication skills, acceptance of responsibility
On the basis of your personal statement and the reference the assessors will give you an overall score for your personal qualities.
How we select candidates for interview
Once your application has been given a score for your academic achievements and your personal qualities we will look at the combination of the two scores you have been given. The UKCAT score will then be used to decide which of the top scoring (academic achievements and personal qualities) candidates will be offered an interview.
The Interview
The Medical School interviews all prospective medical students. Our interviews are normally held between the middle of November to the end of March.
We interview each afternoon between Tuesday and Friday. On the interview day candidates are invited to attend a pre-interview tour conducted by current medical students. This is an excellent opportunity for you to find out about what Sheffield has to offer and what it is really like to be a medical student.
The interviews are then held throughout the afternoon. Each interview lasts 20 minutes and is designed to probe your motivation, personality, interest in Medicine and communication skills.
The interview panel normally consists of three interviewers. These are drawn from medically qualified senior members of staff, biomedical scientists, junior hospital doctors, senior nurses, senior medical students and lay people. The questioning at interview is based around nine criteria:
- knowledge of and interest in study in Sheffield
- motivation for Medicine
- evidence of commitment for caring
- depth of interests (achievements in specific fields)
- communication skills
- understanding the nature of Medicine
- medical work experience.
The interviewe panel will have a copy of your UCAS application. Whilst you will not be questioned on every aspect in your personal statement you can expect the panel to ask you about a few topics or areas that you have mentioned. You can also prepare by knowing something about medical history, recent medical breakthroughs, topical controversies, ethical issues and NHS politics.
Of course your appearance at interview is important. You should dress appropriately and in a professional manner.
What Happens after the Interview?
After your interview the panel will grade you on your performance at the interview. Based upon this grading the Admissions Tutor for Undergraduate Medicine will then make the final decision as to whether you are offered a place on the course, held on a reserve list or rejected.
You will normally be notified of this decision through UCAS within three weeks of the date of your interview.
If you are made an offer of a place you will receive notification of your offer directly through UCAS. All the offers that we make are also subject to the receipt of a satisfactory health questionnaire and a satisfactory enhanced Criminal Record Bureau check (or equivalent). Please read the sections on Health Requirements and Criminal Record Checks for further details. We will send you details about how to arrange your CRB check and health requirements after May.
Prior to starting the course, all students will also be sent a student entry agreement and they will be required to sign prior to starting the course.