This entry for International Insights was written in 2020/21, hence the format of this post is different to the other upcoming posts on International Insights.
Please keep this in mind when reading - enjoy!
This entry was written by Kyi Lae, an international medical student from Myanmar studying at Edinburgh when she was in her 2nd year. In this post, she discusses her experiences applying to UK medical schools and studying at Edinburgh!
Q1) Why Did You Choose Edinburgh Over The Other Medical Schools That You Applied To?
I applied to Edinburgh, Hull York, King’s and Sheffield. I chose Edinburgh because of its teaching style and atmosphere.
Q2) Pros and cons of studying at Edinburgh
There are a lot of pros. Personally, I love Edinburgh as a city because it’s so green and there are lots of places for you to go and relax at. There are also a lot of study spaces at the university itself so that’s always good. As for the course, the systems-based teaching works very well for me (so hopefully that will be the same for you) + the anatomy teaching is great because 1. You get lots of time to be in the lab for practicals and 2. You can book out the lab if you want extra revising on your own time (of course, all of this is not the same with COVID-19). The university (the med school particularly) prioritises your wellbeing so you’ll find many services and wellbeing help. A con I would say is that not all the departments/ university-wide services are actively responsive (especially during COVID-19) so you would need to be patient but if you have anything that’s important, always follow-up on emails until you get the reply or call them up.
The Course
Q1)Which Learning Method Does Edinburgh Use For Medicine? What Classes Do You Have And How Have You Found Them?
Edinburgh has Integrated teaching style, a bit more traditional than most integrated medical schools, I would say.
We mostly have lectures, PBL every week, tutorials supporting the modules, anatomy practicals, a couple of clinical skills sessions every semester.
PBL is helpful for me as we get to talk with our group about what we’re learning that week. We don’t have a lot of clinical skills sessions but as mentioned above anatomy teaching is great.
Q2)Do You Get Early Patient Contact On Your Course? do you have to travel far for them?
Yes. In first year, you will meet with at least 2 patients. We are assigned to GP placements and you interview the patients.
Have not had many placements except for the GP placements but places vary – some GPs are just a few minutes away, some could be as far as an hour bus-ride away.
The Application
What Were Your Stats Like?
IB: 41/45
UCAT: 2900; SJT: Band 2 (9th decile)
Didn’t take the BMAT
Q5) How did you find the UCAT?
Because of the way the UCAT is set up, people are stronger at some sections than others. For instance, I was much weaker at the verbal reasoning section than others such as quantitative reasoning. I think it was important for me to accept this and not let one section affect another. Because verbal reasoning came first and I struggled with that so I had to make sure I wasn’t hung up on that and start the next section with a fresh mind.
Q6) What Was the Edinburgh Interview Like? Did You Get An Opportunity To Do It Overseas?
Edinburgh didn’t conduct interviews the year I applied.
Q7) What Were Your Interviews Like at Other Universities Then? Any tips for Interviews?
Three other interviews I had for others were all MMIs. It was very nerve wracking and I did get an option to do it in another country that wasn’t the UK but I chose to go to the UK to get an opportunity to see the campus too. My tip for the interviews would be to take a second or two to think before answering their questions because the interviewers would rather wait a couple seconds and get a structured answer than a rambled, lengthy answer right away.
Settling In
Q8) What was your first impression of Edinburgh as a city?
My first impression of the city was that it was quite chill and definitely less busy than my hometown. It is a very green place so lots of places to go relax at.
Q9)How Did You Choose Your Accommodation? University-Owned Or Private?
I chose my accommodation based on location, whether or not it was self-catered or catered, and whether it was ensuite or shared bathrooms. I went for a university owned accommodation.
Q10)How Did You Settle Down? What are your Favourite places in the city?
I settled down quite fine. Again, there were lots of areas to get to in terms of relaxing and it was easy to get to places so that worked out very well. One of my favourite restaurants is BRGR or Nandos (on Chamber’s street). Grocery shopping: mostly Tesco or Sainsbury if that’s closer. Favourite study spot is most probably the Pleasance cafe or the library (the side where you can see the meadows).
Q11) What Extracurriculars Have you been involved in?
I tried a lot out in the beginning but only ended up sticking to the university basketball club for the rest of first year. Currently, I am a local rep for an organisation Junior Association for the Study of Medical Education (JASME).
Q12) Tips/Advice for international Students Coming to Edinburgh?
Sometimes, it will feel lonely as you have to immerse yourself in a completely different culture so it is very important to join societies (medsocs as well as non-medic groups) and clubs to meet new people and make friends! But also, if you feel like you have become uninterested in a certain society you already joined, feel free to quit. Make the best out of fresher’s week. But if in case, you don’t get a chance to for whatever reason, you can find ways. Stay active on social media (especially Facebook) because everyone posts information on those platforms. Also, you will have lots of things you don’t know so don’t be scared to ask people things and get help. There will be lots of places you can go to for help like the advice place, your academic parents, the medical school departments, etc.
Thank you so much to Kyi Lae for the wonderful contribution to International Insights! She runs an IG account @myanmed.mm and also talks about applying to medical school on Facebook so make sure you check those out! Feel free to get in touch with her if you have any queries about Medicine at Edinburgh.