Julia He is a Medicine student who enrolled at St George’s through Clearing.
Below, Julia explains that, despite initially planning to take a gap year during the 2018/19 academic year, the opportunity to begin studying Medicine straight after her A Levels was too good to resist.
“Going into results day, I hadn't been successful getting interviews at other medical schools and was planning on taking a gap year. When I received my results, I was delighted with my grades and knew that, if I did want to reapply, they would likely be strong enough to get me into medical school; but I had also heard that there was a small chance there might be some offers to start immediately in September through Clearing.
“St George's were the most organised in the way they had information on their website regarding the Clearing process, with a sign-up system beforehand so they could call you back if you had registered your details before results day. I also found the information for interview preparation, course details, accommodation etc. really useful and accessible online.
“Although I did also attend interviews and receive offers from other universities for Medicine through Clearing, I chose St George's over the others due to its friendly community.
“Upon coming to my interview, I was warmly welcomed by friendly students and also briefed well on the upcoming Multi Mini Interview that I was about to complete (the type of interview used for Medicine varies from university to university).
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time studying Medicine at St George's so far. The balance of clinical skills and anatomy sessions alongside lectures have been great, not all universities integrate this into the course so early on.
“The community here is more than I could have asked for, with so many different societies and clubs that are incredibly friendly and welcoming.
“I have really enjoyed volunteering with the Teddy Bear Hospital - going into local primary schools and increasing awareness of what hospitals are like, reducing children's anxiety surrounding hospital visits.
“There are also so many speciality societies, such as the Emergency medicine society and Paediatric society and I thoroughly enjoy attending their conferences.
“I believe that not all other universities have such specialised societies like those available at St George's. Through the many societies, I have met a range of wonderful people that I might not have met otherwise.
“I always knew I wanted to study Medicine and when the opportunity to do so at St George's through Clearing came up, I knew it was one not to miss!”