Medical student Tim Vaz enrolled at St George’s through Clearing in 2020.
Tim says, “To start my Clearing process at St George’s, I filled out an online form on the website. It was a simple form where I submitted all of my relevant qualifications. After this I was called by the University who let me know that I had been successful in gaining an interview!"
“This was a euphoric experience, which soon turned to stress as I was informed that my interview would either be arranged for that same day or the next day. I decided that an interview the next day would be preferable and so I began my preparation which involved running through lots of practise questions with a friend.”
In terms of the remote Multi-Mini Interviews (MMIs) that all medicine applicants must successfully complete before they can enrol, Tim advises:
“Practise as many times as you can! Especially through an online platform if possible so to familiarise yourself with talking to, and making eye contact with, a computer. "
“Make sure that you have a space prepared for the interview. For example, I used my kitchen table at home and made sure that my camera was at eye level to see how I would appear on the screen during the recording. "
“Also, ensure you time yourself when practicing to make sure you do not overrun in the real interview. "
“We were tasked with recording answers to several MMI stations with specific time constraints on each station. This made up a single recording which was then sent to the university. Similar to an in-person interview, the questions were only revealed to us immediately before giving our answers.”
Tim continues, “Similar to other courses and universities, online learning took some adapting to for both lecturers and students. I appreciate the efforts that staff have made to simulate the physical experience as much as possible.
“Overall the staff have been very appreciative of student feedback and have made many efforts to ensure that we are supported as a year group. Clinical teaching has been excellent and I feel grateful to have been able to go in for these sessions.”