Introduction

Hi! My name is Daniel Lim Jhao Jian. Here is where I share my experience, knowledge and ideas. You are welcome to leave comments and follow my blog. You are free to copy anything from this blog. Please recommend this blog to your friends.


Sunday 19 October 2014

The process of my application to universities

I obtained 4A* for A Level and AS Level and 9A+ 1A for SPM. Some people may think that with such academic results, I will have no problems in my application to universities. However, in reality the process of my application to universities had not been smooth and easy. In fact, I had to go through several challenges and disappointments in my application to universities. Here, I am sharing the entire process of my application to universities.

On 29 July 2013, I started applying to UK universities through UCAS. I chose University of Cambridge, University College London (UCL), Imperial College London (ICL) and King's College London (KCL) for Medicine course. I was required to write a personal statement for the application, which I felt was a difficult task. Therefore, I delayed submitting the application. Later, the deadline of the application to Cambridge which was 12 August 2013 had passed, so I chose to apply to University of Oxford instead of University of Cambridge. The deadline of the UCAS application for Medicine course was on 17 September 2013. I started writing my personal statement just a few days before the deadline. I finished writing the personal statement on time, but I had no time to have it checked by anyone. To me, my personal statement seemed to be quite satisfactory. I submitted the UCAS application on 17 September 2013 itself. 

Oxford, UCL and ICL required me to take the BMAT test while KCL required me to take the UKCAT test. I was only able to sit for BMAT but not UKCAT, because the deadline had already passed when I tried to book a test centre for UKCAT. On 3 October 2013, I attended a mock interview for Oxford which was arranged by Taylor's College. I was quite nervous before the interview since this was the first time I attended an interview. The interview was quite difficult, but it was still easier than what I had expected. I thought that I performed quite well during the interview since I could answer most of the questions. However, the interviewer's remark on me was that I was an "unfortunate interviewee with poor communication skills" and he gave me grade C+ for the mock interview. I was a little disappointed but not too disappointed since grade C+ is actually still a pass.

On 3 December 2013, I was rejected by Oxford without being shortlisted for an actual interview. Oxford said that it was because the application to Oxford was too competitive. I did not feel too disappointed, as I was confident that I would be shortlisted for interview by at least one other UK university. Later that month, I also started my application to University of Hong Kong (HKU). Again, I was required to write a personal statement. I decided to just use the same personal statement that I used for my UCAS application earlier and make some minor changes to it. I submitted the application to HKU on 21 December 2013. At that time, I still did not have my actual A Level results so I had to use my forecast results to apply to universities.

In January 2014, I was first rejected by UCL, followed by ICL and then KCL. All of them did not shortlist me for interview. That made me feel very disappointed. Since I was rejected by all UK universities, I was allowed to apply to another UK university through UCAS Extra. However, for Medicine course very few universities were still open for application, and all those that were still open required the UKCAT test which I did not take. In other words, I had no more chance to study Medicine in UK. On 17 February 2014, I submitted my application to National University of Singapore (NUS). Actually, NUS did not accept forecast results for application to Medicine. However, I still applied to NUS, hoping that they might give me an offer for deferred entry in 2015. Later, I found out that NUS would not give offers for deferred entry. So, I did not pay the application fee. My application was automatically withdrawn after the payment deadline on 28 February 2014.

At that time, many Malaysian private universities were open for application. Initially, I planned to apply to International Medical University (IMU), AIMST University, Monash University Malaysia, Newcastle University Medicine (NUMed) Malaysia, Perdana University, UCSI University, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS) and University Kuala Lumpur - Royal College of Medicine Perak (UniKL-RCMP), because all of them are in the list for JPA scholarship. I later realised that AIMST, CUCMS, UniKL-RCMP, UCSI and Monash Malaysia do not accept forecast results. I had to wait until my actual results is released in August 2014 before I could apply to those universities, but by then they are likely to be almost full except for Monash Malaysia where the intake is in March 2015.

Therefore, I could only apply to IMU, NUMed Malaysia and Perdana. I submitted the application for IMU on 21 February 2014. However, NUMed Malaysia required me to write a personal statement for the application. After I was rejected by all UK universities, I suspected that my personal statement earlier might be poor so I had to make some changes to it before using it to apply for NUMed Malaysia. At that time, I was quite busy preparing for my A2 Trial Examination. I decided to wait until after the A2 Trial Examination before I start writing the personal statement. At the same time, Perdana required me to submit a health examination report from my doctor. My doctor told me that the report would only be out a few weeks later.

At that time, many of my friends who applied to UK universities had received offers from at least one university. That made me want to have an offer from a UK university as well. Although I could not apply to any universities for Medicine course through UCAS Extra, I realised that I could still apply for other courses. I decided to apply to Kingston University London for Pharmacy course. Since Kingston is a very low ranked university, my chance of getting an offer should be quite high. However, even if they offered me a place, it is highly unlikely that I would be accepting it. What I wanted was just an offer from a UK university.

On 5 March 2014, out of my expectation, HKU sent me an email inviting me to attend an interview in Kuala Lumpur. I was very happy because that was the first time I was shortlisted for interview by a university. Moreover, I did not have to go to Hong Kong to attend the interview. Then on 7 March 2014, I received a phone call from IMU. IMU asked me to choose an interview date and I chose 29 May 2014 which was one week after my A2 Final Examination. I attended the interview for HKU on 16 March 2014. This was the first real interview that I attended. It consisted of both group and individual interview. The group interview was quite difficult, while the individual interview was easy. Later on that month, my health examination report for Perdana was finally out. I submitted the application for Perdana on 31 March 2014. Soon after that, Perdana invited me to attend an interview.

After my A2 Trial Examination, I wanted to write the personal statement for NUMed Malaysia. This time, I asked one of my friend who had a lot of experience in this for help. I showed her the personal statement that I used for my UCAS application earlier and asked her to help make the necessary changes to it. However, my friend said that my previous personal statement was very poor and I should completely rewrite the personal statement. My A2 Final Examination would be starting soon so I was busy doing revision at that time. Therefore, I decided to write the personal statement only after the examination.

On 15 April 2014, I received an offer from Kingston for Pharmacy course. Even though Kingston is a low ranked university and the offer was not for Medicine course, I still felt happy because at least my UCAS application wasn't a complete failure. However, I would not be accepting the offer. Then on 25 April 2014, I attended the interview for Perdana. The interview was moderately difficult and I was quite confident of being offered a place. However, I received a letter from Perdana on 6 May 2014 which stated that I was rejected by them. I felt extremely disappointed. My parents were also disappointed. The fact that I was rejected even by a local university meant that my interview skills was really poor. Actually, one of my close friend also attended an interview for another university on the sane day as my interview for Perdana, and although he said that his interview was very difficult, he was successful in getting an offer.

Soon after that, it was my A2 Final Examination. My focus on doing revision for the exam partly helped reduce my disappointment. I was worried that other universities might also reject me due to my poor interview skills, so I also applied to SEGi University as a backup option. Since the ranking of SEGi is not high, I felt that my chance of getting an offer should be quite high. I submitted the application on 19 May 2014. After the exam ended, I started writing the personal statement for NUMed Malaysia. I rewrote the whole personal statement from scratch. After reading this personal statement, my friend said that it was a great improvement over the previous one but it was still not good enough. With her help, I corrected a part of the personal statement every day.

On 29 May 2014, I attended the interview for IMU. The interview was not difficult but I was not too confident of being offered a place because I was rejected by Perdana earlier. I was quite worried because if IMU rejected me, it is very likely that I would also be rejected by other universities. I kept praying that I would get an offer from IMU. On 31 May 2014, IMU telephoned me to inform me that they had offered me a place for Medicine. I felt very happy and relieved about that. I then received the conditional offer letter on 3 June 2014. After that, on 4 June 2014, SEGi telephoned me and asked me to attend an interview. I chose to be interviewed in late July.

On 5 June 2014, I finished making all the necessary corrections for my personal statement for NUMed Malaysia and my friend told me that it was good enough to be submitted. I submitted the application to NUMed Malaysia on that day. Then on 9 June 2014, NUMed Malaysia sent me an email which states that I had been shortlisted for interview. This proved that the personal statement really played an important role in the application process. I attended the interview for NUMed Malaysia on 25 June 2014. The interview was not difficult but again, I was not too confident of getting an offer. I really liked NUMed Malaysia after going there for the interview so I hoped that I would be offered a place. However, I did not feel too worried about that because even if I was rejected, I could still study Medicine at IMU.

On 26 June 2014, I received a conditional offer from NUMed Malaysia. I felt very happy, because for the first time I was offered a place for Medicine by a UK university, even though it was the Malaysia campus. This also proved that my interview skills was not too bad. However, the conditions of the offer was 3A in A level including Chemistry and Biology. This made me feel a bit worried as I was not 100% confident of getting A for Biology. After receiving offers from both IMU and NUMed Malaysia, I regretted applying to SEGi earlier. However, I had paid the non-refundable application fee so I decided to just attend the interview. I could also use that as an opportunity to practise and improve my interview skills. On 25 July 2014, my offer from Kingston for Pharmacy was automatically withdrawn because I did not accept it before the deadline. Then on 5 August 2014, I attended the interview for SEGi. The interview was not difficult, but it was not as easy as what I had expected and it lasted for a long time. SEGi then telephoned me on 8 August 2014 to tell me that they offered me a place.

On 12 August 2014, my actual A Level results was out and I obtained 4A*. I was very happy because I met the conditions of the offer from NUMed Malaysia. I sent my results to NUMed Malaysia, HKU and IMU. Both NUMed Malaysia and IMU then converted my conditional offer to unconditional offer. However, HKU still did not reply me. On 15 August 2014, I informed SEGi that I no longer wanted to study there. After that, I also telephoned IMU on 21 August 2014 to tell them to withdraw the offer. Then on 27 August 2014, HKU finally rejected me. They said that it was because the application to HKU was too competitive. I did not feel too disappointed about that since I was offered a place by NUMed Malaysia which is also a very good university. 

With that, all the universities that I had applied to have replied me. I made my final decision to study Medicine course at NUMed Malaysia and I accepted its unconditional offer on 29 August 2014. I started studying at NUMed Malaysia on 22 September 2014.

From this story, it is clear that getting the best academic results will not guarantee you a place at any university, especially for competitive courses like Medicine. Other factors such as interview performance and personal statement are also very important. To increase your chance of being offered a place, you should apply to as many universities as possible. Hope everyone will learn something from this story.

84 comments:

  1. So far that application to the university is very hard process. However, thanks for share this event for us

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  2. But at least you are able to fullfill you ambition to become doctor

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  3. Will JPA offers scholarship to overseas or only available in Malaysia?

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    1. If you are a receipient of the MOE Bursary, then JPA will offer you scholarship for both local and overseas, as long as you are offered a place by a university that is in the JPA list. But if you are not a receipient of the MOE Bursary, then the JPA scholarship will only be available for local universities, since JPA abolished the overseas scholarship last year.

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  4. Is physics required for medical courses? I planned to take chemistry, biology and math as my A -level subjects.

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    1. The A Level subjects required for Medicine are Chemistry, Biology and either one of Maths or Physics. Physics is not compulsory if you have Maths. However, I would still recommend you to take Physics, because medical universities often give preference to applicants who took both Maths and Physics.

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  5. Hi daniel
    Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am applying to NUmed Malaysia and I don't know what they want to see in my personal statement. Could you give me some pointers on what you wrote about that made you succeed in getting an interview? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. In my personal statement for NUMed Malaysia, I wrote about why I want to study Medicine, the responsibilities that I held when in school, extra-curricular activities that I took part and my hobbies.

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  6. Hi there!
    Is there any format for the NUMed personal statement? Do we need to restrict it to 4000 characters (like for UCAS) or it is up to us?
    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. You should write the NUMed personal statement in a similar way like the UCAS personal statement. But unlike UCAS, there is no word limit so you can write as many words as you want.

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  7. Hi Daniel!
    I was wondering, what made you choose NUMed over IMU and other local universities?
    Thanks!

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    1. NUMed is definitely better, because its Medicine course is of UK standard. NUMed is also recognised in many countries (but not Singapore), unlike IMU and other local universities which are only recognised in Malaysia. Also, the JPA scholarship does not sponsor for twinning programmes, so if I choose IMU I can only study the local programme.

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    2. Thanks for answering... =)
      Btw, may I know, apart from Malaysia, which other countries recognise it?

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    3. I know that NUMed is recognised by Malaysia, UK, Australia, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Many other countries also recognise NUMed, but I am not sure which countries. However, Singapore definitely does not recognise NUMed and it is likely that this will not change in the future.

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    4. Um... May I know where did you get this information from? It's because I've checked that most of the countries' (the ones you've mentioned) medical council don't recognise it. Please enlighten me if I've got it wrong. Thanks!

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    5. Because NUMed is relatively new, many countries' medical council still have not updated their website to include NUMed, so NUMed is not listed on their website, but in reality they do recognise NUMed. Currently, even Malaysian Medical Council's website do not list NUMed.

      It is clearly stated on NUMed's website that it is recognised by Malaysia and UK, so this must be true.

      The Australian Medical Council and Canadian Medical Council have stated on their websites that they recognise all medical schools that are listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED), which includes NUMed.

      According to the websites of Sri Lanka Medical Council and Thailand Medical Council, they do recognise SEGi University. Since NUMed is much better than SEGi University, it is safe to assume that Sri Lanka and Thailand also recognise NUMed.

      The entry requirements page of NUMed's website includes examinations in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. This shows that NUMed is expecting applications from students in those countries, which means NUMed is recognised by those countries.

      Therefore, we can deduce that NUMed is recognised by Malaysia, UK, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia.

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    6. you only assume. please check out with the relevant medical councils to be sure Numed is indeed recognised by them. All medic schools that are recog by the govt in the countries concerned will be listed in IMED (that includes all the local med schools)that would allow you to apply and sit for the qualifying exams in Canada and US. Don't deduce or guest or assume. Seek confirmation from the rightful authorities!

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  8. Hi Daniel.
    Do you apply to universities through Taylor's Placement Centre? Can they be trusted?

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    1. We can't apply to universities through Taylor's Placement Centre, we have to apply by ourselves. Taylor's Placement Centre only gives us advice in the application and helps prepare our reference and forecast results for the universities. They definitely can be trusted.

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  9. NuMedMsia MBBS is only recognised in Malaysia, no where else. It is a different degree from NuMed UK.

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    1. Graduates from NUMed Malaysia are awarded the same degree as graduates from Newcastle University UK. So technically, countries that recognise Newcastle University UK will also recognise NUMed Malaysia. The only problem is that some countries (one of them being Singapore) requires that the clinical years of the MBBS course must be done entirely in the country that awards the degree. Since the clinical years of the MBBS course at NUMed Malaysia is done in Malaysia instead of UK, these countries will not recognise NUMed Malaysia. However, not all countries have this requirement. It is confirmed that NUMed Malaysia is recognised in Malaysia, UK, Australia and Canada.

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  10. You said, 'NUMed is definitely better, because its Medicine course is of UK standard. NUMed is also recognised in many countries (but not Singapore), unlike IMU and other local universities which are only recognised in Malaysia.'

    You have NOT done your homework. UM and UKM are recognised by SMC, and Monash Sunway is recog by AMC. No other local med school is recog outside Malaysia.

    Another thing, your application would stand a better chance if your 'statement' is well written, have good grades and a pleasant personality (good look) plus interview skills.

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    Replies
    1. You are right that 'UM and UKM are recognised by SMC, and Monash Sunway is recog by AMC'. However, NUMed Malaysia is also recognised by UK GMC, so you can't say that 'No other local med school is recog outside Malaysia'.

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  11. Thank you for the article! I think, it's hard to write an effective personal statement if you have never written them before. That's why I'd like to advise one excellent essay writing service, which can help you with any type of writing, including personal statement: http://www.professional-essay-writing.com.

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  12. Could you please share your tips on improving the personal statement?

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    1. You should include these in your personal statement: Reasons for choosing the course, Positions you held in school, Extra-curricular activities and competitions that you took part, Your hobbies. Do not write about anything that is already in other parts of your application such as your academic performance or education history.

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  13. All students are divided into two categories: those who are able to study independently and those who need help. So if you have any difficulties with studying or you cannot write a good statement – that is not a problem, you can also use custom statement writing services. Our writing a personal statement singapore and research paper writers will be glad to help you)

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  14. Would you be able to share a bit about the IMU interview? What type of questions did they ask you?

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  15. At least you have secured a scholarship. I, on the other hand, received offer to study Medicine from Edinburgh,Glasgow, King's College and Cardiff University but have to let go due to financial constraint. You should be very glad. All the best for your studies!

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  16. Hello, I would like to ask about NUmed registration, I am a foundation In science student.. Do you think it will be easy for me to apply this university? Thank u.

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    1. NUMed accepts Foundation in Science from other universities. To get into NUMed, you have to meet the entry requirements, write a good personal statement and perform well in the interview.

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    2. Should I wait for JPA scholarship or etc before applying the form or should I just fill in the form.. I am looking forward to apply for scholarship in other to get financial aid since NUMed cost a crap load of money. Thank u for ur reply btw!

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    3. I suggest that you wait and don't apply first, because you will be required to pay a deposit of RM20000 within 6 weeks after NUMed offers you a place. However, you should apply to NUMed latest by June.

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  18. Hi, I have a few question regarding the application to NUMed. First, how long was ur personal statement? Since they didnt put any word limits on it i'm kinda confused. Second, i'm a foundation in science student and i dont think there's forecast results for that, correct me if im wrong. Does that mean i should just use my sem 1 results instead in the application form? Finally, can the referee be from anywhere instead of the college im currently studying in?

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    1. 1. There is no word limit for the NUMed personal statement, so you can write as long as you want.
      2. Yes, you can use your 1st semester results as the forecast results.
      3. The referee should be from your college, not anywhere else.

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  19. Are there any scholarships/loans for medicine at NUMed besides JPA?

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    1. There are Khazanah scholarship, MARA loan and PTPTN loan.

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    2. Thanks for the reply, Daniel! I already forgot that I asked that question here. Anyways, regarding MARA loan, do you any information regarding it? How to apply, when to apply, and whether I should I apply directly to MARA or the university? Or can I only apply for it when I start my degree there already (in 1st year)? Since I'm a Sarawak Bumiputera, I think I'm qualified to apply for the loan. Khazanah scholarship might be too competitive for me but I can try to apply for it while PTPTN doesn't cover the full cost of MBBS, so that's out of the question for now.

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  20. Hi, can you provide some tips on writing a good personal statement? I will apply Cambridge this year...

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    1. Since Cambridge is a top university in the world, your personal statement needs to exceptionally good. Considering that I screwed up my UCAS application previously due to poor personal statement, I don't think I am the right person to give you the tips. Sorry about that.

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  21. Hi Daniel. Ohhh i feel you, the pain and emotion involved in the whole application process throughout the year. I applied to medical schools in uk too, rejected by 2 pre interview and 2 post interview. Ur stats are way better than mine, but damn, its tough applying to uk directly. So now im considering applying to IMU, the twinning program thing. Since u had experience in all these application process, can i ask u a few questions? Whens the deadline for the August intake of IMU? When u submit ur application, u used ur forecast results rite? Does IMU require a personal statement? Lets say if i missed out on August intake, can i still apply for Feb intake next year? Hows the interview for IMU? Many questions?? Did they ask about ur work experiences?? Science based questions? i know ur not supposed to discuss, but i hope u would shed some light on it. Ur saying that if study IMU locally for 5 years, only malaysia recognise the degree? But if i chose the twinning route then it will be a different case rite?? Finally, would you consider taking a gap year and reapply to UK, instead of applying to universities here? Do u think its worth the risk?? So sorry i have so many questions, bcus i was kind of in the same boat as you. Rejected by all uk medical schools is painful. We should have applied to many countries, not just uk.... thank you daniel.

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    1. There is no specific deadline for the application to IMU, the application will close when all the places have been filled up. I would advise you to apply now. I applied to IMU using my forecast A2 level results. IMU does not require a personal statement. You can always defer to the next intake for IMU. My IMU interview lasted for about 20 minutes and I was asked the usual questions in previous IMU interviews. I can't remember the interview questions, you can search on Google for 'IMU interview questions'. I was not asked any science based questions or questions about work experience. It is actually okay for me to talk about the interview here since I was never told not to do so and I am not studying at IMU. IMU local degree is only recognised in Malaysia, while IMU twinning programme is recognised worldwide. I would discourage you from taking a gap year and reapplying to UK, since the chance of being offered a place is low because it is very competitive.

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    2. Although I am not interested in Medicine, which is more competitive in terms of admission rate,UK medical school or NUS?

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    3. They should be equally competitive for international students.

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  23. Hi, u mentioned that we need to pay rm20k within 6 weeks after getting the offer. If i cant pay it within that time, what will happen to my offer to study at NUMed?

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    1. Your offer may be withdrawn. In fact, 4 weeks after I received the offer, they were already chasing me for the payment (even though the offer letter stated 6 weeks).

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  24. Hi Daniel, thanks for your sharing. However, I am applying Numed application through Talyor's University Placement. The form (paper) has limited spaces for personal statement. However, through the comments above, you mentioned there is no maximum word limitations. Would you mind to clear my doubts?

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    1. I didn't print out the application form, instead I downloaded the application form (which is a Microsoft Word document) from the NUMed website. Then, I filled up the form (including the personal statement) by typing using Microsoft Word and e-mailed it to NUMed. I suggest that you do the same. The space for the personal statement will automatically expand as we type.

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  25. Hi Daniel, I recently got a conditional offer from NUMed. In terms of living expenses, is it really as high as RM 2000 as mentioned in the website based on your own experience? And for accomodation, are there any cheaper alternatives from the NUMed managed one that is also nearby the uni? 'Cause if possible, I would like to save as much as possible on the living expenses as the fees are already so expensive. Thank you.

    JK

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    1. My living expenses is about RM800 per month excluding accommodation. An alternative for the accommodation is ISV (Student Village). ISV is cheaper and is located just beside the NUMed campus, but has less facilities.

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  26. Hello, is it possible to pay the deposit for the offer at a later date? 'Cause I would like to see and consider offers from other universities first before deciding.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. I am not sure if you can pay the deposit later. You can try contacting the university and ask them about this.

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  27. Hi Daniel, would you mind to share some questions during Numed interview?

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  28. I actually read your blogs since last year and I truly enjoyed them! Although I'm not applying for medicine, but your blogs inspired me to do better. Just finished my a levels and now I'm anticipating for AAB to study engineering at Nottingham. :)

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  29. Can u please give some tips of how to study biology and get an A*

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  30. Firstly,Thanks a lot for all your help by posting solved papers .

    I have been accepted conditionally to NUmed but I was wondering how the quality of education is compared to universities in U.K. . Would u please explain and let me know about NUmed because I have also been considered by universities in U.K. But due to being extremely expensive for international students I have not yet accepted their offer.

    Thanks and best regards,

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    Replies
    1. The MBBS course at NUMed is of equivalent standard to that of Newcastle University UK. The teaching and facilities at NUMed are excellent. Since it is much more expensive to study in UK, I would recommend you to choose NUMed.

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    3. The accommodation pricing shown is for a whole academic year, not just a semester. The word 'term' in the brochure does not mean a semester, it means a term of the contract which includes the whole academic year.

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    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  31. As u have mentioned above you have done mock interviews.

    Would you please let me know the following:

    Is the mock interview linked to the university you applied to?
    Did you fly out to the U.K. In order to give your mock interview?
    How do I apply for a mock interview?
    Can u please suggest places where I can do a mock interview.

    Thanks a lot and I appreciate your help for everything

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    Replies
    1. The mock interview was for students who applied to Cambridge or Oxford University. It was organised by my A Level college. A few professors from Cambridge and Oxford came to my college to conduct the mock interview.

      Mock interviews are quite rare. My college is one of the few that organise mock interviews. You can try asking your school or college if they organise mock interviews.

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  32. Thanks for sharing experience! I really hope that my interview performance and personal statement will help me to get into university. I've found some helpful tips on ps writing here: HKU personal statement. Feeling really nervous. Really. Nervous.

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  33. Dude, we shared the same experience. I have the same results as yours and I also applied for UCAS, NUS, NTU, HKU and UM. Rejected by all for MBBS and in the end I decided to go IMU due to financial problems. This is just frustrating that we have to go through so many disappointments just because we want to pursue our dreams. Anyway, GOOD LUCK to you man.

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  34. Sorry, are you now still studying in Newcastle?
    Do you feel any disadvantages or changes in the policy of the recognition?

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    1. I am currently in my 4th year in NUMed. Students in NUMed will graduate with the same degree as students in Newcastle UK. However, since NUMed’s degree is studied entirely in Malaysia, this affects its international recognition. Currently, NUMed is officially recognised by Malaysia, UK, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and India. Singapore officially does not recognise NUMed. Other countries may or may not recognise NUMed, depending on their policy.

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    2. Is there any difference between MBBS and MD? Becos i feel like almost all government school provide MD but newcastle provide MBBS

      Is the interview now difficult to pass?

      How many student they going to take for MBBS course?

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    3. MBBS and MD are quite similar, except that MBBS includes surgery while MD does not.

      The NUMed interview is not too difficult to pass. As long as you are well prepared for it, you should be able to pass.

      The number of students that NUMed takes each year is not fixed.

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    4. How is the life inside? will be super busy like no time to sleep or...? the co-curriculum all need to pay extra?

      MD does not include surgery? so mean when they go out they cannot be surgeon?

      Thank you for your reply, i am going to the interview this tuesday, hope can get in.

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    5. The course is quite busy and stressful, but it is definitely possible to get enough sleep every day if you manage your time well.

      Some of the co-curricular activities at NUMed require payment. However, the co-curricular activities are completely optional. You will not be disadvantaged in any way if you do not take part.

      I am not sure whether MD graduates can specialise in surgery or not.

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    6. 1. can i know how is the academic calendar? like one sem how many weeks for holiday haha

      2. dont you never worry about the hardship of medicine in future?

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    7. For 1st and 2nd year, the academic year is from late September to early June. For 3rd year, it is from late August to late July. For 4th year, it is from early September to early August. For 5th year, it is from late August to early June.

      There are 3 holidays per year, which are the Winter break, Easter break and Summer break. The Winter break lasts for 3 to 4 weeks for 1st & 2nd year and 2 weeks for 3rd, 4th & 5th year. The Easter break lasts for 2 weeks for all years. The Summer break lasts for about 16 weeks for the end of 1st year, 12 weeks for the end of 2nd year, 6 weeks for the end of 3rd year and 4 weeks for the end of 4th year.

      My focus is to pass my current academic year. I don’t think much about what happens in the future.

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  35. In the UK the recognised programme for provisionally registered doctors is the first year of the
    Foundation Programme (F1) provided by the NHS Postgraduate Deaneries. However it is
    unlikely that you will be able to complete the first year of foundation training in the UK, as
    under prevailing UK immigration rules you may not be able to get a work permit.

    what is this mean? Is it means that wecannot be a GMC recognised doctor at all right?

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    Replies
    1. sorrysorry
      one more question where did you stay when you studying in newcastle? Student village or newcastle horizon apartment?

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    2. There are two pathways for us to practise as a doctor in UK after graduating from NUMed.

      The first pathway is to do the Foundation Programme in UK. The problem is that it is very difficult to get into the Foundation Programme, as stated in your quote above.

      The second pathway is to complete housemanship at one of the five hospitals in Malaysia approved by the GMC. This is stated on the same page of NUMed’s website.

      We should choose the second pathway instead of the first pathway.

      I have always been staying in Horizon Residences, since 1st year until now.

      Delete
  36. Hi senior! I might enrol in NUMed for the new intake. Do u know much about student village? How are the facilities there? Is it convenient for food n so on?

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    Replies
    1. I do not stay at Student Village so I can’t give you much information about it. The facilities there is definitely not as good as Horizon Residences. There is cafe at Student Village.

      Delete
  37. the five hospitals for GMC recognition are which hospital?

    when finish preclinical year,are there any professional exam for the student tovpass and proceed to clinical year?

    thank you

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    Replies
    1. The five approved hospitals are Hospital Sultan Ismail, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Hospital Enche Besar Hajjah Khalsom Kluang, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kota Kinabalu and Kuching General Hospital.

      There are examinations at the end of every year which we must pass in order to proceed to the following year.

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  38. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even though NUMed’s MBBS degree is identical to that of Newcastle UK, there are limitations to its international recognition due to the fact that it is studied in Malaysia. The degrees of the Australian universities you mentioned probably have better international recognition.

      NUMed students can choose to study up to 4 months in UK during the 4th year.

      It is not too competitive to get into NUMed’s Foundation Programme. In your O Level, you need to obtain 5A in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and any other subject, as well as grade B in English.

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