Applying To King’s College London Medical School

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What this guide to applying to study Medicine at King’s College London Medical School covers

This medical school profile gives an overview of useful information when considering applying to study Medicine at King’s College London Medical School, also referred to as KCL Medical school or King’s Medical School. First, we cover the various Medicine courses on offer at King’s Medical School including the King’s Graduate & Professional Entry Medicine Programme (GPEP); the King’s Medicine MaxFax Entry Programme and the King’s Extended Medical Degree Programme. We explain why the standard King’s Medicine course is six years instead of five and exemptions to this. We cover King’s Medical School’s entry requirements for studying Medicine. This include how King’s Medical School uses applicants UKCAT results; the role of the Medicine personal statement at King’s College London Medical School and other crucial information that will help you to apply to study Medicine at King’s Medical School. Then, we advise on how to write a Medicine personal statement for King’s Medical School and give advice about how to pass a King’s Medical School MMI interview.

Medicine courses offered by King’s Medical School:

  • King’s Standard Entry Medicine Programme (6 years, 1 of which is an opt-out Intercalated BSc). UCAS course code A100

  • King’s Medicine Graduate & Professional Entry Programme (GPEP) (4 years) UCAS course code A102

  • King’s Medicine MaxFax Entry Programme (4 years) UCAS code A104

Designed for a very small number of qualified Dentists who wish to pursue a career in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

  • Extended Medical Degree Programme (7 years, 1 of which is an opt-out Intercalated BSc) UCAS Course Code A101

A widening participation programme. This programme allows the first stage of the Medicine programme to be taught more slowly and with more significant support.

  • King’s International Foundation Programme (Biology & Chemistry Pathway)

A specialist preparation course for international and EU students wishing to study an undergraduate degree at King’s College London. Students on the King’s International Foundation Biology & Chemistry Pathway, are now eligible to apply to the Medicine programme at King’s College London.

International Applicants to study Medicine at King’s Medical School

King’s College Medical School welcomes applications from overseas applicants for some of its Medicine programmes. This includes King’s Graduate Entry Medicine Programme which is open to international students. This is unlike many other Graduate Entry Medicine programmes that are only open to Home students.

London is, of course, a leading global city and a fantastic, albeit expensive, city for international students to study Medicine. King’s College London also offers an international foundation programme which gives successful candidates the opportunity to apply to the Medicine course.

Graduate Entry Medicine at King’s Medical School:

Graduate applicants are welcome to apply to King’s Medical School’s standard 6-year Medicine programme. Graduates can opt out of the intercalated BSc so that the course would then be five years for them. Applicants can also apply to King’s Medical School’s fast track 4-year Graduate Entry Programme. For the standard entry Medicine programme, King’s Medical School accepts Graduates with a Bioscience degree or students with non-Science degrees who meet certain A-level requirements. For the Graduate Entry Medicine programmes at King’s Medical School, applicants should hold a second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in a Biosciences subject. If this an upper second-class honours Science degree, then this will be sufficient. Applicants with a lower second-class honours science degree (including four-year undergraduate degrees, e.g. MSci) and a master’s degree with at least a merit, or with a PhD, will be considered.

Visit our free guide to applying to Medicine as a graduate for more information including a detailed breakdown on deciding if applying to Medicine as a graduate is for you, fees, funding, choosing between accelerated programmes and standard entry Medicine programmes and much more. We also have a free guide on how to write an excellent graduate entry Medicine personal statement. This comprehensive guide takes you from the ideas phase with no plan or draft all the way to a finished Graduate Entry Medicine personal statement ready for submission.

Course structure at King’s Medical School:

The course structure at King’s medical school is fashioned around an integrated Medicine curriculum. An Integrated curriculum is the most common method of delivering a Medicine course in the UK. Integrated curriculums mean that medical sciences are taught jointly alongside clinical Medicine, so students can see how these Sciences relate to real patients. Integrated curriculums allow early patient contact which is the case at King’s Medical School. King’s Medical School uses lectures, seminars, group work and case-based teaching to deliver its curriculum. It is one of the few medical schools still using cadaveric dissection to teach anatomy.

Intercalation at King’s Medical School

King’s Medical School have an extensive range of intercalated degrees which medical students can take. The intercalation year is considered an opt-out year for the Medicine programmes at King’s Medical School. Intercalation is widely offered in UK medical schools and is a popular option. In the case of King’s Medical School, students can take a BSc between stages 2 and 3 of the Medicine course and then return to complete the Medicine course. This allows them to achieve a BSc in only one year, whereas a BSc would typically take three years for a non-intercalating student to achieve.

Open days at King’s Medical School

King’s College London Medical School offers open days open to people interested in applying to King’s Medical School. It also delivers a post-offer open day for candidates who have successfully received an offer to study Medicine at King’s Medical School. A King’s Medical School open day or post offer open day is an excellent way for you to see the medical school for yourself and meet students and staff. A King’s Medical School open day will also allow you to explore the city of London for yourself.

Entry Requirements for King’s Medical School six-year Medicine programme

Applying to any UK medical school is a very competitive process which necessitates meeting high academic and non-academic entry requirements. While sharing many common areas, medical schools still have very different entry requirements and policies from one another in specific areas. The entry requirements for King’s Medical School are no different in this regard so you must carefully understand the entry requirements for King’s Medical School when considering applying to King’s Medical School. Below are some headline details about the entry requirements for King’s College London Medical School for 2019 entry. You can see the full entry requirements for Kings Medical school on their website.

A-Level requirements for King’s Medical School: A*AA including Biology and Chemistry. King’s Medical School does not accept A-levels in General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives. However, if taken, the achieved grades may be considered when determining whether to accept a candidate who has just fallen short of the conditions of their offer.

GCSE requirements for King’s Medical School: Minimum grade B/6 in English and Maths.

Admissions tests – how does King’s Medical School use UKCAT scores for its Standard Entry Medicine programme?

King’s Medical School requires all candidates to sit the UKCAT exam. King’s state that the overall UKCAT score averaged over the four UKCAT subsections is given more consideration than individual UKCAT section scores. King’s Medical School state that the SJT is also given consideration when shortlisting candidates. King’s Medical School state that examination results and UKCAT score are usually the most important factors when looking at applications as they provide the fairest and most consistent method of assessing applicants. For more information about the UKCAT and how to prepare for the UKCAT, see our free guide and FAQ.

How Does King’s Medical School use the Medicine personal statement?

King’s Medical School uses both the Medicine personal statement and reference in the application process. What King’s Medical School highlight as things they look for in a Medicine personal statement are common to most medical schools. Some of the things King’s Medical School state that they look for in a Medicine personal statement include evidence of an appropriate commitment to Medicine and a realistic appreciation of the demands of both studying and working in the field of Medicine. King’s Medical School state that they look for evidence of work experience in caring roles or at least in interacting with the public, e.g. at a restaurant. They look for candidates who have thoroughly participated in school and college and made the most of the opportunities made available to them. They want candidates with a good range of outside interests and experience of broader society.

Tips on how to write a successful Medicine personal statement for King’s Medical School

  • Read our comprehensive free guide on how to write a medical school personal statement in 10 steps. This guide takes you from step 1 – with no draft, plan or anything written down, all the way to step 10 – a completed and excellent medical school personal statement ready for you to submit to UCAS
  • We have listed some of the things the King’s Medical School are looking for in a Medicine personal statement. Remember that the meaning and insight gained from experiences such as work experience or extracurricular activities are the most critical thing admissions tutors are looking for, even more so then what you actually did. Merely making long lists of achievements or diary accounts of activities is not what admissions tutors at King’s Medical School or any other medical school are looking for. It is up to you to make the most of what you have done and show the medical school admissions panel how your experiences will make an excellent candidate to study Medicine. Our free article: How to showcase the attributes of self-reflection and personal insight into your Medicine application will help you to write in the manner that admissions tutors are looking for.
  • You can consider a Medicine personal statement review service. Various companies offer these. They are not essential, so do not believe any company that tells you otherwise. However, services by competent providers can add real value to your Medicine application. When looking at providers ensure that they are by experts in Medicine admissions and have professional skills in editing and reviewing. Medicine Answered provide an excellent medical school personal statement review service with a unique level of expertise. A professional editor and then a doctor (who received all four offers to study Medicine) will examine the personal statement line by line and make the appropriate corrections. After making sure the grammar and writing are flawless, they will also comment on the overall strength of the application and make suggestions of things which may be asked at your Medicine interview based on your medical school personal statement.

What type of interviews does King’s Medical School use?

King’s Medical School requires all candidates to be interviewed before an offer to study Medicine at Kings medical school can be made. King’s Medical School use MMI Medicine interviews. For 2019 entry, King’s Medicine MMI interviews will contain at least one MMI station designed to assess personality and value-based attributes such as compassion, empathy, respect, integrity, decision-making, team working and more. Some MMI stations are scientifically based and designed to assess information handling and evaluation skills, while others will determine knowledge on topical medical issues. Another MMI station will determine the candidates’ ability to deal with an ethical dilemma. Communication skills are assessed in every station.

Tips for passing an MMI interview at King’s Medical School interview

Success at a King’s Medical School interview or any medical school interview is not random. It involves a tried and tested set of steps that you can also follow:

  • A strategic plan on how to prepare for your medical school interview – We cover this in detail in our entirely free guide on how to prepare for your medical school interview in seven steps.
  • Learning critical medical school interview strategies – We have a wealth of free articles covering Medicine interview strategies. We also have a free database of real Medicine interview questions with full competent answers, analysis, and advice on how to answer these medical school interview questions. We also have a free guide to Medical Ethics and free blog articles such as answering opinion questions, dealing with rude or hostile interviewers/ MMI actors and many more topics
  • Avoiding common medical school interview pitfalls – See our free guide on common Medicine Interview pitfalls and how to prevent them.
  • Intelligent, reflective medical school interview practice – Use our free exclusive database of medical school interview questions and answers.
  • Execution on the medical school interview day – Preparation and practice are one part of success. The other part is peak performance and execution on the day. Read our free article about dealing with nerves.

If you prefer a face to face approach, Medicine Answered also provide excellent doctor delivered one-day medical school interview courses as well as one to one private tutoring online or in person. All of our courses and tutoring are delivered only by doctors who passed all four of their Medicine interviews. For more information see our services section.