Here's a great albumn on Facebook that Joshua Tan Kuan, an NUSHS alumni uploaded. It contains screen shots of how you can prepare for your interview and get into Medical School. Do take a good read at it and it will come in helpful for all interviews, even if it's not an interview for medical school. 

All the best for the interviews! 

 

NUSHSCollegeTalk thanks Nathaniel of the Class of 2008 for sharing his experiences of pursuing an education in Medicine. Do contact him at nathanielngliwen@gmail.com if you have any questions.

I spoke earlier on why I did medicine. The reasons for pursuing a calling in medicine are varied but ultimately for many people the decision has to be made and unfortunately it has to be made rather early. I have been asked (I have asked myself too) is this really for me- To make the decision of my life for the rest of my life. I honestly cannot predict how things would turn out or whether my views would change in the future. But what I did was to sit down and think for that moment, can I foresee myself doing this for the rest of my life, being a service to others and to save lives. Many things will have to be considered- families, relationships, money, sleep, work hours etc and thus it is important to read up a little more and ask around about how things are. For example surgeons on average spend 12 hours in the hospital and do about 1 night call (stay over) every 4-5 days. With all things considered and if the answer is still yes, I think the answer speaks for itself. However the decision does not end there, it is important to review your decision once in a while and to sit back and reflect why you made it and if things are different now. I have doctors seen who regret choosing medicine as their career paths and its a little saddening. But I have to say if the decision is the right one, you will find each day a joy and that you will look forward to everyday of your learning. And so you grit your teeth, gather up your portfolio, look for Mr Allan for some help on the application process, and tick medicine as your first choice on the nus portal application portal and you prepare for an adventure of a lifetime.

NUSHSCollegeTalk thanks Nathaniel of the Class of 2008 for sharing his experiences of pursuing an education in Medicine. Do contact him at nathanielngliwen@gmail.com if you have any questions.

 

 

As I applied to medicine via the exceptional individual scheme (EIS) I was not sure how things would be different from my other peers who applied the normal route but it didn’t matter, I had to assume I was in and start preparing even though there might a possibility that I might not even be granted the interview in the first place. It’s probably the hardest thing do: to work on blind faith but nonetheless I went ahead.

 

The first thing for preparing for interviews was access the internet. The internet is a powerful source of information what can help you tremendously.  The beauty of medicine interviews is that the questions don’t really change much. You should have set piece answers for standard questions like “why medicine?”, “Why doctor and not fireman after all they all help people”, “your greatest failures and success in life”, “Do you intend to start a family (for girls)” There are many questions you can find online and it’s a good place to get started. Write your answers down and convert them to memory, however do not kill yourself in trying to remember EVERY word you wrote, the main points are enough. I particularly like mind maps which help me classify my thoughts so I cover as much ground as possible. One thing I found particular helpful is asking a friend to interview you this is because think and talking are 2 totally different things. I went to the extent of video recording myself to look out for anything I do that might be obvious like constant shuffling of my feet when I’m nervous. A friend can help you point out flaws in the way you speak like the “LAs and ERs”. Anyone will do. It can be your friend, your family member, your teacher. Sometimes the feedback they give can help you in many ways.

 

Apart from common questions it’s important to keep track of recent healthcare updates in Singapore and around the world. Knowing that Singapore’s facing a bed crunch, that the silver tsunami, the 3Ms, our current health minister are all things you should know. I understand it might seem impossible to cover everything and I agree. But do not be disheartened because every piece of information you read might come in handy. Have a little journal and write down summaries of articles you have read each day and review them from time to time.

Your personal statement is another thing which is very important. Essentially I feel that the personal statement is simply something the interviews will read before they see you in person. It’s a little snapshot of you that you want to give to the interviewer before you enter the room. Thus it has to be personalized and impactful. Do note that you should know EVERYTHING you write in that statement. Should you mention anything medical like watching an operation for a “right hemicolectomy” for example you better know what the procedure is because they do question students on what it is.

 

The essay should come naturally if you have been preparing well for the interviews. It’s almost impossible to predict the type of questions they ask. For example for my year there were 2 questions asked for the essay and they were as follows (roughly like this)

1)      Write about a disease you feel will be prevalent in the future and if you are in power to do something what would you do? How would you go about doing it? What are possible problems you might face?

2)      Write a book that influenced your views on medicine.

I think the main purpose of this essay is to see your thought process and if you can come up with an essay to bring across a point and if your grasp of English is there.

Finally, I understand it’s a long and grueling process that might seem to have no end in sight but please do not be disheartened because once the results of interviews are out things will speed up and before you know it you will be seated on the chair outside the interview room. It would probably be the biggest interview of your life till date and though it’s been nearly 3 years for me, the memories are still fresh. Even if you are in army you still have time, I kept my papers under my pillow in my bunk before training each day and I would read them every night before I sleep, I would put it in a ziplock bag and go outfield with it. Even in OCS during a peer review, my platoon mates actually commented in a e-feedback form done on a computer that I was “Too interested in medicine”. That’s the level of commitment I was willing to give. And remember, you have friends and family by your side to support you through this, even as the going gets tough. Medicine is not an easy course but it’s definitely a fulfilling. If it’s a decision you have made and you are sure of it, trust me it’s something you’ll never regret. To all those who recently got an interview and to those aspiring doctors I hope this give you all in insight and some idea on how to approach the preparatory phase. Good luck!

Hi readers,

Yuting (Class of 2010) has set up a facebook support group for NUS High students studying or thinking of studying in US universities. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/236292583084004/

It is February right now, so things are pretty quiet on the applications/admissions front, but results come out in a month or two. Should be exciting!

Cheers,
Vanessa

A warm letter from Yun Hui of the Class of 2009. NUSHSCollegeTalk thanks her for the insights she shares about dentistry, and bids you read on for more information on how to contact her if you have any questions.

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NUSHSCollegeTalk thanks Nathaniel of the Class of 2008 for sharing his experiences of pursuing an education in Medicine. Do contact him at nathanielngliwen@gmail.com if you have any questions.

My name is Nathaniel Ng. I graduated from NUS High School in 2008 and I'm now studying medicine (Year 3) in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. I hope this series of articles I write will prove helpful and serve as an inspiration to all you budding doctors.

I'll share a little on my journey into medicine and life in NUS High leading up to my admission. Many of you might not follow the route I took but something I hope you all can take back from this story is the importance of believing in yourself and never giving up - no matter what.

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Hello everyone, this is my first post! (And I stole the title from Kylie) As was last posted, it's time for a new batch of students (or rather, graduates) to take over the writing and administration for this blog. We're Xinyuan, Bryce and Lynnette from NUS High School Class of 2011. We'll post some things about our experiences in school, because our batch has been a batch where a great number of changes took place. For example, the track-system for math specialisation has been abandoned etc. And we'll try to answer your questions. But we have great shoes to fill because our seniors are all so accomplished so we hope you will be patient with us as we try to figure our way about :)) 

And just as a start, I stumbled upon this link: http://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/essay-questions/past-essays. It contains past essays by students that have been admitted by Tufts University, which gives you a good idea of getting into the feel for writing essays. 

Hi everyone, 

It has been a long time since any of us posted here. As you might have expected, college life has caught up on all of us as we move on to the next phase of our life. 

Collegetalk started out on 24th January 2009 because NUSHS was a new school, with a new diploma different from the other JCs, and as seniors we wanted to let juniors know about our experiences applying to colleges with our new qualifications. Our value-add was that it was a blog from NUS High students, for NUS High students, because only an NUS High student would understand the experience of another NUS High student. 

Each year, the blog is passed on to the next batch of juniors, who would run everything - administration, posts, recruitment, you-name-it. As time passes and NUS High becomes more and more established, the biggest beneficiaries are surely our juniors who now have much more resources at their disposal! An abundance of articles and a plethora of seniors are at hand out there to dispense advice to any junior who requests for them. Does this render collegetalk unnecessary now? Perhaps, but this is certainly not a bad sign as it means that our juniors are no longer faced with the problem of lack of information like what we used to have - about how our diploma is viewed, how to navigate our curriculum and all the other NUS High nuances. 

I am not sure if this is the last post any of the other writers will write; it is probably going to be my last. Time really flies, and it has been 3 years now (and 2 server changes, from lj to blogger and now posterous) since collegetalk started and since I graduated. I am more than halfway through my college years and will be entering the working world (for real!) in a year or two. 

When I was told that college will be the best time of my life, I did not think much of it, but as my college years dwindle away mercilessly, I find myself treasuring the last remnants of it more and more, clinging on to whatever time I have left and trying to make the best out of it. The best (unwarranted) advice I can give to the juniors out there is that college is not just a place for you to get your degree, but more importantly an avenue for self exploration. Don't be afraid to do the things that you have always wanted to do but never had the chance to. Explore. Go traveling. Get out of your comfort zone. You will emerge not just a more skilful person in whatever craft you pursue, but also a wiser one, with a greater awareness about the world, and more importantly yourself. You will be more experienced, more confident, and also more humbled. 

In this final post, I want to give a shoutout to:

1. The guest writers who contribute these articles to our blog ever so often here and there

2. My fellow administrators / collaborators who have taken on the running of this blog relentlessly over the last 3 years, taking out massive amounts of time to think about what juniors would find useful and writing articles - Kenneth ('10), Chui Yi ('10), Viona ('10), Kylie ('10), Zhong Ming ('09), Lay Kuan ('09), Fiona ('08). 

3. The co-founder, Vanessa ('09), the one who mooted this idea to begin with and without whom this blog would not have been founded. 

4. You, the readers. We have received many heartening emails over the years which really encourage us to keep going. Thank you for all the kind words and the continuous support you have given us. We really appreciate it. 

Good luck to the juniors for your college app applications, and everything will still be running - the tagboard is still up, we still respond to the collegetalk emails that you send us at nushscollegetalk@gmail.com, I respond to my personal email if you want to send questions coming that way, and my fellow writers will continue to post articles...when they are free, perhaps. 

Thanks for everything, everyone. It has been as fun for me to write the articles and to see the responses as it was for you to read them. Your support over the years means a lot to us, and me personally. 

- Ang Ying Zhen ('08), reachable at angyingzhen@gmail.com if you ever want to send anything my way

By Stephanie Chew

NUSHSCollegeTalk thanks Stephanie for taking the time to share more about the LNAT process and answering a smattering of questions we threw her way. Stephanie is studying Law at the University College London. Here's wishing her all the best in her studies!

How to prepare?

There are a few practice papers with MCQs and essays available online. I suppose it's possible to buy books but I wouldn't recommend overpreparing for this.

Word of caution: Do not sign up for any of those 'courses' that claim to understand the system or help you get a better score. My personal opinion is that it's probably a huge waste of money and time.

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NUSHSCollegeTalk wishes all its readers a happy Deepavali.

And to those who are facing the uphill and incredibly challenging task of applying to colleges - press on! It'll all be worth it come next year.