The course in general
How many contact hours do you have in the average week?
20-25

Ideally, what 3/4 subjects would you recommend doing in order to be in the best position for your course?
Chemistry, Biology, Maths (take the statistics option!). Physics could also be useful, as well as Psychology or another topic related to the area of Medicine you are interested in.

Why did you decide to study your degree programme?
I have a genuine desire to spend my life helping others, as well as a love of science. Medicine seemed the perfect way to combine these two! I also like knowing that this degree will get me into a good job, with a lot of variety and opportunities for promotion and further training.

Explain the things you wish you'd known about your degree before you applied:
I wish I had known that there was a large component of Medical Statistics - I never took the statistics module at A-level and would be finding it a lot easier had I done so!

Describing your average day
Explain how your day is made up. For example, do you have labs/seminars/tutorials/lectures?
The average day will consist of several lectures. The most you have is 5 in a day, and each one is an hour long. In first year, there are regular tutorials where you meet in small groups to discuss pre-set work. These are less frequent in second year. Other teaching methods include occasional practical work in laboratories, visits to GP practises and hospitals, and communication practise with actor patients.

How much extra work/reading are you required to do out of lectures?
Nearly all of the information required to pass exams is given to you in lectures. However there is a large amount of information - this will naturally take a lot of your own time to really learn thoroughly. There are also tutorials and assignments set that require work to be finished by a deadline, as well as Special Study Modules (SSMs). These are modules you choose from a list of pre-suggested topics (or you can create your own) and will require a lot of work in your own time where you write a report or create a portfolio. There is 1 SSM in first year, and two in second year - in second year you are given Tuesdays off to work on these.

Is there anything else you think is relevant or that you would like to add in respect of your course?
Be sure you are really enthusiastic about medicine before applying - it will take up a lot of your time, which is great if you enjoy it, but not so fun if you don't! Academic support can sometimes be a bit tricky here - there are a lot of students to look after and things can get a bit confused. You do have a personal tutor to contact about problems, but not that much contact with them. There are other people you can get in touch with, however.

The best and worst parts of the course
What do you like best about your degree programme?
I love the variety of subjects covered, and the wide range of resources used to teach them; lectures, laboratory practicals, dissection, sessions with pre-set microscope slides, computer-based study, seminars and tutorials.

What do you like least about your degree programme?
The medical school and the rest of the college have a slight rivalry which can sometimes be a little annoying as a medic where you feel apart from the rest of KCL. This will happen somewhat anyway though, as the course structures are so different.

Academics and course content
What do you think of your university's academics and facilities?
I think the facilities we have here are brilliant - I can't fault them. The libraries and computer rooms are well_equipped, the teachers are mostly brilliant and rooms well-maintained. The dissection room and laboratories are well-kept and have enough resources for all 400 of us in a year to take part. Medicine also has a "virtual campus" on the King's website, which is very useful for contacting tutors with questions, looking up your timetable, downloading lecture notes and getting the latest course news.

Explain how you expected your course to be and how it compares to how it actually is. Give an outline of the content of the course.
The content in the first two years is a LOT of science, in two phases. Phase 1 covers all the basics you need to know, with the beginnings of several topics. It can be a bit boring to get through it all, but it's very important and I found it interesting. Phase 2 puts this all into context and takes it further - with case studies of patients and their diseases. Most people enjoy this a lot more, as you can immediately see the relevance and hear a lot of interesting stories! Expect a lot of work! King's is very clear about teaching you everything you need to know, and letting you know what will be examined. However this doesn't stop the fact that there is a lot that needs to be done- both in terms of learning core material and doing other assignments. A wide range of resources are used to teach all this- lectures, laboratory practicals, dissection, sessions with pre-set microscope slides, computer-based study, seminars and tutorials.