Katherine Garner (2nd year)
What does a typical day studying Biomedical Sciences at Keble look like?
On a typical day we have a few lectures, and some tutorials and a practical during the week. One or two tutorials a week is the norm, although scheduling mishaps do sometimes happen and you’ll end up with three (in this case, tell your tutors if your workload is too high that week!). For your first-year lectures, you’ll be taught alongside students from medicine, biochemistry, and psychology. Your tutorials will be biomed-only or sometimes with the medics too, depending on the topic.
This interdisciplinary nature really appeals to some students as we get a broad range of lectures, but it’s really a matter of personal preference – the Oxford course emphasises wider reading and quite self-directed learning especially in second year.
During COVID my routine is similar, but I’ve been doing my lectures and tutorials online. In the evenings I might go for a run in Uni parks opposite college, or meet with my household for dinner.
Why do you like studying Biomedical Sciences at Keble?
Firstly, for convenience. Keble guarantees accommodation for all three years of the course and we’re in a great location. In my first year, it was nice being able to run out the door and still make my 9am lecture at the Sherrington building – not that I’d recommend making a habit of this! Between my morning lectures and afternoon tutorials, I would always have time to eat lunch in hall and catch up with friends.
We’re a little bit removed from the business of the town centre, but still central enough to get to the shops quickly or walk back after a night out. As a biomed student at Keble, you can get through your first year easily without having much use for a bike.
My tutors at Keble have been lovely too, and the college is a warm, tight-knit community despite being one of the larger colleges.
Personal statement advice
Enthusiasm is key for the personal statement. Don’t read something because you feel you ‘ought’ to, read because it’s interesting. The department does send out a list of some recommended books, but you definitely don’t have to follow it religiously – just pick a few if you feel like broadening your knowledge. That said, finding a couple of areas you’re interested in will help with your personal statement a lot. If you’re interested in a specific topic, what is your favourite book you’ve read on the subject? Or do you keep up with biomedical news stories? Practice reading your personal statement aloud, and ask a family member or friend to ask you questions about it – see if there are areas you feel you could talk about with enthusiasm, and others which you’d rather not be quizzed on. Think about how you can emphasize your particular interests in the statement.
Every applicant will approach the interview having had different teaching and opportunities – different contacts, school trips, events occurring nearby, and so on. Don’t worry if you feel like you’re lacking in experiences to write about, especially if the pandemic made this difficult. Just as with the reading list, quality beats quantity – and enthusiasm beats ‘quality’ in terms of importance. Listening to a podcast about your area of study can have just the same value as attending a formal lecture, as long as you can explain what you learnt. And likewise, there’d be no use writing lots about a research placement if you found it dull and couldn’t talk about it in your interview. Make sure to relate everything back to your interest in your subject and why you feel you’d benefit from studying at Oxford.
Admissions test advice
For biomed at oxford, you’ll take the Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT).
The test has three sections.
Section 1 assesses aptitude and skills using a mixture of problem-solving questions. For these, practice is essential. I’ve heard good reviews of Medify, but it’s not essential and there are free practice questions on the internet – I used the free sections of the ‘BMAT Ninja’ website as well as past papers.
Section 2 assesses scientific knowledge in biology, chemistry, and physics. I was concerned about physics, but it went much better than I expected – it’s about GCSE level, and memorising equations is easy enough with mnemonics and practice.
One thing to bear in mid is that section 2 questions seem to be drawn mostly from English exam boards like OCR and AQA – I’ve known of Scottish students who had to revise a bit extra because some of the assumed biomedical knowledge just wasn’t part of their N5/Highers syllabus. Luckily, it’s easy to find a complete syllabus in the form of a checklist on the examiner’s website, and you won’t be tested on anything really niche – I revised physics using the syllabus and BBC Bitesize.
Section 3 tests your written communication in a short essay. For those whose essay skills are a bit rusty, this section can be daunting, especially since you need to keep things very concise. A good section 3 essay is like a pop song - you start with a catchy intro, present your arguments in the ‘verses’ each followed by a short link back to the main theme in the ‘chorus’. Then you’ll have a ‘bridge’ where you change your tune: present a counterargument and say what you think of it. Finally, tie everything up with a nice outro that supports your view. Oxford weights this section less than the others, but you can get easy marks if you read the examiner’s reports and find out what they like to see in an essay. The questions tend to focus on philosophical/ethical questions with a medical angle. It’s good to have a couple of medical ethics issues you can work into an essay, for example the pros and cons of gene therapies. Reading around your subject is a good way to pick these up naturally.
Once you’ve learned how to tackle each section, you should practice under timed conditions. It’s easy to get fixated on one question, especially in Section 1. If you find yourself staring at a question for a minute with no progress, it’s time to skip that one and try another.
Interview advice
The interview isn’t all about right answers. In fact, for some interview questions there are no 100% ‘right’ answers, just good ones. The questions are designed to start on familiar topics, then test your problem-solving skills and an ability to be flexible in your thinking. For example, I was asked to guess the reasons why multiple sclerosis risk is increased in countries further from the equator, which was something I had no idea about. Your interviewers will probably be your tutors next year and they’re used to helping students think in this way. Getting through the BMAT is proof that you can do this, so you just have to let it shine through in your interview. Overall, it’s about enthusiasm and curiosity, not how well-read you are.
Don’t worry about saying anything ‘silly’ – you’re at the start of your academic life so of course tutors don’t expect you to know much. I remember enthusiastically telling my interviewers about a concept I’d learned about in my wider reading, only to realise in one of my first-year lectures that I’d been saying that word wrong the whole time! Although they’re a bit embarrassing, little things like this aren’t going to make your interviewer think any less of you.