Well, about a year ago I attended a wonderful work observation programme that enabled me to witness operations, autopsies and various other medical things. I have recently been asked to provide feedback. Now, one of the people involved in that work observation programme was on the admissions panel of Cardiff Medical School. So, I thought I would take this opportunity to let Cardiff know of my disgust with regards their behaviour over admissions.

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Hi Mr ___,

I'd like to thank you for what was a wonderful period of work observation, an observation from which I have taken a number of valuable experiences. The opportunity to attend operations in theatre as well as the chance to see the mechanics of the hospital in both clinical and surgical settings was certainly appreciated, and your kindness not forgotten. I'd also like to thank Mrs ___ for her invaluable information regarding admission to medical school, her help and informative leaflets without doubt enhanced my application.

However, despite how brilliant the experience was it seemed to prove a futile endeavour when it came to the actual application process. In what was, in my opinion and the view of very many others, a very good application I documented all my extensive experiences (including my work with autistic children which lasted for two years) and this was enhanced by a fantastic referee's report explicating my suitability to the medical profession. With exemplary grades and a strong desire to study medicine I was incredibly rejected for reasons that are well beyond my scope of comprehension. I received a very vague, generic letter from the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Cardiff stating that my rejection came on the back of an unprecedented cohort and that competition was fierce. Unprecedented cohort? Fierce competition? I have been speaking to a few people who received an offer of AAB from Cardiff School of Medicine who went on to miss the grades, usually scoring ABB (sometimes less),  and were still being considered for a place! When I phoned up after receiving my A Level results I was told rather quickly that there were no places available. Well clearly there is an inconsistency here; on one hand there are no places and on the other there are applicants who missed their offers still being considered!

If this scenario isn't bad enough, some of those with ABB who were being considered were awarded a place to study. This is scandalous, especially when there are people far better qualified to occupy that space. I achieved 5 A grades in my A Levels (Biology, Chemistry, History, Maths and Physics) and yet I don't get a fair shot. These grades were even predicted yet it didn't satisfy the criteria set by Cardiff Medical School. The criteria, the disgraceful and nepotistic guidelines for admission were never going to be satisfied by me. There was one qualification that I was never going to have and that is one or both of my parents being a medical professional. From speaking to many people who work in the allied medical professions, I have developed a more than satisfactory montage of how things work in the "elite" corridors of Cardiff Medical School and Hospital.

This elitism isn't of the justifiable meritocratic sort, no, it is of the odious sort which includes parental occupation and societal status based on financial foundations. I don't feel for one second that I am telling you things here that you don't already know, Cardiff Medical School seems to have a reputation for this kind of despicable behaviour. I even know of people whose parents are doctors that have been given many offers to study medicine with an extremely mediocre application. Many of the successful applicants are worryingly deficient in matters of spelling. Some of the spelling is so bad that an average eight year old could have a better go at it. 'Definately' for example, I don't know about you, but I would like my doctors to be able to spell!

After having the door to the medical world slammed shut in my face I decided that I wouldn't give admission staff the satisfaction of being able to behave in such a manner regarding my application again and will not be repeating my application to study medicine in this country. I have been accepted to study physics, a subject which seems to determine the best candidates based on merit rather than irrelevant, elitist factors that medical schools seem to be unable to part from.

I have seen recently on the news that there is going to be a shortfall of doctors in Wales due to the new points based immigration system that is being adopted. Do you not agree that we have an incredible pool of Welsh talent that is being ignored? Why do we insist on going abroad to get our doctors when there are so many well qualified, erudite individuals from Wales and England who more than desire to partake in the profession? I suspect that, just like everything else, it comes down to money.

Thanks you for your time and a response would be much appreciated. If this could be forwarded to Mrs ___, I would be most grateful. This e-mail isn’t intended to be hostile in any way but it does demonstrate my anger over the entire affair.

Jonathan ___

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I don't expect a reply as there really is no justification for the way the medical school admissions programme is conducted.

Well, it has been quite some time since I last updated this haven of miscellaneous scraps of information and general generalities, so I thought (with a gentle nudge or ten from Lesley! :)) that I would get around to another post this evening.

I finished college in the middle of June, the two years really flew by and it is frightening to look back at it. I can still remember the first days I spent studying the sciences (and history) there, the end of mundane trivial representations of science that secondary school provide, and the start of science proper - delving into the laws of the world and the wider universe. I am now going to continue studying physics at university and hopefully build upon my love for the subject whilst playing with lasers, star-spotting on the roof with telescopes and making sense of elegant equations that amazingly describe physical phenomena with tremendous accuracy. The only thing that can stop that at the moment is my 'A level' results which are due to be released on August 20, so not long! I need to get AAB (A is the top grade on a scale of A, B, C, D, E and U) with an A in physics and at least a B in mathematics. I would like to get AAAAA (I took five A-levels which started to take its toll towards the end) but as long as I get into university I don't really mind.

The physics degree will hopefully be the start of something great for me, despite wanting to study medicine originally (see later). I have applied to do a Master's degree which will take four years to complete. Depending on how well I do in that, I would love to study for my PhD in an American University (don't know where yet) before proceeding to find a job out there - hopefully the job market for (nuclear/particle) physicists is good!

As I mentioned earlier, I originally applied to study for a medical degree but I had door after door slammed in my face. The whole thing is a scandal, and shortly after I received my fourth and final medicine rejection there came out reports (nothing people didn't already know) that the medical and legal professions are very much out of bounds for people, such as myself, who 'belong' in the lowest two socio-economic groups. A gentleman from the British Medical Association (BMA) stated that just 4% of all medical students, and by extension doctors, are from the lowest two socio-economic groups. Seeing as the bottom two groups represent the vast majority of the British population, the chiffre of 4% is absolutely ridiculous. I know this may sound like a rant, but hey, what are blogs for!? :) I went through the hassle of taking five subjects at A-level, when the national average is three; I volunteered in the special needs department in a local school that was predominantly for children with conditions on the autistic spectrum of disorders. I had weeks of clinical work experience including witnessing an autopsy, including weighing brains and kidneys! It was great, truly fascinating stuff. I believe, though it is open to interpretation, that I have a decent knowledge of biology and medicine - but it doesn't seem as though it is enough with a prediction of AAAAA at A-level.

What aggravates me the most about it all is that many people who I know that have been accepted at various British medical schools have terrible grades and made no effort to become involved in the medical/caring community until a few weeks before their interview. It is remarkable that these people, not just because of the reasons just outlined, get accepted but what is very clear is that having a parent who is a doctor means a lot. This vile and unethical criterion is a major reason for the 4% statistic I mentioned above. I actually don't want to talk any further about it because it still makes me so angry. In September, I will be going to see my local MP about the situation, but I'm not holding my breath. It just seems to me that you can do everything perfectly - get the grades, get some experience and so on but as soon as your fate is in the hands of others, you will be wronged. Well do you know what, they can stick their job where the sun don't shine - some underqualified doctor's child is welcome to have it. [/rant]

I have decided to widen my horizons of late, I spend most of my reading time, reading science books. However, I have started to read fiction!!! Now I very rarely read fiction but I thought I'd give it another go. I started off by trying out some Russian literature, but that really didn't do much for me. So, I decided to buy 'The Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie. I haven't read much of it yet, but I have very much enjoyed what I have got through so far! Maybe I've found a genre of fictional literature that I like!

Other than that I am quite bored. I finished school in mid-June and it's now the start of August. If I get into university, I will start in mid-September. The amount of time off is just ridiculous and I just want to get back to some sort of 'normality'.

If there is anything else I can think of I will post another blog entry :)

Jonno

Well four years ago to this day I joined this fabulous site and have never looked back. I have made some great friends and have had some wonderful discussions over that time. Through many of the quizzes I have developed interests in things that I would never have delved into otherwise.

Just a few names I'd like to mention who have been great to me over the last four years:

Lesley (Lesley153), cymruambyth, Sandy (Jordandog), Matthew (Matthew_07), David (Satguru), Agnes (JTJ), Clare (Cydonia325) and Paige (Pagiedamon). There are many more and I am sorry if I've missed you out. I hope I get to spend another 4 years here with you fine people :)

And yes, the font is red for the "great occasion" that is Valentine's Day. I joined the site on Valentine's Day 2005 and am on the site once again, on one's tod, on Valentine's Day 2009!

Hope you are all having a nice day,

Jon

OK, I have been nagged by the one and only Lesley from darkest Bedfordshire to post to the people of the world, or at least those that frequent this part of FT, 25 things about myself. I first thought well, that should be easy, but to come up with 25 interesting things to say about myself is quite a deal harder. If you dare to read on I do not hold responsibility for anyone who ends up asleep at their keyboard! ;)

1) I am strongly atheist but do not push my views on anybody else...however much I would sometimes like to ;) <cough>door-to-door proselytisers</cough>

2) I collect coins and banknotes from the period of the Third Reich (1933-1945).

3) I am a member of the British Conservative Party.

4) I despise the summer months and heat gets me all in a fluster.

5) I am a night owl who would far rather the company of the night than spend my days out in the hustle and bustle of the diurnal hours.

6) I really dislike Political Correctness. I was for a time on the Equality Board for the college on issues of sexual orientation and gender. I thought it would be great, a chance to do something for the good, but, it just turned out to be PC nonsense. So, that was that.

7) I am a terrible cook; I only learnt how to spread butter on to bread properly at the age of about 13! Yes, I do want to be a surgeon 8-) Are you scared?

8) I once appeared on BBC television (BBC1) for the 'Hardspell' competition presented by Eamonn Holmes (shudders) where I finished seventh in Wales. It was good fun. The word that had me eliminated was...caterwaul. I was again 13 at the time so shhhh.

9) I absolutely love music from the Romantic period. Beethoven, Chopin, Satie are amongst my favourites. I also adore the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

10) I have volunteered to help out in an autistic and special needs unit of a local primary school for over a year.

11) After a holiday in San Diego many years ago, I decided there and then that that was where I wanted to spend my adult life. So the plan is to move over there as a consultant oncologist. Fingers crossed. After university, I will get some hunk to take me there!

12) I am not a great fan of sports but I do follow rugby union and tennis and athletics.

13) I greatly enjoy quizzes and whereever there is a quiz to enter, you'll find me there! I have a nerdish desire to appear on 'University Challenge'.

14) I am fussy with food. I am quite prone to being sick upon ingestion of certain textures. Anything that is mashed (carrots, potatoes, swede etc) will make me sick!

15) I donate far too much money to the Coca Cola Company. I will drink at minimum 3 to 4 cans of coke a day. I am making the life changing switch to diet coke at the moment ;)

16) I once spent a month in hospital with a condition that usually affects alcoholics. The doctors couldn't find out the cause for why I had it as I very rarely drink alcohol.

17) I am going to learn the saxophone one day, I have wanted to do so for a long time but for some reason have never got around to doing it.

18) I am a science nerd. I spend 40+ hours a week studying maths, biology, chemistry and physics and love every minute of it.

19) I do not read fiction books very often. The only fiction I have read over the last 10 years are the 'Harry Potter' books and the Dan Brown novels. I far prefer factual books.

20) I usually go out in clothing that has at least 3 different colours. My latest concoction is a yellow t-shirt with a green jacket, blue jeans and red shoes. I think it's great! Just dye my hair purple and it would be marvellous! ;)

Couldn't this have been called '20 things'! :)

21) In a moment of madness I had my eyebrow pierced at age 16. Let us just say that the school were not impressed. They were so glad to see me go! :D

22) I only watch a few TV programmes, my favourite being 'House MD' - oh his charm! 'University Challenge', 'Newsnight', 'Question Time' and 'Masterchef Goes Large' are my other favourites.

Tres difficile, maintenant.

23) I have never had a job (don't worry I'm not a lazy lout) but have always wanted to work night shifts in a hotel. Odd, I know! It was one of the first things I ever wanted to do along with being a 'trolley dolly' (camp!) and a croupier.

24) I am always 'fashionably late'. If I start college at 9:00am you can be sure I'll be there at 9:05am. I don't even try to do that, it just happens.

25) I am single and have been for a little while now. Yes, I really was running out of things to say by this point!!!

Well I hope you enjoyed this...well, experience! :) Jon

Well, it was good while it lasted! This year I am applying to study medicine and as such I was allowed to apply to four British universities. I chose - Cardiff, Bristol, King's London and yes...Oxford. The application process to study medicine at Oxford is quite rigorous with many individual components being taken into account. The first component is your GCSE score (mine was good so I thought I'll give the application a whirl) and the second component is the BMAT entrance test. Again, I scored well in this component and subsequently made the shortlist for interview! I am actually quite proud to say that I made this cut as out of 1244 applicants to Oxford medicine this year, only 425 were shortlisted for interview - 819 were rejected there and then.

So, I got to spend two days and one night at Exeter College and Christ Church in Oxford. I absolutely loved the place and started thinking the impossible; that a working class boy from rural south Wales (from a family in which noone had attended university in many generations) could go on to study medicine at one of the finest academic institutions in the world.

So I had to go through four interviews in the space of two days. Two of these (both at Exeter College) I thought went reasonably well and felt comfortable. However, at the third interview, things just started to fall apart. It was an absolute grilling that sheltered and wrapped up in cotton wool ;) Jonathan hadn't received ever before! I stuttered and stammered for the duration (30 minutes) and said some of the most ridiculous things. At one point I even said that the brain is composed of white matter and "dark matter". I could have died right on the spot. The three interviewers giggled and I did as well but I was getting downhearted and uncomfortable more and more; minute by minute. Towards the end of the interview I was beginning to make little sense at all and in response to one of my "logical deductions" one of the interviewers said 'I am not quite following your logic'. I felt like saying 'well that's not greatly unexpected; logic abandoned me about 20 minutes ago'.

So after a week of waiting I received a thin letter from Christ Church which I knew was a bad sign. It said:

Dear jonnowales,

Thank you for attending for interview. I am writing now to let you know that after careful consideration it has not been possible to offer you a place at Christ Church to read medicine, and I am sorry to have to inform you that your application is no longer under consideration by any of the other Oxford colleges.

Yours sincerely,

Tutor for Admissions.

Nice christmas present eh? :P

So I am left with three universities in this cycle to take me for medicine and I have totally lost confidence that I will get an offer from any of them. I have already had an interview at Cardiff University and I felt it went ok...but, I thought that of Exeter College, Oxford also. I will find out Cardiff's decision in late March. Bristol and King's London have yet to call me for interview...I sincerely hope that they hurry up :)

Jonathan

Seen this on Matthew_07's blog and thought what a great idea. Seeing as I can't come up with something greatly original myself, I know he won't mind me playing around with the idea!

My Quizzes Breakdown

Animals	0
Brain Teasers	8
Celebrities	0
Entertainment	2
For Children	9
General	4
Geography	1
History	7
Hobbies	1
Humanities	0
Literature	0
Movies	0
Music	1
People	5
Religion	1
Sci/Tech	20
Sports	0
Television	2
Video Games	1
World	4

Total No. of Quizzes =     66

Best Rated Quiz = Admiring Andorra (Geography) -- Rank: 100 / 90000

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !! Jonnowales xx

OK, just spotted this on Lesley's blog and am stealing it :D

More than 100 quizzes played -  yes, over 5000!

At least 2 quizzes online -  yes, I have reached the dizzy heights of 51 quizzes; yet dwarfed by the number some others have online.

OK, so it was my birthday 3 days ago - glorious 17th October. I have done a little bit of research and have found that I share with, amongst more worthy people, Eminem (Marshall Mathers) - isn't that a thrill?

So 17, the legal age to start driving here in the United Kingdom. Now all of my friends in college seem to have this obsession with driving - I just joke that they have delusions of grandeur, as myself, I don't get what the big deal is. Heck, I haven't even sent off for my provisional driver's license as of yet. To be honest, I don't have enough time to learn to drive. I am doing five wonderful A levels - I really do love each of them. I do find it taking up a lot of my time but I am hoping it pays off in the end. No pain, no gain!

Nazism, now, I have always had an extreme interest in the workings of the Third Reich in the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's - and now that I am studying it further for AS level history, I feel my interest borders on the obsession! I am even getting to the stage now that I wish to start collecting Nazi memoribilia. I spoke to another FT player Zbeckabee who is a Nazi numismatist. She has given me some handy links which I am considering purchasing some Reichspfennigs from. It has got to the stage where when a factual recall test was called, I decided not to revise for it to see how my natural knowledge on the subject fared against the revised knowledge of fellow students. I was the only one out of 100 students taking the subject to get 35/35. So, my question, when does an interest start to become an obsession? I am sitting here with a book called,"Nazism and German Society 1933-1945",  edited by David F. Crew - I do recommend the book to anyone else with this strange fascination! I think what highlights the interest is the fact that I really don't like the majority of history. ONLY Nazism. I was going to drop history as a subject when I was 14 - when you opt for subjects to study to GCSE level. Now, I am studying the subject to one level under degree. As an onlooker, would you find such an interest in something so horrific as slightly frightening? I am even contemplating doing a European history degree with a year in Germany!

Already, they are getting us thinking about university. We have only just started college, but, I guess it is best to start early! At the moment I have managed to whittle down the subjects to four possible degrees!

1) Medicine
2) Physics with Nuclear Physics
3) Biochemistry
4) European History with a Year Abroad

Has anybody specialised in these fields and how did you find such a degree course? Thanks!

Gosh, this has ended up being quite long...I will cut it there then,

Jonathan