Yihan Shi, 2nd Year Biomedical Science
Hi, my name is Yihan, and I’m a second-year biomedical science student at King’s, with a major in immunology and microbial sciences. Biomedical Science is an interdisciplinary program that allows me to choose modules from across many diverse health and sciences departments in order to customise my degree to my interests. There is a wide range of module choice and the department is so warm and welcoming! Below I’ll take you through some post-A-level tips before you join this family…
A-level vs degree level
So, what’s the difference? Certainly for me, the differences seem vast. Mostly the differences are quite what you would expect, however; more in depth, more challenging. In terms of exams I was surprised at how unexpected the changes are:
A-level – everything that you need to know for the exam is written in a textbook. Therefore if you include anything that you have learnt from extra reading it will go unaccredited, just as useless as not having read anything in the first place.
Degree – the way that university exams are marked is very different. There is no set mark scheme (but obviously if you thought paracetamol was a machine, you’d be wrong), and they are marked by the lecturers that teach the modules. This means that because the people marking the papers know the answers without the need for a mark scheme, extra reading gives you huge bonus points.
But don’t panic, the lecturers are very good at giving you ideas of the sorts of books to buy/read and the university library is full of online journals and articles to flick through.
Prepare for university – 3 top tips you should remember
Prepare to cook for yourself
You’ll need to know how to cook when you arrive at uni. Cooking your own food will save you money and keep you healthier than buying ready-made meals or fast food. Bring your favourite cookbook or follow some good student cooking blogs or YouTube channels for meal ideas on a budget.
Sort out your finances
Plan your spending wisely and take advantage of the many student discounts on offer to save while you study. It’s a good idea to make a budget when preparing for university. You should have an idea of how much money you’ll have in the bank each month, depending on loans and savings you accumulate before uni.
Explore societies and sports clubs
Prepare for university and for making new friends by joining a student-led group. King’s Students’ Union has over 190 societies and sports clubs. Look over the list before you arrive at uni to know what societies and sports clubs to visit during Fresher’s Week.
My UCAS Clearing stories
Clearing is a word which brings fear to all A level students; the thought of not getting into your first choice at university. The feeling of anxiety and uncertainty of your future. However, as scary as it all may seem, my clearing experience changed my life and I’ve never looked back (lots more clichés incoming).
I remember choosing Cambridge as my first choice; needing an A*A*A to get into my course (Natural Sciences). However, when I woke up on results day, I opened up UCAS to find out that I had not got the grades. I had got AAB instead. I did receive an offer from my insurance, Portsmouth university, but because I had lived near the area for college, I wanted to experience a new place and new life; the one I had been looking forward to at Cambridgeshire. Straight away I knew I wanted to go into clearing. I called up Uni after Uni, until I called up King’s for clearing. Not only did they give me a sense of comfort over the phone, but they helped me through the whole process, making things very easy for me.
Prior to results day, the thought of going to University in London never appealed to me. But since I managed to get in through clearing, living in London and studying at King’s has been great to say the least. I’ve met lots of new people, constantly learning and growing. The independence has been great and I have also gained lots of perspective.
Things ended up working out really well and I have never regretted coming here. If anything, I’m happy I did not get into Cambridge. So all I can say to all the students in college is try your best, but don’t worry because things will always work out in the end! 🙂
