Nadia, Medicine

“Hi! I’m Nadia, a first year undergraduate student studying Medicine at Magdalen College.

I grew up in Hastings, a town on the southeast coast. I attended Helenswood Academy for secondary school and then Ark Sixth Form. Alongside my studies, my interests are running, cooking, and learning French.”

What advice would you give to someone considering applying to Oxford?

Go for it! I was hesitant about applying because of worries such as not fitting in or not being able to cope with the workload, but now I’m here I’ve fallen in love with Oxford and wouldn’t change it for the world. The student community is diverse and everyone being different is what makes it so interesting. There’s lots of support for studying, both from tutors and older students, and you’ll quickly find yourself adapting to the increased work.

What is the best thing about your course?

In medicine, we study all the aspects of each system of the body, including the development, anatomy and physiology. I love the burst of understanding just after we’ve finished learning a system, when the different parts click into place and I can appreciate everything I’ve learned as a whole. I’m also really looking forwards to the research project in third year, where you get to investigate a part of medicine that you’re really interested in.

What does your day to day life as a student involve?

I start most days with a few hours of lectures from 9am in the lecture theatre. Occasionally, this is followed by a practical in the labs or an anatomy session. Then, I’ll go back to Magdalen (or visit another college) for lunch with the other medics in my year. The tutorials usually take place in the afternoon, and I will have submitted an essay the day before to go over in the tutorial. I spend the evenings and weekends socialising, exercising, and going over my notes from the day and working on my next essay.