Conference for medical school applicants - need help getting the word out!

jayne-mams

We want to put on a conference in September for sixth form students applying to medical school. Found the venue etc. We want to enroll many more students.

The conference is a single Saturday day based in Central London. We essentially give students information about applying to medical school, what life will be like at all stages of their medical school career, help with the process i.e. interview skills sessions and advice on personal statements.

So far we've sent letters with information and posters to head of sixth form to approximately 200 schools in london (mixed of independent and state) all which have students aged 16-18.

Our website is: https://www.mamsconference.com

I really think we're offering good value for money and valuable information/sessions unlike other rip-off smoke and mirror conferences that are out there.

Anyone have any advice how we can best boost our attendee numbers without busting the budget?


Many thanks!!

Broke_Student

Hi. I am a successful medical school applicant for 2007 entry so would have been your target pupil this time last year.

Have you considered going through UCAS? I myself was sent alot of letters from your competitors offering places on their courses. They were sent to my home via UCAS. I imagine they pay UCAS a fee and UCAS sends the letters out to the pupils who have put down medicine as a 'possibility' when registering with them (assuming they haven't opted out of recieving third party offers).

Alot of potential applicants look for information on the internet on forums such as:
www.admissionsforum.new
www.newmediamedicine.com
You could possibly pay for an advertisement banner on these sites.
If the moderator allows it, you could also post information about the conference as a thread (but expect to get a negative response from current med students who believe these courses are a waste of money).

I also think I remember seeing alot of ads for these workshops in the UCAS magazines that they used to send me. It may be worth advertising in there in the future (abit late to fill up a conference this Sept).

jayne-mams

Hi Broke Student,

Thanks for the suggestion! Will definitely get in contact with UCAS in the morning and see if this is something we can do within our budget.

Out of interest, how many pre-med courses letters did you get/could you give me any more info on what they were like/what you think would work for you.

I'm actually going into my 5th year (just finished 4th year with iBSc in Orthopaedics) so willing to trade advice/books/info.

jayne-mams

I think that's a fair point. When I was pre-med I went to several courses and it became pretty apparent that a lot of it whilst fun was smoke and mirrors. The crunch came when an organiser tried to sell me an ophthalmoscope. The other one was when they wake you up at 2 in the morning dash you into an ambulance go round a roundabout and come back into the same building and yelling things at you. Or endless lectures which go over your head, or which are interesting but won't really help you with your application or making a decision. Certainly this was something that we took into account when we put together the schedule.

I think in all honesty the best thing a course can do is to give you a realistic picture about what life is going to be like at different stages, the overall pitfalls and pluses. and if the student decides it's for them, advice on their application so they can achieve their goal. I personally got hacked off at being sold hot air extras when I was at that stage.

Broke_Student

Hi. I didn't actually pay to attend any of these pre-med courses. I was lucky enough to be in a very fortunate position in that:
- I had decided on a career in medicine early on so had time to do my own research.
- I had access to alot of resources and am very proactive so done my own research for free.
- My college has links with the local Trust who actually do their own one for free! And their one was very very good as it involved actual admissions staff from the towns medical school, real consultants from the hospital and they threw in a weeks work observation I will dig up my notes on this and post details of the schedule in the morning.

I have had alook at your schedule and am getting abit confused about the target audience. Is it
- For pupils potentially considering a career in medicine (sugested by the earlier talks on working in the NHS, life as a doctor etc..)?
- For pupils who have already decided they will be applying to study medicine and submit application once they get back to college?

For the first group of pupils I think all info is relevant but the conference needs to be held in Easter break (as mine was). This allows time to gain work experience etc..
The second group of pupils should already have their work experience and know what being a doctor is all about. The first half of the day would (in my opinion) be a waste of time for them. They are there for the personal statement/application/interview advice!

As for the pre-med course letters from UCAS, I do not remember exactly who they were from but I recieved about 5 or 6 after signing up to UCAS. They were directed specifically at me as a medical applicant. I remember they were alot more expensive than yours and I think some were run by doctors in private practices based in London/Oxford!

I will be happy to post some suggestions for your conference once it is clear who the audience is; students thinking about a medical career wanting to know more about the career and application process or students applying to study medicine interested in personal statement/interview help.

jayne-mams

primarily the latter. though suggestions on either would be interesting for future events.

Broke_Student

Oh and you missed an obvious one! On your schedule put down somewhere
"Admissions Test Practice/Advice". They should come running to you...

I imagine if you already have it then it will be at 2pm 'applying to medical school'. I think you should state something explicit about giving admissions test advice as that is one of the biggest concerns amongst applicants at the moment!

jayne-mams

Yes that was included in that session!

Broke_Student

September time... they will be thinking alot about the actual university choices. Spend some time differenciating between the PBL and traditional style courses.

I'll try and give some more ideas in the morning with regards to both promotion on the day and making the day as useful as possible to attendees.

edit:
Before I go to bed, I think this is what you want with UCAS:
http://www.ucasmedia.com/direct-mail/

e-mail also looks like a good option and may be cheaper!
By using the UCAS applicant database of those who have applied to higher education, or the pre-applicant database of 16 and 17 year-old students who have yet to apply, but have expressed an interest of going to university or college, email campaigns can be tailored to your requirements.

jayne-mams

Fab. Thanks! And again let me know if there's anything useful you need. I still have a ridiculous amount of pre-clinical books and notes knocking about and so forth though it maybe a bit early. was in top couple deciles of that year so they're probably are ok-ish.