Blog by: Anbreen

Whenever anyone asks me the above question, I have to think of the simplest way of explaining that although I’m a medic, this year I’m actually studying psychology. In other universities taking a year out to study another subject is known as intercalating. However, in Cambridge, it’s known as third year to the medics and is an integral component of our six year medical programme. Medical students have the entire third year of their course to dedicate to another subject and there are a range of options to choose from including pathology, genetics, history and philosophy of science and occasionally non-science subjects like history of art and even law.

I’ve found studying pure psychology this year incredibly refreshing. I have had an interest in the mind that pre-dates university and so having a whole year to explore the subject has been an incredible experience. The psychology department at Cambridge is amazing and offers a vast amount of choice in terms of modules. This year I have explored animal intelligence, language development in humans, the psychology of free will as well as illnesses such as autism and OCD. Most of the books I’ve read for my course this year have actually been written by the lecturers as they are the leading experts in their respective areas of psychology, which is one of the brilliant things about Cambridge. At the end of this year, I will graduate with a BA in Psychology and after another three years at clinical school I will receive my medical degree. So, essentially as a medic at Cambridge, you get two degrees for the price of one!

The past fortnight has been a slightly hectic but also incredibly fun. My sister and friend from home came up to visit me and we all attended a ball organised by the Pakistan Society (PakSoc). I’ve been to the ball every year and each year it’s been an amazing experience. This year I was a little reminiscent because I was on the PakSoc committee last year and so I helped to organise the 2013 ball. I can still recall running around in a sari (traditional south Asian clothing) and high heels for the entire evening, making sure everything was going to plan and snatching kebabs from my sister’s plate intermittently. This year my experience was a lot more relaxed. I was able to enjoy my five course meal and instead watched some of my friends who are on the committee this year rushing around in their traditional clothes organising the ball.

During my time in Cambridge, cultural societies like PakSoc have played a massive role in my life. I’ve been involved with PakSoc from my first term in Cambridge and over the past two and half years, I’ve been to and helped to organise loads of events including eid (an Islamic festival) dinners, chaand raat (celebrations on the evening before eid) games nights, formal dinners and so many more which have made Cambridge feel a bit more like home. PakSoc has offered me a great set of friends outside of my college and outside of medicine and has really shaped my time here at Cambridge. There are so many cultural and religious societies and events on offer in Cambridge e.g. Islamic Society, Hindu Cultural Society, IndiaSoc, BanglaSoc, TamilSoc, African Caribbean Society and the French Society to name just a few. If you want to see some of the societies on offer at Cambridge, they can be accessed on http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/societies/directory/ . If there isn’t a society offering something that you would like to do, students have the opportunity to start a society. There is always time in Cambridge to fit in extra curriculars and the sheer number of societies on offer is a testament to that.

Tomorrow evening, I will be attending another PakSoc event; a formal dinner at Queens’ College. I’m really looking forward to meeting up with friends from the society, some of whom I haven’t seen since the ball and having another great meal!

It’s nearly the middle of my third year at Cambridge and all I can ask myself is; where did the time go? The past two and a half years here have just flown by. I remember arriving at my accommodation as a nervous first year, anxious about fitting in and wondering how I would survive by myself! And now, I’m here, in my third year, preparing for my last set of undergraduate exams before clinical school (where I’ll spend the last three years of my medical degree) and reflecting on my journey so far.

Seeing as my undergraduate experience at Cambridge is coming to end, I thought it would be a good idea to share how it all began. It all started in sixth form, when suddenly at the end of year 12, with the UCAS process looming, I had to decide what I wanted to pursue at university. By that time, I had a fair idea that I wanted to study medicine, so I spent the summer doing work experience, to confirm I was making the right choice. My work experience was really enjoyable so I decided to take the plunge, and apply for medicine. I spent the summer writing and tweaking my personal statement as well as preparing for the UKCAT. When I came back to sixth form in year 13, the next step was deciding which unis I wanted to apply to. Before sixth form, I had never thought about the prospect of leaving home, but to give myself the best possible chance at securing a university place for medicine, I realised I would have to apply to universities further afield. Coming from a very tight knit family, the prospect of moving away from home was daunting, and it took me a while to adjust to the idea. I looked through the course outlines for medicine and settled on a set of universities. Cambridge was initially excluded from my choices, as the very idea of it seemed out-of-reach. However, my sixth form, encouraged me to apply, and after gentle persuasion, and the idea of studying at a world renowned university, I decided to include Cambridge in my list of choices. I was still very nervous, and a few days before submitting my UCAS application I decided that Cambridge was not for me and decided I wasn’t going to apply. However, before I could alter my UCAS form, one of my teachers sensing my last minute panic, had a conversation with me. During that talk, I realised that studying at Cambridge would be an amazing opportunity, and if I didn’t apply I would essentially have denied myself a once-in-a-lifetime chance. So in the end, I decided to settle on Cambridge; it was definitely the best thing I could have done.

For those of you who are unsure about whether Cambridge is for you, if you are looking to be challenged, enjoy working hard and meet the entry requirements, it’s definitely worth a shot!