Gonville & Caius College

William Harvey's knock down demonstration of the Circulation

Caius is the leading medical college in Cambridge, and has been so for at least 450 years. The second founder of the College, John Caius (Master 1559-1573) was a brilliantly successful physician; he was a scholar and Fellow of the College before completing his studies in Padua, where Fabricius the anatomist was one of his teachers. After his return from Italy he established himself in London both as a lecturer in anatomy and in a highly lucrative medical practice, which provided the means for his generous endowment of the College he loved. He was also President of the College of Physicians, now the Royal College of Physicians (1558-1561 and 1562-1564). A string of eminent medics have been educated here, including William Harvey, and this tradition continues and flourishes: we have by far the largest number of medical students of any Cambridge college, and an impressive array of medical teaching and professorial Fellows to match, in every branch of the subject.

The Cambridge Medical course is different from most. By getting the basic preclinical work over in two years, and by teaching the subject uncompromisingly as a branch of the biological sciences, with an unrivalled degree of personal tuition in college supervisions, in the third year we are able to offer a range of advanced study options that are unsurpassed anywhere in the world. This will bring you right to the cutting edge of current science and would enable you, if you wished, to proceed immediately to scientific research. Indeed many research projects that students undertake during the final year are published as papers in scientific journals.

The qualities we are looking for are intelligence and imagination, a breadth and flexibility of outlook, but above all an intellectual curiosity and a passion for science itself. In trying to estimate the extent to which you appear to have these qualities, we rely on your Head's report, based on the opinions of those who have been teaching you, on what you say about yourself and your interests on the application form, your academic record so far, your performance in the Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT), and on the interviews when you come to Caius.

These interviews need not be a daunting experience; many candidates have in the past said that they have found them enjoyable and intellectually stimulating. You will have normally have three interviews of twenty minutes. One will be with a medically qualified interviewer who will explore your motivation and suitability for medicine. The other two will be primarily academic interviews with College medical fellows and teachers. During these interviews you will meet members of our team of four Directors of Studies: Dr Julian Sale, molecular biologist (who is also medically qualified), Dr Dino Giussani, a fetal and neonatal physiologist, Dr K.J Patel, a molecular biologist (and medically qualified) and Professor David Riches, emeritus Professor of Anatomy in the University of London, who was also a practising physician.

We are likely to ask about which of your subjects most interests you, and why, and encourage you to demonstrate some independent enthusiasm for it - for example, by talking about things you have done that are not simply part of your course. We will certainly ask about what you read: at university, you will to a large extent be teaching yourself through guided reading, and someone who has no liking for books and is not interested enough in science to spend some of their free time reading about it is not likely to make a good impression. Discussion may well centre on experimental and particularly project work that you have done at school, for this often gives a good idea of a student's scientific understanding independently of how well they have been taught. Part of the interviews with Directors of Studies will consist of a discussion of your answers to Section C of the BMAT, which you will be provided with a copy of. We are likely to try to discover whether your perception of medicine is a realistic rather than a romantic one, and ask about any hospital or other medical experience. Finally, you will be given a chance to ask any questions that you may have concerning Cambridge, the medical course, and the College.

The number of places we have on offer is strictly limited by a University quota system, and though our quota is the largest of any Cambridge college, we obviously cannot take all who apply, and every year we are forced to say no to academically extremely strong candidates whom we also liked personally at interview. It is no disgrace if the best medical college at the best university in the country - possibly in the world - finds it cannot quite make room for you! Those near the borderline are entered for the 'pool', where they are available for consideration by any college that has not yet filled its quota. The result of all this post-interview activity is communicated to all candidates simultaneously, at the end of December/early January.

General Information about the course can be found at http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/medicine, and in the leaflet, A Guide to Undergraduate Study: Medicine, available from the Cambridge Admissions Office. Further information about the Medical tripos can be found at http://www.bio.cam.ac.uk/sbs/facbiol or http://www.medschl.cam.ac.uk. If you have any queries about Admissions, please contact the Admissions Tutor at admissions@cai.cam.ac.uk.

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