Katie

Medicine and Surgery MBChB Student

How my EPQ helped me in my first year of university

Hello! My names Katie and I’m a final year student studying Medicine at the University of Leeds. It’s been a few years now (although it doesn’t feel that long) since I completed my EPQ, but the skills and experience gained from doing it have stuck with me to this day.  

Doing an EPQ gave me the opportunity to further explore my own interests and learn more about something I was really interested in - which was Medicine. Ultimately, I decided to do my project on whether or not the NHS should treat self-inflicted illness, specifically those related to smoking and obesity. It was also really useful to help me with my application as it was a great talking point at interviews and in my personal statement.  

What I hadn’t appreciated at the time was how it would continue to help me bridge the gap from sixth form to university (and even continue once I was here). Doing my EPQ meant I had to organise a lot of things for myself, such as arranging meetings with my supervisor and setting aside time to plan and compete research. As I’m sure you’re aware, most of your work at university is very independent so this was great practice to prepare myself for this. It sounds like a minor thing, but most courses will have a lot of free time compared to sixth form and planning your time to fulfil all of your commitments can be really overwhelming, so this was one of the things I was most grateful for when starting university! 

Going to a research-intensive university like the University of Leeds means invariably in your degree you will be involved in some kinds of research projects, likely including your dissertation. For my EPQ I decided to do a literature review, something I’d never even heard of at that point! At the time, I actually began to regret trying a completely new type of research as I found it so difficult compared to the practical experiments and statistical analysis I had previously been used to. However, in hindsight, it really pushed me out of my comfort zone, expanded my knowledge and prepared me for doing more literature reviews and other new types of research at university. I’d really recommend using the EPQ as an opportunity to push yourself! 

I have continued to build on the knowledge I gained undertaking my EPQ, becoming more critical of the information sources I use. One big difference I found when I got to university was having access to a lot more information than I did at sixth form -  a huge expanse of texts in the libraries, online databases and expert lecturers. Thinking critically about which sources of information I use has become a really important skill and something I wish I’d developed more in my EPQ. 

Finally, if I could give myself one piece of advice when starting my EPQ it would be to do it on something you’re genuinely interested in, no matter how bizarre it may seem. Regardless of the topic, you will develop transferrable skills vital for university life, and completing the project is definitely much easier when you enjoy what you’re researching!