<p>I am taking in a high school in Canada in Grade 11. My average last year was 96 and this year was 93. I am taking normal courses along with High School Calculus, AP Chemistry, and IB Biology. I am self studying some AP courses such as AP Physics, AP Psychology, AP Calculus, and maybe AP Biology. I am hoping to get a 5 on all of them. I am also planning self study AP Statistics next year. I plan on taking courses at my local university next year. These include two semesters of organic chemistry and physics, and one course in Calculus 2 and Biochemistry. On top of that I plan on doing many Red Cross courses in first aid and medication emergency. I am becoming a certified lifeguard. I plan on volunteering at the local hospital in many positions and fields. Also, I plan on doing research programs and doing many science fairs. I am joining 3 clubs and am playing soccer this year as well. I plan on taking many SAT subject tests with 750+ in all of them, possibly even 790+. I am attending a couple of medical related youth events. </p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I’m not sure if any of us know that much about med schools abroad. You can post this in the premed forum, but even there I don’t think you’ll get much info. </p>
<p>What’s wrong with the Canadian med schools???</p>
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<p>Possibly the fact many require at least a couple of years or more of undergrad before entry whereas in the UK/Ireland, one can start medical school straight out of HS if admitted.</p>
<p>Knew a few Americans who went to the UK/Ireland precisely so they can dive straight into medical studies rather than spend 4 years getting a bachelors degree first. </p>
<p>You look like you have all the qualities required for success - but unless you have citizenship of an EU country, there are very very few spots for overseas students in UK medical schools. I don’t know about Ireland.</p>
<p>Where do you want to end up practicing as a doctor?</p>
<p>I know a kid who went to Cambridge from the US, and was admitted to a medical program (Kings College, I think, although I am not certain). IIRC, she had to take an Oxbridge entrance exam for foreign students, and after being admitted on a conditional basis present 5s on three AP exams: Bio, Chem, and Calc. She also interviewed at the college.Her HS background was a combination of a French lycee and a US private school. It was strong, but certainly yours sounds like it would be, if anything, stronger. </p>
<p>She told me that she would be a doctor by 26 in the UK system. </p>
<p>I think you need to research the international admissions for UK universities. I believe they are quite clear cut.</p>
<p><<
She told me that she would be a doctor by 26 in the UK system.</p>
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<p>Do you mean that she’ll be complete with her specialty by that time? </p>
<p>Many American students are doctors by age 26. My son will have his MD by age 26 (actually 25), but obviously won’t have yet started his specialty. </p>
<p>There is a lot of info here:</p>
<p><a href=“Medical school in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_school_in_the_United_Kingdom</a></p>
<p>Basically, it would appear that a student can complete medical training through internship at least in 5 or 6 years, while in the US this would normally take 9 years, right? I find it difficult to figure out exactly how the internship/residency stages of education compare, but it would <em>appear</em> that by age 26 a student could have finished residency also. (Probably depending on which one.)</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>My understanding from knowing a few doctors/medical students who studied in Ireland and the UK is the years are comparable to an accelerated 5-6 year BS-MD programs here. Only difference is that they’re much more focused on studying medicine and do it at a far earlier stage. Also, since it cuts off 2-3+ years from what most US/Canadian students due to the BA/BS pre-med requirements, they’re able to start and finish residencies and thus, start their medical careers a bit earlier. </p>
<p>This comes up so often that it should probably have its own thread! Cobrat is pretty much on target; getting into UK med schools is at the least not easier than getting into the accelerated programs in the US/Canada (your own McMasters was one of the leaders in that arena). For the UK being Canadian helps a little bit- Commonwealth ties- but the big challenge on the incoming end is that the universities have very strict caps on the numbers of non-UK students that they can accept (which relates to hospital placements). </p>
<p>Getting into Irish med schools is easier than UK (though not that much easier than getting into a US med school) mostly b/c they are delighted to have the fees and the don’t have the NHS caps to deal with.</p>
<p>However, .be aware that if you are planning to practice in Canada (or the US) with an international degree you will have a couple of extra challenges. You probably know that you will have to sit qualifying exams, but you may not realize that finding placements in the early stages of qualification (notably residency) will be challenging, and you may have fewer / less attractive choices. </p>
<p>And finally, your post is heavy on “I’m planning to…”. If you can achieve all that you have outlined above - a regular secondary school course load, plus a heavy load of self study, plus research programs and science fairs, plus soccer and other ECs- more power to you. But there is something about your post which suggests you haven’t actually done any of this testing yet. At the least, you should be aware that not all APs are equal: Physics, Chemistry and Bio are considerably more work than Stats or Psych. So much so that in the UK, a “5” on a Physics AP counts for 120 tariff points and a “5” on the Stats AP counts for 50 tariff points:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables/app”>http://www.ucas.com/how-it-all-works/explore-your-options/entry-requirements/tariff-tables/app</a></p>
<p>Also, be aware that in the UK, your grade average will not be considered- just your test scores- and your non-medical ECs won’t matter. </p>