Hey! I’m interested in studying abroad for Premed and I’d like to know which countries are best for premed research. I am trilingual and I was thinking Switzerland and the U.K. What countries have the most (let’s put it this way) “advanced” medicine right now in which I could do research without, you know, putting my life in possible danger (like nothing in the Middle East for now). Also, how could I get funds for studying abroad. How does this even work? I’m starting from zero.
Oh and does anybody have any stories/experiences (if possible genuine ones; no fiction).
Thanks a lot.
are you planning on returning to the US for medical school? The pre-med pre-reqs have to be taken at either an american or canadian institution or one of the following:
Al Akhawayn University
American University in Cairo
Minnesota State University in Akita - (Closed in 2003)
American University of Paris
American College in Jerusalem - (Closed in 1976)
American University of Rome
American College in Sharjah
Bermuda College
American College of Switzerland - (Closed in 2009)
Central European University
American College of Thessaloniki
College of Micronesia-FSM
Deree College – The American College of Greece
John Cabot University (Rome)
Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne
Lebanese American University
Franklin University—Switzerland
London Metropolitan University
Hellenic American University
Ming Chuan University
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts
Palau Community College
Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas
Richmond – The American International University in London
International College
The American University in Dubai
Universidad de Monterrey
Open University
American University of Beirut
Universidad de las Americas, A.C.
American University in Bulgaria
Zayed University
And any overseas campuses that are part of a U.S. institution
Page 24: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/182162/data/amcas_instruction_manual.pdf
If you are an american, it will be far easier for you to do your undergraduate degree in the US and either do a semester/year abroad and/or take a gap year after undergrad abroad.
Thanks a lot! This list is really great! Yeah I was thinking of doing one semester or 1 year max abroad per country. I was thinking of doing 2 countries before I graduate, at the same time though I don’t want to explore too much and come back home and not really know much or be as disconnected from my alma mater.
Oh, I misunderstood. I thought you wanted to go abroad for your undergraduate degree. It won’t matter what country you do your time abroad in. I also don’t know how likely a research position abroad is unless it’s for a year or in direct collaboration with a professor at your home institution eg Duke and NUS or I know people at Brown with connections to clinics and such in Mali. One semester isn’t enough return to invest in a student for a lot of professors.
It may matter if the student needs to complete pre-med requirements. I wouldn’t worry too much about this now (but as mentioned in your other thread, Dickinson would be a good fit with your stats, and they have excellent study abroad. One of my kids did 2 different off campus semesters there – some colleges make that harder.)
You’re not even in college yet; trying to decide which country is best now is a bit premature. You have to go somewhere your university has programs in or will accept credits from.
Besides, the location doesn’t matter - there’s no specific location that’s “better” for pre-med. Every country around the world has a health system that you can learn something from. You’re not going to be doing any “advanced” medical research as an undergraduate; what actually might be better for you is learning about the practice and cultural aspects of medicine in a country with a culture different from yours, or developing, or working on language skills.
One study abroad provider that has lots of health-related programs is the [School for International Training](PROGRAMS - SIT Study Abroad) - there are 11 or 12 academic-year study abroad programs that are related to health in different countries around the world (one in Switzerland). There are also programs focused on development, which can be related to health and medicine. I suggest SIT specifically because in each program, the student spends the last month of the program working on an independent study project of your choice. You spend the first two months taking coursework and preparing for the execution of the project. I did an SIT study abroad program ([in the Netherlands](PROGRAMS - SIT Study Abroad)) and it was a transformative experience for me.
Thanks @juillet ! 
I was wondering if anyone was going to post about a past experience. I’ll look into SIT. And yeah, you’re right… I am getting too ahead of myself. I guess whatever happens will happen. If anything i’ll post where I ended up going to on my other thread and i’ll move on from there.
Look at universities where you can do “direct enrollment” along with a host program. I second Dickinson - depending on the country, you could potentially take med school 1st year classes and if you go for a full year you can do an internship (including in health services) in the Spring in addition to taking 4 classes.