Stay in home country or travel to US for pre-med?

Pre-Med & Medical School Foreign Medical Education
1

<p>Hey there! :)</p>

<p>I'm currently residing in Singapore, and I'm looking for a degree in medicine. There's only 2 universities in Singapore which offers the option of undergrad medicine and as you would imagine, competition here is insane. I have completed my A levels and is currently serving the army so this gives me some time to think of backup plans should I fail to enrol in medicine in a local uni.</p>

<p>I was thinking of alternative options of going by, and now it's either </p>

<ol>
<li>Study medicine in UK (entry-level medicine, yay!)</li>
<li>Go to US, get a bachelor degree (I'm thinking of New York University), then cross my fingers and hope that I'll get into medicine in their grad school (I'm aiming for Johns Hopkins). Although yes, I know it's terribly hard for international students to get into.</li>
<li>Stay in Singapore, enrol in NUS, get a life science degree, then perhaps try to get into grad med sch in the US.</li>
</ol>

<hr>

<p>Location: To be honest, I can't imagine myself studying in UK. Like I'm more used to the American accent, US celebrities/tv show/movies and so if I would to study overseas, I'd very much prefer US. Plus, if I do have the chance to go overseas, I want my first few years to be a fun environment where I get to participate in many activities in college, meet as many people, be involved in as many stuff as possible, and not foresee myself going through hours and hours trying to cram as many medical facts up my brain as possible. Well, at least not in the few first years.</p>

<p>Between studying in Singapore and US though, studying locally does have substantial benefits. Like how I'd be able to keep in touch physically with my friends and family, less culture shock, language barrier, fitting in. Yes, I speak English primarily but it's always with a mix of Chinese/Singaporean lingo. And I think I'll be not used to the western diet. But then again, I have read in many places/student blogs that studying overseas takes a leap of faith, and this leap often turns out invaluable. It makes them more independent and appreciative of their surroundings. Besides, US is kind of my dream country (especially New York!) because it's so dynamic, and so large! </p>

<p>Program-wise: I understand that US offers a more liberal studies and a broader area of study as compared to that of Singapore. They are also more developed in terms of their research and reputation. In terms of medicine, US is also one of the tops in the world. National University of Singapore (NUS), however offers quite a number of special programs (eg, scholars programme, special programme in science, placements, research opportunities, summer programs, et cetera), ranking-wise it's shown to be an established university. But just curious, without taking a look at Wikipedia, what'd you guys think of NUS? Ever heard of it? </p>

<hr>

<p>Anyway, the biggest concern is whether should I go UK? Or should I do a bachelor (US? SG?). Thanks for reading that big chunk of text! :)</p>

2

<p>There are very limited spots in UK universities for overseas students studying medicine, so you’d need to be an exceptionally srong candidate. What A levels did you do and what grades did you get?</p>

3

<p>Fewer than 200 international students matriculate into all US medical school in any given year. (Over the past 10 years the number has ranged from 56 to 198.) More than 90% of those matriculants are Canadians, in part because the Canadian government provides loans to its citizens who attend US med schools.</p>

<p>Only 4 or 5 US med schools offer any financial aid (including loans) to internationals. All will require you to demonstrate you can fund the full cost of your medical education (~$250-350K). Most (and JHU is among them) will require you to deposit 1 to 4 years of COA into an escrow account before you will be allowed to matriculate.</p>

4

<p>I suggest you apply to the UK. I am a Singaporean studying in NYU. Some of my friends are in Pre-med and I had a look at the syllabus. about 70-80% of the ENTIRE pre-med programme is covered in JC in Singapore. By coming here, you would simply be wasting your time and money. Keep in mind that NYU has one of the top pre-med programmes in the country and their syllabus is still barely commensurate with Singapore’s high school Chemistry and Biology.</p>

5

<p>Don’t waste your time doing pre-med in the states if you’re serious about crafting a career in the healthcare industry… Liberalization of courses of study wouldn’t exactly benefit you when you have your sights adamantly set on a particular career trajectory. You don’t see Sg-eans reading law in the states, do you? Same rationale. It takes too much time as it’s only offered at graduate levels. </p>

<p>Besides, why go for a ‘diluted’ program when you can have a specialized and highly focused course of study at UG level? Another paramount factor that should be taken into consideration would be cost. It’s 600k-700k SGD In the UK vs 760k [360k (UG pre-med, private) + 400k (grad med sch)] in the states. That amounts to a 100+k deviation .Sure, for an individual who has the luxury of an amalgam of options, I’d presume that finances shouldn’t pose as a major hurdle. But buddy, look at the timeline. Do you really wanna slave away for an extra 4 (total of 8) years when you can complete in 5? As mentioned above, pre-med would be a reiteration of your A Level H2 chem/bio.</p>

<p>My advice: Scratch the US pre-med idea. Take the UKCAT & BMAT exam. Study real hard for it. Unlike the SATs, you only get 1 shot at it per year. I empathize with the US culture preference as certain places in UK (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Warwick) can get pretty stifling. In that case, you best bet would be UCL & Imperial. I haven’t heard of any peers lamenting about London yet. Both schools have a huge and eclectic mix of student unions for you to partake in your share of campus activities. If the US Greek culture’s your thing, you should know that cosmopolitan London’s partying scene can get pretty rad, and with the many student deals around, unwinding would be an easy feat. Great sights in London plus an added bonus of backpacking to surrounding EU countries on a whim. With that said, London’s universities are overly subscribed so do make wise choices for your 5 UCAS options.</p>

<p>You should still apply to both Yong Loo Lin and Imperial-LKC. Wouldn’t hurt a fly. If you do gain admission into either of them, congratufreakinglations. Both schools are killer institutions. This then boils down to your personal preference for an overseas education and the reputation of schools (local vs Oxbridge/ICL/UCL vs Edinburgh/Glasgow/KCL vs Notts/Exeter/Durham & the likes). As far as curriculum goes, the only discrepancy that crosses me would be the advantageous familiarization of diseases and inflictions exclusive to our region lest you were to study locally. But again, that’s nothing you can’t study from books.</p>

<p>To address your 3rd option of doing your UG studies locally before med-school in the states, it just strikes me as a cheaper alternative of the ‘pre-med and med school in US route’. Again. Beating around the bush. Don’t waste a huge bulk of your prime years on education. If a medical degree is what you want/need, take the shortest and most effective route possible. UK/SG, that’s it. :slight_smile: I would know as my sis was in the local vs UK med school quandary a couple years back. She chose Imperial in the end though. Hope this helps!</p>

6

<p>hello…
it seems difficult to get residency if one is a foreign medical graduate in usa because there is a big competition nowadays. certainly not in top branches & surgery.</p>

7

All I could conclude was studying medical in US would be 4 years longer, but definitely worth the stay if you want to take in the best of US medicine and train yourself in the top residencies there. I would suggest going for US studies, that is exactly what i will be doing after looking at these pros and cons. But definitely at an affordable cost.