US Student Study Abroad?

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hi guys. I live in a competitive suburban New Jersey school district and the norm here for is to apply to the elite American universities like HYPSM along with some safeties. For the past 3 years, there has been like only 2 students who applied aboard (each class has around 450 students). I, however, really want to study aboard in England. I want to go to Oxford or Cambridge to pursue a pre-med and since Cambridge has an amazing med school, arguably the best in the world, I want to study undergrad + med school in Cambridge if I can.

My question is (1) is it even a good idea to take pre-med and med school abroad? (2) Should I decide to apply and get accepted to Oxford/Cambridge, should I come back to the states for residency period or just stay in the UK on a work visa? (3) If I do decide to apply abroad, do I need to file for a visa months before or after I get accepted? Thanks!!!

Obviously, I will still apply to American colleges, but just wanted some advice on whether or not I should study abroad.

2

=> Medicine in the UK is an undergraduate course, so you apply directly to Medicine (not undergrad + grad)

=> UK universities have a cap on the number of international students that they can accept (for Oxford, it’s 14; they typically admit 6 ). The one exception is the University of Buckingham Medical School, which is private, and has no cap. It’s a new program, and their first class graduates this year.

=> The ability to stay in the UK on a work visa is increasingly problematic

=> Applying for residency in the US with an international medical degree is a process (info from the AMA is here: https://www.ama-assn.org/education/international-medical-education/residency-program-requirements-international-medical)

The long and the short of it is that pursuing a medical degree in the UK has a lot of obstacles, and pursuing it at Oxford or Cambridge is an exceptionally long shot. Oxford reps say (in reference to applying for medicine) “if you believe that you are truly one of the best two or three applicants in the world, go ahead and apply”. Is that you?

3
  1. US med schools want students who attended US colleges. You can attend a university in the UK or be pre-med, not both.
  2. Cambridge or Oxford medecine require exams which you were supposed to register for months ago.
  3. You can apply to either university (Oct 15) but make sure to include other strong programs (Edinburgh, Strathclyde, St Andrews, Durham, York, Manchester, Bath…)
4

Considering your profile that you posted in another thread you seem very naïve about requirements to study in the UK, especially in medicine.