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America vs uK top Medical schools?

Hello,I am currently at the start of y11-GCSE year...I would like to study medicine at a top university.

My academic record is v.good and here is what i do as of now:

Extra- Curricular - Non medicine Related…
5 different ones...

Extra- Curricular’s-Medicine Related…
3 different ones

Work experience…
2 different ones

Is this good enough for the start of y11?

My dad is a surgeon,i would like to go to a top medical school like Cambridge or Harvard university...I have been thinking about whether i should study in the US or UK...Money is not an issue as my dad said he will pay of the fees for schooling...

I definitely would like to work as a surgeon in America(neurosurgery would be nice-uneducated blatant opinion-take this with a pinch of salt)...If i studied in the UK,it would take 15 years to become a surgeon,2 years doing USMLE exams to go and practice in America and 2-4 years rising up the ranks there...HOWEVER in the US i was told it only takes 11 years/less in comp. to UK to become a surgeon and i wont have to do the USMLE exams and will be in a better position...

Which one would be better and what University;'s are good for medicine in America...
Say i would want to go to Harvard,is this too ambitious as i'm doing a very hard degree at a top university in a different country?

Thanks.
(edited 7 years ago)

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You do know that medicine in the US is not an undergraduate degree as it is in the UK?
Reply 2
If you specifically want to work as a doctor in America, then I would definitely choose Harvard over Oxbridge. Do keep in mind that there isn't undergraduate entry medicine in America unlike in the UK, so you will have to graduate with a degree first before you are able to apply for medical school there.
Original post by VNN
Hello,I am currently at the start of y11-GCSE year...I would like to study medicine at a top university


Why?
The use of "top medical schools" is kind of pointless for the UK at least, i don't know about US. Every school is good and going to one over another wont put you in a better position when becoming a doctor, its more about their teaching styles, location, course length ect
What does your dad say?
Reply 6
I think surgery, particularly neurosurgery, has the lowest conversion rate from applicants stating an interest to people actually going into specialty training for it.

You need to look into the differences in UK vs US medical training - the pathways are quite different and both have their pros and cons.
Original post by Duncan2012
You do know that medicine in the US is not an undergraduate degree as it is in the UK?


Why do you mean?
My dad as a surgeon say that there is a direct medicine entry?
Original post by Vodka
If you specifically want to work as a doctor in America, then I would definitely choose Harvard over Oxbridge. Do keep in mind that there isn't undergraduate entry medicine in America unlike in the UK, so you will have to graduate with a degree first before you are able to apply for medical school there.


Why do you mean?My dad as a surgeon say that there is a direct medicine entry?
Original post by Democracy
Why?

Intrested in it,I'm aware the money is not Great and to be honest as long as I earn a decent amount,or average,I couldn't care less...
Original post by 999tigger
What does your dad say?


He prefer American as he believes that is the best place to be a surgeon as he struggled a fair amount in the UK,however he did study medicine in India then he came to work a surgeon in the U.K...
Original post by VNN
neurosurgery would be nice-uneducated blatant opinion


Yes you're correct. They are very uneducated you should pick something more cerebral.

If you want to work in america you should be educated in america. Make sure its actually what you want though and not just because it sounds vaguely glamorous. The length of training in the UK is absurdly long though so that is a legitimate push factor i guess, as is the proposed 4 year conscription period here.

Would you be looking to do a premed in the US? Probably best for getting into US med schools. Your current profile is good but getting into medicine at Harvard is obviously supremely competitive, and in a very different way to the UK. My understanding is that you have to be exceptional at sports and playing instruments and that sort of thing alongside academics and volunteering, whereas the UK is just the latter two.
Original post by Helenia
I think surgery, particularly neurosurgery, has the lowest conversion rate from applicants stating an interest to people actually going into specialty training for it.

You need to look into the differences in UK vs US medical training - the pathways are quite different and both have their pros and cons.


Is it true there is no direct medicine entry in the US....For example,Harvard medical school states there is?
Original post by nexttime
Yes you're correct. They are very uneducated you should pick something more cerebral.

If you want to work in america you should be educated in america. Make sure its actually what you want though and not just because it sounds vaguely glamorous. The length of training in the UK is absurdly long though so that is a legitimate push factor i guess, as is the proposed 4 year conscription period here.

Would you be looking to do a premed in the US? Probably best for getting into US med schools. Your current profile is good but getting into medicine at Harvard is obviously supremely competitive, and in a very different way to the UK. My understanding is that you have to be exceptional at sports and playing instruments and that sort of thing alongside academics and volunteering, whereas the UK is just the latter two.


Haha...

Anyhow...I would love to study medicine for true reasons And not for glamour or prestige or money....Do I have to do a pre med course,can I not directly say apply and if I am accepted do medicine undergraduate?
I admit that the reasons I want to be a surgeon is due to my passion for medicine but the reason I want to go to America is due to the better working environment mostly and some due to the money in comparison to the UK,is This wrong?

Also,do you think I would be a ocmpetitve applicant considering I'm doing GCSE and A Levels and not IB or have a valid GPA?
Original post by VNN
He prefer American as he believes that is the best place to be a surgeon as he struggled a fair amount in the UK,however he did study medicine in India then he came to work a surgeon in the U.K...


Have you found a similar US site where you can ask opinions?
Is it possible to apply for both (timings?) and then decide based on where you get the offers?

Are medical schools in the US a lot more heirarchical than they are in the UK?

Impressed by your planning and you arent coming across as self entitled either.
Original post by VNN
Haha...

Anyhow...I would love to study medicine for true reasons And not for glamour or prestige or money....Do I have to do a pre med course,can I not directly say apply and if I am accepted do medicine undergraduate?
I admit that the reasons I want to be a surgeon is due to my passion for medicine but the reason I want to go to America is due to the better working environment mostly and some due to the money in comparison to the UK,is This wrong?

Also,do you think I would be a ocmpetitve applicant considering I'm doing GCSE and A Levels and not IB or have a valid GPA?


There's are only a select number of universities that offer undergraduate medicine in the United States. None of them are particularly high ranked. If you want to do Medicine in an Ivy League/ Prestigious University in America America you have to go through premed. Getting into medical school in America is also extremely hard if you are an international student. An international applicant who aspires to go to Medical School in the US should maintain a high GPA, show commitment to the field of medicine with internships, and get a high MCAT score. The easiest way to do this is to go to a less prestigious university (compared to the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, Caltech etc...) for PreMed and maintain a high GPA and be top of the class in these universities. If you have high grades in high school, there are some programs that you can get into that would guarantee your place in a US medical school if you maintain a certain GPA. These programs are particularly competitive though as the best people around the world are applying to these programs. (My friends who are applying to these programs have many 5s in APs, near 45s in IBs, high SAT scores, Superb Extra-Curriculars etc...) These programs will have additional supplements that you have to write in order to be considered for admission into these programs.

I will post some links below to some of these programs that I mentioned. I hope this helped, if you have any questions just ask. :smile:

Brown University- https://www.brown.edu/academics/medical/plme/prospective-students/prospective-students

Case Western University- http://admission.case.edu/apply/ppsp/

Northwestern University- http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/education/degree-programs/hpme/index.html

George Washington University- http://smhs.gwu.edu/academics/md-program/admissions/joint-programs/bamd

Rice/ Baylor University- http://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/Medical_Scholars.asp

Lehigh/ Drexel- http://www.lehigh.edu/~inbios/UG/UG_Combined.html#medicine

Boston University- http://www.bu.edu/admissions/academics/programs/pre-med/
Original post by VNN
Hello,I am currently at the start of y11-GCSE year...I would like to study medicine at a top university.

My academic record is v.good and here is what i do as of now:

Extra- Curricular - Non medicine Related…
5 different ones...

Extra- Curricular’s-Medicine Related…
3 different ones

Work experience…
2 different ones

Is this good enough for the start of y11?

My dad is a surgeon,i would like to go to a top medical school like Cambridge or Harvard university...I have been thinking about whether i should study in the US or UK...Money is not an issue as my dad said he will pay of the fees for schooling...

I definitely would like to work as a surgeon in America(neurosurgery would be nice-uneducated blatant opinion-take this with a pinch of salt)...If i studied in the UK,it would take 15 years to become a surgeon,2 years doing USMLE exams to go and practice in America and 2-4 years rising up the ranks there...HOWEVER in the US i was told it only takes 11 years/less in comp. to UK to become a surgeon and i wont have to do the USMLE exams and will be in a better position...

Which one would be better and what University;'s are good for medicine in America...
Say i would want to go to Harvard,is this too ambitious as i'm doing a very hard degree at a top university in a different country?

Thanks.


Let's be honest, you're not making it to Harvard as an international student without A* in everything and outstanding extra-curricuars. You're in competition with people all over the world who'd have better grades and crazy MCAT scores. There's also the crazy amount of debt you'll accumulate.Furthermore, you wouldn't even be able to do a medicine degree straight away. Medicine is (nearly always) a graduate course in the US, so you'd have to do some science degree first.

You'd have a much better shot at Cambridge, relative to Harvard.
(edited 7 years ago)
Just because your dad struggled doesn't mean you're going to I mean you are in a much better position that your dad was. Also, I think you'd have a decent chance at British unis as well - I would not totally rule it out. Have you visited America before? Did you like it? It would really be rubbish if once you get to that stage you don't like America. I wouldn't say the American system is better. Just because the training takes less time doesn't mean it well be exceptional. I think you should focus more on quality rather how long it would take. Also, it is a little bit early to really say though - I think things would become clearer once you have sat your GCSE's. :smile:
Original post by 999tigger
Have you found a similar US site where you can ask opinions?
Is it possible to apply for both (timings?) and then decide based on where you get the offers?

Are medical schools in the US a lot more heirarchical than they are in the UK?

Impressed by your planning and you arent coming across as self entitled either.


My biggest worry for them all is my competitiveness...
I personally believe i have a fairly good chance of being accepted to Cambridge to due my record and location,however Harvard seem very very very daunting as all the odds are against me,if you understand where im coming from...
Original post by wolfmoon88
There's are only a select number of universities that offer undergraduate medicine in the United States. None of them are particularly high ranked. If you want to do Medicine in an Ivy League/ Prestigious University in America America you have to go through premed. Getting into medical school in America is also extremely hard if you are an international student. An international applicant who aspires to go to Medical School in the US should maintain a high GPA, show commitment to the field of medicine with internships, and get a high MCAT score. The easiest way to do this is to go to a less prestigious university (compared to the Ivy Leagues, Stanford, Caltech etc...) for PreMed and maintain a high GPA and be top of the class in these universities. If you have high grades in high school, there are some programs that you can get into that would guarantee your place in a US medical school if you maintain a certain GPA. These programs are particularly competitive though as the best people around the world are applying to these programs. (My friends who are applying to these programs have many 5s in APs, near 45s in IBs, high SAT scores, Superb Extra-Curriculars etc...) These programs will have additional supplements that you have to write in order to be considered for admission into these programs.

I will post some links below to some of these programs that I mentioned. I hope this helped, if you have any questions just ask. :smile:

Brown University- https://www.brown.edu/academics/medical/plme/prospective-students/prospective-students

Case Western University- http://admission.case.edu/apply/ppsp/

Northwestern University- http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/education/degree-programs/hpme/index.html

George Washington University- http://smhs.gwu.edu/academics/md-program/admissions/joint-programs/bamd

Rice/ Baylor University- http://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/Medical_Scholars.asp

Lehigh/ Drexel- http://www.lehigh.edu/~inbios/UG/UG_Combined.html#medicine

Boston University- http://www.bu.edu/admissions/academics/programs/pre-med/


Is there any other ivy league school that offer medical programs but are less competitive,as i previously mentioned i believe with hard work i can get into Cambridge but Harvard seem almost impossible...
What but other countries...That are good for surgeons?

Thanks for the links as well...

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