mature, international, no science background

Hi, I am an Indian living in India who wants to study medicine in either US or UK. I am 31 years old. (thus i will be an "international plus mature" student. I don't want to waste your time talking about why medicine and why at this age or the circumstances that didn't let me do it earlier. Let's just say becoming a doctor is something i am 100 per cent sure i want to do, despite my age.
my unique situation is given below listed under what i gather would be seen as disadvantages and advantages when it comes to applying to med school. please read and let me know what my first step (and if you have the time, the subsequent steps) should be in order to get into a med school and become a doctor.

Disadvantages:
1. am 31 years old
2. an Indian national
3. no background in science (former journalist currently teaching journalism, the last time i studied physics, chemistry, maths or biology was in class 10 (what i think is called o levels in Uk), my bachelors/undergrad/first degree was in 'commerce', and masters was in 'development')
4. have no savings (but i have a gut feeling, given how much i want to do this, that i will somehow find a way to fund it, if i get admission)

Advantages:
1. no partner or kids (no relationships, dependents, commitments, can relocate to any place in the world to make this happen)
2. Have a masters degree in 'Gender, development and globalisation' from the London School of Economics (though it had nothing to do with natural sciences, i am hoping the very fact that i have a masters degree from a reputed social science institute would be at least a small advantage)
3. I have nothing to lose by giving up what i am doing now. hence attempting this.
4. willing and happy to study in a non-top/not so reputed medical school, given and knowing that my disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. for that matter i am open to studying medicine in countries besides UK and US, but i assume that the chances of selection to med school in the UK or US is higher for someone like me, as they are more liberal when it comes to age and are more open to non-science candidates. also i guess i am more likely to get funded/scholarships in the US than any other country.
5. Have 'life experience' (lived in india, masters in UK, worked in india and bangladesh), reported extensively on hospitals and public health (was on the 'health beat') as a journalist, worked for a few ngos in the development sector.

please advice. really really appreciate any help i get. thank you in advance.

Reply 1

emmamacp

You will need to be very determined but it is not impossible. I know a man who came here from Banglidesh at around your age. He was accepted on to the Manchester University foundation degree for medicine, a year long course and eventually was accepted at a University to begin a medical degree aged 34. This course will put you in a good position to apply to a UK university to do medicine. My friend had to work a lot of hours to fund the course. Tuition fees in Holland are said to be a lot cheaper and all courses are in English, you should take a look. I do believe that with determination you can do this... good luck :smile:

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Reply 2

shilpav82

thanks emmamacp, will look into the manchester uni programe.

do you know anything about the INTO SGUL (St george's university of london) programme. It is designed for international students, it makes the whole process of becoming a doctor sound very easy, even if you are a mature student and have no science background (if you can find a way to fund it, that is).

i am interested in their MBBS 4 programme. the best thing about this programme is that you can directly get into the MBBS programme without doing the foundation course, if you have a bachelors degree in any subject (non-science). all you really need to do is get a good score in the GAMSAT or MCAT.

so that basically means that someone like me who has no science background can become a doctor in just 4 years??!! sort of hard to believe. have i got the facts right?

Can you tell me what you think about the INTO-SGUL programme for international students http://www.sgul.ac.uk/international/into, especially the MBBS4.

1. I would like to know specifically possible ways of funding it if i get in. I would really like to get in touch with a student who is currently doing the MBBS4 there.

2. Secondly, is the quality of the programme any good? Or given how high the fee is, is it just a big money-making initiative?

3. Thirdly, are there any other universities in UK or Europe that have MBBS programmes like INTO-SGUL that are tailor-made for international students.

would appreciate any info on this. thank you

mature, international, no science background

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