Hi! I’m a current undergrad in the USA studying physiology. I’m looking to go to school in the UK (getting away from gun violence) and I saw there are some schools with graduate entry. Of course, it’s everyone’s dream to study at Oxford, but I’m happy getting in anywhere. By the time I apply, I’ll have >2,000 clinical hours in primary care, 300+ volunteer hours, 100 research hours, and some other extracurriculars. What are my chances of getting in as an American? Really hoping to get out of the USA lol!
I also have a 4.0 (first class honors I think?)
OK, you’re US citizen.
UK med schools have only a few seats that are open to non-UK citizens… All UK med schools are government funded and are mandated to accept primarily UK citizens.
Here’s information about grad entry medical schools in the UK for UK citizens
You need to check the admission requirements for each of med schools to find out
- if they accept international applicants
- if they accept applicants from the US
- what specific requirements that each school has for applicants from the US as admission requirements vary by the country where your undergraduate education is done
There are 2 UK medical schools that are exclusively for GEM (Graduate Entry Medicine)—
Swansea and Warwick
Here’s the entry requirements for international GEM applicants at Swansea;
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Would you consider Australia?
There are more seats for international med students in Australian than there are in UK.
Australia, like the UK, has highly restrictive gun laws.
Australia also has a clearly defined pathway to get AUS citizenship/PR for med students who wish to stay in Australia.
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Check out the Royal college of Surgeons GEM in Ireland. 52 places are reserved to non EU citizens (mostly UK and US).
Are you planning to permanently leave the US and seek citizenship elsewhere?
I first considered going to Ireland but based on what I’m hearing about medical residency (internship) it’s really hard to do as a non-EU citizen. Ireland would be my first choice to immigrate to but if I can’t get residency somewhere, I’m a little screwed. If you have any other information about residency/internships I’d really appreciate it!
Yes! Just looking to find a way to immigrate and still get my medical degree.
Honestly, I haven’t looked, but I will! Great to know about getting citizenship as a medical student.
One HUGE question—
How do you plan to pay for oversea med school?
You will not be eligible for US federal student loans and as an international student enrolled in UK/Irish/AUS med schools, you won’t wont be eligible for financial aid from those countries/universities either.
I know that in Australia, international students pay a very high tuition compared to AUS citizens.
You could always complete your medical education in the US and then move to the UK, EU, AUS, do your internship and specialty training there, then practice in that country.
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Another idea-- what about Canada?
Gun ownership is restricted there and Canada and the US reciprocate on undergrad accreditation. They also recognize each other medical schools and residency training as being equivalent.
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Good idea.
So you plan to permanently immigrate to another country? Is that correct?
Yup that’s the goal!
You can’t know you’ll want to live in another country until you go and live there.
That being said, getting permanent residency in the EU is straightforward for a university graduate and there will be what they call “golden bridges” for a young doctor of any nationality to work in small towns if you speak the language. (Small European towns offer really good quality of life. Some even offer to pay for your living expenses while you study in exchange of a commitment to settle and work there.) The main issue, then, will be to learn a European language and be good enough at it, so that if you don’t find a surgery (doctor’s office) in Ireland, you can move to another European country.
Odds are high that you’ll want to return to the US though. It doesn’t seem likely to you now but you must keep that possibility open. Uprooting your entire life is difficult. Going abroad for college is relatively easy, although it takes more resiliency than attending university nearby. But it offers a ready made setting, social life,etc. Living&working abroad is more difficult.
At the very least, check how your degree would be considered in the US.
Canada may be a good intermediate step, but ai don’t know if their programs are open to uS citizens - those I know were reserved to Canadian citizens (and some required speaking French).
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Have you spent time abroad and during that time have you gotten to shadow doctors ? Medical practice is very different outside the US and some parts of Europe use equipment that has not been used in 30yrs in the US. Doctors are not paid nearly as well considering avg income in those countries, and considering hefty taxes (unless you do one of the rural town programs mentioned above—but then you will be practicing with very little ability to get full labs or xrays when needed. It is not at all the same as primary care even in rural areas of the US).
Also check…if you get citizenship in some other countries, you will be required to give up your U.S. citizenship. In others, you can hold dual citizenship.
Most Canadian medical schools will not consider international students for admission. Only 7 med schools accept internationals.
Med school admission in Canada is considerably more competitive than it is in the US, with an astounding 81% of Canadian applicants being rejected. In 2022 (last year data was available), only 6 international students* were accepted to Canadian med schools.
(* does not include those international students whose governments contract with the Canada government to fund med school seats for the use of their own citizens.)
Medical schools located in Quebec Province require high level fluency in French to be considered for admission.
MCAT is required and there is no funding available for international students. Be prepared to be full pay at international rates unless you obtain PR status.
However, Canadian medical schools will accept US degrees/coursework as fulfilling admission requirements.
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The EU accepts dual citizenship overall.
(The idea of barring dual citizenship was on the National Rallye ie., former National Front, 's platform, but now that power is within reach, they scraped it. Stay tuned, 1st electoral round is June 30.)
Ireland, for obvious reasons, is very happy having more Irish-American citizens.
Working in family medicine in Ireland, Germany, France, Finland, Portugal, or Spain is different from working in the US in some ways but in many ways isn’t. (Malta or Bulgaria would be more different.) The difficulty isn’t in the medical education’s content but rather the culture (and, if living/working in a non English speaking country, the language.)