Hard school- any disadvantage?

pmyen
Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:46:08 +0000

Watson and Crick,
Your Vietnamese friend actually illustrates the problem with the French system. It took him 12 years to get his degree. That is a lot of wasted time. What if he did not complete his program? It would have been an even greater waste of time. While I admire the open access of public institutions in Europe, it can, in some cases, create perpetual students. In the U.S., students try to complete their degrees as quickly as possible, even those in work-study programs. Your friend could have gone to medical school in the U.S. He probably would have had to work and acquire the requisite language skills, and then apply. I am confident (although I do not have the data) that the U.S. has more medical students over the age of 30 than Europe or Asia. I have reviewed medical school applications from former teachers, social workers, public health administrators, investment bankers, Ph.Ds. journalists, peace corps workers, nurses, medical secretaries, even stay at home moms who have decided to enter medical school. I believe our holistic system allows a broader entry of talent. These people still had the stats but also showed commitment to medicine and had a different life experience than most entering 17 year olds.