I am currently a junior in high school, graduating in 2019 and i’m interested in becoming a psychiatrist. Would doing my undergraduate at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) be a good fit for me? I have been offered an international student scholarship to study in either Taiwan, Singapore, or South Korea (and because i’m a little more familiar with Korean culture and language already) I’ve decided on South Korea which would lead towards KAIST.
My original plans were to continue studying where I currently am, in California, possibly to apply to UCI or some other UC school, but I;m really unsure of what to do now. KAIST is a very science, math, and business centered school, and really I’m not very strong in those areas. Even though I take interest in psychiatry.
Would doing my undergrad at KAIST be a better option than continuing my education in the US? I haven’t applied to any schools yet because I’m only in the beginning of my junior year, but I have to start planning and deciding.
Plus the thing is, most people who apply to KAIST tend to be the ones who aspire to become engineers and all, while my interest is in psychology and psychiatry. I mean psychiatry is still heavy on science but would there better schools to apply to? I’m already interested in KAIST but I’m only worried I wouldn’t benefit as much in comparison to staying here.
Psychiatry is a branch of medicine which requires a MD or DO degree. If you aren’t strong in sciences and math…what makes you think medical school will be a good option?
Would want to work in the US or in Korea?
That’s true. I should honestly reconsider. I’m only strong in social sciences and biological sciences. Not so much on sciences involving advanced math. But I really want to become a psychiatrist. Or at least continue with what I have in mind.
The biggest question is whether you want to eventually live and work in America… it’s very, very hard to practice psychiatry in the U.S. if you received your medical training overseas. You would have to pass a series of difficult and expensive exams, as well as do a residency, adding years of hard work to an already long education.
So unless you’re OK with staying in Korea for the rest of your professional life, it makes no sense to do your university/med school/residency in Korea.
Psychiatry requires you to attend med school. It requires you to attend college in the US, OR add 2 extra years to your degree, with no financial aid, in a US postbacc program.
If you want to be a counselor or therapist, in the US that requires a degree in psychology or biopsychology, to be really good with relevant EC’s, and admission to a Clinical Psychology or PHD program in Psychology. Those are very competitive so you need to be a very strong student.
Certain kinds of talk therapy/counseling are provided by people with an MS in Social Work. For that, any undergrad could do. But for admissions to a US program, you would need to have your foreign degree evaluated, and you might be required to take a few related undergrad courses to catch up. One good project for you for this year, is to do some research on the various routes into the kind of counseling and/or medical therapies you think you’d like to handle one day as a professional.
If you are a US citizen or legal permanent resident, and you want to make your career in the US, it probably is best to complete your degrees here. You can supplement them with semesters and internships outside the US to give you additional perspective and experience. If you are not a US citizen or legal permanent resident, then your options are different. You should not assume that there is any chance at all of finding permanent work in the US. In that case, you should plan on studying in a country where your degree will readily qualify you for legal employment.