I am heading into my junior year of High School. I’ve been looking at colleges around the USA, but the one place that I am really interested in is Massey University in New Zealand. I would study psychology with a minor in biology. I want to become a Psychiatrist. If I did attend Massey, and then came back to the USA for med school, would that affect my chances of getting in as I studied in a different country?
Thanks!
I think it probably would. I would wait for other more knowledgeable posters to contribute their 2 cents.
oh my! US med schools will not accept the premed prereqs taken at universities from other countries other than Canada.
You have to go to school here or in Canada.
BTW…what are your parents saying about paying for you to go to university in another country? How much will they pay?
What are your stats?
I believe AMCAS has a list of international schools that are not considered “international”. If your school isn’t on there though then you’ll need to take coursework at a valid institution.
My mom grew up there so we have lots of family down there. It is only $6,000 a year and my mom would probably prefer me to go.
^^
Are you sure that it’s only $6k per year for someone who isn’t a resident? Do you have dual citizenship? "“These examples indicate the (GST inclusive) tuition fees for New Zealand citizens or permanent residents for a selection of typical undergraduate programmes.”
If you’d be considered an int’l, then the tuition is about $30k per year.
Would you be living with relatives while going to college? Would you have a car to get to school?
Found this list of schools that AMCAS doesn’t consider international, Massey is not on it:
Al Akhawayn University
American University in Cairo
Minnesota State University in Akita - (Closed in 2003)
American University of Paris
American College in Jerusalem - (Closed in 1976)
American University of Rome
American College in Sharjah
Bermuda College
American College of Switzerland - (Closed in 2009)
Central European University
American College of Thessaloniki
College of Micronesia-FSM
Deree College – The American College of Greece
John Cabot University (Rome)
Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne
Lebanese American University
Franklin University—Switzerland
London Metropolitan University
Hellenic American University
Ming Chuan University
Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts
Palau Community College
Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas
Richmond – The American International University in London
International College
The American University in Dubai
Universidad de Monterrey
Open University
American University of Beirut
Universidad de las Americas, A.C.
American University in Bulgaria
Zayed University
And any overseas campuses that are part of a U.S. institution
Page 24: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/182162/data/amcas_instruction_manual.pdf
You would be better off attending a US school and spending a semester or even a year abroad.
Massey University is not AMCAS’s list of acceptable foreign institutions. This means your undergrad coursework there will not be accepted by any US MD schools, although a few DO schools might accept your credentials. (Determination of acceptability is done on a case-by-case basis.) You will need to do a post-bacc upon returning to the US to be considered by US MD schools.
It sounds like you plan to practice medicine in the US. If that’s so, then you really need to consider doing at least 2 years of college in the US so you can complete all your med school pre-reqs in the US. Plus to be a competitive applicant in the US, you will need LORs from American college professors and clinical volunteer experience within the US healthcare system. (Overseas clinical experience is not really considered acceptable by med school adcomms.)
You can become a MD in New Zealand and come back to the U.S. and apply for US medical residency and practice medicin in the U.S.
You better REALLY want to study in NZ if you’re going to do that given the match rate for US MD graduates is ~92-97% and the match rate for US IMGs is ~40-45%.
After studying abroad in UG you could even go back to NZ during medical school during the summer after MS1, by doing a research year after MS3, and/or an away elective of some sort at the end of MS4.
Assuming the NZ system also takes 10 year to become a physician and assume the COA of attending NZ university is like stated $6000 USD/year, that is $60K in total cost, much cheaper than that in the USA. You may spend $60K/year in US education. I think it is worth the risk to take the US IMG route, even though the success rate is only 40% . Worse to the worst, you can practice medicine in NZ, which might not be a bad choice.
Medical training in NZ is substantially different than in the US.
In NZ, medicine is 6 year direct entry undergrad degree (MBChB), followed by 1 year as a trainee intern (NZ citizens get paid as trainee interns; internationals do not), followed by 2 more years as a house officer (junior physician). Only then can physicians enter a specialty-- and NZ has a serious residency crunch which makes it quite difficult for an international get a specialty position. For this reason, most internationals end up as GPs.
This mean the OP would have to commit now to practicing medicine in NZ instead of the US.