American high school to UK Med School?

[Astrid VB]

I am currently a junior in high school in California. My GPA is sadly very average, probably around 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. However, I have always had a very loaded schedule with lots of honors and AP courses, I am an active member of the Medical Science Academy at my school, have over 100 hours of volunteer time at UCLA medical center and recently went to Poland with Gap Medics to shadow in the local hospital.

I would love to study abroad and I know that medicine is my passion. I think it would be incredible to jump straight into medical school, as it is in the UK and Europe (I'm well aware of the commitment). It would also be nice to save some time and money along the way.

However, I know that medical school in the UK is extremely competitive. I'm curious as to whether I would even have a chance at making it and if so, what the necessary steps would be to apply and prepare for exams.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm just trying to wrap my head around things and look at a wider variety of options.

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[Medstart108]

You can try but from what I hear a 3.3 GPA really isn't very competitive in the states. I applied and went to a UK medical school in the past, I think the only school you might be eligible for is SGUL. Honestly if it was me, if you can't pull your GPA up stick with the states for undergrad. It is a lot of work applying to the UK because you have to navigate an entirely separate process and if you aren't that competitive it might end up hurting your application to the states as well.

Don't overstretch yourself during high school, focus on your grades.

 

[Astrid VB]

You can try but from what I hear a 3.3 GPA really isn't very competitive in the states. I applied and went to a UK medical school in the past, I think the only school you might be eligible for is SGUL. Honestly if it was me, if you can't pull your GPA up stick with the states for undergrad. It is a lot of work applying to the UK because you have to navigate an entirely separate process and if you aren't that competitive it might end up hurting your application to the states as well.

Don't overstretch yourself during high school, focus on your grades.

Thank you for the input. Sounds reasonable. Still a bummer though! Out of curiosity though, what is the application process like for a medical school in the U.K.?