Applying to European Med Schools during US college degree

[scimusicgirl]

I'm 16, and I'm a freshman who is double majoring and is part of an honors program at an American university. I want to become a physician-scientist, and anything that can limit my family's financial strain would make the path much easier. Med schools in Europe are low cost, if not free, and only require high school diplomas. Should I apply to German/British/etc med school for next year, or should I complete my bachelor's beforehand?

Please know that I am not opposed to taking a longer than usual time to obtain an education. In fact, I'm simultaneously looking at American MD/PhD programs. I'm just concerned about my family's finances, and I would love to practice medicine where I know the medical care, research, and life quality are comparable or superior.

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[Xenops]

I'm 16, and I'm a freshman who is double majoring and is part of an honors program at an American university. I want to become a physician-scientist, and anything that can limit my family's financial strain would make the path much easier. Med schools in Europe are low cost, if not free, and only require high school diplomas. Should I apply to German/British/etc med school for next year, or should I complete my bachelor's beforehand?

Please know that I am not opposed to taking a longer than usual time to obtain an education. In fact, I'm simultaneously looking at American MD/PhD programs. I'm just concerned about my family's finances, and I would love to practice medicine where I know the medical care, research, and life quality are comparable or superior.

The easiest route would be to apply to MD/PhD programs in the U.S., I think. While some EU medical schools are "cheaper", you also have to calculated living expenses, and somehow save for that. Ireland and England are just as expensive as U.S. schools if you're a foreigner. From what I understand, you won't be getting financial aid at all at a EU medical school. Plus, many English programs in Europe are not that great, and are inferior to the programs catered to the natives, so you'll have to calculate learning a foreign language, too.

If you're hard pressed for money, make sure you can make a living with your bachelors, and be able to save $$. A major I wished I had known about earlier is the medical laboratory science degree--it's a bachelors, doesn't cost as much as nursing school, you make decent money with graduation, you have hospital/patient exposure, and it probably looks good for research centered med schools.