Atlantic Bridge 2017

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Official rejection from UCC GEM received today.

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anyone got a second round offer from NUIG or TCD?
 
Hey guys,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but i'm gonna give it a shot! A friend of mine has been accepted to UCC and he's starting his visa application because he doesn't hold a Canadian passport (nor has access to this forum and hence i'm asking on his behalf). According to the Irish visa website they require students to have evidence of finance (that they have sufficient funds to support their stay in Ireland). Apparently the process is quite tedious and require a lot of paper work and bank statements..etc. However there's an alternative option called "education bond" has anyone here done it before? or know a better way to prove their finance in order to have their visa approved?
And he's also wondering if he needs to have his full tuition paid before submitting his visa application or the initial deposit should do it?

Thanks :)
 
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Hi. I am a Canadian student considering applying for 2018. I finished my undergraduate in Genetic Anthropology with an overall 3.66 CGPA. I have over 3.7 in each of my last 3 years. The only thing dragging down the CGPA is my first year where I achieved a 3.4. I have been accepted into the University of Toronto for my Masters of Science, specializing in molecular and evolutionary anthropology and biology. I also received a 25,000 scholarship. I have a lot of extracurriculars (most of it volunteering). However, I have yet to complete chemistry classes (I will be doing so next summer). I was wondering if it is worth me applying for 2018 (to the schools not requiring the MCAT) or waiting to apply for the 2019 cohort, by then I will have completed chemistry and MCAT test. Sorry for the long post, I am just lost as to whether or not to apply for 2018.
 
If you had to choose between TCD or RCSI Bahrain- which one would you choose?

Anyone know the stats of matching back to US or Canada?

Any guidance would be helpful since I need to put the initial deposit ASAP for one of these schools.
 
anyone got a second round offer from NUIG or TCD?
I got first rounds from Galway and second rounds from Trinity recently. Looking for more information about each school before trying to make a decision. Anyone have any matching rates?
 
If you had to choose between TCD or RCSI Bahrain- which one would you choose?

Anyone know the stats of matching back to US or Canada?

Any guidance would be helpful since I need to put the initial deposit ASAP for one of these schools.

TCD purely from an anecdotal basis if you want to match back to NA.

The stats change year to year and are heavily dependent on what you apply to carms for more than the school you come from. But carms just released the breakdown from this year and you can find threads for the stats on this forum with a minute of searching.
 
TCD purely from an anecdotal basis if you want to match back to NA.

The stats change year to year and are heavily dependent on what you apply to carms for more than the school you come from. But carms just released the breakdown from this year and you can find threads for the stats on this forum with a minute of searching.

Thanks :)
 
Hey guys,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but i'm gonna give it a shot! A friend of mine has been accepted to UCC and he's starting his visa application because he doesn't hold a Canadian passport (nor has access to this forum and hence i'm asking on his behalf). According to the Irish visa website they require students to have evidence of finance (that they have sufficient funds to support their stay in Ireland). Apparently the process is quite tedious and require a lot of paper work and bank statements..etc. However there's an alternative option called "education bond" has anyone here done it before? or know a better way to prove their finance in order to have their visa approved?
And he's also wondering if he needs to have his full tuition paid before submitting his visa application or the initial deposit should do it?

Thanks :)

It's not as bad as you'd think. All I had to do was get one of my parents to print out their savings balance on a letterhead and sign it with a note saying "my son will have access to these funds if they are needed throughout the extent of his studies in Ireland"

It can be literally anyone though. Like your friend who saved up a couple grand could do it for you. Just be polite, confident, and prepared when you talk to immigration and you'll be fine. You also don't need these things to enter the country just a passport and your acceptance letter from the college, so when your friend gets here he/she can take a couple weeks to get things in order before going to the GNIB to register and take care of paperwork or look into the student bond by talking to one of the people at the college who would know about it.


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Has anyone heard from Galway yet for the second round?? Or are they done giving out offers?
 
I have been going through all the pages and noticed that some people said that they are on the waitlist for some schools. I haven't heard back form UCD (GEM) and TCD(5 year program). If you used Atlantic Bridge, how did you guys find out if you're on the waitlist or not? Did you just email Atlantic Bridge or did you make an account on the schools website?
Thanks in advance :)
 
i cant seem to find any threads that talk about a particular school. Is there anybody on this thread that can talk more about Uni of Limerick GEMS curriculum, life in limerick, daily life, etc. also, are are updated match statistics to the USA available?
 
i cant seem to find any threads that talk about a particular school. Is there anybody on this thread that can talk more about Uni of Limerick GEMS curriculum, life in limerick, daily life, etc. also, are are updated match statistics to the USA available?
There's a thread called "My experience at UL med" posted on 31st of May this year. You can find it by clicking on the UK & Ireland page of these forums. OP of that thread did a good job talking about the school and the curriculum I think
 
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Anybody know if Galaway is done giving offers? Atlantic Bridge said they would send out their offers early may, but by the replies on here, it doesn't seem like they have. Haven't gotten a rejection letter from them yet either, so I'm not sure.

Thanks!
 
Anybody know if Galaway is done giving offers? Atlantic Bridge said they would send out their offers early may, but by the replies on here, it doesn't seem like they have. Haven't gotten a rejection letter from them yet either, so I'm not sure.

Thanks!
As per Atlantic Bridge they did back in May. If you haven't heard from them yet (with either a yes/no) then you are on the waitlist! Hope that helps.
 
I have been going through all the pages and noticed that some people said that they are on the waitlist for some schools. I haven't heard back form UCD (GEM) and TCD(5 year program). If you used Atlantic Bridge, how did you guys find out if you're on the waitlist or not? Did you just email Atlantic Bridge or did you make an account on the schools website?
Thanks in advance :)
If you haven't had a yes or a no then your application is "open" and you are waitlisted, hope that helps! But you could always email Atlantic Bridge to be certain.
 
Hello,

does anyone know what type of criminal check is required for Canadian students? Do we need to get fingerprints, etc. done?
 
does anybody want to comment on uni of limerick GEMS program and what they think about it?
 
does anybody want to comment on uni of limerick GEMS program and what they think about it?

You can find answers to this in sharpshooters post on this first page, as well as in UL Acceptances 2015 Thread and the 2014 Interview thread for Limerick.
 
does anybody want to comment on uni of limerick GEMS program and what they think about it?

You can find answers to this in sharpshooters post on this first page, as well as in UL Acceptances 2015 Thread and the 2014 Interview thread for Limerick.
 
if someone could rank all the irish schools in order, how you rank them from best to worst?...also does anybody know if its supposed to be hard for irish students who are from ireland to get into their own medical schools. Just trying to get an idea of how hard it is for irish natives to get into their own medical schools
 
if someone could rank all the irish schools in order, how you rank them from best to worst?...also does anybody know if its supposed to be hard for irish students who are from ireland to get into their own medical schools. Just trying to get an idea of how hard it is for irish natives to get into their own medical schools

The Irish students apply through a totally separate stream (EU), and it's based on their GAMSAT score and their points scored. From what I know, it's easier than getting into a North American school, but you still have to put effort into your GAMSAT.

As for ranking, that's far too subjective. You could go by match rates, subjective reputation, proximity to what people like to do / their lifestyles. Unless someone actually attended each school, it's kind of hard to rank best to worst ....
 
if someone could rank all the irish schools in order, how you rank them from best to worst?...also does anybody know if its supposed to be hard for irish students who are from ireland to get into their own medical schools. Just trying to get an idea of how hard it is for irish natives to get into their own medical schools

I wanted to expand a bit on sassa's comment above. Irish students apply through an office called CAO. In order for them to apply they need to take a test called the HPAT (health professions admission test). Medicine is the most competitive course in Ireland, just like in most of Europe and the rest of the world. Irish med schools are standardized, which means that they all have to teach the same basic curriculum (designed by the state). Because of this all Irish med schools are competitive, but it also guarantees very high standards of education regardless of what school you end up in. This is why making a ranking is kind of difficult..

Within Ireland, Trinity is the oldest and probably most prestigious school. Kind of like the ivy league in the US, but they don't offer a 4 year graduate med program. RCSI is most geared towards North-Americans and helps student prepare for the USMLEs. UCD is the most international and (one of) the most modern schools. Every school has something that makes it unique, and all med schools are very good. Your "first choice" school should be based on what you are looking for in the school. US hospitals know that Irish students are well trained, but they usually don't know the difference between any of the schools there anyway.
 
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If you had to choose between TCD or RCSI Bahrain- which one would you choose?

Anyone know the stats of matching back to US or Canada?

Any guidance would be helpful since I need to put the initial deposit ASAP for one of these schools.

Do you want to live in Bahrain or Ireland thats an important question. But unless you are Bahranian or have ties to the Middle East, choose Ireland.
 
Just got rejection from NUIG :( but still waiting on TCD (both 5 year). Anyone have any idea when TCD is sending their admission notice at this point?
 
Just got rejection from NUIG :( but still waiting on TCD (both 5 year). Anyone have any idea when TCD is sending their admission notice at this point?

Got my TCD rejection today!
 
It's time for a new thread, although the application process won't start until August.

Applicants applying for 2017 entry: here's the place to post your questions, concerns, etc.

A couple of days ago there was information on here for people who are dual citizens. US and europe. I cant find it. I wanted the information in it where did it go?

sorry, just found it.
 
Hi I am a Canadian student looking to apply to UCC. I have a cumulative GPA of 3.5, but my last 2 years of school were an assessment year GPA of 3.7 and 3.9 (BSc. Kinesiology). I wrote my MCAT and scored a 492. I am rewriting after taking some extra classes with much more preparation and am hoping to get a better score to improve my chances of getting in to medical school. Based on what I have for stats currently what are the chances of getting into UCC? They don't have a minimum MCAT or GPA requirement so I was curious to see what people have gotten in with.

Thanks in advance
 
Hi I am a Canadian student looking to apply to UCC. I have a cumulative GPA of 3.5, but my last 2 years of school were an assessment year GPA of 3.7 and 3.9 (BSc. Kinesiology). I wrote my MCAT and scored a 492. I am rewriting after taking some extra classes with much more preparation and am hoping to get a better score to improve my chances of getting in to medical school. Based on what I have for stats currently what are the chances of getting into UCC? They don't have a minimum MCAT or GPA requirement so I was curious to see what people have gotten in with.

Thanks in advance

Do you have a chance with your GPA? Sure! With your MCAT? Not so much I'm afraid. But since you were able to do well in college, I'm sure you could do better on the MCAT. I suggest you prepare well (take a course?) and sit the test again. In the mean time you could consider doing research/shadowing/... to continue boosting your application and to remind yourself why you want to go into medicine. Aim for a 508 MCAT score, you may very well get a UCC offer with lower, but you might as well boost your chances.

FWIW I had a 3.8 cGPA and 510 MCAT score. I actually didn't get into UCC, but I think they were pretty much done giving offers by the time I sat the MCAT so don't let that discourage you.
 
Hello,

I'm just wondering if anyone from UCC knows the difference between the 2 insurance policies provided by O'Driscoll O'Neil?
 
Hello,

I'm just wondering if anyone from UCC knows the difference between the 2 insurance policies provided by O'Driscoll O'Neil?

Well the cheaper one just has a lower amount of money for I believe the death policy and one other policy, but overall I think that they are similar and I think you should go with the cheaper one (that is what I went with) cause afterall, what is the probability of you getting really sick in the 9 months every year that you have to go to the hospital.
 
I'm curious to know,can I apply to the 5 year program with my BA in psychology degree? I didn't take a lot of sciences in college. In high school I took sciences but my cumulative GPA was 3.1. That's why I want to apply with my college degree. Is this possible?
 
i cant seem to find any threads that talk about a particular school. Is there anybody on this thread that can talk more about Uni of Limerick GEMS curriculum, life in limerick, daily life, etc. also, are are updated match statistics to the USA available?
Hey, the match rates between schools differ from year-to-year. Success is largely dependent on how competitive the individual classes are and how competitive the individual applicant is. It is easy to fall behind on board exams, especially if applying to both systems (Canada and USA). Also, setting up US rotations is getting more and more difficult. A lot of people say "it depends on what specialty you are applying to". I don't necessarily agree with that. Some people successfully match to surgical subspecialties and others fail to match to less competitive specialties. It really just depends on the individual.
 
Hi! I recently got accepted into RCSI's 5 year medical program for 2018 entry, and I had lots of questions about RCSI and the 5 yr program. I was wondering if a current student preferably in the 5 or 6 yr programs could reach out and answer them? Thanks!
 
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Hi! I recently got accepted into RCSI's 5 year medical program for 2018 entry, and I had lots of questions about RCSI and the 5 yr program. I was wondering if a current student preferably in the 5 or 6 yr programs could reach out and answer them? Thanks!

I wasn't aware RCSI had a 5 year? I was told that they had only GEM entry. Is that RCSI-MUB in Bahrain?
 
I wasn't aware RCSI had a 5 year? I was told that they had only GEM entry. Is that RCSI-MUB in Bahrain?
No, if you look here: Frequent Questions – Atlantic Bridge and scroll to
How long are the medical degree courses in Ireland?
You will have a breakdown the number of years (4-6) and which school offers it.
Keep in mind this is only through AB, as I have heard UCD offers a 5 year program which is not listed there.
 
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No, if you look here: Frequent Questions – Atlantic Bridge and scroll to
How long are the medical degree courses in Ireland?
You will have a breakdown the number of years (4-6) and which school offers it.
Keep in mind this is only through AB, as I have heard UCD offers a 5 year program which is not listed there.

Oh wow. I had no idea, now I feel a bit dumb. I wish I had applied. AB advised me to only apply to NUIG and TCD because they said those were the only two with 5 year programs. On second thought, that might be because a lot of the 5 years are aimed at people who haven't completed an undergrad degree. Thanks for replying!
 
Life style and school reputation were big ones. I still felt that Irish schools had stigmas, whereas Australian schools are quite literally some of the best schools in the world. Australian National Uni, Uni of Sydney, Uni of Melbourne and University of Queensland are particularly ranked very high. I also have the privilege of going to Australian National University which gives its internationals the same status as domestics when applying for internships, giving me an amazing backup if I am not able to secure a residency in Canada or the US.

Hello! I was wondering if you could speak a little more about your experiences now that you're a student, and how your experiences have been at Australian med school so far? Also, if you've had any conversations with classmates who've matched back into the US would love to know how they've fared.
 
I wasn't aware RCSI had a 5 year? I was told that they had only GEM entry. Is that RCSI-MUB in Bahrain?
If you still have questions about RCSI's 6 or 5 year program you can ask me. I am going into my 3rd year at RCSI through the 6 year program.
 
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