Decent UK med schools

[DD214_DOC]

Out of curiosity, what are the reputable UK schools?

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[13538]

All the med schools in the UK are reputable - pretty much all UK med schools have integrated courses with elements of PBL now. The only real difference between the med schools is location...

 

[FionaS]

what are the reputable UK schools?

Literally, all of them. We don't have ranking, and all schools have to meet the same basic requirements in education. It comes down to where you want to study, and how you want to study (more integrated, dissection vs prosection, PBL? etc).

No one school is any harder or easier to get into either - Ccambridge and Oxford have a reputation for being difficult, but in actual fact (assuming you have the grades obviously!) can sometimes be easier.

We REALLY don't have ranking (I know Americans find this hard to believe).

 

[The Pill Counter]

In Canada, UK, Australia, the schools are all public institutions, funded by the government, and as such, breed an egalitarian system. The only exception being Oxbridge, and even then, the name probably means more outside of England when advancing ones career.
However, I do know that if you didn't go to one of the London schools, it's quite difficult to get a PRHO post in London, even if you went to school an hour or so away in Southampton, Birmingham, etc.

 

[FionaS]

I do know that if you didn't go to one of the London schools, it's quite difficult to get a PRHO post in London, even if you went to school an hour or so away in Southampton, Birmingham, etc

That's true - you're expected to work in the region covered by your medical school. However, once you get up to SHO and SpR level and if you're prepared to go off rotation, then it's quite possible to move around (especially to less popular areas).

Which is good for me... All I know is I want to live somewhere coastal, not necessarily in the UK

 

[DD214_DOC]

Which of the schools are more catered to US applicants? And how competitive is entry into the UK schools as compared to US schools?

Not that I doubt my ability to be accepted to a US school...

 

[FionaS]

Bearing in mind that I've never applied to American medical schools, I'd say that getting into a UK school is just as hard - it's one of the most competitive degree courses to get into, with the majority having straight A grades before they even get onto "extracurricular activites"

None of the schools are geared for US applicants, as in those who want to return to the US after training. USMLE prep is non-existant (most of us don't even know what the USMLE is ) But if you want to stay in the UK then you've the same process as all other overseas students to get through.

Not that I doubt my ability to be accepted to a US school...

LOL! Sure you won't have any problems

 

[miscalculated]

what's been said so far sums it up well - all UK med schools are highly regarded and when British students decide which ones to apply for, all we think of is where in Britain we want to live and PBL v traditional.

Yes you are at an advantage if you studied at a London school if you want to practice in the capital but saying that, my anatomy demonstrator trained outside of London and is an SHO at St Thomas'.

 

[redshifteffect]

Originally posted by JKDMed
Which of the schools are more catered to US applicants? And how competitive is entry into the UK schools as compared to US schools?

Not that I doubt my ability to be accepted to a US school...

- Getting into a UK school is not hard if you have the ability to get into a medschool back home...

- The thing to remember is that you will be competiting with international students (a lot of them are malaysian) that also use the British A level system. These students are usually @ the top of their class and that's why they choose to leave the country (unlike in western countries). So you will have to compete with these students for the limited spots that international students have.

- Most of these students are funded by their respective governments...so unlike North America students where the check could run out the British schools do not have to worry about this in the case of these students.

- All of these factors make people applying from North American a bit less competitive...though this doesn't mean you can't get in.

 

[supersunny]

do uk citizens have any edge in the process?

if so, even when a graduate of a US school?

iany information would be appreciated

 

[lola]

Originally posted by redshifteffect
- Getting into a UK school is not hard if you have the ability to get into a medschool back home...

i'm not sure this is accurate if we are talking about the accelerated programs for university graduates. it was my experience that very few would allow north american applicants. oxford did. cambridge did not. i'm not sure about the other programs. those are the only two i remember offhand.

 

[redshifteffect]

Originally posted by lola
i'm not sure this is accurate if we are talking about the accelerated programs for university graduates. it was my experience that very few would allow north american applicants. oxford did. cambridge did not. i'm not sure about the other programs. those are the only two i remember offhand.

]

I'm not sure about the 4 year programs b/c I didn't have a degree. I was referring to the highschool admission programs. I didn't have very much difficulty in gaining admission to them; and compared to the Australian and American ones I found them to be a lot less hassle. For the American ones I had to take those useless SATs 1/2.

 

[redshifteffect]

Originally posted by t733nu5
do uk citizens have any edge in the process?

if so, even when a graduate of a US school?

iany information would be appreciated

I think that if you do not have very good stats from a US school then your chances of admission will be difficult. Though it depends on the university you are applying to.

 

[r3kapur]

Redshift...

What schools did you apply to? Did you need the BMAT?

I am considering applying to the UK as well. What made you shy away from going there? I will have a bachelors when I apply.

What do you think chances are for canadians? I have a 3.84 GPA in university... but a dismal verbal score on the MCAT (with everything else above average).

cheers. (I'm in Brighton UK right now... doing a term abroad).

 

[redshifteffect]

Originally posted by r3kapur
Redshift...

What schools did you apply to? Did you need the BMAT?

I am considering applying to the UK as well. What made you shy away from going there? I will have a bachelors when I apply.

What do you think chances are for canadians? I have a 3.84 GPA in university... but a dismal verbal score on the MCAT (with everything else above average).

cheers. (I'm in Brighton UK right now... doing a term abroad).

hello r3kpaur,

http://www.le.ac.uk/sm/le/courses/mbchb/index.html

This was the school I can remember applying too. But it was two years ago and the policies might have changed. I didn't have to write the BMAT at that time but I was applying for the 5 year course. They do have a 4 year course as well...so you may want to look into that.

As for what made me shy away...well the main problem was the cost. It was pretty much (at the time in UK pounds) similar to the cost of the accelerated med. program I got into in the US which is why I didn't go the accel. route. That and I thought that practicing in Australia would be more to my liking than the UK. But UK schools are excellent and you still have a very good chance of staying there after you graduate.

Check around there are plently of good schools out there (in the UK and abroad).

Sorry about not being able to answer your GPA request but I was a highschool graduate at the time; so I can give you approx stats for that but I have no idea about what they are looking for in a Uni grad.

 

[DocRuth]

t733nu5 - in response to your question about UK citizenship being an advantage in applying to UK medical schools, my understanding is that it doesn't make any difference if you are not a UK or other EU country resident. Residency means that you've spent the last 3 years in the UK or other EU country, and not as a student. I looked into this because I'm a Brit, but haven't lived there for over 10 years, and I would have had to apply as an international student.

 

[Kev (UK)]

Originally posted by r3kapur
What do you think chances are for canadians? I have a 3.84 GPA in university... but a dismal verbal score on the MCAT (with everything else above average).

cheers. (I'm in Brighton UK right now... doing a term abroad).

Hi

I am a student at Leicester Medical School and I know we have several Canadian students here, so it may be worth your while contactiong them for further details.

http://www.le.ac.uk/sm/le

 

[r3kapur]

Hey.

How might I be able to go about doing that? I'd be very interested in getting first-hand knowledge of the application process, and the experiences canadians are having over there.

cheers.

 

[Kev (UK)]

You could email the admissions tutor for information. I do not personally know the Canadian students so have no info on their experiences but they would have all applied as international students through UCAS (http://www.ucas.co.uk)

 

[theodore]

So, I'm a Greek citizen that spent the last six years studying in a Hungarian medical school.If I want to apply for work in the UK next year,which class do I fall into?

 

[hnbui]

what test do you have to take? Mcat?
do they focus more on the interview than the test scores?