University of Barcelona

[Prescribe_Rock&Roll]

Hello, I am a nontraditional American student. I am completing my undergraduate degree in May 2020, but I am unable to succeed in organic chemistry due to needing to work a minimum of 32hrs/week (just to survive). My job is very taxing and absorbs a lot of my energy. When you are an American who doesn’t originate from wealth and a good family support system, it is very difficult to change one’s strategy. There is always a debilitating trade-off.

If I were to achieve admission to study medicine in Spain, I believe I would have enough USA financial aid to dedicate all of my focus and energy to my studies in Spain. I am very interested in applying to the University of Barcelona, but it seems quite difficult to obtain any concrete information with respect to the application process from both their website and over the phone. I know for a fact that it is one of the best medical schools in Spain. I am eligible for Spanish citizenship due to my Sephardic Judaic lineage, I am about 75% fluent in Spanish, and I am very capable of succeeding in difficult coursework when I am not forced to work 32-48hr workweeks.

I want to permanently live and practice medicine in Spain. Where do I start?


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[YCAGA]

Hello, I am a nontraditional American student. I am completing my undergraduate degree in May 2020, but I am unable to succeed in organic chemistry due to needing to work a minimum of 32hrs/week (just to survive). My job is very taxing and absorbs a lot of my energy. When you are an American who doesn’t originate from wealth and a good family support system, it is very difficult to change one’s strategy. There is always a debilitating trade-off.

If I were to achieve admission to study medicine in Spain, I believe I would have enough USA financial aid to dedicate all of my focus and energy to my studies in Spain. I am very interested in applying to the University of Barcelona, but it seems quite difficult to obtain any concrete information with respect to the application process from both their website and over the phone. I know for a fact that it is one of the best medical schools in Spain. I am eligible for Spanish citizenship due to my Sephardic Judaic lineage, I am about 75% fluent in Spanish, and I am very capable of succeeding in difficult coursework when I am not forced to work 32-48hr workweeks.

I want to permanently live and practice medicine in Spain. Where do I start?


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Your best bet is to take out federal student loans for tuition and living expenses while studying the premed curriculum here in the US. There are 1-2 year programs for specifically for nontraditional students that allow you to take all of the prerequisites needed for medical school -- many offer MCAT support as well and other premed support programs. Some even have conditional acceptances to an associated medical school if your GPA is high enough and you interview well. Now, onto Spain...

First of all, classes at the University of Barcelona are taught in Catalan not Spanish. This is clear from their website. Next, there is not such thing as "75% fluent in Spanish." We are talking about practicing medicine in another language, not ordering dinner. You need at least CEFR B2 to get into most European universities, but to actually be competent a level of C1+ (in general and scientific language) needs to be your goal. You also need a very high level of Spanish to pass the entrance exam into the 6 year medical school program. Finally, and most importantly, no Spanish medical schools are approved for US Federal Student Loans (and thus no US private lenders...they almost always only give loans to schools approved by the feds). You will need to pay for university with savings/a stipend from the Spanish government if they offer that to citizens...some European countries do, others don't.

Oh, also you will need to really truly plan on practicing medicine in Spain if you go to medical school there. Forget coming back to the US for residency, it is possible but not realistic, especially because you will need to relearn everything for the board exams in English. There is nothing wrong with wanting to practice medicine in Spain, if it an amazing country, but be aware that doctors are paid quite poorly there, even by European standards (50-60,000 euros/year before tax).

Best of luck!