Hi everyone. This is my first post here and I was wondering if anyone could offer their thoughts and advice. I'll try to be brief but to get the full picture it may take a little while.
I'm 28, an Australian citizen. I also have an EU passport, but that is not relevant to this particular thread.
After finishing high school in 2003 I worked for 9 years as a designer (performing arts world). In 2012 my father died of cancer and my brother had died (also of cancer) a few years previously, and I started rethinking my life. I knew I had to go do something medical field/cancer related. Oncology was calling me but I resisted the idea of Medical School (I felt too old, it felt like too much of a long haul).
So in 2013 I began a Bachelor of Science (3 yr)/Master of Biomedical Engineering (2 yr) here in Melbourne. I'm just commencing my last semester of the B.S. now and will enter the Masters in 2016.
But I am rethinking. I have a job as an RA (of sorts) right now and I lack motivation for it. I work best when I can help people in a more immediate sense, offering guidance, or giving them a product or service where I know they can walk away feeling happy or satisfied. All the past jobs I've enjoyed have been like that, even when I was working in a cafe making sandwiches - I always liked knowing several people that day had enjoyed their lunch! But research... I don't know. There is no satisfaction in it for me. Which came as a surprise, but that's just how it is.
I have two passions: one is science/learning, the other is mountains and climbing them. This becomes relevant, sort of... as it has been a pipedream for a while to try to find a way to move to California, Colorado (or BC/Alberta in Canada) to be in close proximity to the mountains.
So here are my questions, I guess. There are a small handful of medical schools I am considering applying for in the USA (only a few accept international applicants, and of those only a small handful are in locations I would wish to live in - remember that this is a $200,000+ outlay for an international student).
US schools on the list are: University of California, Davis or SF. University of Utah. Stanford.
There are also a couple of Canadian schools.
It is almost impossible to accurately try and convert my current Australian GPA to a US GPA, but from what I can tell the US schools are pretty aware of the conversion system and take this into account (I think often a good Australian GPA comes out as a 'low' US GPA numerically). My GPA here in Australia is good, by Australian standards, and within my school/cohort. (I get about 60% HDs and 40% Ds)
1) I will only have a 3-year B.S. degree which, from what I can tell, would be inadequate for a US med school application. Would completing my Masters degree make up for the fact that my Bachelor is only 3 years?
2) Just hypothetically say I do have $200k to get me through US Medical School. Is this still insanity to even try? Do I have any hope of even getting through the application process?
3) Is there any advantage to being an international student at a US med school?
4) The other (and probably better) option is to do 4 years of med school in Australia but I have heard that it is difficult to break away from the location where you trained... is doing my training in Melbourne and then trying to do a residency (and continue life as a junior doctor) in the US/Canada an impossibility? I can't find out much information on this...
This is obviously kind of insane and I am aware of how difficult I'm making it for myself. I could just try for med school in Australia or even Europe (where I have citizenship!).... but I just thought I'd see what insights people have.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I'm 28, an Australian citizen. I also have an EU passport, but that is not relevant to this particular thread.
After finishing high school in 2003 I worked for 9 years as a designer (performing arts world). In 2012 my father died of cancer and my brother had died (also of cancer) a few years previously, and I started rethinking my life. I knew I had to go do something medical field/cancer related. Oncology was calling me but I resisted the idea of Medical School (I felt too old, it felt like too much of a long haul).
So in 2013 I began a Bachelor of Science (3 yr)/Master of Biomedical Engineering (2 yr) here in Melbourne. I'm just commencing my last semester of the B.S. now and will enter the Masters in 2016.
But I am rethinking. I have a job as an RA (of sorts) right now and I lack motivation for it. I work best when I can help people in a more immediate sense, offering guidance, or giving them a product or service where I know they can walk away feeling happy or satisfied. All the past jobs I've enjoyed have been like that, even when I was working in a cafe making sandwiches - I always liked knowing several people that day had enjoyed their lunch! But research... I don't know. There is no satisfaction in it for me. Which came as a surprise, but that's just how it is.
I have two passions: one is science/learning, the other is mountains and climbing them. This becomes relevant, sort of... as it has been a pipedream for a while to try to find a way to move to California, Colorado (or BC/Alberta in Canada) to be in close proximity to the mountains.
So here are my questions, I guess. There are a small handful of medical schools I am considering applying for in the USA (only a few accept international applicants, and of those only a small handful are in locations I would wish to live in - remember that this is a $200,000+ outlay for an international student).
US schools on the list are: University of California, Davis or SF. University of Utah. Stanford.
There are also a couple of Canadian schools.
It is almost impossible to accurately try and convert my current Australian GPA to a US GPA, but from what I can tell the US schools are pretty aware of the conversion system and take this into account (I think often a good Australian GPA comes out as a 'low' US GPA numerically). My GPA here in Australia is good, by Australian standards, and within my school/cohort. (I get about 60% HDs and 40% Ds)
1) I will only have a 3-year B.S. degree which, from what I can tell, would be inadequate for a US med school application. Would completing my Masters degree make up for the fact that my Bachelor is only 3 years?
2) Just hypothetically say I do have $200k to get me through US Medical School. Is this still insanity to even try? Do I have any hope of even getting through the application process?
3) Is there any advantage to being an international student at a US med school?
4) The other (and probably better) option is to do 4 years of med school in Australia but I have heard that it is difficult to break away from the location where you trained... is doing my training in Melbourne and then trying to do a residency (and continue life as a junior doctor) in the US/Canada an impossibility? I can't find out much information on this...
This is obviously kind of insane and I am aware of how difficult I'm making it for myself. I could just try for med school in Australia or even Europe (where I have citizenship!).... but I just thought I'd see what insights people have.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your thoughts.