19, looking at US and UK Medical Schools

[Liliofthelamplight123]

Hello everyone,

Right now I am 19 years old and I will be applying to both US medical schools and UK medical schools this cycle. I apologize in advance if this post is rather lengthy, but there is a lot I want to get off my chest.

I have been working on my Biology B.S. here in the US since 2016 while I was still in high school and will be finished by next spring. I have also taken the MCAT last June (when I was still 18), but since I only got a 503, I’m worried it might not be enough for many schools. My GPA is a 4.0 across all my college classes though. I am also registered to take the UKCAT on September 29th, which is a bit later than I wanted but I had to for scheduling reasons.

I’ve had an extremely busy summer since I’ve also been taking a full load of summer classes so I can finish my degree on time. Last year I did the same thing too, and the year before that I focused on taking as many CLEP and AP tests as I could (for classes other than my prerequisites, which I did in person at my university). My goal is to maintain this momentum and save as much time as I can. I always like to be working towards something meaningful.

During the last few years I also have some extracurricular hours from my volunteering at the local food bank, my tutoring sessions for people who also wanted to take CLEP tests for various subjects, and I have shadowed 2 doctors. During high school I also participated in a teen program at a local home health agency where I learned about the company and helped create advertisements for them. As much as I tried, I could barely be involved with my premed club at my university because every meeting they had was during one of my classes and I couldn’t bring myself to skip. I know I should have tried to schedule things better back then but the sections for classes like Biochemistry and Microbiology were especially limited and I was left with no other options. I even did a few classes online like my politics classes but even then trying to schedule things was so difficult until I attained the rank of senior and was allowed to register early (along with my President’s List certificate for high GPA).

With all this in mind, my dream is to be able to start medical school next fall whether here or in the UK. I’ve been working hard at this since I was 16 and I have every intention of staying on course. However, I must confess that I am afraid that people here in the US will discriminate against me for my age, since I am 19 and the mean age for entering medical students in the US is 24. The fact that my MCAT score is so low also worries me deeply. I studied so hard for that test but by some ill luck I got so much lower than I had hoped. I can only pray that I do better on my UKCAT, because I cannot retake the MCAT easily since the testing centers are all so far away from where I live.

This week I am going to start applying to schools on both sides of the ocean. My question is whether (for UK schools) to apply to the traditional medical program which lasts 5 years, or the graduate entry medicine (GEM) which is shorter than that, and if I should take either the IELTS or TOEFL for those schools? Although I am an American citizen since 2007, I was born in a country where English is not the dominant language so I’m not sure if I should do the tests. Also, I would like to know which schools are friendliest when it comes to accepting international students in the UK? Lastly, if anyone can recommend some schools in the US that would accept me considering my GPA/MCAT scores and if there is anything else I should do to help my application?

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[DrElliotReid]

You're only 19, there is no point in rushing this. You literally have SOOOO much time. I'm not quite sure why you rushed university either by cramming each summer with classes if it was not for money reasons. You could've easily just slowed your roll and been involved with your pre-med club and/or other clubs, but I guess there's no point in talking about this since you're pretty much done with college. Retake the MCAT and apply to US schools if you want to go to residency in the US. If you want to end up living in the UK and doing residency there, then go to the UK. Your chances of matching in the US for residency are significantly diminished if you go to medical school outside of the US.

 

[Liliofthelamplight123]

Thank you for your response, yes to be quite honest money is a driving factor in many of my decisions. Although I am financially stable, I cannot allow myself to be more of a burden than I must and so I try to do things with that in mind. Currently I have very little debt to pay off since I have a lot of scholarships, but I did have to pay for my summer classes with my own money unfortunately. I am choosing to apply to the UK more so as a backup option in case I am rejected here in the US. You also bring up a point that I am conflicted about. I am a dual national and half of my family is in the Americas but the other half lives in Europe. I would not mind remaining in either the US or the UK for residency/work, but my main focus is getting into a school. Essentially, I would stay and work wherever I am accepted. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and do so many things different, but as you say I am nearly done with college and I feel that I made some mistakes along the way when it came to the premed club. I am registered as a member but to date I have been unable to attend meetings due to my class schedule. I am hoping that for this fall semester it will be different, but I'm not sure about the meeting times/dates yet.

 

[DrElliotReid]

Ah ok that makes sense. I assumed it was a financial reason but you just never know. I would do a little more research on SDN and other resources in general about what makes someone a good applicant for medical school (both MD and DO). You didn't mention any clinical volunteering nor did I see any mention of leadership experience. Sufficient hours in clinical volunteering is fundamental for you to be accepted in the US. Your GPA and MCAT score puts you in the running for DO schools and some MDs potentially but without certain ECs that will be tough. Your age should not be a problem, so long as you demonstrate maturity in your applications (PS, secondaries etc...).

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the UK system. I would suggest trying to ask those questions in the international forum under UK/Ireland: UK & Ireland

 

[Liliofthelamplight123]

Yes ideally I want to become an MD but like you say I feel that I am lacking in certain areas. I feel that when it comes to leadership experience my tutoring could count towards that, since I set it up like a mini classroom where I taught people the concepts for specifically the psychology and sociology CLEP tests. Thank you for your help, I will go post on the UK/Ireland forum now.

 

[EasyEveryoneWouldDoIt]

i don't think your age will be too much of an issue, but a 503 MCAT and a lot of CLEP classes and AP classes you are using for college credit will raise a red flag. Are you at a 4 year university or taking most of your classes at a community college? Besides the financial reasons do you have a good "why" for wanting to go to medical schools. I am sure you have a compelling life story since you will be graduating college at 19, but do you have other things do add beside shadowing such as other clinical experience?

 

[Forever Geebs]

There are many schools that will not accept CLEP or AP, so be sure to do your homework to determine which will.

 

[Liliofthelamplight123]

Thank you for your responses,

The CLEPs and AP tests I took were mostly for classes like foreign languages, politics, history, etc, that are not prerequisites so I am not very worried about them. I think with all the tests I did I essentially skipped a year of those kinds of “filler” classes that were required for my degree but not for premed itself. My premed prerequisites such as biology, general/organic chemistry, physics, and biochemistry were taken at my 4 year university, which I have been attending since I was 16. There are some other things I have done that I think can count as clinical experience but like I mentioned before I wish I had done more back then. I have a lot of hours for the activities I did do though, like my food bank volunteering and my tutoring so I’m hoping that helps.

 

[Forever Geebs]

Are you ORM, URM, or neither? A 503 could definitely be problematic seeing the avg score for matriculants is 511. Having a 4.0 paired with your score could raise eyebrows, too.


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[Liliofthelamplight123]

I think I am considered URM since I am half white/half hispanic. I study a lot for my classes and especially for that test but that day was just one of those things beyond my control. I'd redo it but I feel like for this cycle I'm out of time and merely getting to the nearest test centers is a hassle unless I plan far enough in advance. The UKCAT test I am doing will be in the same town I live in, but for the MCAT I had to leave at 4am to arrive at the center on time.

 

[thetheatrecat]

You might double check tuition costs for the UK schools. I'm currently in a master's program here, and even people who are EU citizens (but not EU residents) had to pay international tuition rates. From what I've looked at, international tuition is outrageous. One of the graduate medical programs I looked at was 70,000 pounds a year, plus living expenses. Scholarships are hard to get here if you aren't a UK/EU resident (and the EU part is questionable because of Brexit).

Also, why rush? Take some time to work, and get to know the world a little better. You will be more financially stable and less of a burden if you are able to work for a year (or two) and save some money. By taking the time to work, especially in a retail or waitressing job, you'll be better able to connect with your patients later in life. Customer service skills are wicked useful. You'll also mature with time, and be better able to connect with older classmates. And enjoy yourself! It'll be nice to have evenings when you don't have to come home to do homework. You'll also have more time to retake the MCAT. I'm very glad I took extra time on my path and I think I'll be a better physician because of it.

 

[Liliofthelamplight123]

Forgive me, but I've seen 30 year olds act like 13 year olds throughout my college classes + vice versa and since I'm already about to graduate at 19, I do not believe that age necessarily=maturity. It isn't accurate to paint one age range in one stroke because maturity depends on individuals. I've worked with customers at one of my volunteer experiences as a translator for a business for the past 2 years. For the time being I am also saving up and I am fortunate enough that for my undergrad nearly all of my expenses are covered by my scholarships and I have very little debt. I was advised by some of the UK schools I contacted to apply as an undergraduate and some as graduate, and that SAT II scores/APs would be covered by my college coursework. There was only one school over there that required an MCAT (Edinburgh-508 for graduate) so I will not be applying to that one. There is nothing wrong with taking your time before medical school, but that is not the path I chose for myself. I like to keep my momentum and I feel best when I am working towards my goal. I've been at university since I was 16 because I was bored with the slow pace of my high school, and I have been taking 16-19 credit hours a semester since I started full time here (in summer 9-10 hrs). In May I reached the rank of senior, while many people I went to high school with were barely becoming sophomores. While I also wish I could take a long break someday like how many people do for summer and winter, I'd rather wait to take it after I've accomplished my objectives.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

The youngest student in my class was 20 when he started, I wouldn't worry too much about your age.

I applaud you for your accomplishments thus far. I wish you well in finding a UK program which will extend you a significant scholarship/full ride, but I submit to you to keep in mind that UK doctor salaries are about a third of US doctor salaries in case that ends up not being the case (Pay for doctors). If you end up paying full-tuition at a UK medical school and end up wanting to come back to the US, your specialty choices may be affected by your being an international medical graduate.

Also, if you end up applying to enter medical school as an undergraduate (i.e. 6 year program) in the UK, wouldn't you be spending an extra year more than if you were to retake the MCAT and apply to US schools one cycle later?

If you are to remain in the US and get your MCAT up to above average, get a some productive research experiences and some more volunteering in, I believe it to be highly likely for you to receive a scholarship offers from multiple US medical schools.

 

[Liliofthelamplight123]

Thank you for your response,

It is true that returning to the US for work would be more significantly difficult if I go to medical school abroad, but it is still always a possibility. I'll probably stay in the country that accepts me for work though. Ideally, I wish I could get into the schools I like in the US, but I am honestly very concerned about my MCAT score. If I am not accepted into any schools I will most likely reattempt the exam sometime next summer while volunteering. Although I don't have research experience, I feel like I have sufficient volunteer hours in a variety of activities. At this point I believe I would rather go and start medical school in the UK if I am not accepted in the US. From my perspective, an extra year of studying in a UK school would bring me more comfort than a year of doubt and redoing the MCAT. To become a doctor we already have to spend many years studying, and an extra year in medical school feels like a worthwhile sacrifice. An extra year of not being in medical school on the other hand, is something I feel completely different about.

***For anyone still in high school in the US that wants to apply to UK schools, definitely look into the IB program since many UK schools accept those qualifications and may allow you enter as an undergrad straight from high school.