applying for med school while working abroad?

[em31]

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I'm going to be working in the UK beginning in July and I am planning to apply for med school while I am there. Is this a bad idea? I don't really want to wait another year (after I get back from the UK in a year) to apply, but I know it'll be difficult if I have to fly back for interviews. Any advice/input would be great! Thanks in advance!

 

[BaseballFan]

I'm going to be working in the UK beginning in July and I am planning to apply for med school while I am there. Is this a bad idea? I don't really want to wait another year (after I get back from the UK in a year) to apply, but I know it'll be difficult if I have to fly back for interviews. Any advice/input would be great! Thanks in advance!

I spent half of the application year living in the Middle East.

It is very annoying to deal with everything from abroad, but it is possible.

You can do most everything related to your application via email from abroad. Many secondary applications are accessed online as well.

If you are a strong applicant, you can also try to schedule your interviews in bunches, so as to minimize your travel.

In my opinion, if you are a strong candidate, then I think the process will go much more smoothly from abroad. Otherwise, you might end up making multiple trips on short notice to interview late in the season, which will cost you a lot of $$.

Good Luck!

 

[jlee9531]

for the schools whose secondaries are not web-based and you actually have to fill it out...will they mail it overseas?

 

[Newquagmire]

what part of the UK will you be in? note that some areas (i.e. those close to london) make the travel considerably easier. otherwise, you may find the worst part of your journey the unbelievably long time it takes to get from one part of the country to the airport (and vice versa).

it's not hard, but it is fatiguing (sp?), even if you can combine all your interviews. you just get tired of putting on a face after awhile. agreed with baseball though, it is easier if you are a strong applicant. the prices for flying from london to the USA isn't even that bad during interview season. you'll find it's competitive or even cheaper than domestic flights since it's not during tourist season.

i had very few secondaries that weren't online. i can only remember two right now (cornell and nyu). i suggest trying to get your hands on these ahead of time or making sure you have a trusted contact person at home forwarding these to you. non-priority mail takes anywhere from 4 days to a full week each way transatlantic. fax is very helpful, but can be expensive. you may also try emailing with PDFs...

 

[melophilic]

I spent the year abroad in Korea and the whole application process was fine. I clumped 6 interviews in late October/early November and came back a second time in February to do the rest. It's totally do-able, but be sure to send your secondaries ASAP (it's easy to slack off once you're out of the country 🙂 ) I turned in my secondaries anywhere from late July to mid October, which is why I had the february interviews. Good luck!