Atlantic Bridge 2018 entry

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Hello Everyone!

I received an offer for UCC's 4-year graduate entry medicine program on Friday. I was wondering if there was a facebook group with all of the student's from the Atlantic Bridge Program currently attending the school?
 
BosnianIRL said:
Hello Everyone!

I received an offer for UCC's 4-year graduate entry medicine program on Friday. I was wondering if there was a facebook group with all of the student's from the Atlantic Bridge Program currently attending the school?
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CONGRATS! I'm actually on the same boat as you but haven't seen a facebook group yet. It might still have to be made ...
 
I applied to NuiG and Trinity College....I didn’t hear anything from them!! Did any one hear anything?
 
Hey all!
I just came across this thread and I have applied through AB to the 5-year pharmacy program. I can't seem to find a thread regarding the admissions process for pharmacy and was hoping someone could direct me to one if there is any. Thanks!
 
Should I be worried that I have not heard ANYTHING (from atlantic bridge or any of the schools)? Just nervous that AB did not submit my application to any of the schools..
 
Avacadoo95 said:
Should I be worried that I have not heard ANYTHING (from atlantic bridge or any of the schools)? Just nervous that AB did not submit my application to any of the schools..
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If you have any concerns I suggest calling AB and voicing them. Maybe something was lost in the shuffle. There were applicants in the past who received their physical acceptance but not their email acceptance (according to past threads)
 
Just got an interview for ULs, and I just wanted to double check that they are the only ones interviewing. Does anyone know? Thanks for the help! 🙂
 
I know there was a facebook group made for incoming RCSI GEM students, but just wondering if anyone made one for the incoming RCSI 5 year program?
 
I was told accepting an interview at one school will not impact your chances at another school, but I have not heard of anyone getting a UL interview invite and an acceptance at UCC (GEM). UCC has sent out all their first round offers and second round if applicable will be sent out sometime mid April - I'm guessing shortly after UL sends their invites following the interviews. Maybe they are testing our patience on purpose...
 
Avacadoo95 said:
Should I be worried that I have not heard ANYTHING (from atlantic bridge or any of the schools)? Just nervous that AB did not submit my application to any of the schools..
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I am in the same boat... It is so hard to judge why, as most people are not posting stats so there is no basis for comparison. My MCAT wasn't stellar, so I am hoping that I will at least get a second round 4 yr offer, or a 5 yr offer.
 
Nss1995 said:
Just got an interview for ULs, and I just wanted to double check that they are the only ones interviewing. Does anyone know? Thanks for the help! 🙂
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RCSI have been known to do a second round of interviews, sometimes on skype. NUIG still does interviews as well. 🙂
 
Am I the only person from Australia? Haha

I got into the UCC GEM program (yay me). But is anyone else really worried about the whole internship situation? What do you guys plan on doing post-graduation?
 
m2e0d1i8cine said:
I don't think NUIG does interviews...
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Just joining in on the conversation now. I've been following the thread for sometime now. NUI Galway has dropped the interviews this year. There are three medical schools that require an interview, RSCI - Dublin, UL, and RSCI - Bahrain.

Hopefully we all receive news soon! The wait is agonizing!
 
Does anyone know if all of the first round offers for UCC GEM have been sent out already?
 
Hey! Long time lurker but felt like I should say that I got accepted to UCC GEM. I heard back a few days ago. I’m hoping to get into UCD though. Does anyone know anything about UCC’s match rates or even just in general about the school/program itself? There’s so much info about RCSI but not about UCC I feel. I think Cork is beautiful but I’m wondering what people think about UCC and what benefits it has over other Irish schools. It sort of troubles me that they accept students without doing interviews lol. I emailed their school too so hopefully they reply soon.
 
breathingin450 said:
Hey! Long time lurker but felt like I should say that I got accepted to UCC GEM. I heard back a few days ago. I’m hoping to get into UCD though. Does anyone know anything about UCC’s match rates or even just in general about the school/program itself? There’s so much info about RCSI but not about UCC I feel. I think Cork is beautiful but I’m wondering what people think about UCC and what benefits it has over other Irish schools. It sort of troubles me that they accept students without doing interviews lol. I emailed their school too so hopefully they reply soon.
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Match rates are dependant on the country you're applying to and how well you do on your Step exams (or whatever irish equivalent there is). I wrote a big post about this before regarding Canada. In short, there's about 7 spots across the country for IMGs to obtain residencies. But, if you obtain a residency literally anywhere else; you can transfer your license to Canada and be a practicing doc in 5-7 days.
 
Lucky. said:
Match rates are dependant on the country you're applying to and how well you do on your Step exams (or whatever irish equivalent there is). I wrote a big post about this before regarding Canada. In short, there's about 7 spots across the country for IMGs to obtain residencies. But, if you obtain a residency literally anywhere else; you can transfer your license to Canada and be a practicing doc in 5-7 days.
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I am from the US so I am hoping to practice back in the States!
 
@Rojo063

Not a peep, my friend. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, so I have been trying to "forget" that I've applied through ABP...so as to make the time go by faster. Hehe, not my best chess move, I admit. What about you? I see all of the GEM programs seem to be making their decisions. Haven't seen 5/6 year decisions floating around?
 
breathingin450 said:
I am from the US so I am hoping to practice back in the States!
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I think the states are a little bit more 'forgiving' about domestic IMGs coming back to obtain a residency. Ireland schools allow you to do extra clinical rotations so you can have a better chance at matching back home. Do some digging on where you would like to do residency and obtain a clerkship there. Show them you're a good student and willing to learn. Residencies will only typically be obtained in places that you did your clerkship. This is because you (hopefully) made a good name for yourself there while training and they would like to continue to train you. Its not uncommon for people to obtain expressions of interest throughout the end of their clerkships. Also, when you do your rotations in Cork, the attending or other residents can write you LoRs for residencies which can greatly help you.

It's a multitude of different variables and it boils down to what kind of person you are. I know this isn't the answer you want but it's the best I can offer after speaking with someone who's going through the same process now. (they are Canadian domestic but IMG grad from a Carib school.
 
wolfnscale said:
@Rojo063

Not a peep, my friend. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, so I have been trying to "forget" that I've applied through ABP...so as to make the time go by faster. Hehe, not my best chess move, I admit. What about you? I see all of the GEM programs seem to be making their decisions. Haven't seen 5/6 year decisions floating around?
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Pure silence on my end unfortunately. I'm holding my breathing and praying to get a spot in NUIG or UL, or maybe sneak in on the second round offers.
 
Lucky. said:
Pure silence on my end unfortunately. I'm holding my breathing and praying to get a spot in NUIG or UL, or maybe sneak in on the second round offers.
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Rojo, I have this strong feeling you will be accepted. Your stats are stellar. And when you are accepted, I will be asking you for weekly updates on life as an Irish med student. 😀
 
wolfnscale said:
Rojo, I have this strong feeling you will be accepted. Your stats are stellar. And when you are accepted, I will be asking you for weekly updates on life as an Irish med student. 😀
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I feel that my High Schools marks are going to drag me down though, I graduated with a 75% 🙁. You should get in this year too, you're a strong applicant! We all just have to keep crossing our fingers then, eh ?
 
Lucky. said:
I feel that my High Schools marks are going to drag me down though, I graduated with a 75% 🙁. You should get in this year too, you're a strong applicant! We all just have to keep crossing our fingers then, eh ?
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LOL Rojo, my uni marks will drag me down. But, fingers crossed! We don't know who's thinking what when it comes to the applications admissions committee. We only know hints of requirements. I'm so excited to find out the decisions, even if it's good or bad, it will give me some ease of mind and help me re-evaluate my med school strategy. Thanks for keeping this thread alive. I really think it's important!
 
wolfnscale said:
LOL Rojo, my uni marks will drag me down. But, fingers crossed! We don't know who's thinking what when it comes to the applications admissions committee. We only know hints of requirements. I'm so excited to find out the decisions, even if it's good or bad, it will give me some ease of mind and help me re-evaluate my med school strategy. Thanks for keeping this thread alive. I really think it's important!
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I've been trying me best 😀 ! The wait has been literally driving me insane!

I totally agree with you. Having this exposure to the cycle will only help us in the future for what we have to do and how to do it. Again, best of luck to you!
 
Lucky. said:
I think the states are a little bit more 'forgiving' about domestic IMGs coming back to obtain a residency. Ireland schools allow you to do extra clinical rotations so you can have a better chance at matching back home. Do some digging on where you would like to do residency and obtain a clerkship there. Show them you're a good student and willing to learn. Residencies will only typically be obtained in places that you did your clerkship. This is because you (hopefully) made a good name for yourself there while training and they would like to continue to train you. Its not uncommon for people to obtain expressions of interest throughout the end of their clerkships. Also, when you do your rotations in Cork, the attending or other residents can write you LoRs for residencies which can greatly help you.

It's a multitude of different variables and it boils down to what kind of person you are. I know this isn't the answer you want but it's the best I can offer after speaking with someone who's going through the same process now. (they are Canadian domestic but IMG grad from a Carib school.
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Thank you for all the info! From my understanding, the summer after year 2 is when people do clinical electives in the US right? Can you also do them after year 3? Also what are expressions of interest? How do you reach out to places to let them know your interested in doing a clerkship there? I figured I could email doctors I was in touch with at my Alma mater to ask if they had clerkships available for me, but I’m not sure if that is the appropriate process.

Sorry about the many questions
 
breathingin450 said:
Hey! Long time lurker but felt like I should say that I got accepted to UCC GEM. I heard back a few days ago. I’m hoping to get into UCD though. Does anyone know anything about UCC’s match rates or even just in general about the school/program itself? There’s so much info about RCSI but not about UCC I feel. I think Cork is beautiful but I’m wondering what people think about UCC and what benefits it has over other Irish schools. It sort of troubles me that they accept students without doing interviews lol. I emailed their school too so hopefully they reply soon.
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I'm also very interested in learning more about this since recieving my acceptance on Friday! Keep me updated as to what they email you please and if anyone has more info about the school in general please share. I like that RCSI has a supplementary brochure for North Americans but didn't see one for UCC? What are some pros for the school vs others (aside from early clinical exposure)
 
I heard they are done with first round UCC acceptances 🙁 ... UCD did not start yet apparently
 
canadianmedhopeful07 said:
I'm also very interested in learning more about this since recieving my acceptance on Friday! Keep me updated as to what they email you please and if anyone has more info about the school in general please share. I like that RCSI has a supplementary brochure for North Americans but didn't see one for UCC? What are some pros for the school vs others (aside from early clinical exposure)
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Pros:
- Cork is beautiful
- Smaller and feels more like a university town (not a pro for some people)
- Warmer weather than Dublin, it rarely drops below 0 C
- Cheaper Housing / Tuition compared to schools in Dublin
- Heavy focus on research (Mandatory research projects in 3rd and 4th year which you can read about in the brochure on their website)

Cons:
- Travelling is slightly more expensive because there are less direct flights to Cork

I think I'm biased because I'm already sold on UCC 🙂 Let me know if anyone can think of more pros/cons.
 
breathingin450 said:
Thank you for all the info! From my understanding, the summer after year 2 is when people do clinical electives in the US right? Can you also do them after year 3? Also what are expressions of interest? How do you reach out to places to let them know your interested in doing a clerkship there? I figured I could email doctors I was in touch with at my Alma mater to ask if they had clerkships available for me, but I’m not sure if that is the appropriate process.

Sorry about the many questions
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An expression of interest is kind of a “nudge and wink” kind of process. Typically attendings of residents will voice, to some degree, that you should apply to the hospital you’re doing your clerkship at for your residency. I’m not 100% sure about how to apply for clerkships at hospitals. I’d imagine the student services / administration at your respective school would be able to set you up with the resources you need.

ABP strongly recommends you do extra clerkship hours during your winter and summer breaks. This is so you can build more professional relationships and avenues you can explore regarding your residency.

I think speaking with someone you’re in touch with already is a step in the right direction. It may be a little pre mature at this point to ask about residency spots. Personally, I would have a casual conversation about residencies with the doc you know. Still, if you can do some shadowing with a doc before you take off for your program it will only help you. Technically you’re a medical student now and getting that early exposure will only help you.

Best of luck to you in your future!
 
Lucky. said:
Match rates are dependant on the country you're applying to and how well you do on your Step exams (or whatever irish equivalent there is). I wrote a big post about this before regarding Canada. In short, there's about 7 spots across the country for IMGs to obtain residencies. But, if you obtain a residency literally anywhere else; you can transfer your license to Canada and be a practicing doc in 5-7 days.
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How can you transfer your license within 5-7 days and work in Canada during residency?
 
Khan12 said:
How can you transfer your license within 5-7 days and work in Canada during residency?
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It’s not during residency, it’s after you’ve completed your residency and you’re a licensed physician. There was a new law passed to get more doctors in Canada. Basically, if you’re a canadian who went abroad to study ( Carib, Ireland, Poland, UK, US etc.) you don’t stand a great chance in getting a residency back home. So, instead of addressing the problem of Canadian students not being able to match back to Canada after studying abroad. The government thought it would be more appropriate to get foreign doctors into Canada more easily; versus giving their own citizens a better chance at obtaining a residency.

Essentially, if you’re a practicing physician elsewhere, you can apply for a work visa in Canada. Typically to get a work visa it takes a few months. They’ve made a “fast track” for international physicians. So, the international physicians can now obtain a Canadian license to practice along with a work visa within a week.
 
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