Choosing a med school in the Philipines - help!

[squash22]

oo

about sa nclex uhm di na muna ako mag tetake kasi unahin ko na lang muna tong pag memed... sa akin lang mas okey if mag attend ka ng review classes. hehehe

good luck to us all! m taking the nmat sa dec 10 🙂

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[tantrum]

If you are a US pre-med grad, schools will not be as strict as long as you have a decent NMAT (at least 65) and you dont have any failures. I used to live in the Caribbean and the schools there are so expensive that Philippines is a good alternative. There are fewer applicants each year for med school in the Philippines (Nursing school is the fad) so the schools will not be as selective. It does not mean that it's going to be easy to graduate. UST, UERM, FEU, St. Luke's (5 years), DLSU-HSC are good choices in Metro Manila. Outside the Metro Manila area, CIM,Cebu Docs, St. Louis, WVSU, MSU, or even AUF are good alternatives.

 

[Mei38Mei]

I am a dietetic major graduated from California, who has been lost ever since graduation. During my never ending internship, I realized that if you really geared in helpin people with their health, MD is the final solution. Attending medical in the US sounds like a nightmare (I was too scared just by listening to what people tell me) not to mention preparing for MCAT. Until recently, I started to look into med school again.....this is the best discussion board, at least now I have the slightest idea about where this journey will start!!

Pros.....Please help me with the following simple questions:
1. NMAT - where do I enroll to take the NMAT? How do I get study material? How is it in comparison to MCAT in terms of degree of difficulty? To my knowledge, NMAT is offered 2/yr, the closest 1 to date will be Jan/Feb 07 right? Will I be preapred to take it if I were to start study next week after I gather test info? IS NMAT a must to enter Phil med schools?

2. I am not Phil-Am, I am Chinese-Am, which med school do you guys recommend? How much do you think I will have to pay per semester for tuition and accommodation? (The reason I am asking this is....I went to agencies who can help me apply for Phil med schools, I don't trust them tho...they may be asking for whatever and I don't even know the quality of school). You guys are the best resources, you guys are actual students who are or were there!!

3. What's the exact application procedure and the length of time for the whole process? Pls correct me if I am wrong on the procedure:
- NMAT in Jan/Feb 07
- Application
- Interview
Can I make Fall 07?

4.Tuition - what's the approx. foreigner tuition in USD for the schools with US gov financial aid and without US gov financial aid? I went to Fatima's website, it seems like $3000-$4000 with financial aid per semester??!!

5. Rotation - To my understanding, the 4 yr of education includes 1 yr of rotation, this 1 yr of rotation is included as part of the curiculum right?? We don't have to apply for it separately ourselves right? If the med school is affiliated with school in US, we may choose to have our rotations done in the US right? Do we pay extra tuition if we chose to do the rotations in US?

6. Residency - Is residency interchangable with rotation? If not, does it take place before or after USMLE?

These are my main concerns, I really appreciate all your help!! (Tho some Q's are foolish😍 😍 )

 

[ROA12]

Hi. I'm currently in the application cycle to some Philippine Med schools. I'll try to answer some of your questions.

1. The NMAT is offered in October of every year in the US (LA / Chicago / NY?) , and offered in April and December in the Philippines. The academic school year starts in June. If you plan to enroll in med school this June 2007, you should have already taken the NMAT last October or December, however, some schools will still accept your application if you take the exam in April, just give the schools a call, and explain your situation. The NMAT is a must for all med schools in the Philippines. .

2. If you read through this thread, there are a lot of good schools mentioned, you'll just have to do some research to see which one is right for you. Some schools may be strict with deadlines if you want to enroll this June.

4. Tuition is not bad. UST and Fatima have government loans. You'll get more of an Americanized teaching style and better USMLE prep at Fatima (similar to the way Caribbean schools are run), however they increased tuition to about $20,000 a year for foreigners. Compare that to $2,000-3,000 a year for the other schools, which are of higher quality. Go figure.

 

[chocopinipig]

1. NMAT - IS NMAT a must to enter Phil med schools?

NMAT is a must! it acts as a filtering system for good medical schools. Although your academic grades during college will likewise add to your chance of acceptance. A cut off of 65 is enough for UST medicine. Your college grades will then dictate whether you will be accepted.

2. I am not Phil-Am, I am Chinese-Am, which med school do you guys recommend? How much do you think I will have to pay per semester for tuition and accommodation?

Im not aware of any agencies that cater to american students wanting to get into the medical program in this country.
UST charges $10,000 one time fee, then charges the regular rate as is with the other students. the 10k fee is non refundable should you change your mind.
Lots of good schools in the metro manila area. Read around the forums. Iam biased with my school.
Stick with the private schools. University of the philippines and PLM are state controlled universities and do not accept foreigners.
English is the language of instruction, however you do need some knowledge of the local language. Not necessarily to a point of carrying out a conversation, but you will need to learn a few phrases since conversation with a patient will take place during your 3rd year in medicine. History taking is very important and if you plan to take up clerkship in the states, this might be your only exposure to history taking before you start on the real thing (4th year)
Accomodations are not a problem. The most expensive rooms would cost you around $200 a month, although, sharing a room will cut down your expenses more than 3/4!

3. What's the exact application procedure and the length of time for the whole process? Pls correct me if I am wrong on the procedure:
-can't help u with that one 🙂 sorry

4.Tuition - what's the approx. foreigner tuition in USD for the schools with US gov financial aid and without US gov financial aid? I went to Fatima's website, it seems like $3000-$4000 with financial aid per semester??!!

-for UST, 10k one-time non refundable, then regular payment of around 80 to 90k(im not sure about the recent figures) per semester(8 semesters in total for 4 years of education).
All schools in general charges a one-time non refundable fee at the start. So don't be surprised. 🙂

5. Rotation - To my understanding, the 4 yr of education includes 1 yr of rotation, this 1 yr of rotation is included as part of the curiculum right?? We don't have to apply for it separately ourselves right? If the med school is affiliated with school in US, we may choose to have our rotations done in the US right? Do we pay extra tuition if we chose to do the rotations in US?

-3 years of medschool is centered on theoretical aspects of medicine.
the 4th year is called clerkship and is 100% hospital based. Clerkship is the time when you could take it in the US on a rotation basis. How this is done, im not aware. Although, this is required before your PI school discharges you with a MD degree. The arrangement therefore is with your school and the US based hospital.


6. Residency - Is residency interchangable with rotation? If not, does it take place before or after USMLE?
-You have a wrong notion about residency. Residency training is specialty training (eg. internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine etc..)
- you need to pass USMLE(all 3 steps) and get matched into a residency training program to begin residency.

 

[Mei38Mei]

Thanks guys for the clarification....all of your responses are very helpful!!
At least now I have a general idea about med schools in Phil.... I guess the next step for me is to actually contact each schools respectively and find out exactly what are required!!

Just out of curiosity (not to be rude), how do you guys manage to pay for your tuition? Since the US gov only finances certain schools in Phil (and only partially), do you guys pay for it your own? Your family?

Are you guys aware of any scholarships or grants available from US or Phil for students who are interested in studying in the Pil?

 

[chocopinipig]

for most locals, the tuition fee is mostly paid for by their parents. Medicine is therefore a very expensive investment.
To my knowledge, there is no government agency that offers student loans in the PI unlike in the united states.

take the time and look around the forums, im sure there was a similar question posted by other fil-ams regarding scholarship and loans from the united states.

 

[tantrum]

ust out of curiosity (not to be rude), how do you guys manage to pay for your tuition? Since the US gov only finances certain schools in Phil (and only partially), do you guys pay for it your own? Your family?

The tuition and other expenses are not that high relative to American or Caribbean schools. That's why most families can afford to pay for it. In many schools (excluding the one time "donation" fee), they only spend $3-4 thousand a year.

 

[F8thfulservant]

Does anyone know what is the schedule for NMAT for 2007, both in California, and in the Philippines?