Foreigner interested in US of A...

[Fiona]

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Hi there all

I'm a student in the UK starting med school in Oct and interested in the american way of doing things. I know the basic stuff like you have to do another degree before med (unlike the UK), but what I'd like to know is, what are MCATs? And what sort of Grade Point Average is normal (or even what your GPA is?) for wannabe medics?

And what is Allopathic medicine? And How much are you expected to pay to go to University?? It's ?1050 max for UK students per year - less than $2000 I think..

Anyway, sorry about going on, but I am interested.

Fiona

PS By the way, when you're at school and aged 18 (ie last yr), what year are you in? Sophomore? Or is that something else?

OK, I'll stop asking questions now!!

 

[Dr'04]

Hi Fiona,

I'll take a crack at your questions.

1) MCAT is the test that we must take to get into med school in the US and Canada. Other places require the MCAT as well, but I'm not sure which of those places deem it absolutely necessary and which do not.

2) I've been told that to be "safe" as far as getting into med school goes, you should have a GPA above 3.5 out of 4.0. This varies, of course, depending on your other accomplishments, including your MCAT scores.

3) Allopathic medicine is the philosophy practiced by one who obtains the MD degree. In the states we also have Osteopathic medicine, which is identical in practice (besides musculoskeletal manipulations which many D.O.'s do not use anyway). The difference between the two philosophies is that Allopathy is geared towards curing the symptom, while Osteopathy is geared towards curing the entire patient. Again, in practice, they are virtually identical and MD's and DO's are considered to be of the same status--both are physicians.

4) Costs of schooling here are extremely high. Nowadays one can expect to pay $20,000-$30,000/yr. for college and an additional $40,000-$50,000/yr. for med school! These figures are pretty much the ceiling of educational cost in America, but they are pretty common nonetheless. Also, these figures include the cost of room and board. Almost all states have federally subsidized schools (college and med) and can be much cheaper (e.g. I live in New York and a state school costs about one-third that of a private school. In California, some schools have $0 tuition, but that point has been made ambiguous to me by Californians). In a nut shell, we're all in debt!

5) At age 18 we are graduating high school and entering college. A sophomore is usually your second year of four (ie age 16 is usually a high school sophomore and age 20 is a college sophomore). Age 18 is a high school senior.

I hope this satisfies all your curiosities. Good luck!

 

[turtleboard]

The MCAT is the Medical College Admissions Test, a standardized, competitive, written examination taken by nearly 60,000 med school hopefuls every year. Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Verbal Reasoning are tested, and premedical students in college (going for their Bachelors degrees) generally take the exam in their junior (third of four-year program) year.

The average GPA of accepted applicants to medical school these days in the US differs between the two "branches" of medicine, allopathic and osteopathic, though not by much. In the allopathic institutions, which are simply called Medical Schools, the average is around 3.6/4.0. In the osteopathic institutions, which are referred to as Osteopathic Medical Schools, the average is about 3.4/4.0.

Allopathic medicine is a term first used by Hahnehmann in the US in the mid to late 1800s to describe what most will agree is considered "mainstream" medicine in America, the medicine that's practiced by MDs here and by MBChBs, MBBSs, in your country. People in allopathic medicine hardly ever use the term "allopathy" or "allopathic medicine," but you'll find its usage more common to people outside of allopathic medicine. So while you'll find "Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine" in the US, you won't ever see a "College of Allopathic Medicine."

Depending on whom you ask, you'll likely receive a different response concerning the difference between allopathic medicine and other types of practice. If you ask me, for instance, I'll say there is NO difference between osteopathic and allopathic medicine except for the degree that's awarded (allopathic physicians receive an MD and osteopathic physicians receive a DO) and the addition of a manipulation component (in the osteopathic curriculum).

The belief that "osteopathic physicians treat the person and not the disease" isn't one that's shared by all DOs, but is still a remnant of the American Osteopathic Association's teachings.

But this post is quickly going too deep into the politics, and I don't think anyone wants to get into that.

The average medical student in the US will graduate with about $100,000 in debt. Many medical schools in the US are privately-funded, so a relatively larger portion of the institution's budget comes from tuition dollars. Some medical schools in the US are state-funded, and they tend to be much more inexpensive.


Tim of New York City.

 

[Fiona]

Thanks guys - all has been made clear! I think I'll be sticking with the UK - it's way too expensive in the US!

Fiona

 

[Golden Hour]

Bump.