From engineering in HK to medicine in US

[matthewwongym]

Hi guys! I am currently a Year 1 engineering student studying in Hong Kong, majoring in biomedical engineering. My ultimate goal is to become a doctor in the US. However, I am not quite sure if I am taking the right path.

I am planning to transfer to an US college in year 3 to continue my study in biomedical engineering. After graduation I will take the MCAT and hopefully start attending medical school afterwards.

Can you guys give me some advice on whether this is the best path for me to reach my goal (to study in a medical school in the US then become a doctor)? I understand that my situation is a bit unique so I really need you guys' advice. Feel free to ask me more if there is anything that I did not make clear.

Lastly, thank you very much to those who operate this forum and answer all the questions. You really help me out a lot!

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[Medstart108]

Hi guys! I am currently a Year 1 engineering student studying in Hong Kong, majoring in biomedical engineering. My ultimate goal is to become a doctor in the US. However, I am not quite sure if I am taking the right path.

I am planning to transfer to an US college in year 3 to continue my study in biomedical engineering. After graduation I will take the MCAT and hopefully start attending medical school afterwards.

Can you guys give me some advice on whether this is the best path for me to reach my goal (to study in a medical school in the US then become a doctor)? I understand that my situation is a bit unique so I really need you guys' advice. Feel free to ask me more if there is anything that I did not make clear.

Lastly, thank you very much to those who operate this forum and answer all the questions. You really help me out a lot!

If you are a very good student then its possible. The biggest question is are you a US citizen or green card holder and the second biggest question is can you afford the tuition?

If both are true then your path is relastic. Its very hard for international students to get into US medical schools. Most of the US medical schools willing to take international students will require better stats from them but also are higher tier schools so you have no back up. Either you have an amazing GPA and a strong MCAT with great ECs and great interview skills and get into good schools or you get in no where.

The other thing is if you are an international student you will likely be paying a huge amount for 2 years of college tuition and 4 years of medical school. You will likely not be making any income during this time period because all your efforts should be devoted to studying if possible.

The final thing is this path might also not be realistic because you need to finish a lot of pre-requisites like organic chemistry, chemistry etc that you will likely not complete during an engineering degree in HK. So, you would likely have to fall back at least a year when you enter US college. Better to just do a 4 year US college degree then apply to medical school in the states, but that also brings with it much more tuition, living and board and opportunity cost.

Why not just enter medical school in HK? Might even be easy to end up getting residency in the states through that pathway. The reason is that you study in English in HK and you can write the USMLE and go abroad then.

 

[matthewwongym]

If you are a very good student then its possible. The biggest question is are you a US citizen or green card holder and the second biggest question is can you afford the tuition?

If both are true then your path is relastic. Its very hard for international students to get into US medical schools. Most of the US medical schools willing to take international students will require better stats from them but also are higher tier schools so you have no back up. Either you have an amazing GPA and a strong MCAT with great ECs and great interview skills and get into good schools or you get in no where.

The other thing is if you are an international student you will likely be paying a huge amount for 2 years of college tuition and 4 years of medical school. You will likely not be making any income during this time period because all your efforts should be devoted to studying if possible.

The final thing is this path might also not be realistic because you need to finish a lot of pre-requisites like organic chemistry, chemistry etc that you will likely not complete during an engineering degree in HK. So, you would likely have to fall back at least a year when you enter US college. Better to just do a 4 year US college degree then apply to medical school in the states, but that also brings with it much more tuition, living and board and opportunity cost.

Why not just enter medical school in HK? Might even be easy to end up getting residency in the states through that pathway. The reason is that you study in English in HK and you can write the USMLE and go abroad then.

Yes, I will be a green card holder in less than 2 years. Therefore I am trying to get a transfer to an US college in Fall 2017.

May I know more about the course requirement? I have read some information on the MCAT website but I am not sure if the courses I am currently taking in HK are transferrable. Also, will the institutions that I have studied in be one of the selection citeria in the medical school admission process? If true, which criteria (e.g. the availability of a pre-health adviser, US ranking etc.) should I be using to look for a college to transfer in order to increase my chance of getting admitted to a medical school in the future?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Medstart108]

Yes, I will be a green card holder in less than 2 years. Therefore I am trying to get a transfer to an US college in Fall 2017.

May I know more about the course requirement? I have read some information on the MCAT website but I am not sure if the courses I am currently taking in HK are transferrable. Also, will the institutions that I have studied in be one of the selection citeria in the medical school admission process? If true, which criteria (e.g. the availability of a pre-health adviser, US ranking etc.) should I be using to look for a college to transfer in order to increase my chance of getting admitted to a medical school in the future?

Thanks a lot!

You need to ask each individual college that. If your courses are studied in the British system, then it probably won't be transferable. Your college matters very slightly, the more prestigious a school is (US news rankings is an acceptable indicator) the better, but it really doesn't matter too much. More important is your GPA and MCAT as well as extracurriculars. If I were you, I would start volunteering and doing research now.