I'm just curious as to how many of you here have studied abroad? r/o

[futurederm]

Do you like it and how was the experience? Did your studying abroad have any affect in your medical school application/interview?

I'm in the midst of deciding if I should do it or not. If I do go, I will be studying at a British Uni for 1 year where I will be taking up science courses and that will be counted towards my degree in cell and mol bio.

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[Hoberto]

This should be a poll.

I never studied abroad.

 

[ablumoon]

I HAVE. its a good thing to talk about during interview i thinks

 

[NCF145]

I did, and it was the best experience of my life.

 

[riceman04]

Do you like it and how was the experience? Did your studying abroad have any affect in your medical school application/interview?

I'm in the midst of deciding if I should do it or not. If I do go, I will be studying at a British Uni for 1 year where I will be taking up science courses and that will be counted towards my degree in cell and mol bio.

I studied abroad in England as well. It was an amazing experience. It took me out of my comfort zone (kind of).

But will you only study abroad if it will benefit your med school app? If so then I would question your reason for doing alot of things. That comes across as being shallow.

I doubt that you are like that...I am just playing devil's advocate (kind of).

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Did anyone study abroad in Australia...Perth? My gf is going there next semester.

How do people studying abroad deal with long distance phone calls?

 

[QofQuimica]

How do people studying abroad deal with long distance phone calls?

I've never gone to Australia, but in Latin America anyway, you have several options:

1. IM or use a phone that works over a computer. A lot of countries have computer cafes where you can go use the internet; I did that while in Chile.

2. Go to a call center. Similar idea as the internet cafe, only it's telephones instead. I did that while I was in Chile as well as in Costa Rica.

3. Write letters and fax them. It's not cheap to send a fax, but you can cram a lot into a letter if you write small. I did this while in Costa Rica b/c I was there before the advent of the internet.

OP, study abroad is a great experience and I highly recommend it.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I've never gone to Australia, but in Latin America anyway, you have several options:

1. IM or use a phone that works over a computer. A lot of countries have computer cafes where you can go use the internet; I did that while in Chile.

2. Go to a call center. Similar idea as the internet cafe, only it's telephones instead. I did that while I was in Chile as well as in Costa Rica.

3. Write letters and fax them. It's not cheap to send a fax, but you can cram a lot into a letter if you write small. I did this while in Costa Rica b/c I was there before the advent of the internet.

OP, study abroad is a great experience and I highly recommend it.

thanks; what's different at an internet cafe that you can't do/get on your personal computer internet?

 

[DGhiker]

I've studied abroad (in Italy) and I agree with some of the previous posters that it was a GREAT experience. But I didn't do it because I thought it would help me get into med school (in fact, at the time, I didn't even think I would ever be going to med school). Looking back (I'm a 1st year now), I think it did make for some interesting coversation, but other than that, it didn't help much. My term abroad was completely non-science though.

I think it's an excellent experience in and of itself so I would recommend it for that reason. Not because it's a means to an end.

 

[QofQuimica]

thanks; what's different at an internet cafe that you can't do/get on your personal computer internet?

Nothing, but where I was, the people don't have internet connections, personal computers, or even telephones in their homes. There is one public facility that is used by everyone. I figured from your question that maybe your gf was going somewhere rural, so that's why I figured this info might be helpful. I was staying on this farm for a while, and the nearest town there basically consisted of an elementary school, a general store, and a church. Oh, and the bus stop. There was one phone in the general store that was shared by multiple farm families; no one had a phone of their own. My family couldn't really call me unless we had a pre-determined time where I'd go to the store to wait, b/c they don't speak Spanish and the local people didn't speak English. So we had to be pretty resourceful.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Nothing, but where I was, the people don't have internet connections, personal computers, or even telephones in their homes. There is one public facility that is used by everyone. I figured from your question that maybe your gf was going somewhere rural, so that's why I figured this info might be helpful. I was staying on this farm for a while, and the nearest town there basically consisted of an elementary school, a general store, and a church. Oh, and the bus stop. There was one phone in the general store that was shared by multiple farm families; no one had a phone of their own. My family couldn't really call me unless we had a pre-determined time where I'd go to the store to wait, b/c they don't speak Spanish and the local people didn't speak English. So we had to be pretty resourceful.

Oh wow. Well I think where my gf will be will be much more modern than what you experienced. She'll be on a college campus. They also speak English. So no one recommends using a cell phone for international calls??? Much too expensive?

 

[QofQuimica]

Oh wow. Well I think where my gf will be will be much more modern than what you experienced. She'll be on a college campus. They also speak English. So no one recommends using a cell phone for international calls??? Much too expensive?

In that case, maybe you could use a pre-paid calling card. I'm pretty sure that's what my friends from India do when they call home on their cell phones. It would be like dialing an 800 number for you, so it's local.

 

[CerealBox]

my sister is abroad in thailand right now, and we talk via iChat (she brought her own computer), and she also buys long distance calling cards for very cheap.

 

[futurederm]

...thank you for all your responses. i think i will do it for fall 2006. i'm not doing this for the benefit of medical school but rather for self fullfillment. i don't want to have to look back years later and regret not studying abroad.

i'm in a crappy mood today because my boss (an M.D. herself) blatanly discouraged my idea of studying abroad and flooded me with horror stories. isn't she something? i guess she does not want to see do well in life.

 

[temmie]

Did anyone study abroad in Australia...Perth? My gf is going there next semester.

How do people studying abroad deal with long distance phone calls?

yahoo chats

 

[dsh]

Hello from Spain, for the dude that was asking about the phone calls, get the program called Skype and use it to call your family whenever. It´s like 2 or 3 cents a minute plus internet cafe fees (or not if you have your own computer).

 

[SNR02]

I studied abroad in Europe and in India...I don't think it helps that much with applications. I did it more for personal fulfillment....I had some of my most memorable life experiences abroad.

I had a cell phone but it was expensive to use so I usually just used computers to stay in touch with people.

 

[futurederm]

I studied abroad in Europe and in India...I don't think it helps that much with applications. I did it more for personal fulfillment....I had some of my most memorable life experiences abroad.

I had a cell phone but it was expensive to use so I usually just used computers to stay in touch with people.

I guess it really depends. To some people studying abroad played a role for their medical school entrance and while to others it didn't.