Is first choice international med school a bad idea?

[deleted757041]

Hi everyone,

I'm an American in my second year as an undergrad at a US institution. I'm not super worried about my chances at getting into a US med school as my gpa is so far solid and I (hopefully) expect to do well on the mcat next year.

However, I've been looking at the possibility of doing med school in Ireland/UK (since an EU degree may open doors for me in the future to practice in Europe) or maybe 'Straya/NZ more and more recently. I definitely plan to do residency in the US and the residency programmes that I'm interested in aren't relatively competitive (atleast for USMGs) from what I've heard (leaning heavily for Emergency Med but considering IM+fellowship.) I was wondering if having a foreign med school as my first choice would be a bad idea

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[akaVonk]

Yes

 

[RCSI student]

Hi everyone,

I'm an American in my second year as an undergrad at a US institution. I'm not super worried about my chances at getting into a US med school as my gpa is so far solid and I (hopefully) expect to do well on the mcat next year.

However, I've been looking at the possibility of doing med school in Ireland/UK (since an EU degree may open doors for me in the future to practice in Europe) or maybe 'Straya/NZ more and more recently. I definitely plan to do residency in the US and the residency programmes that I'm interested in aren't relatively competitive (atleast for USMGs) from what I've heard (leaning heavily for Emergency Med but considering IM+fellowship.) I was wondering if having a foreign med school as my first choice would be a bad idea

Emergency Med has become one of the most competitive specialties (they only had 1 spot go to SOAP this year). In my opinion, you should attempt to apply to a US institution first.

 

[Medstart108]

Not recommended, the way the UK systems and Irish systems work you don't have as smooth a ride to US residencies, you are almost guaranteed to have to do an intern year in the UK that you would not have had to do otherwise. At the same time if you get into a top British school you don't have to be worried about stigma, people from these places match well.

 

[Gos81238ia]

Hi everyone,

I'm an American in my second year as an undergrad at a US institution. I'm not super worried about my chances at getting into a US med school as my gpa is so far solid and I (hopefully) expect to do well on the mcat next year.

However, I've been looking at the possibility of doing med school in Ireland/UK (since an EU degree may open doors for me in the future to practice in Europe) or maybe 'Straya/NZ more and more recently. I definitely plan to do residency in the US and the residency programmes that I'm interested in aren't relatively competitive (atleast for USMGs) from what I've heard (leaning heavily for Emergency Med but considering IM+fellowship.) I was wondering if having a foreign med school as my first choice would be a bad idea

Speaking as an IMG who just matched to the states, Emergency med is HIGHLY competitive. IMG's need to do multiple electives in emerg, get excellent letters, have insane step scores and even then there are very very few who match into it. Internal med is definitely do-able for IMG's, lots matched into that specialty. After having been through the system, my perspective is that when you go IMG, you trade the anxiety that you might never get into medicine for the anxiety that you might not match and be left with no way to pay off your debt. Not to be a fear mongerer, but that is how we all feel for 4 years. That being said, the match rates at my school sit around 75%, so it works out for most people in one way or another, that's why people keep doing it. But, for those 25% of people who don't succeed, its really not a great situation to be in.

Compare that to the almost 95% match rate into the US, that's before the second round. Its essentially guaranteed, and you have so much more power over what specialty you choose and where. Give it a try in the states, it'll make for a much less stressful medical school experience if you do succeed, and know that you always have IMG as a back-up if the US doesn't work out for you.

 

[hurshy6]

I am in the same situation as you and I have decided to go the IMG route as my first choice. I do realize that there is a huge risk associated with not being able to come back, but for me it's just a matter of some personal factors that led me to this choice. (Mind you I am from Canada) In the states I feel like you'll have a good chance if you are a hard working premed student, considering the greater number of med schools there. As an IMG you should probably tell yourself that you're happy with FM or IM (thankfully that is what I want to go into). All in all, MD is definitely the safe choice but it's what you make of it I guess!

 

[bluejay96]

I realize surgery & emergency medicine are two of the most competitive specialties. How's the state of neurology right now? As an IMG from a respectable UK school, would it be difficult to match into a US residency?

 

[Medstart108]

I realize surgery & emergency medicine are two of the most competitive specialties. How's the state of neurology right now? As an IMG from a respectable UK school, would it be difficult to match into a US residency?

Neurology isn't too competitive, definitely doable. Again, even if lets say you were to match to the US from the UK, you likely would have had a plethora of options, a less stressful experience or have the opportunity to match to a higher ranked school if you were from the states.

With that being said, the very best programs tend to judge individuals on a per person basis. For example, if you got into Cambridge for medicine and applied to an Ivy League program with great step scores and research they likely wouldn't discriminate you and would very easily take you over a US medical student.