Making the Cut

[Izad Rasheed]

Admission into any medical university is tough, but with the right grades (or a LOT of money), you can get in almost anywhere, right

I need some advice:

Rather than applying to dozens of universities with my grades, could I ask you where I could go (Internationally, not in the US) with my grades?

If you've gotten admitted to any Asia/Pacific university, what kind of grades did you get?

I've got:
3 A's in A-Level Physics, Chemistry, Biology
800 in SAT-II Chemistry
730 in SAT-II Biology
680 in SAT-II Physics

I realize grades need extra-curricular activities etc etc to back up the grades, but considering all med colleges need top-notch grades, where would I fit in? Are these grades 'average' for med colleges or can I aim high?

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[jambo]

Just as a bit of general info, Australian universities do not place much emphasis on past grades in the sciences as they aim for an intake of well rounded students. Only 50% of the admissions exam is science related and the other 50% is humanities/essays. Then if your grades in the exam are good enough, you will be asked for an interview. The final offerring of positions is weighted like this: 50% exam result, 50% interview performance. So in actual fact, only 25% of the entry requirement is based on your science skills!

Hope that makes sense.

 

[The Pill Counter]

Your A level grades would assure admission into one of the British or Irish schools or Australian undergraduate med schools. (In Britain, some reserve their international seats for students from specific third world countries only - so do some research).
Tuition is sky high as is cost of living, but an Irish, British or Aus. education is top-notch. Aus is cheaper in both regards.
Unfortunately, you've missed the deadline for UCAS, the British app. body, but you could still apply to College of Surgeons, Trinity, UC and Cork for 2003 Sept. (As a school leaver, i think it's a six year program, as is the Australian schools)
For Aus, you'd have to write the UMAT.
Hope that helps

 

[Purifyer]

At my med school (In NZ), the admission is kinda different. Basically, the first year (of 6) is open to virtually anyone, then the top 120 of the 'class' go to year 2 med... first year 'class' sizes range from about 1500 depending on the year (with heaps dropping out once they realise they are ****ed for med . Those who don't get in (or who get in but choose differently) can do dentistry, pharmacy, physio... in that order I think.

Your grades don't need to be _fabulously_ stellar, an A average will almost certainly get you into year 2 med. Admission is solely based on grades in the first year, but they are trying to bring in interviews, so be quick !

Be careful about some of the australian undergraduate med schools, I don't know much about them, most are probably awesome... but I have australian friends who were rejected from the 'awesome' schools, and choose to come to NZ instead of rotting away in some of the australian schools they were accepted into. Sorry to be so vague, I didn't really care about their stories at the time . I could ask one of them about the ozzie schools if you want.. but there are probably aussies on this board who can answer questions just as well.

 

[Izad Rasheed]

My God, 1500 in the first year? The Kiwis must really be trying to promote medical education in their country!

The problem with doing A-Levels and SAT-IIs is there's ZERO humanitarian/art/English involvement. I think the last humanitarian course I did was in, uhh, 8th grade

Any of you know a quick'n'easy way of getting humanitarian stuff under the belt while doing A-Levels? Considering it's not even TAUGHT in South Asia, I appear to be stuck.