Need info on Med Schools in London

[docbarry]

I was wondering if there are any good medical schools in London for US students. Regular Admissions standards and reputable programs based on the US system.. any suggestions? Thanks

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[Miklos]

I was wondering if there are any good medical schools in London for US students. Regular Admissions standards and reputable programs based on the US system.. any suggestions? Thanks

IMHO, there are no schools that meet all of your criteria.

Miklos

 

[Badkarma25]

most of the schools in london are reputable but you will be hard-pressed to find ones that list admissions criteria in u.s. terms. most of the graduate entry programs are fairly new so i'm not sure how they are viewed stateside.

 

[Miklos]

A bit harsh! There are some 4yr graduate entry medical school programs in London that are legit. They are for training UK students (hence: "they are legit") rather than designed to make money from rejected US applicants. Rarely UK schools do take very talented North American students (ie: if you are looking Ivy League in US, these might be an option). I wrote something a while back about the standard of US students that get into my UK graduate-entry program.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=1615201#post1615201

You can tell if it is a real UK medical school by confirming it is on the list below:

http://search.ucas.co.uk/cgi-bin/hs...on.whereNext?query=427&word=MEDICINE&single=Y

There are some businesses set up in the UK offering a medical "qualification" but their quality, content and teaching are not regulated at all by the UK medical community. They could be diploma mills anywhere else in the world (and I suspect, once the GMC gets its way, soon will be...)

(Edited for spelling and clarity)

NB My post was not meant as a criticism of UK graduate entry programs. It was meant to point out that docbarry's criteria of "based on the US system" was incompatible. Your post and that of Badkarma25, rightly, points this out.

Miklos

 

[striker5]

is anyone familiar with english medical schools and their specialties. i havent been able to find information about which of the schools are most reputable. and more importanly, i want to find out about the cities the schools are in. id assume that london is the place to be, but im sure the other cities have advantages too... does anyone know england well enough to help me out? thanks

 

[PathOne]

is anyone familiar with english medical schools and their specialties. i havent been able to find information about which of the schools are most reputable. and more importanly, i want to find out about the cities the schools are in. id assume that london is the place to be, but im sure the other cities have advantages too... does anyone know england well enough to help me out? thanks

As in the US, where the LCME certifies med ed, you'll find that all GMC approved UK schools will be able to produce fine doctors. See list at:
http://www.chms.ac.uk/fschlweb.html

Of course, some are more well-known than others, e.g. Imperial College, Cambridge and Oxford.
London is obviously a nice place to be, but be warned: It's EXPENSIVE! (Easily beats New York City living costs). And with the weak dollar it isn't getting cheaper. Also, as previous poster noted, it's by no means easy to gain admittance to UK schools.

Personally, I'd look at Edinburgh and Glasgow. Really nice cities (well, Edinburgh anyway) and good universities.

However, be aware that you will NOT - in the UK sense - get an MD degree. What you get is a mBchB degree, which is accepted as equivalent to a US MD degree by the ECFMG. However, in the UK a MD (Medical Doctor) degree is a post-graduate research degree which usually takes 2-5 years on top of the mBchB. So be careful about calling yourself an MD in the UK...

 

[striker5]

thanks. i have read about the minor discrepancy in degree and terminology of MD and "doctor" which is ok with me. and i do understand that admission to UK schools are equally competitive. with these considerations in mind, im narrowing my decision of applying down to the issue of lifestyle. i think its important that i enjoy where i am and my living situation as it will reflect in how i study and work. anyone else know more about the cities in england hosting medical colleges? thanks again

As in the US, where the LCME certifies med ed, you'll find that all GMC approved UK schools will be able to produce fine doctors. See list at:
http://www.chms.ac.uk/fschlweb.html

Of course, some are more well-known than others, e.g. Imperial College, Cambridge and Oxford.
London is obviously a nice place to be, but be warned: It's EXPENSIVE! (Easily beats New York City living costs). And with the weak dollar it isn't getting cheaper. Also, as previous poster noted, it's by no means easy to gain admittance to UK schools.

Personally, I'd look at Edinburgh and Glasgow. Really nice cities (well, Edinburgh anyway) and good universities.

However, be aware that you will NOT - in the UK sense - get an MD degree. What you get is a mBchB degree, which is accepted as equivalent to a US MD degree by the ECFMG. However, in the UK a MD (Medical Doctor) degree is a post-graduate research degree which usually takes 2-5 years on top of the mBchB. So be careful about calling yourself an MD in the UK...

 

[PathOne]

Lots of nice places. However, my own highly subjective list would exclude Cardiff, Peninsula Med Sc (Plymouth/Cornwall), Swansea, Keele (Newcastle, sortof). All places I find kind of dreary and/or boring/sleepy.

In terms of location, my personal favourite would be Oxford (and not only for the name recognition. Actually, I've heard that the clinical parts aren't all that good). But it's the perfect student town, and almost cheap compared to London. Think Yale - which tries awfully hard to emulate the Oxbridge look, though not entirely convincing. LOL.

 

[PathOne]

Well, I bet that Cardiff is cheaper still. However, personally I'd take Oxford over Manc if I had the green (after deducting for those somewhat defty Overseas student fees). The previous poster didn't mention if money was an object (it isn't for some)...
On the subject of clinicals, I will defer to your experience. What I know is third hand knowledge.

 

[C. Ronaldo]

According to another medical school board - a UK site - medicalschoolguide.co.uk - the people on that site say that med school in england isnt free at all.

 

[PathOne]

Well, true. But university fees for Home & EU students are manageable for most, and certainly compared to US costs. A six-year degree at Oxford would cost around £8,300 ($15,600) in total, if I read their website correctly. A 4-year degree would be around £4,900 in total.

It's quite another thing if you don't qualify as a Home or EU student. Total tuition for a six-year program seems to be around £111,000 ($209,000) while a 4-year program would be £81,000.

However, must qualify statement by pointing out that I have never studied in England.
Source: http://study.medicine.ox.ac.uk/money/univfees.shtml

 

[C. Ronaldo]

It IS free. I'm at a UK medical school. As a graduate you don't even have to pay the tiny 1K/year tuition contribution (less than 2% of actual cost of educating you at some schools) and they even give you a bursary (= Scholarship) to help with living expenses (I get almost 5K a year from that alone).

So its not really free after all. Its only free if you fit into certain criteria, its not like other countries where its totally free.