US Finance grad. want to go to UK for medical school

[UKUSUK]

Hello all,

I was born and raised in the UK and moved to the US at the age of 11. I'm now 23 and just finishing my Bachelors in Business Administration from a top 10 business program. I decided after a year or two of finance I wanted to be a doctor so have taken: Calculus 1 and 2, Physics 1 and 2, Chemistry 1 and 2, Biology 1, Organic Chemistry 1. I also have research experience, volunteer experience (here and abroad), am on the board of an international NGO, leadership experience, and am an Academic All American D3 soccer player. My GPA, as calculated for medical schools here in the US, will be 3.5. My GPA on my transcript will be 3.67 or so. I scored 1520 (800 math) on the SATs and took a lot of APs in highschool (a 5 in chem. and a bunch of 4s).

I have several options at this point. I am considering doing a post- bac here for a year to finish my classes (Organic 2 and Biology 2) and study for the MCAT. But a big part of me wants to return to the UK for medical school. As such, I have few options:

1. Return and redo my A levels
2. Return and do an "access year" at somewhere like West Anglia
3. Just take the BMAT/UKCAT and apply next year

Obviously 3 would be the best, as it would be quick/inexpensive, but would I be competetive with my finance degree? I would like to go to a top 10 school, and preferably oxbridge, UCL, Imperial, or Kings. Another issue is my status as an international student. I would have to return for 3 years prior to even going to medical school to classify as a national student (rather than international) and avoid the crazy fees. I suppose I could go there for a year and then take the A levels for 2 years, but that will take a long time. My questions:

1. Would I be competetive as is at these top schools?

2. If not, would it be best to do A levels or an access course?

3. How and where would I do my A levels, and which ones should I do? Could I work while doing these?

4. Is it too late to apply to West Anglia?

5. In regard to West Anglia: How good is the program? How is it graded? Would I do the BMAT/UKCAT while there? How many people go on to top medical schools? How does it compare to the A levels?

6. How much studying do the BMAT/UKCAT take?

7. Would there be any sort of financial aid/scholarships available for me?

8. Depending on my path would I be able to apply to a graduate entry program, and am I looking at 4, 5, or 6 years of medical school?

9. I would love to keep playing soccer. Could I do this at uni. in the UK, and would it help my admissions at all?

10. Does being a national rather than international student give you a better chance of admission? The reason I ask is because on the admissions webpage of all the schools it says they determine your fee status (int'l vs. nat'l) after they have already admitted you. Wouldn't this mean they don't try to fill any sort of int'l quota, and just take the best applicants, worrying about whether or not they're int'l after they're already in?

11. Also, my father has lived in England for the past 12 years while I was in the US with my mother. The only break I took from education in that time was a semester off when I was 18, during which I moved back with my father and got a full time job in the UK. Additionally, I'm not a dual citizen but a full UK citizen. Could I make a case as a national student?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm making a lot of decisions right now and I really appreciate all the help!

Thanks again.

[Pammy]

Have a look at UKCISA
and all the links on that site.
Seems you are basically in a grey area, so I'd ring up the unis directly and clarify. Else, why don't you get a job in the UK for a few years? I would be extremely surprised if you needed to take A-levels as you have done the relevant courses at college level! Again, write to each uni and clarify - I had so send in tons of stuff to e.g. Cambridge and they checked whether it fulfilled the basic requirements. They wanted to see a list of relevant courses I had taken with the syllabus for each one and my grades! Cambridge take people with all sorts of degrees for the GEP (4-year) programme, Oxford and Imperial only take science degrees so you'd have to apply for 5-year courses at those. ULC doesn't have a GEP. King's takes all subjects. I'd write to them but only after you've done your own research...

[letthesunshinein]

i don't know how much help i'm gonna be but i'll share what i know!

1 your grades and all those numbers mean nothing to me, so i couldn't say.

2 you shouldn't need to do a levels and access courses - it would be pointless. you would just be repeating old ground.

3 if you decide to go down the a-levels route, chemistry, biology and maths are a good combination. chemistry is required by most schools, and biology by a few.

4 & 5 sorry, know nothing about west anglia

6 bmat and ukcat do not require preparation. having said that, there are books that can be bought and practice tests to do if you feel you need to. however, someone with your experience really shouldn't need to. i didn't and got on just fine.

7 pass, sorry

8 graduate entry is 4 years, but more competitive than non-graduate entry. some schools require GAMSAT which is a beast of an exam - like ukcat and bmat doesn't necessarily require preparation, (again, i didn't and did fine) but it is a heck of a lot harder and longer - a whole day.

9 every uk university has a football team. probably every med school too. extra-curricular stuff is an important part of your application, i'm sure its no different in the states except you call it somthing stupid like academic all american d3 soccer. lol.

10 i believe national students stand a better chance - as far as i know med schools have a quota of internationals, eg 20 per year, and i'm pretty sure the competition is more fierce for these places. i'm not sure how this works on graduate schemes however.

11 i'm totally out of my depth here, but my gut feeling is that it will be easier on you if you manage to get status as a national student. easier on you app. and easier on your pocket.

also worth noting that "top 10" university might be a concept you want to leave behind for choosing a uk medical school. all uk medical schools are of a similar standard, the only thing being in london/oxbridge will guarantee you is more debt. different schools have different methods of teaching, some may suit you better than others, so keep an open mind and explore you options thoroughly. personally, having studied at cambridge previously i would not have wanted to study medicine there.
also don't look at league tables of uk medical schools. when a university can come top of one, and 22nd of 26 in another, you know there is a serious flaw in the measurements!

best of luck!