GEP with a US degree? any chance? plz help..

[Kanishk]

Hi everyone..

i just found this forum recently and i cant't believe how much useful information i have been missing out on recently. I must say, you guys give out some great advice. I hope you can do the same in my situation, it would be greatly appreciated.

Well basically, I am under a huge amount of confusion at the moment about doing med school in the UK or USA.

I am a british citizen with family in england. i have done gcse's and year12.. (birmingham uni said id be a home student, so i assume most others would agree). Over the last few years ive been doing my BS degree in Biology in chicago. now i have one year left and im at the point of deciding whether to take the MCAT in april and apply to the US, or just use my GPA to apply to the 4 year GEP in england(2007 entry)..

I called a bunch of the of the uni's in england, and they said id be eligible to apply with my degree. (btw i didnt finish a levels in bio,chem and phys because i got admitted to BS.biology in chicago). Thank god most of them (except Liverpool) said that a -levels dont matter as long as i have the necessary science at a degree level. But just knowing i would be eligible doesnt really tell me how likely i am to get a seat. I know how INCREDIBLY competitive it is.

What im really wondering is what my chances of getting a seat in the Uk are really like? i know its hard for most of you to say if you have a british degree. My gcses were 6A*'s and 3A's. Year 12 grades were AAB(bio,chem,phys). My American degree is likely to be High Honours (3.8 - 3.9 GPA out of 4.0). I have a LOAD of chem, bio(obviously), phys and math in my degree.

As for extra-curricular and wkxp. i have hospital volunteering for 3 months, research experience for 7 months, sat with a GP in england for 3 weeks.
School football teams, school band. and some other bits and pieces..

im 19 at the moment, so i have time, but ideally i want to get into a GEP program in england for 2007.. if i have a strong chance, then i wont take the MCAT in april, coz its daunting and cud be a waste of time if i get a seat in the UK being near family...it seems like a good plan to just work and reapply the following year if things dont work out for the year i want. thats also a good option. oh a huge factor is that i hear the GEP costs around 3,000 pounds for all 4 years? is that true? coz in the USA, it will cost me around $200,000 for all 4 years! OUCH!. Doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out which one is a better deal....

It seems to me that apart from a few, almost all of the uni's are equally competitive for the GEP. is this true? or are there a few that are evenly slightly easier, or where you feel i may have a stronger chance?

my very very rough shortlist is - Birmingham, Newcastle, Southampton and Warwick.


I would thoroughly appreciate any sort of advice i can get..


Thanks

kanishk


good luck to all those applying!!

[sbailey]

I don't know much about this, but I would have thought an excellent GPA from one of the better American universities would give you a very good chance. Is the UK where you want to practise in the end? That would be my main citerion if I were in your position. It does cost more to train in the US but I guess you'd make it back over time because the salaries are much better.

[Kanishk]

yea that is a great point. i did think about that in detail.. im probably keen on practising in the UK.. provided i get a seat that is. If i dont,and end up studying in the US, then naturally id practice in the US. 1st choice for education and practice is the UK!!
thinking about the USMLE and all that business may come later i guess.
thanks

[Bambi]

Your grades seem fine, if they accept a GPA at all (which I assume they will) instead of a 2.1 etc then yours is definately high enough. Your GCSEs are good so grade wise I don't think you would have a problem. Work experience looks fine too it's just your extra curricular stuff that could let you down, maybe take up a new sport or something.

Why not apply in the Uk and the US? Then if you don't get in here and would be happy studying there you wouldn't have to wait a year.

Why not try looking at the student doctor network, it is more for American students and some of them might have applied here so could give you some tips.

[Kanishk]

Thanks for the advice bambi. the american forum helped as well...

Any other suggestions people?