Have you thought about studying medicine in the United States? Unfortunately, Medicine is not an undergraduate career in this country and, in order to study it, you must have completed an undergraduate degree in any field and then apply to medical school.
If you wish to study medicine in the United States, you should consider the following points before beginning the application process:
1) Time and courses: A student interested in studying General Medicine in the U.S. will spend approximately 8 years in total to receive their degree, between undergraduate, graduate and residency studies. In Chile, this whole process would take about 7 years. Even if it is one year difference, the path is quite different.
In Chile, you start studying medicine immediately, since you chose to enter medical school in the first year of university. In the United States, all students (regardless of whether they want to study medicine or something else) start with 4 years at a college or university to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Most students who want to study Medicine study a Bachelor of Science degree, most commonly in Biology or Chemistry; however, you do not need to major in a science to apply to medical school. You could apply to U.S. Medical School with a degree in Literature!
As you can see in the timeline, there is also an important test that all students must take before applying to medical schools: the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). This is a very rigorous test and evaluates problem solving, critical thinking and knowledge of concepts and principles of the natural, behavioral and social sciences, prerequisites for the study of Medicine.
If you are accepted to medical school, you must study for another four years, which are divided into two stages: the first two years are more theoretical and the last two years are when you begin your “rotations,” or rotations, and see real patients.
After those four years, you must apply to a residency program, which can take anywhere from 3 to 7 years to complete, depending on the type of medicine you wish to practice. In the middle of all this, there are many standardized exams that you must take, called USMLE.
As you can see, the process of studying medicine in the United States is much longer than in Chile. And since it takes more time, that means….
2) Cost: Obtaining a Medical Degree in the United States includes the cost of: undergraduate studies ($150,000 approx), the MCAT ($450) and Medical School ($300,000 approx). All of these costs, on average, can run around $500,000 USD, not counting the cost of living for those eight years (approx.). In addition, there are not many financial aid or scholarship opportunities for international students seeking to study medicine in the United States. In Chile, the average cost of a medical degree is about 8-9 million pesos, and financial aid is varied, including free tuition, the different scholarships offered by Chilean universities, and the Crédito con Aval del Estado.
3) Probability: In general, the acceptance rate for medical schools in the USA is low. In the case of nationals, it is around 41%. This is even lower for international students, as only about 17% of foreign applicants are accepted. In 2019, 1,890 international students applied to medical schools and only 325 were accepted. There are many reasons for this, but the most important is that medical schools prefer to offer a place to someone who will stay and work in the U.S., rather than someone who will then have to return to their home country.
