How to Study Medicine in USA

byAWEB MEDIA GROUP
July 22, 2022

How to Study Medicine in USA-In the history of modern medicine, America has produced some of the best medical doctors and subsequently, best medical schools in the world. America is the best in many things, or at least one of the best, and that includes medicine.

However, if you are a fresh school leaver, there is no way for you to study medicine in USA. This will be explained later in this article. If you are going to study medicine anywhere at all, you need a lot of determination and meticulousness, and more of these are needed for medical students in USA.

The United States has some of the best schools for anatomy, biology, pharmacy, engineering and even medicine. The requirements are difficult to meet especially for elite American universities, but there are other universities in some states of America that just need you to present good results and a few other things to get you registered as a medical student in America.

The American medical schools that are easier to get into are located in not-so-popular cities in America. This article will explain how to study medicine in USA as an international student or as an American citizen.

Medicine in USA

Medicine is the most delicate known course of study, requiring only individuals with a bright mind, resilience, hard work, and diligence. This is important because human lives are the most important in the basis of existence. Without Medicine, many important officials and personalities who keep the world running may have died from light illnesses or heavier ones.

The United States of America is known to be one of the top countries with the best medical doctors in the world. Countless times, American doctors have discovered problems, invented solutions, and performed groundbreaking successful surgeries.

Since the advent of Surgery, doctors from America have been one of the most successful in conducting surgery operations on humans, saving a lot of lives and in turn, saving the world. The fact that some of the best medical doctors are in or from America shows that the best medical schools are in the USA.

Generally, schools in the United States are of very high standards and are some of the best universities in the world. America has some of the oldest universities, and this is the same with medical schools. Old universities are known to offer a lot of quality and possess the best facilities. Apart from explaining how to study medicine in USA, this article will also list some of the best medical schools in USA.

How to Study Medicine in USA

There is no medical school that offers medicine as an undergraduate course in USA, so if you will be studying medicine either as an indigene or as an international student, you need to have studied a science course at undergraduate level before you can get into medical school in USA.

Since there is no medicine at undergraduate level in any American university unlike other universities around the world, you must do an undergraduate course. Medicine in USA is a postgraduate course, and it takes fewer years to complete the program compared to medicine programs in most other countries.

To study medicine in USA, you need to take the Medical College Admissions Test called MCAT. To pass this test, you need to study hard at your undergraduate science course. There are 172 colleges of Medicine in USA, with a majority offering MD degrees to graduates.

Some of these universities are regarded some of the best universities to study medicine in the world.

Requirements to Study Medicine in USA

The medical schools in USA mostly have different requirements, but you must have taken science courses related to medicine as an undergraduate. This is because the MCAT will test your knowledge in Chemistry and Biology.

Studying courses like Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry or other courses that involve chemistry and biology will make it easier for you to pass the MCAT and get into medical school in America.

Most of the med schools in US require candidates to have studied General Biology for a minimum of one year with laboratory, general Chemistry for one year with laboratory, Physics for one year with laboratory, organic Chemistry for a minimum of two quarters, including the study of vertebrae zoology.

The most important factor when trying to study medicine in USA is your MCAT score, as it decides whether you get into medical school at all or get into the best medical schools. The exam tests your critical thinking skills and knowledge of science. When preparing to get into med school, make sure to study hard for your MCAT and score high marks.

Remember to take the MCAT early in order not to miss an admission year.

How to Apply for Medicine in USA

To apply for medicine in USA, you must have many things ready, like your MCAT result, transcripts/school results, work experience, extra curricular activities and a few other details. Unlike some other countries, you need to apply through application services for medical candidates in America.

If you are applying to medical schools in US, many of them take applications through the American Medical College Application Service, called the AMCAS. Through the AMCAS, you will submit all your details and select the medical schools you are applying to. The schools that will contact you depend on your MCAT score and transcripts.

That is for a majority of the colleges of medicine in USA (Not all colleges use the AMCAS). To apply for colleges like the college of medicine at Texas University, the system for application is the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service, also called the TMDSAS.

After application, some of the medical colleges may contact you for more information which may include letters of recommendations or essays. This is called secondary application and it is likely that you get into any of the schools that do this (If you submit a great essay or get good letters of recommendation). There may be additional fees for this application.

The advantage with these application systems is that they help you apply to more than one medical school at once (In most countries, students cannot apply to more than one university). The AMCAS fee to apply for medicine in one medical school is $160, and another $38 to add extra medical schools to your application.

When to Apply to Study Medicine in USA

Applications for medical schools usually begin by May and close in June. You must have your MCAT and transcripts ready before then so make sure to take the MCAT before then.

It is sometimes to get transcripts fast so get them long and get all details ready before the first week of May. There are some fee assistance programs for students or candidates who do not have the fees to pay for their applications. Below is a list of the elite schools that are considered the best medical schools in USA.

Best Universities to study Medicine in USA

Harvard University
Stanford University
Johns Hopkins University
University of California
Columbia University
Duke University
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University, St Louis
University of Washington
Yale University

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are frequently asked questions and answers about how to study medicine in USA:

Studying medicine in USA lasts only four years, but you must have completed a four-year pre medical course before application. After getting into medical school, studying for four years and graduating, residence and fellowship are the next stages. To become a physician, it takes a combined ten years starting from your entry into medical school.

In the United States of America, the process of becoming a doctor is not as a long as in some other countries. While medicine degrees take six years in most countries, it takes four years to finish studying in any college of medicine in the US. This means that anyone who studied a science course at undergraduate level can become a doctor in four years.

Yes. International students can study medicine in the United States. There may be different requirements for foreign students, so make sure to confirm the details from the school website.

The Medical College Admissions Test is not considered extremely difficult as many people make it out to be. Fresh graduates of science courses like Chemistry and Biology who are intelligent have a great chance at scoring good marks in the MCAT.

There are 230 questions in the MCAT, but the questions are technical that the examining board set the time at 7.5 hours. You have more than enough time to answer the questions.

Conclusion

To study medicine in USA, candidates are required to have great results from their undergraduate course of study. With bad results like third class degrees, you may not be able to get into any medical school in the United States.

This article explains how to study medicine in USA, listing the best colleges for medicine in USA and the requirements. The details in this article will be further explained in the individual websites of the colleges of medicine you want to apply for, including the mode of application and requirements.