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Advice for US College Student and Becoming a doctor

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Dhooy7

Hello my name is Derrek and I am a college student studying in the United States.  I am currently a junior attending a community college to save on money.  I plan on obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Human Biology. I am considering studying abroad and possibly moving.  i thought it would be best to wait and get my Bachelors degree first and then go to graduate school somewhere cheaper.  I am looking to possibly become a doctor and get a degree in the medical field.  Does anyone have any advice?  I don't have a lot of money right now.  I am a vegan and very healthy as I enjoy weight lifting and the outdoors.  I heard organic food is expensive.  I try to buy as much organic food as possible and eat very little processed food. 

What are the pros and cons of moving to Malaysia from the United States?  What else should I consider?  I would to visit Malaysia first but I am not sure if I can afford it.  Does anyone know of anywhere where there is affordable graduate school and good countries to live in?

cvco

Ok i think your premise is wrong. Considering you are taking peoples lives in your hands, you should be thinking how to get the BEST education, not the cheapest.

"Cheapest" is what would-be US doctors did by going to Grenada medical schools and then they go back and really wreck up peoples lives because they never had a good education. Malaysia schools have no decent rating for this and many Malaysian doctors went to US and UK for their BETTER education.

Second, where you go to school (the schools reputation) follows you the rest of your life. You may well be barred from hospitals or other working environments simply because of where you went to school. Grenada doctors are not favored, everyone know they got a cheap and lousy education and this must be avoided.

Third, a medical career is very ambitious and requires an absurd amount of energy, focus and MONEY. You cant escape it, dont even try. Families often pool their money for the kids school, and very often a wife will work full time to support the house while the husband goes to school, then vice-versa later when he is making money.

Fourth, the fact you are in JC is a bad thing and it too will follow you, too. Get out and into a GOOD 4-year school. How are your grades? Have you applied for scholarships? Who is helping support you? You cant do this whole process of yours alone.

Even lesser degrees and schools fall into this realm when you are seeking a lower career like pharmacology, anethesiology, nursing, radiology, dentistry too. If you cannot muster the money, time and attitude for the hardest time of your life, drop this and do what you CAN do. Medical doesnt sound like it for you. Have you seen a counselor about the same questions you wrote? What did he or she say?

Malaysia? No, no. It doesnt have the horsepower for a good education and degree which would be favored outside the place (or even IN the country for that matter because many have finished their degrees outside in better schools so who do you think will get a job faster, you or one of them?).  If you want to study in the Malaysia and stay and work, it may be an option but in US they will laugh you out. Still, you will need tons of money here but less than US. You can write to medical schools here and discuss it.

But in short forget cost, think BEST or forget it. Remember too the competition is extremely stiff in medicine and the top candidates will get the offer ahead of you.

Short story. My friend went to a top undergraduate school in US and had a 4.2 average. This was not even competitive with others and his father, an alumni, petitioned the medical school later to admit him. In medical school in D.C., he continued to get straight-As and was put on academic probation because grades of "A" werent good enough when other "A" students were also publishing new advances in medicine. I remember his time so well, he studied 24 hours a day and it wasnt nearly enough.

This all said, I dont think from your post you can make it in the way you hope but maybe there is hope for nursing which is a big enough challenge. Think about it. Its a good secure living and its ATTAINABLE. Like all of us, you have to learn to separate the possible from the probable. Good luck to you.

Gravitas

CVCO Totally accurate.

You are dreaming and sound the wrong material for a doctor. It is rarely a glamorous profession.

Your chances of completing the training sounds minimal Your health is not the point.It is the health of others.

Frankly you come across as a head case.

stumpy

The OP is also considering the same scenerio for New Zealand. 

Have advised him similarly.

steveso

Forget it! I am an American, who was employed in the medical field before retiring and moving to Malaysia for 8 years. Medical schools in Malaysia require 4 years of study after high school and are not very good. I would never go to a doctor in Malaysia, who graduated from a Malaysian medical school. There are good doctors there, but they are graduates of medical schools in Australia, the UK, the US, Canada and the rest of Europe. If you did manage to receive a medical degree ( a Bachelor's of Medicine) you would not be able to work as a doctor in the US or Canada, without taking remedial courses and another full residency. If you really want to go to medical school, apply and then take out loans like the rest of us did. There are no bargain basement medical schools or even schools of allied health sciences.

Fred

The above being noted, I would try to visit Malaysia anyway.
A rich culture awaits any explorer, so it'll give you a life lesson you'll never get in the states.
If you stay out of the tourist bars and interact with the local, you will go home a different person.

philipyeo

You don't have to come to Malaysia to study to visit it. You can come over and couch surf. Granted that there are risk to it, but I've heard good stuff and have experience being host myself here in Canada. There are some bad host but most are pretty good and genuine. I know that my parents were host before too back Malaysia. So if you're thinking of saving a buck or two and to experience what locals do, give couch surfing a try.

Nemodot

It isn't cheap here. 30,000 usd for fees. Living fees more than double it. Say 80,000 usd min. A friend saved 100,000 usd to do a grad need degree here.

And in the end too many doctors so roi low

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