Philippines

[FSUNOLE08]

Hey Yall,

Still thinking about going to med school in the philippines. I am an American Citizen, but I was born in the Philippines. I left when I was 7 and moved to Florida. I want to ask how hard it was being away from family and friends. I just came back from a vacation from the Philippines and loved Manila...but I want to know if you guys got homesick at all. Also.....I dont want to make my decision and all of a sudden I say to myself "what did I get myself into?" What were your experiences like??? Happy, Stressful, Sad???? Any of yall's opinions will help.

[samahantayo]

FSU, another thing that can help overcome missing immediate family is having extende family around. It would be good to get cloae to extended family who may be living in the Philippines so you can hang out with them. Fil-Am student associations within the school can also help. Some schools may not have them and it would be good tosuggest this to all the schools you plan to apply to. This would be one way that they would recognize your needs.

[Locutusofborg]

As a non-filipino studying in the Philippines (no family or friends of any kind, except some friends i made down here), i'll tell you that homesickness is a lot harder than I thought going in. In just one year away from family I got a niece who never saw her uncle, I couldnt be there for my parents when they totaled their car and spent the night in the hospital, I couldnt help my grandmother or aunt much when they had troubles.. and that's just family. I couldn't be there for my friends also, even when one of them had a death in the family.
I would say if you have a choice of staying in US, you'd be crazy not to take it. BUT, if you have to go abroad, philippines is a good choice IMHO. Homesickness will be tough, but you want to be a doctor more than anything, right? THats what keeps me going here. And as a Filipino at least you won't have additional stresses of walking around with a different color skin (Philippines is not a diversity friendly country).

Good luck!

[iguodala_fan]

BUT, if you have to go abroad, philippines is a good choice IMHO. Homesickness will be tough, but you want to be a doctor more than anything, right? THats what keeps me going here. .

Good luck! Among all other factors, I thought this (homesickness) is quite overlooked along with adjusting to a different kind of environment (smog, narrow & unpaved roads, flooding, unreliable transportation, traffic, etc.). I was trying to convince myself that I'm only going there to get an education, but these inescapable realities I would have to live with might contribute a little bit to the already demanding academic work in med school. I'm not saying that Dominica is a whole lot better, however, students who decide to go there only spend a couple of years and then they go back to have their clinical rotations in the U.S.

How one can overcome and endure these conditions is laudable and hopefully I'll be ready when I get there next year.

[lungdoc]

Among all other factors, I thought this (homesickness) is quite overlooked along with adjusting to a different kind of environment (smog, narrow & unpaved roads, flooding, unreliable transportation, traffic, etc.). I was trying to convince myself that I'm only going there to get an education, but these inescapable realities I would have to live with might contribute a little bit to the already demanding academic work in med school. I'm not saying that Dominica is a whole lot better, however, students who decide to go there only spend a couple of years and then they go back to have their clinical rotations in the U.S.

How one can overcome and endure these conditions is laudable and hopefully I'll be ready when I get there next year.

What med school are you going to? I went to UERM in Manila. There are no unpaved roads there. Flooding is an issue but only during the rainy season and it doesnt occur for the whole season. There were decent apartments within walking distance so traffic was never an issue. Many shared apartments and hired maids to cook, clean, and do housework. All I did was eat, sleep, and study. Manila was great also because of the nightlife. I had relatives there but spent most of my time with my classmates who became my close friends. We had a blast.

[hunteradam07]

Here is my recommedations dont spend time around the area that you dont like. There are many many cool places to go in Manila and u get enjoy study while looking at a better scenery. Here are some of the recommendation spots: 1. Greenbelts Makati (So many Starbucks with freezing aircond that you can do ur daily study their :), I know this one guy from UST study everyday at SB and got a 94 on step 1 and 4) Plus there are tons of great resto to eat and enjoy ur day. 2. Timog (QC) One mile block of nothing but nice resto, spa, and coffee houses. Man, u can even get free Wifi at Bang cafe'. 3. Greenhills newly build center while nice movie threater and many SB, Coffee Beans, and cheap eating. 4. There is another place that is closed to QMMC but i forgot the name.
Yes transportation in Manila can be very intimidating, because for the look of all the jeepy, tricycle, and horrible taxi services, you know what is my solution to that= I bought a used car w great aircond and way i go anywhere and time i want. It totally worth it after all u going to spend 3 years there! Do u really want to get rob by taxi or jeepy drivers? Good luck

[TrumpTight]

You'd be surprised on how many "close to" US things they have in the PI. Makati was mentioned earlier (6750 SB dweller right here!!!) and the Fort is hella nice. Yes of course there is the 45p to $1 thing, but dont be fooled. You could get broke easy with that type of thinking, especially if you visit Makati and the Fort every week. For myself, the one hard thing you have to adjust to is the little things you sorta take for granted back home. For example, in the Philippines there are things like not having toilet paper at public restrooms, people cutting in front you while waiting to buy something at the store, people chit-chatting loudly in class during a lecture or watching a movie, and of course eating and hoping that the food is clean. Oh yeah, also, the whole uniform thing?? Geez. To add on what was mentioned earlier, the drive of being a doctor kind of puts that stuff aside and of course venting sessions with your fil-am friends hehe. But it is a big step to come and live here for 4 years (3 for some) especially not living here before. So, really think this decision through. Good luck

[normina]

hi! My name is Normina, I would like to study medical, Can you please tell me which best school in Manila, As of the moment Im here in Oman with my boyfriend, Im working in a shoe shop. I will come back to Manila to take medical course, I like nursing course or to be a Doctor of a children. Please help me this....

[Soon]

Yes. I do think study in Philippines is good. For example, there is the mbbs or md degree that you can study. mbbs is from hcmi education exclusively, while md is open to everyone i think. I think the UERM, Fatima University is good in Manila.