Hey everyone,

I'm extremely serious in attending Med School in the Philippines 2011. I was leaning more towards of becoming a physical therapist for years during my undergrad in California but after a lot of volunteer work and foreign clinics i helped, i've decided that i want to do more in the field and that is be a doctor. Thing is that my grades are ridiculously low to even consider applying to med school here in the US so i've decided to go back to my homeland and work there for a bit after as well. I was born in the Philippines but basically was born an American since my parents were already citizens here. I missed the deadline to apply for the NMAT so I have a whole year off to debate which schools to apply to and to study of course

So my questions are:

1. ill be graduating this spring with a B.S. Kinesiology Exercise Science and my GPA will be around a 3.1 is that too low for med schools such as De la Salle, St.Lukes, and UST?

2. What science requirements do they usually require because i have finished the whole year sequences of physics, and general chem, anat/physio, and biology. is that enough?

3. Is it true that they will overlook my GPA and classes since im from the US and they are not equivalent.

4. Do you guys know any Fil-Ams that have gotten in with low grades and somewhat mediocre NMAT scores?


THANKS!

1) UST & St. Lukes will evaluate you very critically. DLS will be fine with your grades.
2) A highly ranked school in the Philippines doesnt necessarily have better education. its rank is often the result of cherry picking applicants, and high attrition rates. Don't chase after school rank. You've been warned.
3) NMAT really doesnt matter unless its UST, St. Lukes, UP or CIM. Its also a rediculously easy test as compared to the MCAT. Part one tests your ability to decide quickly which questions are worth spending time on and which should be guessed. Its timed so that its IMPOSSIBLE to finish all questions. Pick and choose well and ull score out of the ball park. Part 2 gives you MORE time than ull need, so u should answer carefully every question that ur given. Note that midrange schools will GLADLY let u enroll 2010 and have u take the NMAT in fall 2010 as a formality. I know for a fact SWU and Fatima do this, there are other schools as well.
4) In terms of preparation, you'll be outgunned by your filipino classmates. You and your X years of physics and ana/physio will be up against REGISTERED NURSES AND MED TECHS (80% of your class). They ALL had micro, some histo, and clinical pathology as undergrads. Expect to have a hard time catching up with them. ANOTHER REASON WHY GOING TO A SUPER COMPETITIVE SCHOOL WILL BE AN ISSUE.
5) Any school in the Philippines getting in is way easier than getting out.
6) If still desiring to attend one of the top schools in 2011 I strongly suggest going to the Philippines in 2010 and taking histo, micro, clin path, ana/physio, biochem, and other medical subjects on the undergrad level. This way you wont lose out to the med techs in your class, and you'll get accustomed to the learn-the-big-picture-yourself system of teaching in the Philippines. Even though you're filipino you'll experience culture shock when what we, Americans, consider great lecturing is looked down upon by everyone as "spoonfeeding".

thanks for the information! how do you know this btw? ive been going the ignorant route just reading up and go by word of mouth. my aunt went to UP for medical school so im going by everything she had to do.

another question though is say i dont finish all those required classes that they want do they overlook it since its not equivalent? I really want to go to St. Lukes its my number one choice and i recently found out i was born there im just worried about my grades and how they'll look at it. Any info on St. Lukes will be gladly appreciated!

Ive studied in 2 different schools in PI. I've done a lot of research too. I guess I know the drill.

St. Lukes is pretty competitive, but you should try. It seems that prereqs are more discretionary than mandated by CHED when it comes to foreign students. For instance zoology is considered a prereq for filipino med school, and most US students dont have that class. Ive never heard ANYONE getting rejected because of it. On the flip side, for St. Lukes (unlike a more midrange philipino schools) your NMAT score will be extremely important. Try scoring 90+ its completely doable.

My answers will be very similar to locutusborg
1. Your GPA will not matter to most schools there if you are not a local grad. Your chances might be less with UST and St. Luke's but you should try as they are both lenient with foreign grads.
2. Most schools there don't have any science requirements. There are few exceptions (PLM, Ateneo) but those 2 schools cater to local Filipinos.
3. This might be true for most schools. Only UP is extremely competitive even for locals. UST is also competitive but they have 550 students per batch so you still have a shot. I'm not sure about St. Luke's but it might be worth it to apply.
4. Most schools don't even care about your NMAT scores. It's just a formality or requirement to take. The only exceptions are state schools like
UP (90), UST (about 65 but they have no cutoff nowadays), UERM (65). and St. Luke's (reportedly 90 but I seriously doubt that). The rest have very low cutoff or don't even care.

thanks for the answers you guys! im looking more towards either st. lukes or de la salle (emilio aguinaldo college). right now im trying my best to push to get in for june hopefully all works out. thank god my mom will be heading back over there so she can turn in my paperwork and get everything settled and organized. im hoping theres some way they can let me take the NMAT over there.

do you know where i can find a schedule of when they offer that test next year? or does it only happen once/twice a year?

1. Just a clarification, the GEAC that La Salle bought in the 80's is now called DLSU-Health Science Center in Dasmarinas Cavite. There is a newer Emilio Aguinaldo College of Medicine in Manila that is not affiliated with La Salle.
2. They usually give the exam (NMAT) twice in Manila December and April. Try to take the exam in Los Angeles in December but I think you have a limited time to register for that ASAP ( I don't know the deadline. It is only given once a year in the US with a single site (LA).

You should consider Fatima Medical College. Lots of Fil-ams and they have a foreign class so everything is in English. Also they are affiliated with hospitals in the states so you do your clinical rotations in the states, which is what US residency programs look for..

P.M. me for more info

oh ok thanks trauma!

ladybugg i was wondering how was your experience with fatima, and are you a fil-am? if you are are you able to now practice in the states. my goal is to be able to practice in the philippines for 2 years after i graduate then head back home to california. any info you can give me about the school will be greatly appreciated!

Yes I'm a fil-am
Fatima was okay for me, I liked that they had a foreign class so everything was in English and I was with a lot of other Fil-ams in my class, but also people from other countries like Taiwan, India, England.
If you want to practice anywhere in the states you need to do residency here in the states first and pass your boards. If you want to practice in the Phils first for 2 years, you'd have to take the Philippine boards, do internship, residency then you can do your 2 years.

What I did after I graduated med school last year, I took my licensing exams and applied to residency which I am getting offers to interview for now.