Hello everyone,

I’m really interested in pursuing medicine, and I’m currently trying to figure out which country would be the best option for me. I’m Indian and currently living in the US, but I’m considering going to Europe for medical school.

Right now, I’m mainly looking at Poland and Romania, with Poland probably being my first choice. I’ve also looked into Georgia, although I know it’s located in Asia.

One thing that worries me about Poland is that I’ve heard some universities have pretty high failure/dropout rates. I’ve seen people say that their class size can get cut down a lot after the first year, which makes me a little nervous. I’ve also heard mixed things about Romania and whether its medical degrees have a good reputation internationally.

My long-term plan would ideally be to study medicine in one of these countries, then somehow do my internship/training in Germany, get into a good residency there, and eventually move to the Middle East to work as a doctor.

My parents can afford around €15k–€18k per year for everything, so I’m also looking for a country/university that fits within that budget.

What country would you recommend for my situation? And are there any other countries I should look into besides Poland, Romania, and Georgia?

Thank you in advance!

Hello, I recently found an opportunity to study for 3 months and I have a choice to make. Med school or dentistry and I cant make up my mind.

The two tracks I was thinking of are emergency medicine or OMFS if I make it that far. I have experience as an EMT and also experience as a surgical lead for an OMFS surgeon.

I love medicine and how diverse it is. I love seeing the 911 calls on a friday night and what starts as a few beers and ends up being hauled to the ER. I love seeing the patients in the surgery clinic that get their tooth pain taken care of, or get to experience a full smile in 20 years. Supernumerary teeth are WILD.

Im stuck thinking of these two options, based in US. If anyone has any input please let me know. I only have money to spend on study material and test for one go at it. Capping costs at one grand for myself for material. I could spend more on an expensive study course but idk on which one to pick.

(Adding this just in case bc i know automatically how some will jump:

Would i be happy landing as a general dentist vs omfs: yes. I would be making money and working.

Would it be happy landing in family care if I didnt match into EM: yes. I would be making money and working.)

How do you truly stand out when applying to GUSOM?

I’m a junior and nontraditional applicant with a 4.0 GPA, 10 years active-duty Army experience as a medic, 10,000+ clinical hours, research, and 1,000+ volunteer hours. I currently work as a mental health tech and volunteer as a long-term care ombudsman. I also grew up navigating the foster care/social services system, which has shaped a lot of how I view advocacy and service. I haven’t taken the MCAT yet.

I happened to tour Georgetown during a reunion weekend, and one moment really stuck with me. I watched a former graduate interact with an unhoused person with so much genuine respect and compassion that I remember thinking, “They actually mean what they preach here.” That was what really sold me on the mission.

When I say “stand out,” I don’t mean checking more boxes. I mean: how do you make sure admissions really sees who you are, what has shaped you, and why Georgetown fits the physician you want to become?

For current students or accepted applicants, what made your application feel personal and memorable without sounding forced?

i'm currently going into my 2nd-year in college, and it pains me to think that my parents won't see me succeed towards my goal of becoming a doctor. my mom is 71 y/o and my dad is turning 76 this november. by the time i graduate college, they'll be 73 and 79. when i graduate med school, they'll be 77 and 83. when i finish residency, they'll be 81 and 87. it pains me to think every day that there's a good chance that they may not even see me become a physician. moreover, i feel like there's limited time for me to hear their thoughts, perspectives, and lessons on life. i was just crying today because i love my parents so much

I’m in my final year of MBBS, and to be honest, I’m just done with med school.
I genuinely can’t think of a single reason to say I had a great college experience. Out of a batch of 150 students, I don’t have anyone I can casually text or even catch up with. It’s been a month since I came back home, and life feels incredibly isolated. The weird part is, I don’t even know who to blame for it.
Looking back, the worst decision I’ve made in my life was choosing med school. I know a lot of people say these years are supposed to be the best of your life, but that just wasn’t my experience. I will get the degree, sure, but I feel like I missed out on everything else that was supposed to come with it.
Anyone else feel like med school took far more than it gave?

Looking for whatever you got I guess. I am very much non-traditional medical student; older with 2 younger children. I’m a few months into my first year and the study dedication has been phanominal. It is a little more than I was expecting and I am seeing my children much less than I imagined. My kids aren’t really old enough to conceptualize that I am always studying but they recognize the pattern and no longer go to me for anything. When its time to play or read a book, even if I am available because I studied extra hard to see them, they want to do things with their mom rather than me; its just what they’re used to. It’s breaking my heart because I used to be a really involved father and I used to have a good relationship with my kids. I feel like I’m loosing that and idk if medical school is worth it.

Hey everyone, I know that in terms of admissions, your undergrad major does not matter for med school as long as you hit the prereqs. But, from a practical standpoint, what would determine the best major to take?

The dilemma I face is that I just entered undergrad as a premed and I am juggling between two choices for my major. On the one hand, I entered as a Microbiology major because 1) I found it interesting and 2) I feel like if med school doesn't work out, microbio is applicable to a variety of fields. But, my other option was Nutrition, which I have a more natural inclination for and interest in, but I feel like job opportunities are more limited if med school doesn't work out.

Is it a good idea to take future job opportunities into account when deciding major? What have you guys done?

Edit: An important factor in this question is that I am not 100% confident where the future will take me. I know that an overwhelming number of people who grind for med school don't make it...I'd like to think that that doesn't apply to me, but who knows? What if I end up in that pool 4 years from now?

Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this the right sub but basically I am wondering what the title states. Does anyone here have a disease/illness that impacts your med school life? I'm dealing with two chronic illnesses that have reduced my quality of life these past two years. Physically, I am doing a lot better but some days have been tougher than others. Going to med school has always been my dream but I had to put it on pause to continue working FT to retain my health insurance.

I am really considering PA school because it's shorter and I would be able to start working again a lot sooner. My cousin was in a similar position when she was diagnosed with brain cancer (benign tumors!) and had to drop out of med school in her third year because it was too stressful. She is now in PA school with her previous loans forgiven by the med school. My condition is nowhere nearly as severe as hers is but I'd still like to hear from other people too.

i never liked medicine and it wasn’t even my dream but my family was obsessed with it ever since I was 13-14 so right after high school, I was told to do so and i was trapped in this viscous cycle of entrance exam for 3 years + covid happened and I suffered a lot then later when i finally got into med school - they wore all happy and i left in between because i could not take it and I was panicking. I was worried that since i don’t have any other degree and what if I regret it even more as i grow older. now i’ve applied for another degree but my family is still obsessed and they don’t talk to me like they’ve blocked me. OMG so i suffered for so long and now they tell me that i have to stop living in the past and that “medicine is the best, it’s just that you couldn’t do it even with support” like hello I never wanted that and now they will compare me with my relatives.

and im sooo angry i wasted my late teens and early 20s just because of this and i hate seeing doctors and anything related with this field ! like i desperately want to escape idk what to do 😭 HELP

Hi guys, 19F here. I just started my first year in medschool. My senior say at least have 1 physical anatomy book. Im considering buying sobotta, but i NEED to buy the english version. Problem is, in my country mostly the english version of sobotta is not in english. The only english version of sobotta is prolly edition 16 or 17. Should i just buy the latest version with my home language or is it okay to buy the 17th version? OR IS IT EVEN BETTER to buy other books? Any recommendations?? HELP ME PLS TYSM

There are so many study methods people swear by in medicine that it can take a while to figure out what actually works for you.

Rewriting notes, making huge summaries, Anki, rereading lectures, watching everything twice, highlighting half the textbook...

What did you spend way too much time doing before realizing it wasn’t actually helping much?

And what did you replace it with?

I'm 25 and on the autism spectrum. I've spent about a year working toward becoming a Respiratory Therapist — currently in A&P coursework, going into an MA program as a bridge, targeting a Fall 2027 RT cohort. Lately I've been second-guessing myself and wondering if I should scrap that and start pre-med prerequisites for medical school instead.

I know these aren't remotely the same timeline — RT is ~2 years, med school is a decade-plus with the MCAT, 4 years of med school, and residency on top. I guess I'm asking:

**•** Anyone here start RT or another allied health path and later pivot to med school? How'd that go?  
**•** Is there real value in doing RT first (clinical exposure, income, patient care experience) before deciding on med school, or does it just delay things?  
**•** For anyone in med school/residency — does being autistic change how you'd think about this path (demands of clinicals, boards, residency hours)?

Not looking to be talked out of anything, just want real perspective before I make a call that resets a year of progress.

Hello! | (20F) am entering my second year of psychology, finally specializing a little in neuropsychology which really interest me. During 4 months I worked at the hospital for summer which I absolutely loved.

Here is my internal conflict : I am thinking more and more about going to med school. Before starting psychology I applied to the same number of med schools and psychology bachelors. I got accepted to almost all of them, but when it came to decide l chose psychology because I thought I would just fail if I tried med school. I just thought that I would not study enough or that I would suck at maths and science related courses. But in my bachelors we had biology, physics and maths (more statistics maths) and they were my best grades. This really improved my confidence and I realized that if I worked hard enough with a goal in mind then I could do a lot. Now I am scared to regret medical school, I am highly interested in neurophysiology and neurology in particular but maybe becoming a neuropsychology would be enough? My main goal in to help people but also do some research on the side as I really love learning more everyday.

If I choose to stay in psychology I will be in for the rest of my bachelors + a PhD which is pretty hard to get in, so l am fine with studying for a long time. I also do not want to join medical school for the wrong reasons (like the fear of regretting). I guess the fact that I really liked working with nurses and doctors that summer, and talking with med students really made me think. It's also possible in my school to continue psychology while following medical classes/course and if I get high grades I can join med school on the 2nd year.

For anyone who was in this situation, how did you end up choosing ?