MED SCHOOLS IN TAIWAN

. . . .

so what is med school really like in tw?
well, i cant exactly ans that qn yet since im not in it yet. haha. but u can check back in sept (:
however, there are a few essential facts that ive found out through my research and speaking
with the current students in medical universities in taiwan.

#1 all medical universities (private or national) in taiwan are regulated
meaning they r equally competitive in terms of cirriculum and have pretty standardized syllabus.
they can only admit a certain number of students, so doesnt mean u can buy ur way into a pte
med uni just bcoz u can afford the school fees. in fact, most pte med unis in tw charge d same
amount to its international students. they do not rip off intl students and make them pay sky high
school fees.. which i think it's a really good practice.


#2 medical universities in tw are competitive too!
one of the reasons i applied to tw was because i thot that the competition wld be reduced since
those who do not speak/write/understand chinese wld be eliminated from applying. HAHA!
the name list of accepted students into the medical faculty and the number of applicants on the
waitlist shocked me when the results were released. of coz the schools already projected the
number of students they wanna admit into the school on the prospectus guide.. but i under-
estimated the competition and even thot that i will surely have a space even in the small quota
allocated for international students. but i was so wrong. the long list of waitlisted applicants
spoke for itself.. apparently many overseas chinese, especially malaysians n even japanese,
apply to study medicine in tw. so, they are easy to apply but definitely not easy to get in!


#3  medical path of medical schools in the medical universities
most of the medical schools in the medical universities are undergraduate programs. a few do
offer post grad, one of the more popular one offering it is ksmu. i was on the waitlist but
apparently none of the accepted is willing to give up their place. however, they charge twice
the amount for intl students.. so, it's one of the factors to consider. although the school fees is
still cheap compared to other countries.

i-shou uni offers post grad too and their program look pretty interesting as well. however,
they do not take in students from sg. schools that tk in intl students offer mostly mbbs and a
few MD. most students in tw have to take an entrance exam (akin to the mcat) and if their
results mk the mark, they will be offered an interview b4 they r offered a place. apparently,
the entrance exam is as tough as the mcat. i applied with my degree so i wasnt called up to
tk the exam. they did state that applicants may be subjected to taking a written exam.

since 2013, all medical schools are changed to 6 years program. and all students will tk the
national board exam after graduation. if one passes the exam, he will be a certified doctor
who is licensed to practice. then he will begin 2 years of post graduate year (PGY).
to me, it's like starting of residency and then the trainings continue after the 2 years. the
information is pretty limited but you can google to read up more information. i will fill in more
details along the way when i get there.

so typically, be prepared to spend 6-8 years, at least, in taiwan. however, i heard that you may
be able to further elsewhere after graduation. so, it really depends on your grades to determine
the possible paths one can take after graduation from medical school.


#4 rankings
these schools are still ranked against their own and also against the other medical schools
in asia and all over the world. it's always a good policy to know where your interested med
school stands. only a few medical universities in tw have achieved decent rankings.

. . . .