MISSION: MED SCHOOL

A lot of people have asked me: “Why Philippines?”

I’m sure many of my family & friends wonder why I choose to spend the next four years in a developing country instead of the United States. And sometimes, I still ponder about why I made that decision as well – especially when I’m riding the jeepney (main form of transportation in the Philippines) instead of conveniently driving my own car to buy groceries. But as we all know, dreams come with sacrifices.

I’m also sure many of my colleagues wonder if I chose the Philippines because I couldn’t get into a U.S. medical school. Firstly, I didn’t apply to any U.S. med school, let alone take the MCAT. I chose the Philippines because I wanted to, not because I had to. Secondly, so what if someone is choosing Philippines because they couldn’t get into the U.S.? That doesn’t make them any less hard working.

When people ask me “Why Philippines?” I think my best response would have to be “Why not?” Here are my top 3 reasons for choosing the Philippines (in no particular order):

1. FINANCIAL REASONS
   I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be in debt for the rest of my life. The average cost of U.S. med school tuition per year is supposedly about $60,000 for non-residents. The average cost of Philippines med school tuition is about 300,000 php ($6,000) + an international foreign fee, which varies per school. Nonetheless, it’s significantly less than how much you’d have to shell out in the states.
2. THE PHILIPPINES IS WHERE MY HEART IS
   Although I was not raised in the Philippines, I visited quite often while I was growing up. It was a little more difficult for me to be immersed in the culture because I couldn’t speak Tagalog, however, I enjoyed each visit regardless of the language barrier. You see, that’s my main point – regardless of the language barrier, I still felt the love & hospitality that the Philippines had to offer. Moreover, as I grew older I began to realize that there was so much more to the islands than what I was exposed to as a child. There’s so much more history to be learnt, customs to be experienced, adventures to be undertaken. So I thought to myself, why not make medical school an adventure? After all, #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines.
3. MISSION: MED SCHOOL
   This comes down to the very title of my blog: “Mission: Med School.” My title is a play on James Bond’s “Mission: Impossible,” because medical school seems well… impossible? Well not really, but I thought it was clever haha. But more importantly, it’s a play on the word “Mission.” Oh man, that’s an entirely different blog post but essentially, it gives insight on my ultimate goal in life: to do missions around the world. By the grace of God, the end goal is to do work with Doctors Without Borders and eventually start my own non-profit organization. Attending med school in the Philippines will provide the perfect experience to prepare me for what is ahead.

This post mainly targets international (particularly U.S. based) students who are looking to pursue their MD in the Philippines. During my decision making process I searched endlessly through blogs & forums to help guide me, but it was quite difficult. I can only hope that this blog will help provide the kind of guidance & inspiration I longed for as an undergrad. Cheers!