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When to apply to the UK, Ireland, Australia and Singapore?
Medicine courses are notoriously competitive programs, with very high entry requirements. A typical medical applicant is bound to have stellar school grades, top aptitude test scores, diverse extracurricular experiences such as volunteering and job shadowing, and outstanding interview performance. When considering local options for undergraduate medicine, students only have two choices—Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at NUS and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at NTU. These programs receive over 2000 applications to fill around 250 spots each year. Hence, it is not surprising that most medical aspirants cast a wider net by applying to other medical schools worldwide as well.
Some of the best medical schools in the world can be found in countries such as the UK, Australia, and Ireland. These are popular choices for students based in Singapore since they offer medical programs recognized by the Singapore Medical Council. This article provides a comprehensive guide to planning your medical application timeline. Below you will find the countries organized according to their deadlines.
UK
Application Deadline: 15 October 2022
Intake: September 2023
The UK is home to some of the most prestigious medical schools and is one of the top destinations for international students. It has the earliest deadline of October 15th in the year preceding your entry to medical school. If you plan to start medical school in September 2023, you will need to submit your applications by October 15 of 2022. In the UK, applications to medical programs take place through a centralized platform called the UCAS. Students will be allowed to choose up to 4 medical programs, and all have the same deadline of October 15th.
Students in the final year of JC or high school should plan around this deadline since it usually falls right before their final A-level examinations or other important school deadlines.
Ireland
Application Deadline: Mid January 2023
Intake: September 2023
Applications will take place after the UK deadline, and students will apply through the Irish Universities and Medical Schools Consortium (IUMC). The IUMC comprises four of the oldest and most prestigious universities, including Trinity College, Dublin. These applications take place through the IUMC agency in Singapore, and they accept applications until mid-January 2023 for their September 2023 intake. Mid-January is the final deadline, but students are encouraged to send in applications early.
Singapore
Application Deadline: End February / Mid March 2023
Intake: August / September 2023
Local universities typically accept applications until mid-March. NUS Medicine has separate application deadlines based on your school curriculum. If you are an IB student applying to the medical programs at either NUS or NTU, you will have an earlier application deadline in end-February. If you are an A-levels student, you will be allowed to apply upon the release of your A-level results all the way until the application closing date in mid-March. NTU follows a similar application deadline in mid-March for both IB and A-level students.
Do note that depending on the scheme through which you choose to apply (Standard vs. Aptitude), you may have slightly differing deadlines.
Australia
Application Deadline: June – End September 2022
Intake: February 2023
Australian university admissions take place last since they work on a different application cycle in which entry to all courses starts in February rather than September. This means that a student taking their final IB exams in May 2021 will only be starting their course in February 2023. Applications usually open at the beginning of March the year before the intake. Application deadlines range from June to the end of September the year before the intake, depending on the university.
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