Guide to NUS Medicine, Chapter 3: Preparing to Apply, and the Cost of Medicine

General Guide to Applying

Before I begin this chapter, I would like to preface it by saying that my admission was 2 years ago, so some stuff may have changed since then. Also I have attached a link below to the NUS website showing exactly what you need and the steps to take to apply. What I aim to do in this section is to give you kind of an insider’s look on what you might what to include/prepare for when applying.

Link to official page: https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/admissions/how-to-apply/

Personal Statement

Overview: This is a 500-word essay where you explain why you want to do medicine and why you think you would be a good fit. The most important thing in the statement is to look deep within and really figure out why you want to do medicine. Once you find that reason, writing the essay should be easy.

Topics to Cover (Once again, NOT a hard and fast rule. This is just generally what people include)

• A strong engaging intro

• A component explaining the “human” side of you. The way you show this side really depends on your own life experiences. In general, the whole point of this section is to show that you 1. Know that medicine is a very person-oriented profession and 2. You are good at that.

• A component explaining the “science” side of you. To be very honest, I am not too sure how important this is, but most people still include it in their personal statements. The aim is to show some level of flair for and interest in the sciences, specifically biology and chemistry.

• A component explaining that you know what medicine really is. This is more of a personal perspective, but what some doctors whom I’ve shadowed told me is that people sign up for medicine without really knowing what they are getting into. Showing in your statement that you are not viewing medicine through rose-tinted glasses indicates to the interviewers that you are at least aware of the very difficult life ahead.

Referee

Overview: For this, what you would need to do is to choose 2 adults (not related to you, of course), who you would want to vouch for your place in medicine. They would have to answer a questionnaire that is basically asking them how good of a doctor they think you would be.

• As for this component, the only advice I can give is choose adults who really like you. Also note that they don’t have to be teachers!

• Some examples of people you could ask are: Whoever your in-charge was in NS, Volunteer Supervisors, Doctors that you’ve shadowed, Work Attachment/Internship Supervisors

Situational Judgement Test (STJ)

Overview: This is the Situational Judgement Test. This is an MCQ exam done in NUS. The questions are basically scenarios where you need to make a tough decision. You would then need to rank the options from the most appropriate to do in the scenario to the least appropriate.

Preparation

• There are books that you can buy that contain practice questions and teach you some basic principles of handling difficult ethical situations.

• Normally most people just go in trusting their instinct, and I think that’s an okay way to approach it as well!

Focal Skills Assessment (FSA)

Overview: The FSA comprises an interview component, skills component and group component. I am not too sure how much I am legally allowed to disclose, so I will only give you guys a brief idea of what they can test, and roughly how I prepared for it.

Interview

• The test: This is a basic interview, where they will ask you questions that try to gauge your interest and fit for medicine. There will also be questions centred around things you say in you Personal Statement. Sometimes there may be a very difficult question at the end which tests your critical thinking/general knowledge.

• How I prepared: The thing I prepared for the most was knowing my answers to all the basic questions. Things like Why I Want to do Medicine and What are Some Difficulties I’ve Overcome are all things you should have answers to at the back of your hand. Another thing I prepared for was questions regarding my personal statement. I suggest taking some time to think of a few questions regarding what you wrote in your personal statement.

Skills Test

• The test: These are stations which test your people skills and thinking skills. These test how well you can handle tough social situations in real life.

• How I prepared: This is pretty difficult to prepare for, and the best advice I can give is to just stay calm. During the test, be in the moment with the person and truly care for him/her.

Group Test

• The test: The aim of this test is to see how well you work in groups. Essentially the group is asked to do a task, then each person from the group will be asked 1-2 questions pertaining to the activity.

• How I prepared: This is also essentially impossible to prepare for. The only advice I can give is to think of what your main objective as a team is, and make decisions/answers that reach this objective while still maintaining good relations with teammates.

Extra Things you Might Want to Do

• Job Shadowing: This is the number one thing you should look for before signing up for medicine. The main point of this is to find out whether or not medicine is really for you. The experience differs depending on who you shadow, but generally you get to see how life is like when you actually are a doctor (it’s honestly not pretty at all). However, it is really difficult to find these opportunities. I suggest emailing as many doctors/hospitals that you know, as early as possible to increase your odds of getting one.

• Volunteering: This is another thing you can do to not only bolster your personal statement, but also hone your people skills. These opportunities are everywhere, and I strongly suggest finding ones which require you to talk to patients/people in any capacity.

The Cost of Medicine

This is a very expensive course. The payment for medicine is essentially split into 2 parts: A portion that is “subsidized” by the government, for which you need to pay back by working for them for 5 years + A portion that you pay every year

“Subsidized” Component

• The amount: Around $600k for all 5 years combined

• How you pay it: You will not actually be paying this amount from your pockets during the schooling years. Instead, the government pays this amount for you. After you graduate at the end of 5 years, you will need to work under MOH for another 5 years. During this period, a portion of your work pay is used to return this amount. (fact check this)

Note:

• This $600K is accumulated from all 5 years

• If you quit medicine at any point, you would have to repay the government the amount they have subsidized for you so far. For example, if you quit at the end of Y1, you would need to pay the amount they have subsidized for you for Y1. If you quit at the end of Y5, you would need to pay the amount they have subsidized for you from Y1-5 (which is all $600K)

• Because of this possibility, 2 guarantors are needed to sign an agreement at the start of medical school. Essentially, these guarantors need to show that they have sufficient capital to pay for this amount should you ever quit medicine

Paid Component

• The amount: Around $28K per year

• How you will pay it: You would have to attach either a debit GIRO account or a Bank Account to your NUS profile. The school will then deduct $14K from this account every semester to pay for the fee.

Note:

• Please check your school email frequently to see what you need to do for payment

• Financial Aid

The medical school fee is very high. But, NUS is very generous with their financial aid. If you are concerned about the high school fees, I suggest applying for financial aid to either get a loan or a bursary to help mitigate some of the costs. Also, people on the financial aid programme are eligible for Medical Scholarships, which help a HUGE amount. Here is the link to the financial assistance page: http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/financial-aid

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This is a three-part series on NUS Medicine. Links to all articles in this series:

Guide to NUS Medicine, Chapter 1: Daily Life and Workload

Guide to NUS Medicine, Chapter 2: Extracurriculars

Guide to NUS Medicine, Chapter 3: Preparing to Apply, and the Cost of Medicine (this article)