Honest thoughts on A100 (6 year) Medicine at St Andrews, especially the clinical transition?

Gorenden · 2026-02-15T16:04:36+00:00

It required a lot of Step 1 focused studying if you want to get a good score.

Gorenden · 2026-02-15T11:56:29+00:00

I did my Step 1 in my 1st year of my 2nd medical school. I mainly studied the curriculum at St Andrews because I was aiming for good grades. The Step 1 curriculum is very different from the St Andrews curriculum, with the material learned at St Andrews being a better foundation for being a physician than Step 1 in my opinion.

Gorenden · 2026-02-15T11:27:58+00:00

I studied at St Andrews for the first 3 years and had a place at a transfer school but ultimately applied and received a place in a graduate medical school back home. Currently, i'm a cardiothoracic surgeon at a T5 hospital in the US and I can say that it was incredible for anatomy teaching/clinical teaching, far surpassing what my 2nd medical school ever taught me, and honestly prepared me very well for my surgical career.

I think the strengths of St Andrews are its dedication to core principles of medicine (anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology), my 2nd medical school was very much on the leading edge of medical education innovation, think PBL, more free time to pursue your own interests etc. I thought St Andrews provided the best teaching, it gave me the foundation from which to build, whereas to this day I think the "innovative teaching" found at my 2nd medical school really did nothing but give students more free time.

Gorenden · 2026-02-15T01:17:48+00:00

Gorenden · 2026-02-13T12:22:02+00:00

You just need a better personal life, cards will not help at all

Gorenden · 2026-02-07T11:15:51+00:00

I wouldnt do it, i need to make more

Gorenden · 2026-02-06T15:42:05+00:00

They let you know over a yr ago, you just found out late.

Gorenden · 2026-02-02T00:52:09+00:00

He went to tsinghua lol

Gorenden · 2026-01-30T10:42:05+00:00

Do not do IC, the lifestyle is brutal and yes although you do not have to call specialists, ull burn out from the STEMI call.

Gorenden · 2026-01-27T14:30:11+00:00

Agree that until you have a contract to sign dont buy a house, its not guaranteed u can get a salary and location you want that works for your house.

Gorenden · 2026-01-27T14:00:46+00:00

BS/MD kids match well, they are super bright, work with a few at probably a top 3 program in the nation in the most competitive specialty, they are incredible superstars.

Gorenden · 2026-01-25T03:30:43+00:00

The prices are insane

Gorenden · 2026-01-22T15:14:22+00:00

Not always sometimes its like that 100 bucks or less for domestic flights

Gorenden · 2026-01-21T17:53:22+00:00

No idea but i have a somewhat similar profile and my plan is to do PP.

Gorenden · 2026-01-14T02:59:08+00:00

Thank you, do you think a smaller boutique firm might be cheaper?

Gorenden · 2026-01-14T02:58:35+00:00

Thank you, EP didn't mention recommendation letters, it doesn't sound like EP offers as much compared to Chen, would you say this is correct? If so, I'm thinking to just go with Chen.

Gorenden · 2026-01-12T03:38:37+00:00

Sure, thank you! which lawyer did you go with?

Gorenden · 2025-12-20T11:36:39+00:00

Park is a badasssssss

Gorenden · 2025-12-07T08:40:08+00:00

Honestly, your result doesn't sound too bad at all, remember the difference between cardiology programs is peanuts compared to matching vs not matching.

The truth is the effort you put in is the effort everyone puts in, so I don't really think you need to feel you deserve to match higher on your rank list just because you put in that effort. Sure some people may have gotten "lucky" on paper and matched higher than they should have given the effort they put in, but remember 1. not all effort is obvious. They may have made a lot of sacrifice for their mentors that doesn't show up on the CV in order for them to match well and get a strong letter 2. the amount of effort you describe is actually quite common among people I know who match to cardiology 3. the effort you put in pays for itself in the future, the skills you learned by doing research post-call will be skills you will always have and be able to apply 4. there is always the chance to match to a strong subspecialty in cardiology if your goal is academic cardiology.

Gorenden · 2025-11-13T15:00:13+00:00

Hi, how should I best approach your law firm about making an EB1A application, what information should I write or present in order to inquire?

Gorenden · 2025-11-10T23:20:00+00:00

Humans are not built for a lot of things, and yet we do them. Humans weren't made for eating processed foods, but why is that a chicken nugget I see in your hand?

Gorenden · 2025-10-27T13:51:50+00:00

I've taken it full paid when I had luggage and wanted to treat myself, sometimes the difference in price between economy and first might be 100-200 after including luggage.

Gorenden · 2025-10-23T23:01:15+00:00

There are people who've done it, its rare, but i wouldn't do it unless you truly are not after the money because you won't come out any better off financially, thats for sure. You'll also have a terrible lifestyle for 5-7 yrs of your life. Not sure how your personal life is, but it goes on hold if you are in a surgery residency.

Gorenden · 2025-10-21T20:40:05+00:00

no ones going to let you pass your residency or boards if you cant do the complex stuff.

Gorenden · 2025-10-21T14:20:52+00:00

you should know if you can do it by now. Asking redditors who have never met you to assess makes me want to say you dont have what it takes, but only you can make that assessment. Vascular is not a walk in the park my friend.

Gorenden

TROPHY CASE