There are two schools in Singapore offering the undergraduate MBBS degree: NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Duke-NUS Medical School is Singapore’s only graduate-entry medical school.
This article focuses on applying to undergraduate medicine (MBBS) in Singapore. As a complete guide, it integrates the admissions processes for both NUS YLL and NTU LKC, so that you can consider both side by side. Useful hyperlinks are provided throughout the article to direct you to the specific pages on the school’s websites. If you choose to apply for only one of the two schools, simply reference the information for your chosen school.
Important Deadlines (2024)
The application deadline is typically in mid-March every year.
| Deadline | Submission |
|---|---|
| 5 March 2024 | Application for NUS Medicine Aptitude-Based Admissions Scheme (ABAS) |
| 19 March 2024 | Application for NUS Medicine Standard Scheme Application for NTU Medicine |
Entry Requirements
The academic pre-requisites are similar for both NUS and NTU Medicine, and are summarised below.
| Qualifications | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘A’ Level Certificate | H2 pass in Chemistry and H2 pass in either Biology or Physics. |
| International Baccalaureate | Pass in Higher Level Chemistry and pass in either Higher Level Biology or Physics. |
| NUS High School Diploma | Major CAP of 2.0 in Chemistry and either Biology or Physics, and CAP of 1.0 in one other major and in English Programme and Research Project. |
| Polytechnic Diploma | A good GPA in a Health Science-related diploma. |
| International and other qualifications | Pass in Higher Level Chemistry and pass in either Higher Level Biology or Physics. |
This is an overview of the required documents for each medical school:
| NUS Medicine (4 documents) | NTU Medicine (4 documents) |
|---|---|
| • List of achievements • Official testimonial • Personal statement (500 words) • 2 referee reports | • Academic results • BMAT scores • Personal statement (300 words) • 2 referee reports |
Application Process
For a concise application timeline, please refer to the Medical School Application Timeline (includes both Singapore and UK medicine applications).
1. Request for Referee Reports
Both NUS and NTU medicine require you to nominate two referees.
Who to nominate? Usually, you would nominate your Civics Tutor and one other teacher of an academic subject (preferably one who has taught you for two years and knows you reasonably well). Note: NTU Medicine specifically requires that one of the referees must be the applicant’s Civics Tutor/form teacher (GCE A-Level, IB, NUSHS) or personal tutor/mentor (Polytechnic).
When to ask? Inform your teachers as early as possible of your intent to apply. Deadlines for submitting references are very tight and they will likely be writing for many other students. Your school may set specific internal deadlines. If none are given, good practice would be to inform your referees latest immediately after Prelims (during the post-Prelim period) for local applications. Politely remind them again after the A-Level results release, clearly indicating the specific deadlines.
What to prepare? You will have to provide your referees with details on what you’ve done or accomplished in your two years in JC, and what makes you a suitable candidate for Medicine. It will be good if you already have a portfolio on hand that you can send to them. You can take a look at the NUS Medicine Sample Referee Report (PDF) for an idea of what they’re looking out for.
2. Prepare Your Portfolio
Ideally, this is an ongoing process. The best practice would be to consistently add to your portfolio as you go through JC. (In reality, that seldom happens, and we often find ourselves, near graduation, trying to crank out paragraphs for every single activity we’ve been involved in over the past two years.)
Having sections will be helpful. As an example:
- Academic awards e.g. scholarship
- Academic contribution e.g. academic competitions, research projects, H3 subjects
- CCA and leadership positions e.g. CCA exco, student council
- Community involvement e.g. volunteering, service learning project, OCIP
- Work experience e.g. attachment or job shadowing, internship
- Other relevant experiences
For each activity, include the following details:
- Start date, end date, and duration
- Your role
- Organisation or beneficiary
- Brief description
In each “Brief description”, include details of what you did and any significant contributions. As a general guide, keep it to around 100 words. (That is the word limit for the NUS Medicine Portfolio CCA List).
It would be great if you can write reflections for every experience as well. However, these are more for your personal statement and do not have to be included in your portfolio.
3. Take the UCAT (for NTU Medicine only)
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is a 2-hour admissions test comprising 5 subtests. From 2024 onwards, the UCAT is required for admission into NTU Medicine (as well as UK medical schools).
4. Write Your Personal Statement
If you’re applying to both NUS and NTU Medicine, you’ll have to write two separate personal statements, since the words limits are different. My advice is to write the 500-word NUS essay first, then condense it to 300 words for NTU.
5. Fill in the Online Application (CCA List for NUS Medicine only)
| NUS Medicine (2 steps) | NTU Medicine (1 step) |
|---|---|
| Apply through the NUS Office of Admissions portal. Submit the NUS Medicine Portfolio. | Apply through the NTU application portal. |
Besides all the personal particulars and supporting documents etc that you should already have on hand, there is one extra item that you have to prepare for NUS Medicine: a List of Achievements.
Here’s where you write about your top 10 achievements and the activities over the past 2 to 3 years, max 100 words each. View the NUS Medicine Sample List of Achievements (PDF) to see exactly what you’re expected to submit.
Admissions Assessments and Interviews
| NUS Medicine (2 assessments) | NTU Medicine (1 assessment) |
|---|---|
| Focused Skills Assessment (FSA): 5-7 stations, including role-play station, task-based station, group station, and interview station. Situational Judgement Test (SJT): 60-minute MCQ test, with scenarios designed around hypothetical medical school situations. *The FSA and SJT will be conducted on separate days. | Multiple Mini Interviews: 8 one-to-one interviews, each lasting 5 minutes, conducted consecutively in 8 separate interview rooms. |
How to Prepare for Medicine Applications?
You can browse through the Applying for Medicine page for a wealth of detailed articles.
- How can I boost my portfolio? Want to Study Medicine? Here’s What You Can Do in JC
- How to write a compelling personal statement? How to Write Your Medicine Personal Statement (Singapore): The Complete Guide
- How to succeed at the interviews? How to Prepare for Any Medical School Interview: A Step-by-Step Guide
- What are some books I can read? 5 Must-Read Books for Prospective Medical Students
- How do I know if medicine is for me? Should I Study Medicine? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Apply
Med Application Notes
There are also Med Application Notes which may be especially helpful for the admissions assessments and interviews for both NUS and NTU:
FAQs on Applying to Medicine in Singapore
(*More FAQs may be added in due time. Feel free to ask your questions by leaving a comment below or dropping me a quick message anytime!)
How hard is it to get into NUS/NTU Medicine? Is it very competitive?
Yes, it is competitive. Every year, 2000 students apply to NUS Medicine. About 1200 are shortlisted for the admissions assessment to fill 280 places. So, after being shortlisted, you have about a 1 in 4 chance of getting into NUS Medicine. NTU Medicine offers about 160 places annually. On top of stellar academic results, most applicants would have impressive extracurricular achievements.
That being said, don’t let the competitiveness deter you. If you know that this is what you want to do, just apply. Give it your best shot and have confidence in yourself!
Will I be at a disadvantage if I took Physics instead of Biology in JC?
Not at all. The academic pre-requisites (above) clearly state “Biology or Physics”. BMAT Section 2 tests on Math and all three sciences, so everyone’s on equal ground. Neither will you be tested on any academic knowledge during the admissions process. You simply submit your grades and that’s it. I have many friends who took Physics at A-Levels and are now (thriving) in either NUS YLL or NTU LKC.