Far Eastern University - Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation (FEU-NRMF): Medical School Application and Interview Experience

I am so back! This is a lengthy post.

It has been literally a year after my final post here and I am back with a bunch of stories to tell, and a lot of words to be written! In this post, I will talk about my application process at FEU-NRMF whereas I decided to be and I decided to learned from this amazing medical school for the next years to become the best doctor I could ever be. So read along to know better!

Disclaimer: The following statements are based on my experience and based on some people who shared their experiences as well as their knowledge about some things written here like the scholarship program. It would be better if you will also do a little research about things you are confused about or better yet call the admission office just to be sure. So please, if anyone know that I got the wrong info, please comment down below and would be considered for correction. Thank you.

To give you a little bit of background, Far Eastern University Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation – Institute of Medicine is located at Fairview, Quezon City. It has always been an outstanding school in the field of medicine. They always, always, top the Physicial Licensure Examination for years. Though as of SY 2018-2019, the tuition fee cost 146k+ in first year, first sem, they have this type of scholarship program whereas students who graduated with a Latin honor, OR who is a topnotcher, OR who got a NMAT percentile rank of 90 and above have a chance to apply for a FULL scholarship funded by their alumni. Even though some say that this is highly competitive as you have to prove that you needed the scholarship, why not take the chance?

This was their response when I asked them about the entrance scholarship.

Another type of scholarship they have is the entrance scholarship wherein graduates with a Latin Honor received a certain discount on tuition fee ONLY. Summa cum laude, 100%; Magna cum laude, 75%; Cum laude, 50%. Aside from this, they also have academic scholarships wherein you students who have a GWA of 1.5-1.75 has a 50% discount on tuition fee ONLY, and students who have a GWA of 1.00-1.49 (*if I am not mistaken) has a 100% discount of tuition fee ONLY. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact FEU-NRMF for clarification or to confirm.

Another thing I like about this school is their schedule. Someone told me that their classes ends as late as 6pm unlike other medical schools that have classes scheduled as late as 7pm or 8pm. So, safety on the road, hopefully, would be less of a problem since you have the chance to go home and study as early as possible. Compared to other schools, as someone said, their classes at FEU starts at 8AM though there is this thing called shifting exams and I have read somewhere that it starts at 7AM. Disclaimer, again, please correct me if I am wrong. Haha. Thanks!

Last but not the least, this is my favorite thing about FEU-NRMF, they give chances to students who got a percentile rank of 40. I know PR is a big deal when applying to medical schools because the higher you get, the better chance of getting accepted but the said school conducted a correlational study between PR and something about being a doctor or in med school. I am sorry I forgot the other variable but it turns out that there had been inconsistencies that is why they decided to set the required PR of 40.

Here is my two cents about it – I do not really think that a high PR ALONE means that you will have no struggle in the future, or you will become the bestest of them all. Just think about having a 90 PR. Does that mean that only 10% of the population who took the NMAT is the only deserving to become a doctor? Does that mean that 90% who aspires to save lives, heal people and change the world is not as good as, or is not as deserving as those who make up the 10% of the said population?

Please do not think that just because you did not get your target PR of 90 for example, you do not deserve it, that you are not born to be a doctor cause the courage to take the NMAT, the sacrifice, the determination, the faith, the perseverance, and the passion will get you there. It will get you to become a doctor. Please do not be discourage because you got disappointed. Let us push ourselves to become braver – if that is even a word.

Though I know some are aiming for such high PR for scholarships and it is the only way to enter in a medical school, do not get me wrong but I am frustrated for you too. I also wished for that and I did not get the PR I have to for a scholarship but I found a way. I really do hope you too, you just have to look for it. It could take weeks, months and years but please do not give up the dream. Please do not let thousands of people left without a doctor that you sooo can become. I think as a doctor you can give hope to people, and for them to have a chance. How can we give those people hope if we do not have one? How can we give them hope if we already gave up on ourselves? Being a doctor is a privilege. For being so damn expensive and damn hard, it is.

Okay so, more rants on the next post. Hahaha. This is the part you should read and is the reason why you clicked on this post anyway. Hahaha. This is where I finally shared my application process experience. Lol.

First thing first, I lied and I realized this just now. First thing upon entering a medical school is to take the NMAT. https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/ As from what I know, their required PR is 40. The NMAT is the National Medical Admission Test. It is a criterion-referenced test whereas your score is compared with the norm. Just to clarify, if you got a PR of 40 it does not really mean that you ranked 40 out of all the test takers but it means that you SCORED HIGHER than the 40% of the population. It occurs twice, the month of October and the month of March though. If you have any questions about this, please let me know. I would be happy to help.

Second, look for their requirements in their website. https://www.feu-nrmf.ph/im/admissions.php Gather your documents. Print your application form. Pay your application fee and then pass it personally or thru mail to FEU. Again, if you have any questions regarding the mail process, please just contact FEU cause I am not so sure of who you will address it to.

Third, after you have passed the requirements, they will hand you the applicant’s card that will serve as your gate pass and they will orient you about the personality test, orientation and interview schedule and tadaaa! You are half way through. You just have to be back and wait for your schedule.

Overall, it was not much of a hassle because you just have to pass the said requirements, attend the interview and wait for the results. If there are anything you’d like me to share about the whole experience, or if something on your mind is still left unanswered, let me know and I would be happy to help.

May we all become the best doctor we could ever be! Good luck to everyone! Thank you for reading this lengthy post. Lol. Questions are welcome J


UPDATE: Since I think this post is bitin, let me share with you my interview experience.

So as I live 5-hours away from QC, my friend and I booked a room for us to spend the night before the interview/test, so we won't run late and we'll have enough sleep. It cost like less than a thousand lang naman and it was quite near from FEU-NRMF. Anyway, though the test and interview was actually scheduled at 8am, we were advised to go as early as 7am.

The first few hours of the day of the interview, we were guided by the ushers to a room wherein we will have the personality test. It is just a simple personality test and the best way to nail it? Be honest, and just be yourself. :) It lasted for about an hour, after that we were asked to proceed to the hall wherein we had our orientation.

The orientation was about FEU-NRMF. Its history, scholarships, facilities, and faculty staff. I seriously felt like it was the actual orientation given on your first day of school, or before the school year starts. It was just like the freshman orientation you had in college. :) As far as I can remember, this also lasted for only about an hour.

After the orientation, here lies the waiting game because we had our interview one on one. If you are wondering how they managed it in one day knowing there are probably like hundreds of aspiring FEUture doctors, it is because they divided us alphabetically. We were like 40+ in a room. You will be called any way if it is your tun na. I think I waited for almost an hour cause marami rin talaga kami. Your interviewer would be the faculty staff which are doctors. My interviewer was the Dean (which I was nervous and excited about at the same time) and it lasted for like 10-15 minutes lang.

The questions asked were the typical questions. Here are some of them:
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why do you want to become a doctor?
3. Why did you choose FEU-NRMF?
4. How and what do you know about the medical school?
5. Family background. Who would finance?
6. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
7. How do you cope with stress?

And there it is. To nail the interview, be yourself lang. Be honest. :)