Can students currently doing their A/L or Undergraduate studies in Sri Lanka experience US universities?

Yes! Students currently pursuing their high school studies or are in local undergraduate programmes can apply to many Summer programmes that US universities conduct.

What is a Summer Programme:
US universities have a ~3 month period during summer when most students go on vacation. During this time, the university utilizes its resources to host programmes for students that are not enrolled in the university. Summer programmes can vary from academic to sports and give you a unique opportunity to experience a university and its faculty/staff.

Pros
We know how hard it is to get admission to US schools at times! So being in US and getting to know the system helps when you are applying for further studies.

Even if you are not planning on going to the US, you will not regret the unique experience of collaborating and learning in a new environment with people from around the world. Getting a taste of USA might change your life! So if you use this ~3 months well, "efficiently and effectively," it will have a long standing impact on your life.

Cons
Most of these programme are not funded. However, if you look hard enough, you should be able to find a good programme that is partially or fully funded. It might also be possible to look for assistance through university labs, for which you will have to do more research on your own.

If you can afford it, you always have the option of using family funds as well. The visa issued for these programmes will most probably not allow you to work while you are in the US. Your regular local school sessions might clash with the dates of the Summer Programs as well.

You can find other programmes by doing a few searches with key words such as "university summer programmes". You can also add any specific university names if you want to find if they have any programmes. If you have further questions, please feel free to post them on our websites' forum.
I am planning on pursuing a programme in medicine in New Zealand. Could you please give me an idea on the process and advice on how I should proceed?

Note from SL2College: This answer will provide an insight into medical programmes in New Zealand and Australia. It also includes a member's experience for your reference.

When your selecting a medical school make sure that it is listed in the WHO medical directory (key in "WHO medical directory" on Google and you can get a list of countries and their medical schools which are recognized). Next check tuition fees at the respective universities. Also look for scholarship and funding opportunities at these institutions. This can be done by browsing through the individual Medical school websites. Your next step should be to look for housing. Hostels are common in New Zealand and you should be able to get help from the university when looking for them.

Here is the experience of a student who pursued a medical programme in New Zealand. Please note that this is his personal experience and does not necessarily have to be exactly similar to your experience.

"First I tried to apply for a programmes in Australia and they only took people for Medicine who had done their own advanced level exams in Australia (which I hadn't). So I was forced to look at New Zealand as an option. I went there but there were only two Medical Schools which offered Medicine (one in Auckland and the other in Otago ( Dunedin)) and both of them required one year of Pre-Medical (to which anyone can enter) and then the best 120 students enter into each Medical school.

That's an entry of about 240 per year. A UMAT exam (which is similar to an IQ exam where students will sit after the pre-Medical year) and an interview for the Auckland University are recent introductions. While the process might sound difficult, in practice, it really isn't.

There are many Sri Lankan students pursing a programme in medicine in Auckland and Otago who have been through this process successfully. So moving forward, I was selected into a programme in New Zealand and thus went to Pakistan and did 5 years training at the Army Medical School - run by the National university of Science and Technology. They allowed me to enter the programme with my London Advanced level results. After completing my training I came back to New Zealand and did exams which are specifically aimed for students who graduate in foreign countries (the exams are called USMLE Step 1 and Step 2) and then I did a practical exam called NZREX and am now practicing in New Zealand."

On side note, if you want to apply to Australia, not that the some universities take students as undergraduates while others only accept you as post grads into Medicine - it really depends on the state location of the campus. Victoria is one such state, where there are two Medical Schools (Melbourne University and the Monash University). Also note that when applying to Australia, you have to apply to that particular state and then the state will forward your application to the universities within your field. If you have more questions, feel free to post them in the Sl2College forum and I'd be glad to help out with them.

Following are some example Summer Programmes offered by Stanford University in California:
The website for Stanford's
summer school
https://summer.stanford.edu/
index.asp
Programmes for current SL A/L
students
http://summer.stanford.edu/
highschool/overview.asp
For current SL U/Gs (and also any U/G based in US wanting to
experience another school)
http://summer.stanford.edu/
programmes/overview.asp

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