I can't provide you the perspective of a medical student in Duke-NUS but I will try to do my best to give you a short outline of Duke-NUS.
Like you,I am still in my undergraduate phase(NUS science),but I have been researching about Duke-NUS over the past 2-3years.My physical contact with the campus started since last year as the campus provides opportunities to borrow MCAT books.(2weeks,which can be renewed online to a month) It has a really amazing infrastructure(a library with an arsenal of the essential medical books for students,numerous study spaces) and a lively community.(doctors/nurses walking in/out the campus to drop by for breakfast or lunch)
Anyway,I managed to make a friend there and interacted with different medical students~They came from a variety of backgrounds:business,sciences and etc.
For Yr 1:you will be learning the fundamentals of sciences(human body,etc.) and small snippets of clinical practice(physical examination)
For Yr 2:The fun officially begins,as you get more practical!(You get your clinical rotations,learn about different medical fields)
For Yr 3:Research Yr>The trademark of the MD programme to groom you to be a clinician scientist(doctors who research and treat diseases at the same time)
For Yr 4:You go back to clinical rotations again,ending your medical journey with a capstone exercise to sum up your medical school experience
It's a long route and it's very tough>I knew of my dad's friend's bro who was a student there.Basically,he was in the campus from morning to night fairly often! I guess at times like that,it is really passion that carries each individual on.
If you were made to study from morning to night or do rotations from morning to night while your friends out there are getting a decent income salary,will you do it and not complain??
Do you mind the competition within the system? Trust me,it's rather competitive,there's a final yr med student girl who did her medical studies there in her final yr and she illustrated to me how stressful it gets and the numerous sacrifices/dedications that she had,in order to graduate as a doctor.Even after that,it still doesn't get any easier
The admission criteria for academics is on their website:
Average(median) Gpa: 3.61/4.0>>That's like a 4.25/5.0 in the local universities scale
Average(median) Mcat: 511/528
This is the 50th percentile so if you don't fare exactly well in one,make sure the other puts you up since it's a combined total.
Academics is one thing,but I believe the killer is your recommendation letters,your research experience and your interviews.
So,I have again,based on experience,spoken to a friend there,so here is how it goes:300 applies for Duke-NUS(surprising as this includes like international students,guess medical enthusiasts in Sg gave up along the way,perhaps??) and 100 interviewed(the 200 got phased out for their recommendation letters,research or academics,either one)