Desperately need advice to make college decision (UNC, UIUC, SLU, Baylor, etc....)

Student Lounge International Students
1

Dear College Confidential members,

I desperately need your insight in choosing a school for my undergraduate studies (Please read the last paragraph before sharing information). I am considered an international student although I have lived in the US for a long time and will be graduating from a US high school.

I got into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (out of state), the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (out of state), Saint Louis University, Case Western Reserve University, Baylor University, and the University of Washington.

I hope to go to medical school in the future, but based on recent research I read that it is almost impossible for international students to get into medical school in the US (if you have more information regarding this please let me know). My current dilemma is whether I should attend a school like UIUC where I would major in Engineering Physics to have a solid backup in case medicine does not work out for me, or if I should go to a school like UNC that has superior premed resources and research opportunities. Here are my thoughts:

UIUC: Great career backup with engineering physics from reputed engineering department, high cost (60,000 per year; but from talking to students I’m pretty sure I can bring the cost down to 45000 per year from the second year), low-quality medical opportunities like volunteering and shadowing due to a lack of good medical school and clinics, high quality research (but only undergraduate research, not much medical school research), close to home; at the end of undergrad, I will have no money left for medical school and will have to take loans for medical school). I think I can get into the honors program quite easily. Poor med school advising.

UNC: Excellent premed resources and research as it one of the top schools for medicine, unsure of career backup (is the physics major from UNC valuable or should I major in something like public health where I can apply for a dual degree and get master’s in one year if accepted?), I have yet to apply to honors program (unsure of difficulty of getting into the program, sort of high cost (50,000 per year, which means I will have no money left for med. school and will have to take out loans for medical school), very reputed school which may help me in medical school admissions especially as an international student, excellent research (research triangle etc.) and amazing medical school and clinic volunteering opportunities, very far from home.

SLU: Very, very, very poor career backup. I am thinking of majoring in a medicine-related major; not very reputed. However, lots of premed and research opportunities due to proximity to WashU medical school and SLU medical school. Lots of clinics nearby. I was accepted to the medical scholars program which gives me a guaranteed interview at SLU medical school, however I cannot apply to other medical schools if I get into theirs and to attend their medical school, I would need to show that I have 210,000 dollars in my account before even entering. Comparatively low cost (30,000 per year, which I hope to bring down to 23,000 per year by commuting from home the last two years). I would be able to save about 120,000 dollars for medical school but I don’t know how much value that has as most medical schools need me to show proof of funds of at least 200,000 dollars, and going to SLU may not give me an advantage for medical school admissions (as A) I would lose my seat at SLU medical school and B) I would be applying from a less reputable college when compared to UNC) (Please remember that college reputation matters for med school admissions for ME because I am an international student). Lastly, I got into the honors program at SLU. I know the area pretty well so I have a head start on opportunities etc.

Case Western: Too expensive (60,000 per year with scholarships. I still need to hear back about need-based aid, so that may factor in later). I don’t know if this is a good career backup (let me know what you think).

Baylor: Pretty inexpensive about 30,000 per year; average research and I don’t know much medical opportunities here. I don’t know if it’s a good career backup. Ver, very far from home.

Any information on these topics will also be MUCH appreciated:

  1. Process of getting into medical school for international students (literally any information would help)
  2. UIUC’s medical resources/opportunities
  3. Value of UNC Physics degree/other degrees like public health dual degree in the job market.
  4. Should I give up on pre-med as an international student?
  5. Can I maintain a great GPA (above 3.9) as a physics major at UNC? I am HIGHLY motivated.

Last paragraph:

I know the general consensus for pre-meds is to go to the cheapest school. However, please keep in mind that I am an international student and the only medical schools that will accept some international students/give aid are the top 10 (Harvard, Yale, etc…). Therefore, research opportunities and undergrad college prestige play a huge role in my acceptance to any medical school. Any information you can give me means a LOT to me and I greatly appreciate it!!!

2

My understanding is that the main obstacle for international students and US medical school is money. If you have a US undergraduate degree and you are able to pay for medical school, you should be able to get a spot provided you are a good candidate on the usual metrics (pre-med courses, grades, MCAT scores, etc).

On the topic of finances: many medical schools seem to require that international students pre-pay for their education. A few even ask that all 4 years of tuition be deposited into an escrow account before the international student can enroll.

If you really want to become a doctor in the US and you cannot afford US medical school, I would urge you to consider the IMG path. You can complete your medical education abroad, take the US Medical Licensing Exams and participate in the Match to get a US residency spot. It’s not an easy pathway, but it’s well-established and much more likely to work out than getting into Harvard medical school with financial aid. Foreign doctors can even self-petition for their own green card (with a National Interest Waiver) if they make a commitment to work in a medically-underserved setting (e.g. for the VA) for 5 years.

3

Thank you so much for the information. If I take out a loan for medical school, would that money count towards the escrow account, or does it have to be my own money?

4

I don’t know about that. Maybe the privates don’t discriminate against Internationals but the publics heavily favor in-state applicants.

There’s also NUS-Duke.

5

You’d need to take out the loan in home country. International students cannot borrow money in the US without a qualifying US citizen or permanent resident co-signing the loans.

This isn’t entirely true. Only 40-45 US medical schools will consider internationals for admission; however there are only about a dozen that routinely accept 5 or more international students each year.

International students are placed in a separate applicant pool. They do not compete against domestic students. Instead internationals only compete against other international students for very limited number of seats designated for international students.

Per AAMC data, only 129 internationals in total matriculated into all US medical school combined during the 2018-19 application cycle. (Most of those are Canadian since Canada provides guaranteed loans to its citizens enrolled in med school in the US.)