Getting into medical school after completing undergrad elsewhere

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I am an American citizen or Indian origin who finished my secondary schooling in India.
I would like to do m undergrad in Neuroscience or something similar in America but the cost is a bit of a problem.
I am seriously considering becoming a doctor and if I decide to take this up, I want to practice in the US, so naturally American medical school is the best option (i want to avoid the whole struggle of writing the USMLE as an international applicant).
I was wondering if I could receive my undergrad degree in 3 years from a college in India or the Netherlands and then write the MCAT and go to medical school in America. Are there any restrictions regarding this? Will the fact that the bachelor's degree was only 3 years, and not local, affect my chances? In spite of my American passport, will I be considered international if I am educated abroad?
Assuming I complete all the required pre-medical courses.
I could even take a year off after getting my bachelor's to study for the MCAT and intern at appropriate places.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Yes, there is a serious problem with getting a foreign degree.</p>

<p>The biggest and most insurmountable one is the for MD programs, AMCAS (the centralized agency that processes MD applications) will not accept or evaluate foreign transcripts. If you don’t have a degree from US or Canadian college or university, they simply will not verify your transcript and your application will never get sent out to med schools. </p>

<p>Additionally, nearly every medical US allopathic medical school requires a minimum number of credits that must be taken at US or Canadian academic institutions. (It’s usually at least 90, including all pre-req classes). There’s a very small number of schools (UVA, Yale, Georgetown) that will consider degrees from UK colleges. </p>

<p>If you are willing to consider osteopathic medical schools, I believe there are around 8 DO programs that will accept international degrees/transcripts from applicants.</p>

<p>You can check the AACOM 2015 Osteopathic Medical College Information Book to see which schools will consider foreign transcripts and under what conditions.</p>

<p>The AACOM book is available here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Pages/default.aspx”>http://www.aacom.org/resources/bookstore/cib/Pages/default.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>~~~</p>

<p>You should also consider the cost of medical school in the US. If you cannot afford the costs of undergrad, are you sure you’ll be able to afford the costs of medical school?</p>

<p>As a US citizen you’re only eligible to take out $40,500/year in federal student loans during medical school. That’s not enough to pay for the COA at a private medical school or the OOS state costs at a public medical school. </p>

<p>In order to be eligible for additional loans, you will need to either have a excellent personal credit rating in the US, or you will need to have credit-worthy US co-signer for your loans.</p>

3

<p>What if the college I’m looking at is accredited by an American school?
No I’m trying to avoid the cost of an american undergrad in an attempt to save money for medical school, is that advisable?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for your response, it’s very helpful!</p>

4

<p>The 2015 AMCAS Instruction Manual for Applicants on pp 25-26 list colleges that are NOT considered foreign institutions and from which it will accept transcripts.</p>

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<p>Recognition or accreditation by US college is not enough for a college to be considered “not foreign”. For example, NYU’s overseas campuses are consider foreign institutions by AMCAS.</p>

<p>There may be other colleges that are consider “American Colleges” by AMCAS, but you will need to contact AMCAS in writing to get a ruling on a specific college.</p>