<p>Hm… ok, but just one question, are grades deflated there… I’ve been looking at a lot of threads here and many stated that state colleges deflate scores and mostly grant C’s. </p>
<p>And just curious, what qualifies as URM?</p>
<p>URM - Hispanic, African, Native American</p>
<p>There are less Hispanics and Africans than Pakistanis in America? Or is URM status not based on number?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t obsess over stories of alleged grade inflation/deflation. Medical schools are pretty knowledgeable about the undergrad programs/rigor/grading systems of undergrad programs. I’m sure the B average MIT student has an advantage of the A student from no-name U…
Focus on getting the best possible education possible that is affordable for you. Don’t shy away from the “harder” schools - if you have the ambition to be a doctor, you should be able to hold your own at those schools. Also consider the opportunities for undergrad research, internships, and the strength of the pre-med advising programs.</p>
<p>Alright, but aren’t the top research facilities (plus other things you stated) offered by private colleges?</p>
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<p>I have no idea. My son who is going there was a straight A student here and, so far, has straight As there too. He does need to study. He was in their top 25% entering as per stats. He loves it there.</p>
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<p>This is good to know and may actually help you out as an international.</p>
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<p>Pretty much everyone over on the pre-med forum would disagree with this statement. There might be a slight edge some schools have, but not a B vs A edge.</p>
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<p>I agree with this. The multiple research opportunities, etc, is one of the big reasons my guy chose his school. BUT, I don’t know if you need/want research for an international med school.</p>
<p>You could perhaps consider Pittsburgh or Case Western. Many of these places will have larger freshman classes, but smaller classes thereafter.</p>
<p>You still haven’t mentioned a field you’d like to major in.</p>
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<p>The people we call URMs include African Americans and Hispanic Americans. They are “underrepresented” in colleges relative to their numbers as residents, voters and taxpayers. The USA has a national interest in increasing their college enrollment levels. </p>
<p>Although American colleges welcome international students (we want you and our own kids to learn from each other), there is no consistent national commitment to increasing (or decreasing) the number of international students in our colleges. Some individual colleges may want to increase international enrollments, but it’s hard to identify where this is the case or how much of an advantage it might bring to individual applicants. </p>
<p>Have a look at this list:
[Top</a> 25 Financial Aid Colleges in US for International Students (Need-aware)](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware)
Most of the listed schools are small liberal arts colleges (which are not as well known overseas as larger schools). Their generosity to internationals suggests to me that they are trying to boost international enrollments. That may be the case at other, less selective liberal arts colleges as well.</p>
<p>Pakistani is considered Asian which is an ORM (over represented)</p>
<p>@ tk, thanks for all the help. That list is pretty useful, I’ll see if I qualify for any of the colleges on that list. (Would you suggest any?)</p>
<p>@ Creek, do state universities have good research opportunities or is that limited to private ones? </p>
<p>@ barrk, Does being an ORM reduce my chances? =/ </p>
<p>And, since I’m going in medicine, I guess I’ll be majoring in Biology. I don’t really have a choice here, do I?</p>
<p>Many state flagships have good research opps. Schools such as Pittsburgh (state related - partially private) also have good research opps.</p>
<p>Unless med schools elsewhere are different, you can major in ANYTHING you like including the humanities and still be pre-med. Pre-med means you take some ‘required-by-med-school’ courses including Bio, Chem, OChem, Calc, and perhaps Psych and Stats soon based upon the new MCAT. You can add these in as electives or core requirements for majors that don’t include them naturally. There is even some evidence that some majors outside of Bio have better acceptance rates to med school - theoretically due to med schools wanting diversity in their classes.</p>
<p>If you want a smaller school, it’s helpful to look at the faculty to see what they are researching to see if it interests you - then hope you can get a spot helping them. Some only offer opportunities during the summer. Larger schools tend to have more “different” opportunities, but again, what they have varies, so take a look at the faculty pages.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins is a super high reach with your current score, but if you do reach a close score, don’t count it out. Saying that you shouldn’t go there because of grade deflation doesn’t make any sense. They have one of the best med schools anywhere, and obviously those kids get accepted to med school. Say a med school looks at Student A from public flagship who got a 3.7, and Student B from JHU who got a 3.5. With only one spot left they would take the JHU kid, most likely. Grad Schools realize the value of strong colleges, and that they may have lower GPA’s due to deflation. Don’t count it out because of that.</p>
<p>HasnSS, you can major in anything you want to. You DO have a choice. You can major in French, English, music, history, biology—and still go on to med school. The only requirement, regardless of the major, is that you take the courses which all med schools require (ie in bio, chem, physics, and calc). Almost all liberal arts colleges and universities have a premed advisor who will guide premed students and help them to make sure that they have taken all necessary requirements. In fact, med schools are quite impressed by students who major in a non-science and still excel in all of their required science courses. It shows that the student is a true Renaissance man or woman and a very intelligent person. Medicine is an art as well as a science. I am on faculty at a medical school and am a pediatrician.</p>
<p>Hmm, ok got it… Thanks. :)</p>
<p>Just one thing though, Pre-med takes about 2 and 1/2 years (to 3) years to finish, right? But the subject you choose as your major is taken throughout the four years of the undergrad college?</p>
<p>Yes, in US colleges you take classes in your major throughout your 4 years (usually, some have pre-reqs to fill first). Then you have elective classes you can take - sometimes they are solely elective classes to get enough credits to graduate and sometimes they come from a selection of classes required by the U - those can be specific classes or a field of study, etc. For those classes not needed for your major, pre-med classes fit in credit-wise for those other credits needed. If your major needs Chem (for example), then the class counts for both your major and pre-med requirement, but you’ll need other elective classes.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks. Just one more question. Almost every college I’ve looked at or has been suggested to me has a cost of 50k+. Is there any chance a college can offer something like a 15k discount for an international student? (Save for the Ivy League and Stanford)</p>
<p>Ok everything’s crystal now save for perhaps one thing. Most of the colleges that I have checked or even those that people suggested, cost like 50k+ a year. Do colleges in the US (those with good PreMed programs) offer anything like a 10-15k discount (for international students)?</p>
<p>Btw thanks for all the help. :)</p>
<p>University of Pittsburgh</p>
<p>Alright, i’ll check it.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of a school that gives a discount to int’ls. I doubt UPitt does, but I could be wrong. </p>
<p>Just checked…UPitt doesn’t give in’tls a discount.
<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/pdf/IntlFinSupport.pdf[/url]”>http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/pdf/IntlFinSupport.pdf</a></p>
<p>Why would a school give an int’l a discount over a domestic student???</p>
<p>there are schools that would cost you about $35k+…a number of OOS publics.</p>
<p>Just one thing though, Pre-med takes about 2 and 1/2 years (to 3) years to finish, right? But the subject you choose as your major is taken throughout the four years of the undergrad college?</p>
<p>You are not taking ONLY premed classes during those years. My premed son is a Chemical Eng’g major. Most of his premed classes were already required as a ChemE major. I think he only had to add an extra bio class. My son’s undergrad, Alabama, would cost you about $35k per year…plus personal expenses/travel.</p>
<p>I agree that Pitt isn’t going to give a discount. However, it is one of the less expensive schools since it’s state related and not totally private. Therefore, I can see why it was suggested. It’s a good pre-med school with great opportunities for research and several hospitals right on or near campus to get experience in. Like pretty much all larger schools, it won’t have small classes at first, but it fits what the OP would want otherwise.</p>