Hi, I’m a pre med student and expecting to graduate in Dec 2018 but I’m not so sure if I should go ahead and stick with it or stay in school and take some more classes so I can graduate in May instead. Or is there another option for this?
I’ve been thinking about applying for an internship too. Is this a good idea? Please help! Thanks.
No matter when you plan to apply for med school (apply summer 2018 intending to start 2019, or apply summer 2019 intending to start 2020), I would do something seemingly productive (eg classes, ECs, etc) to fill that time other than say playing videos games. I do not know how strong of an applicant you would be, but if for whatever reason, you failed in your attempt to gain an acceptance, you’ may have to explain that gap if you reapply.
What is your major? Will you be applying to medical school?
What year are you in college? Do you have endorsement yet from your schools faculty committee? Because they can answer this.
I’m majoring in biology and am a junior this semester and sorry I just realized that I forgot to mention that I’m an international student currently. I thought I would graduated in May 2019 but the curriculum at school has been changed a bit very recently, enabling me to graduate in December instead. So I guess I need to talk to my international advisor too for more information… I guess I’ll also try to find some internship opportunities just in case. May I get some recommendations/tips on any hospitals/labs/companies that would accept recent graduates who are non US citizens as their interns? Thank you so much for taking your time to read and answer my questions.
There is no one answer to that. You’d need to check the terms of your visa. Sometimes, an internship related to your degree program is ok. But but it still depends on policies of the group that would take you on.
Your best resource is the faculty committee that endorses premeds as they set their plans. Their support is critical. As a current student, you don’t usually get far without them. By now, you also should have activities related to healthcare delivery, as well.
You don’t just do this in a vacuum. And you don’t just say, ok, I met requirements to graduate. Use your own college, dept, faculty, to learn the process and see how they assess you as a candidate.
Review the posts in these threads for Internationals.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1894290-help-please.html
Search ‘International’ and review those threads in http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/
Have you thought about how you are going to pay for medical school? As an international student you are not eligible for US federal students loans, which is how most med students pay for their education. Scholarships for internationals to attend a US medical school are pretty much non-existent.
Are you able to independently fund the cost of 4 years of medical school plus your living expenses?
All US medical school require that international students demonstrate they are able to pay for their medical education either by producing a letter guaranteeing financial support from their home country government or placing into a US escrow account 1- 4 years worth of tuition (approx $70-250K).
I have heard that student visa’s disappear quite quickly if you are no longer a student. You might have to take enough courses to maintain your student visa and not graduate until May unless you either have another legal way to stay in the US, or want to return to your home country right after graduation. However, the foreign students office at your university should know the details of this better than than I do. Do not overstay your visa if you will ever want to be able to get another one in the future.
As others have pointed out, getting into and paying for medical school can be tough for an international student.
Think you get 60 days or until the current program ends. This raises a great point: anyone here on a visa should know the specific terms that apply to him or her. Of course. Don’t fly blind.
Also check about using your OPT. I believe you only get 1 OPT extension on your visa, which means if you use it after undergrad, you won’t be able to use it when transitioning from a F-1 student visa to H-!B or J-1 after medical school graduation. (You can use your OPT to do the first year of a medical residency in the US, but it you’ve already used it, then you need then you need to have either H-1B or J-1 visa for residency Match. Many residency program directors won’t rank a international who does not already have a visa because the processing times can be long and unpredictable.)
It MUCH better if you finish your UG education and return to your own country to complete your medical education, including residency and become a full fledged doctor. Once you reach that stature, you can apply a US physician license as a FMG and if you are successful, you can practice in the USA.
If the med schools in your country require student start their med school from UG, you may want to try to transfer ASAP.
The other way around is to merry a US citizen and you immediately will gain PR status.
@WayOutWestMom I will be able to pay for my tuition once I get into a med school but for now I’m just seeking for a way to stay in the US with a valid visa till May 2019. I guess I should ask my advisor about using my OPT too when I have a chance. Thank you.
Thanks so much for all your answers. I wanted to ask my advisor about this matter too but I couldn’t reach him recently so I’ve decided to post this question on CC. I will be contacting him again about this ASAP.
So I understand that asking for an extention on my I-20 is the best option for this situation but the reason I’ve been seeking for some advice is to find a way to save some money.
I will be able to pay for my tuition for sure once I get into a med school but I just wanted to save some money before going to a med school if there’s a way to stay till May 2019 without violating any rules. Once again, thanks so much everyone for taking your time to answer my question
There is only 2-3% chance for an international to gain admission to a US med school. If you think you still have a chance, you should apply for extension of your visa.
And, you can paying for med school is not the answer, the answer should be “I will have $250K to be put into escrow for tuition and living expense if necessary”
For your information. I just came across a posting on SDN. An international student gain entry to a US med school after three tries. His stats: GPA 3.9 and Mcat 38. He commented that only top med schools entertain international applicants and it is very hard to get in.
3 tries means 3 valuable years of your time and at the end, when it is time for residency, you will have hard time to find a PD to take you because of the international status requires a lot of legal work to get that work permit. No wonder all my international physician friends all went to Family Practice.