International Pre med students

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I am from Dubai and I am aspiring to become a doctor. I have been accepted by NYU, UW and a few other colleges. The pre med programs in these colleges are really good, I've heard. However I also hear that it is virtually impossible to get into a good Med school even if u have a good MCAT score, GPA etc because you are an international applicant. Is this true? Med schools are competitive enough anyways. Is it going to be even more difficult because i am an international student?</p>

<p>I don't really want to take the risk of enrolling for a pre med program when I know that its really difficult to get into a med school. I'm considering other countries where there is no pre med requirement, and also i'm guaranteed a medical degree once i enroll. I know a few students who have dropped out from US because they found out from the advisers that med schools are really far from their reach, as international students</p>

<p>You may want to refer to these sites - </p>

<p><a href="https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/international_students/pre-med%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/international_students/pre-med&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Special</a> Note to International Students Intending to Study Medicine | International Students | Office of Undergraduate Admissions</p>

<p>Any replies regarding this would be greatly appreciated, as i have to make a quick decision.</p>

<p>PS- Im sorry if this topic has been discussed before, but i could find it.. hence this post. :)</p>

2

<p>I'm not sure if you're at all interested in research. However, there are a few MD/PhD programs that are not funded by the MSTP (through the NIH) and thus don't require that applicants be permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Thus, there are a select few spots every year for international MD/PhD applicants, meaning you wouldn't even have to pay for your medical education. This if of course assuming research is a clear and definite direction you'd like to take, because choosing this path without a genuine desire to go into academic medicine and research would just be silly.</p>

3

<p>If you're seeking to earn an MD degree at a US allopathic school and you are not a green card holder, a US citizen, or a Canadian citizen, it's going to be very, very hard.</p>

<p>According to NAAHP:</a> International Medical Schools for U.S. Citizens :</p>

<p>
[quote]
Using the Seventh Edition of the Premedical Advisor’s Reference Manual, it is clear that only 50 of the 126 U.S. medical schools accept applications from non-U.S. citizens/permanent residents. Moreover, according to the AAMC’s FACTS – Applicants, Matriculants and Graduates for 2003 (<a href="http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003slrmat.htm%5B/url%5D">www.aamc.org/data/facts/2003/2003slrmat.htm</a>) of 559 international applicants to U.S. medical schools only 82 actually matriculated. (This number becomes even more sobering when one considers that in 2003, 16,538 new students matriculated in U.S. medical schools.)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's even more difficult when you consider that most medical students finance their education at least partly through loans subsidized by the federal government. Of course, international students cannot get these, so they need to have their own source of funding, whether from family or a private loan that does not have any of the advantages of the subsidized ones.</p>

<p>So in short, yes, your chances of ending up as a student of a US allopathic medical school are, statistically speaking, very very small.</p>

4

<p>what u've heard is true, most med schools are either state funded or funded by US organizations... yea, it is almost impossible to get into one w/o citizenship or a green card and yes, thats fair...lol..</p>

5

<p>Thank you for your replies people. (vickpick - I don't quite think its fair, lol) But yeah this is very discouraging. I know i want to be a doctor; and in this scenario, I don't think I should be even take the risk of going for pre-med. </p>

<p>So is there no point even if i can manage the education without a loan? If i wont be depending on any funds, then is it still impossible? </p>

<p>And also, if not top tier, atleast will the second or third tier schools consider internationals with a good profile?</p>

<p>(CC is just brilliant! :) I joined just a day ago, and I've gained info that i wouldn't have found in my 2 years of high school!..... lol)</p>

6

<p>Amalshine --</p>

<p>1.) The major concern is that even for US Citizens, the odds are very, very bad -- probably less than 10%. If this is the only reason for you to come to the States for college, it's a bad gamble.
2.) Some schools simply don't take internationals. This makes it harder for you.
3.) The major reason being international is a disadvantage is because "home state" schools are easier to get into. As an international, you won't have one of these.</p>

<p>The schools which do take internationals and do not care about home state... these tend to be the elite private schools, which are very hard to get into at baseline. These schools don't discriminate against internationals, but getting into them is quite nearly impossible for anybody. The point is that there is you are restricted to only the very most selective group of medical schools -- these are very hard to get into for anybody.</p>

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<p><a href="vickpick%20-%20I%20don't%20quite%20think%20its%20fair,%20lol">quote</a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I know you were talking to someone else, but it's quite fair, as far as this US citizen is concerned. Medical schools in the US receive a good deal of funding from the government - why should that money be spent on students whose families pay no federal or state income taxes?</p>

<p>
[quote]
So is there no point even if i can manage the education without a loan? If i wont be depending on any funds, then is it still impossible?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's not impossible, but if you looked at the numbers I gave you, it's statistically unlikely. There are several ways of looking at things.</p>

<p>1) Of the 16538 students who started medical school in 2003, less than 0.5% were international students. That's a very small number.</p>

<p>2) If you break down the numbers from AAMC:</a> FACTS: Applicants and Matriculants by State of Legal Residence, 2003 , you'll see that generally speaking, 50% percent of US citizens who apply to medical school end up matriculating. For international students matriculate at a rate of about 15%. That's a significant difference.</p>

<p>3) Medical school admissions are very competitive. Generally speaking, the more schools you apply to, the better your chances are of getting in. US citizens, in theory, can apply to 126 medical schools. International applicants can only apply to about 50. In practice, that difference of about 75 schools translates into a drop in the number of schools an international applicant can realistically expect to get into. That decreases the chances of getting in.</p>

<p>If you're the type of person who likes those kind of odds, then you could certainly try to apply to US medical schools.</p>

<p>
[quote]
And also, if not top tier, atleast will the second or third tier schools consider internationals with a good profile?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's got nothing to do with "tier." One of the most prestigious schools in the country, Harvard Medical School, accepts international students. The University of Central Florida College of Medicine, a medical school with no track record whatsover, does not. Clearly, it's not "tier" that's the issue here.</p>

<p>If you want to practice medicine in the US, you are better off going to medical school in your home country and then applying for US residency programs after you graduate.</p>

8

<p>if it makes u feel any good, my neighbor's son got a 44 R on his MCAT - international applicant from China, and got into a med school... His college in china was US accredited and he had a 94% average in his college...(which is quite impossible like the GPA)</p>

<p>so no its not impossible to get into one, but it is surely close to it...</p>

<p>U could try joining the army's education program - they needs docs to work for them (unless u're middle eastern... then they won't offer u citizenship)... they pay for med school and offer citizenship and u need to work for the army for ten years as a doc...</p>

<p>not bad.. the pay is usually above 150 K.. not a bad program..</p>

9

<p>a lot of "second tier" schools are state funded med schools like ECU, UNCSOM...since im in NC....</p>

<p>these schools take close to no out state student... if they dont take out of state students, why would they take international students?</p>

<p>But NYCOM takes people from all over the country... schools like that may take an IS..
do extremely well in school and u may get into a top tier school too... so i guess, u just have to do a lot of research on teh AAMC site to figure out which schools take foreign students and apply to almost all of them..lol</p>

10

<p>Oh umm... i think its just a bit too risky to go for pre-med. I should probably go to India (My home country), or perhaps UK/Aus and then later on apply for residency at a US Med university. Thanks a lot for your replies guys!</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
NYCOM takes people from all over the country... schools like that may take an IS.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I searched Google for "NYCOM international students". Despite taking students from all over the country, they don't accept international students.</p>

12

<p>wow... really encouraging! :(</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
if it makes u feel any good, my neighbor's son got a 44 R on his MCAT - international applicant from China, and got into a med school... His college in china was US accredited and he had a 94% average in his college...(which is quite impossible like the GPA)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yea, just get a 44R. I'll give $100 if you don't get into a US med school with a 44R.</p>

14

<p>No no... I am Indian living in Dubai, that's the reason I'm considering the US. How about medical schools in the UK or Australia?</p>

15

<p>well, if ur in dubai.. ur already a NRI... so go for indian med schools... u wont have to forge a green card..lol.. $75000 is way less that what it 'll cost u here.. besides its even cheaper to live in india..</p>

16

<p>NCG, when was the last time somebody scored a 44R? The national maximum for the past few years has been 42, hasn't it?</p>

<p>Seems to me like that MCAT score is an exaggeration.</p>

17

<p>Where can you find the maximum MCAT score for a given period? I know the AAMC website has percentile charts, but since the percentiles are given in 0.1 increments, anything less would just be reported as "0.0" (ie, test-takers with 42s, 43s, 44s, or 45s would be too few in number and those scores would just show up as 0.0 percentile on the AAMC charts, meaning there would be no way to tell what the highest score really was for a given year or administration).</p>

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<p>lol his name is xiao chang and he got a 44 R on the 2004 MCAT... ive seen his personal score report thingy they send out...</p>

19

<p>he got matriculated in 2005 ... this is his last year or so..</p>

20

<p>GS: My impression is that they're reported somewhere, either to takers or undergraduate schools or something? I've never figured out where.</p>