<p>Hello everyone.</p>
<p>I'm an aspiring pre-med at HYPS, Wellesley, Columbia etc. and wanted to include some medical work experience in some of the supplements I'm sending off... from what I've heard, however, given the crazy competition for spots at medical school, international pre-meds seem to be looked down upon.
Does anyone know if this is true? I don't want to risk getting rejected if it is the case..</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>even I'm from india and I'm pre-med. I read that if you finish undergraduate as pre-med with a great GPA, ECs and MCAT score in a good undergard school, you would be considered on par with american students for medical school. the crazy competition comes only when you're trying to transfer to an american med school after studying undergard in India. Of course, there's still crazy competition for medical school.
I'm going to be an Economics major on the pre-med track. How about you?</p>
<p>Thank you for your valuable insight! I was already half-looking up my options to pursue my medical education elsewhere after my undergrad!
Your comment on the level of competition between american/intl students provided they have great stats is a bit odd, however. The various university "viewbooks" I've seen so far ( with the exception of Brown's, perhaps) seem to state that there are almost no places for intl students available at US medical schools and that they certainly would <em>not</em> be considered on par with american students. As a result, they seem to discourage international aspiring doctors from applying to their schools in the first place (probably in fear of "wasting" money on an applicant who may not get into medical school in the U.S. anyway because of their international status).
Where do you get your information? Perhaps I'm taking things too negatively!</p>
<p>I'm planning on pursuing a biochemistry major with a minor in arts.</p>
<p>wow..your information sounds really scary. Well, I heard from my friends who are studying in the US that there are actually quiet a few intl. students aiming to apply to med school and they told me that it'll be fine as long as I have a great GPA and awesome MCAT scores...but, now...I don't know.
I hope it isn't true...I've always wanted to go to Brown for med school.</p>
<p>Most if not all state university medical schools do not accept applications from international students. Thus you are limited to the more competitive private universities when you apply for medical school.</p>
<p>Yes, I know that full well. What I was wondering was whether I should mention my intention to study medicine in my application at all!!!!</p>
<p>I don't know how competitive it is exactly for international students to get into US medical schools, but since colleges explicitly discourage international students from going pre-med, I would not mention it in my application. It would add little to your application and colleges might be tempted to reject you in order to protect you or their med school admission statistics.</p>
<p>You should think very carefully before you come to the US planning to spend 4 years in an undergraduate program with the hope of doing well enough to get into medical school here. At minimum, this is eight years. And, what exactly do you think you will do if you don't get into med school? Are you going to go home and start your education all over again?</p>
<p>In many, many other countries students normally begin medical training immediately after finishing their secondary (high school) education. This means that you will be done in six or seven years - and, most likely for a lot less money than if you insisted on studying in the US. With a foreign medical degree you can indeed apply for medical residencies in the US if you take the US foreign medical board exams. In addition, having completed medical training in your home country, you will have the professional contacts there that are necessary for finding a job there. If you study in the US but never get a work permit (it does happen), how are you going to find work if you go home?</p>
<p>the usa md is recognised in most other countires of the world..including india..so finding a job shouldnt be difficult even if you dont get a job in the us...who wants to work there anyway?..ah..most people prolly do..:P</p>
<p>If you have an American Bachelor's degree, you'll be considered the same.
Some schools don't take students without permanent residencies.
[url=<a href="http://www.fiu.edu/%7Epreprofc/International_Students_School_Policies.htm%5DInternational">http://www.fiu.edu/~preprofc/International_Students_School_Policies.htm]International</a> Students and Medical School Policies<a href="that%20is%204%20years%20old%20so%20maybe%20the%20acceptance%20rates%20have%20gone%20up%20or%20down">/url</a>
Bear in mind though, USA isn't really the place where most international students want to study medicine. Most of them go to the UK.</p>
<p>Some will need an escrow account that you bank in 4 years of tuition in advance or something like that if you're accepted.</p>
<p>It's hard to get into med school IF you have a foreign Bachelor's degree and for some schools, you have to take an extra year of college classes IN the USA in order to be considered. Also, it's SO MUCH easier to get into residency if you've graduated from an American med school compared to a foreign med school.</p>
<p>Basically, if you are sure that you want to study medicine in the USA, you should study for your bachelor's here because it will help you a lot. TONS!</p>
<p>my friend is regretting that she is going to Australia because it will be very very hard for her to get into dentistry/med school here after she graduates.</p>
<p>Good luck! :) (I wanna go to med school too!)</p>
<p>Hi Indiarubber.
I am an "international" who went to undergrad in the US then attended med school here as well. I think you can mention that you are interested in medicine, but I would not stress it as part of my application if I were you. The issue as I mentioned in another thread is that attending medical school in the US is difficult for internationals, not because standards are different for US vs. internationals coming from US colleges (they are the same high standards), but because there is no financial assistance available to internationals, and they are generally expected to deposit the whole amount of tuition for all four years of medical school (lots of dough) into an escrow account. In addition, colleges are looking for people who are well-rounded and open-minded, and if as a college applicant you're saying you're set on going to med school then they'll wonder why you just don't go in your home country, and what you can really contribute to the college while you are there. I'm not saying this to discourage you from coming to the US for college but if you are interested in med school you should be aware of the financial situation. If you can afford it then it shouldn't be an issue, and I wasn't the only international at my med school (there were maybe 2-3 per year, not including Canadians).
FYI, if you get a non-medical degree from abroad then it's very difficult to get into a US med school at that point; most schools will require that you spend at least one year at a US university in order to apply and you have to be truly exceptional. If you get a medical degree from your home country, then you may be able to come to the US for post-graduate specialty training (residency) after taking the equivalency exams, but you will not be able to get into a competitive specialty and you will not be able to attend a top program in a non-competitive specialty unless you spend some time doing research in the field in the US before you apply.</p>
<p>xfiona: Thank you so much for your answer! As for the UK, I'm applying there too but I'm more set on the US at this point in time (very long story). :)</p>
<p>jenoks: Great to know. I was not aware of the speciality issues. I suppose I'll wait and see which US/UK colleges accept me before I make my decision. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>I heard that state schools cannot accept international med students or even pre-med...?</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean. "pre-med" is sort of an abstract term in the US that just means an undergraduate who plans to go to medical school and is taking the few courses required for med school admission. Typically students don't major in "pre-med" but in something like biology or history and are also pre-med at the same time. For this reason, state schools won't treat you any differently whether you plan on being pre-med or a pure science major. That being said, state schools have quotas for admitting students from in-state, and US out-of-state, and it may be difficult for internationals to get in regardless of their intended major.
For med school admission, maybe state schools will not accept international applicants (whether US-educated or otherwise), but it's almost irrelevant. Most med schools in the US are private, so unless you MUST go to UCLA, you'll have plenty of schools to apply to.
My opinion is that if you, as an international, are admitted to a state school and a private school of equal repute (whether undergrad, med or otherwise), you're better off going to the private school. The reason for this is that you're paying similar tuition in both cases (state schools will charge you out-of state tuition), but private schools are generally better-funded (everyone's paying full tuition), meaning more resources for you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Most med schools in the US are private
[/quote]
Really? There are about 130 accreditated MD programs in the US. How many of those are private?</p>
<p>Not sure. Maybe you can go over the list and let us know if you have lots of free time on your hands. I would guess maybe around half, so you're right, maybe not "most" but what I'm trying to say is that there's plenty of options.</p>