Med School

<p>I am an International student currently studying in a top public university. I have taken up ECE (Electrical and Computer engineering) with Pre-Med. Although becoming a doctor has always been my number one priority, the thought of me not getting in to med-school scares me. ECE was an interest that I developed through a few years in the school computer club and is now a backup plan for me.</p>

<p>My parents have saved up money for me to attend my undergrad institution. But then where would the money for med-school come from ?. Taking up loans in such an economy is frightening!</p>

<p>I have a series of question which I would like to ask people on this forum and I would be glad if someone would help me out through this phase of tension.</p>

<p>1) I did a bit of research on which schools take up internationals as med students and there were about 10-15 universities each accepting an average on 4-5 students. What should I be working towards to be one of those 4-5 students ?. (please refrain from using sarcasm)</p>

<p>2) Is aid a possibility or is loan the only option ?.</p>

<p>3) Are there any tips that anyone of you would like to mention, for me to do during my undergraduate course ?.</p>

<p>4) If I do not get in to a med-school in the US, what would be the options open to me (other that going to engineering) to pursue Medicine with a Pre-Med in the US ?</p>

<p>Also, I am a Permanent resident of Canada (I have an Asian Passport). Will a Pre-med in the US allow me to pursue Med school in Canada if US does not work out ?</p>

<p>Thank you all in advance</p>

<p>Note that a typical medical school applicant in 2010 applied to roughly 14 medical schools in the US (Ref: P. 32, 2011-2012 Medical School Admission Requirements). So, I would assume that you may have to apply to all the 15 or so Medical schools that you have researched. </p>

<p>There are a couple of options.</p>

<ol>
<li>Find out if the med schools (that allow foreign students), have a combined MD/Phd program, especially in Bio Medical engineering. Usually such schools would likely pay a stipend & tuition allowance that would make it affordable to attain MD degree. Please note that these programs take much longer (7-9 years) after your undergraduate degree. </li>
</ol>

<p>In any case you should contact the Pre-Med adviser(s) at your UG institution, so they can help you with shadowing doctors, volunteering at hospital / senior citizen center and guiding you with taking appropriate academic classes (Physics, Biology, Chem, Math etc.) to meet med school requirements. With ECE background, you will likely take biology to meet the requirements. This approach would also help you apply to Canadian medical schools. </p>

<ol>
<li>Btw, you should also be investigating master’s program in Physician Assistant, which in some cases last around 28 months or so. (<a href=“Home | PAEA”>Home | PAEA). With the passage of recent health care law, and assuming that it does not get repealed, there is a likely shortage of primary care physicians to meet the demand for treating millions of new patients, especially in under served areas of the country. This shortage (of Primary care physicians) will very likely be met by Physician Assistants. If you have already met the academic requirements for med school in your UG, then a Physician Assistant career might be an interim step to earn enough money & gain medical experience to attend medical schools. However, you may need to contact individual medical colleges on your list to see if the adcoms look favorably to those taking the route of Physician Assistant. </li>
</ol>

<p>You may also want to investigate if Canadian Medical colleges have programs wherein if you sign up to practice in undeserved (First Nation) communities, there may be tuition waiver.</p>

<p>Re: physician assistant: the requirements are not exactly the same as med school requirements (in fact, there are probably more classes you’d be required to take). Additionally, the vast majority of programs require healthcare experience, usually at least a year of work. </p>

<p>Finally, most people (and certainly the PA adcoms) view this as a terminal degree, not as a stepping stone to eventually getting one’s MD/DO. Besides, it is a very circuitous route to MD/DO - 2 or 3 years of PA school, then med school + residency, etc. Then, you’d have to take out PA school loans + med school loans…</p>

<p>You might get more answers by asking this on the pre-med CC forum</p>

<p>Thank you all for the suggestions !. </p>

<p>@Trinity7 - Thank you for the much need help. The adviser at my university is on a break and therefore I was unable to clear my doubts. </p>

<p>I like the idea of becoming a physician assistant. I was considering working as an engineer if my med school options in the US, Canada and UK fail and try yearly to apply to apply to a few med schools and on the other hand earn some money. </p>

<p>What do you think would be the possibility of grants and scholarships awarded to international pre-med students ?. I tried to search the internet for it, but failed to get a clear answer. </p>

<p>@juba2jive - Thanks for explaining the route to med school after becoming a Physician assistant. IF you have any more suggestions then please do mention them !</p>

<p>@somemom - Ma’am I have posted the exact same threads in the Pre-med section, but there are no responses yet. I was hoping parent’s who have sent their kids to med school or are themselves related to the field or have some knowledge about it can guide me in the process.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Everybody deserves good health care …</p>

<p>I am not aware of any grants / scholarships awarded to foreign nationals attending medical schools in the US. The admission to US med school for foreign nationals looks to be highly restrictive (based on some cursory internet searches). It is quite understandable, since the number of available spots in med schools is limited; admission is, therefore, mainly for US citizens / legal immigrants with few exceptions. </p>

<p>As a Canadian immigrant, You may also want to explore the possibility of joining Canadian Forces Medical Officer (Family Physician) Training. It assumes that you have already been admitted to a Canadian med school. If you are concerned with taking loans for med school, this might be one of the options to consider. </p>

<p>Here is the description:</p>

<p>"The Medical Officer (Family Physician) Training Plan (MOTP):</p>

<p>This is a Canadian Forces (CF) enrollment program whereby Canadian medical students and family physician residents who enroll in the CF receive a recruiting allowance (“signing bonus”) plus full subsidization of tuition and textbooks, as well as an annual salary. In return, the individual must serve for a period of 4 years in the CF after completion of their family medicine residency training."</p>

<p>(<a href=“http://www.forces.ca/media/_pdf/MOTP_en.pdf[/url]”>http://www.forces.ca/media/_pdf/MOTP_en.pdf&lt;/a&gt;) or (<a href=“http://www.forces.ca/media/pdf/MOTP_en.pdf[/url]”>http://www.forces.ca/media/pdf/MOTP_en.pdf&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>[Canadian</a> Forces Recruiting - Job Explorer](<a href=“http://www.forces.ca/html/medicalofficer_reg_en.aspx]Canadian”>http://www.forces.ca/html/medicalofficer_reg_en.aspx)</p>

<p>[Medical</a> Officer Training Plan - Canadian Premed and Medical Schools](<a href=“http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16676]Medical”>http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16676)</p>

<p>What do you think would be the possibility of grants and scholarships awarded to international pre-med students ?.</p>

<p>Slim to none.</p>

<p>Even domestic students usually have to pay for their own med school costs.</p>

<p>@Trinity7 - Thanks a lot. You are a lifesaver. Medical Officer Training Plan is surely something I will seriously consider If I make it in to a Canadian Med school.</p>

<p>Let me clarify a few things first. </p>

<p>I am an Indian citizen (I have an Indian Passport). I got my US (F-1, Student visa) and currently studying the United states for my undergrad. I also have a Permanent residency status in Canada (According to which, if I spend 3 years in Canada - I will be given citizenship and a passport). </p>

<p>So by the time I finish my undergrad, my parents would have already be Canadian passport holders with residency in Ontario (Toronto). </p>

<p>All I could get on the internet is that in the United states a few universities accept international students for Med-School and almost all of them provide no aid. Most of them ask the student to show the four years of tuition to be put up in a bank before their arrival or set up an escrow account. </p>

<p>So my option would be to take up student loans from a bank and study. </p>

<p>Now, If US for med-school does not work out what would be my options in Europe and Canada ?. Considering the fact that I have already finished my Pre-med in the US </p>

<p>1) Will I have to start over in UK and Canada ?. What and which universities should I be considering and what would their requirements be ?</p>

<p>In Europe, medical education starts right after high school. For the UK, there are graduate entry level medical programs (4 years) such as : [Graduate</a> Entry Medicine - 4 year](<a href=“Faculty of Medicine | Imperial College London”>Faculty of Medicine | Imperial College London)</p>

<p>For other places in Europe you might have to start all over again. I know this Canadian guy who was a varsity athlete and got a scholarship to do pre-med in the US. Then for some reason (admission, scholarship, …) he couldn’t stay in the US or go back to Canada for Med School and came to Belgium and had to start all over again (7 years without specialization). The good thing is that tuition is less than 1k for EU citizen and max 15k for others (normally less).</p>

<p>@Bassplayer08 - So this means that the Pre-med degree in the US would be useless and I would have to start all over again in the UK and Europe. </p>

<p>Thank you for the info !</p>

<p>You (or your parents) need to contact the Canadian Forces recruitment officer and find out if they will support you financially at a US medical college. If they do, then you have an extra avenue to seek admission, in the US as well as in Canada. I would presume that the US admission adcoms may only provide you with conditional offer of acceptance. Please note that probability of getting admissions at a US medical school is very very slim. Given that, if (a big if) you get admitted, the US based adcoms may perhaps require a letter or some form of assurance from the Canadian Forces stating that they will pay for your medical education. I am further assuming that Canadian Forces may be open to the idea of funding US medical education if the cost of education (out of state) compares favorably with Canadian med school costs. </p>

<p>This brings to the next area: Cost of attendance (COA). A few colleges that have lower out of state COA come to mind (i) Medical schools in Texas & (ii)Univ. of South Alabama. I am not sure if they allow Canadian permanent resident to apply for admission. </p>

<p>If you (or your parents) can find some positive answers from Canadian Forces, then it may be feasible. At least you will have the opportunity in Canada, should the admission to US med school not materialize.</p>

<p>Btw, admission details about all the US & Canada medical schools can be found in “Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR)”.</p>

<p>Canada is definitely an option for me now. As many universities will consider me, but the state residency might hold me back just a bit (as they are given first preference) </p>

<p>[UBC</a> Faculty of Medicine - MD Undergraduate Admissions - Admissions Requirements](<a href=“Home - MD Undergrad Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine”>Home - MD Undergrad Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine) </p>

<p>I did some research on MD/PhD programs - but they are a long shot (even harder than med-school). They require research work ! </p>

<p>I had a few other questions in mind :- </p>

<p>1) Are there any other organizations such as the Canadian Forces recruitment officer in Canada (or the US) which recruit Students and pay for their med school.</p>

<p>2) Will being in an Engineering major :- </p>

<p>a) Give me an edge as to have taken a much tougher course than just Biology or Humanities ? </p>

<p>b) Will a 3.5-3.6 GPA in Engineering be considered good ? (or is it just not good enough for med-school) . What would be considered good ?</p>

<p>c) Should I switch my major just for the sake of med-school (and take a long shot) and have no back up plan ready for myself ? </p>

<p>Also, I checked on Uni. of south Alabama and it does take international students :). But where do I find it’s COA </p>

<p>I wasn’t able to get sufficient info on the TX schools</p>

<ol>
<li>Contact person, for Canadian Forces, from the previously provided URL:</li>
</ol>

<p>"For information or to apply, please contact a Medical Officer Recruiter:
Major Alain Gagnon: <a href=“mailto:alain.gagnon2@forces.gc.ca”>alain.gagnon2@forces.gc.ca</a> "</p>

<p>You may do a search and find his contact telephone #. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Engineering major has no bearing or advantage when it comes to medical school admission. In many cases, it may handicap an applicant with engineering UG since the GPA attained by engineering students is much lower than the general applicants. More discussion on the importance of UG GPA & MCAT for med school admission can be found in MSAR book. It is not clear at what stage in UG education you are at. I would hesitate to advice changing major just for med school, since the chances of admission to med school are much slim. Do what interests you in engineering; at least one can earn a decent living initially being an engineer. </p></li>
<li><p>COA/yr for non residents at various Texas & S. Alabama Univ (Ref: 2011-2012 MSAR)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Baylor : $ 57,461
Texas Tech (El Paso): 54,964
Texas Tech (Lubbock): 51,375
Texas A&M: 48,399
Univ. of Texas at Galveston: $53.020
Univ. of Texas at Houston: $49,280
Univ. of Texas at San Antonio: $53,108
Univ. of Texas, Dallas: $50,946</p>

<p>Univ. of South Alabama: $60,944</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I will not qualify for the Canadian Forces recruitment plan. As I just read their website</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>No not in the UK. In the UK you normally do three years of pre-clinical medicine (=pre-med) and then three years of clinical medicine(=med school). Here, you do only four years total (1 year “catch-up” pre-med and three years clinical medicine).</p>

<p>@OP- A green card will be the solution of all problems that you are facing, as with a green card you will be viewed (almost) as a US citizen and medical school will be quite with in reach as well as a bit of aid. </p>

<p>I think the fastest way to acquire one would be to get married to a US citizen. But keep in mind, do marry someone who you are really in to and do so ideally at the end of your second year in college, so that the official’ don’t think that you are doing it since your visa is expiring. </p>

<p>Just my 0.02$. </p>

<p>@CC members - Please correct me if I am wrong and state whether my option is actually available to the OP (As my aunt did it and now has a US citizenship after 5 years of her having the green card !)</p>

<p>I will never recommend marriage as anything other than between two persons that are committed to each other for a life long journey together. Definitely not for an easier way to get into Medical School.</p>

<p>Cost effective options include either (a) getting admitted to a provincial medical school in Canada or (b) trying to get admitted to some Caribbean med schools that have arrangements with hospitals in Canada to do their rotations (c) getting admitted to some affordable (??) med schools in the US, as mentioned earlier. </p>

<p>Marrying for Green Card is definitely not worth it.</p>

<p>Btw, The Canadian Forces’ Medical Officer Training Plan does require that the applicant be a Canadian Citizen (not a permanent resident) and be admitted to a Canadian Medical School. There are only 4 positions open this year, for which roughly 300- 400 applicants apply, 50- 60 deemed to be eligible, of whom only 30 -35 are interviewed and finally 4 chosen. (ref: Maj. Alain Gagnon: 1- 613 945 6600, ext: 3091)</p>

<p>I do not think it is at all necessary to attend med school in the US because of the cost relative to other countries. I would seriously consider a Canadian school or a medical school in the country where you have citizenship and then seek a residency in the US.</p>