Returning to USA with international bachelor's degree

[unicornforsale]

Hi,

I’m a junior in HS this year and I since I will be applying to international schools I was wondering what the prospects are for someone who could possibly go get a bachelor’s in science in a foreign university. (By foreign I don’t mean UK, Canada, etc.- I’m talking about Taiwan, Singapore). (I have my personal reasons for wanting to do this, and I can stay in the USA if I want to, but I want to explore my options.) By snooping around the internet, I can tell that it would not be very easy for foreign students to attend medical school here, but I don’t understand if I would be classified as a foreign student or not. So anyway, my questions are:

Would I count as an international student if I still have an American passport but hold a Taiwanese degree?
Would it be possible to attend medical school here? (How hard would it be to get a good MCAT score?) If not med school, how hard would it be to apply to graduate school in the US?
Does anyone know of someone who has successfully done this?

[collegemom3717]

You would be applying with international qualifications. The US med schools have agreed on a set of core courses and curricula for the basic required sciences (chem, organic chem, physics, bio) and some times all pre-reqs (calc/stats, biochem, psych). Most (but not all) US med schools will not accept students who have not done these courses in a US or Canadian university. [url=http://premedusa.blogspot.com/2014/06/US-Medical-Schools-for-Internationals-Updated.html]Here[/url] is a list of med schools that accept international students. Notice that besides UKy (at 4%), UVa (3.5%) most accept 1-3% internationals. But note that UVa is explicit that:

All applicants must have completed a minimum of 90 semester hours of course work, at the time of application, in an accredited in a U.S. or Canadian or United Kingdom college or university. Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. are eligible to apply provided they have completed at least 90 semester hours of coursework, at the time of application, in a U.S. or Canadian college or university. We strongly prefer a bachelor’s degree from those that have attended college in the U.S.

and

UKy requires:

At least one full year of undergraduate or graduate study in a regionally accredited U.S. school is required for application to medical school

You can study for the MCAT anywhere- it’s a standardized test.

So, if your goal is undergrad in Taiwan and med school in the US, it can be done. You are making it hugely harder for yourself, and it is likely to take longer, but if you are very smart, very hardworking & disciplined student it can be done.

[happymomof1]

Another option would be to complete your undergrad degree in whatever you feel like abroad, and then return to the US to complete the pre-med requirements. You could take them pretty much anywhere, but you also should consider doing them in a formal post-bac pre-med program. Here are links to a couple of those programs, google post bac pre med to find others:
https://www.brynmawr.edu/postbac
https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/premedical-program

[unicornforsale]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful.

[b_r_um]

Do keep in mind that you would not be an “in-state” student in any state after you return from abroad - this could make medical school WAY more expensive.