Hi,
My DD wants to pursue medical but I am not sure what are her prospects of getting into a medical college. She is on h4 visa currently . She has studied while her lift in US.
So far what I have read and heard is that it is next to impossible to get into medical colleges as an international student which worries me a lot because that has been her dream.
Can you all please pour in your thoughts and suggestions how and where to start with this.
Did any one of you got any luck with ways of fulfilling this dream?
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Is your daughter currently a high school student or a college student?
it’s extremely difficult for an international student to gain an admission to a US med school.
In the most recent application cycle, 1286 international students applied to US medical schools. Of those 1268, only 158 gained entry to a US med school. That 158 is the highest number ever accepted.
Table A-3: Applicants to U.S. MD-Granting Medical Schools by State of Legal Residence, 2013-2014 through 2022-2023
https://www.aamc.org/media/6006/download?attachment
Table A-4: Matriculants to U.S. MD-Granting Medical Schools by State of Legal Residence, 2013-2014 through 2022-2023
https://www.aamc.org/media/6011/download?attachment
international students applying for US med school are segregated into a separate admission pool and compete only against each other for the handful of available med school seats.
Beside the difficulty of gaining an admission, there are other barriers to international students wanting to attend a US med school. Every US med school requires that international students prove they can pay 100% of the costs of their education, often by requiring that they place 4 years worth of tuition & fees in US bank escrow account before they are allowed to enroll. Additionally some schools require that 4 years worth of living costs be placed in an escrow account as well. This typically runs around $250-600K, depending the the policies of the specific med school.
International students are not eligible for US government loans (which is how most US students pay for med school) and private loans require a credit-worthy US citizen or permanent resident co-signer. Merit aid for med school is rare and very seldom offered to international students.
The general recommendation for international students is to return to their home country to attend med school, then do elective rotations in the US as a 4th year med student to gain US clinical experience, then apply for NRMP match to do residency in the US.
Most residency programs do not sponsor H1B visas, only J1.
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In the United States, students complete a bachelors undergrad degree FIRST. Many who think they want to be doctors never go that route at all.
I personally think high school is too soon to really know one wants to be a doctor.
And as you see from the above response, international students have a very small chance of acceptance at medical schools here.
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Unless she gets a green card here, she won’t be going to a US medical school. Her best option would be to return to her home country for college/med school, if that is possible. Next best option is to do undergrad here as cheaply as possible, and go to an off shore medical school (maybe a Caribbean school), then return to the US for residency, if at all possible. Hopefully in that time frame she will be able to get a green card.
The US does take some foreign medical graduates for residency.
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Before attending an off shore medical school, your daughter should investigate how it will affect her visa status. Your daughter will age out of H4 visa status on her 21st birthday. She will need to obtain her own visa if she wishes to remain in or re-enter in the US. Please consult a immigration lawyer for details.
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Most people are over 21 when they begin medical school, so her US visa status, assuming that she follows the law, is that she will have to leave the US, which is consistent with attending med school in her home country or at an offshore medical school.
She will have an opportunity to possibly return for residency, on her own visa, if she is lucky enough to get a slot in a US residency program.
Of course, the best option would be if her parent were able to obtain a green card for themselves and the entire family before the children age out of their eligibility. And yes, the best path would be to consult a competent immigration attorney.
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