<p>hey everyone,
I hold an Indian passport and I was thinking of going to the US to become a doctor. However someone told me a few days back that although I won't have any problem with undergraduation, it would be very difficult for me to apply to med school in the states without a US passport.
So I just wanted to ask you guys if this is really true?? :(</p>
<p>^ No, its not - I know several people who are Canadian citizens who are in med school in the US and one who is a Mexican citizen who is applying and doesn’t seem to have any concerns about being able to get in. That being said, I don’t know any from outside those two countries. Completely empirical of course, and I don’t know how much of it has to do with the fact that the LCME is also the accrediting body for med schools in Canada as well, but at least it proves you don’t need a US Passport.</p>
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<p>It’s not the passport, it’s the citizenship. Non-US, non-Canadian citizens find it very hard to make it into US allopathic schools.</p>
<p>@shades_children: is an american or canadian citezenship absolutely neccesary for gaining entry? If suppose a college graduate produces outstanding results and a high MCAT score etc. can he/she not having an american citezenship be overlooked in that case?</p>
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<p>Yes, on occasion citizenship is overlooked, because some American allopathic schools do accept non-citizens. That being said, a ton of American and Canadian students produce outstanding results and high MCAT scores - why should an American school take an international student when they could accept an American citizen?</p>
<p>There are exceptions to the rule - if you look at the MSAR, the data for international applications, interviews, and acceptances is listed. You’ll see that international students get a far smaller percentage of interviews and acceptances than their citizen counterparts. The facts are that less than half of all schools even allow international students to apply, and then only a handful of international applicants matriculate. Given how hard it is for American citizens to get through the pre-med process and successfully apply, the deck is very much stacked against you as an international.</p>
<p>@shades_children: can you please give me a link with the data for international applications etc. because I couldn’t find it when i looked on the website. thanks</p>
<p>It’s available in a book called the MSAR. The AAMC website for the MSAR is not as comprehensive as the book itself, so you’ll want to look at a hard copy.</p>