Tulane has had several different routes to automatic med school admission over the past years.
As for the OP, not going to bother to read the thread, as surely many posters have already said, when you apply to only tippy top schools with single digit admission rates, expect to be denied. Its as simple as that.
American PhD programs take a ton of foreign kids, and knowing where some of them come from, I’m certain that at least some don’t have research experience.
They’re looking for potential, first and foremost.
Img’s Are at a serious disadvantage (otherwise those Caribbean med schools would brag even more annoyingly).
All med schools will want a minimum of one year in the US and all pre reqs, including non science (which would be added to the postbacc program, although OP might get some of the summer intensive classes waived).
A downside is that this program would have to be entirely self funded if it’s a postbacc program or if it’s a regular year or two in a regular University after OP’s done three years in Germany (due to the Bologna agreements, three years of European university = ba here) since students with a BA can’t get federal aid. Some universities won’t take second baccalaureate applicants. OP could do two years then 'transfer’to the US (solution listed as #2)but it’s the least optimal in my opinion since he’d lose both the benefits of applying as a freshman and getting merit scholarships, and the benefits of getting his medical degree in Germany.
OP needs to investigate to see whether undergraduates in medicine are allowed /encouraged to do research in a lab, for a professor. To the best of my knowledge, it’s not done because they have to move up a few rungs before they’re acknowledged as being able to some research(/ ‘acknowledged as existing and worth the professor’s time’, sometimes)… but it certainly depends on professors and on departments ’ cultures. So, OP could investigate, professor by professor, giving his credentials and asking whether that’s possible and how likely it is.
Again, though, how much is research experience required by American PhD programs?
They seem to take in many students from countries where undergraduate research is virtually unheard of.
^ pretty much required nowadays, with a paper to boot. This has changed in the past few years, it used to be a nice cherry on the cake, but it’s now expected for applicants who want funding (and we all know unfunded PhD is worth almost nothing when the ability to get funded IQ a job requirement in the first place.)
Many students admitted to the US for a PhD are already at Master 's level in their own country.
^ Are you talking about me? 
Indeed, I did enroll a 2 year master program in other country before coming to the States for PhD and so as my two friends going to the same grad school although I did not finish my master degree. In addition, some schools use the qualifying exam to filter students. Like the one I attended has a ~50% pass rate in qualifying exam. I know some students failed twice and had to leave the program (and the country). By the way, that was already over 25 years ago, not just nowadays.
@billcsho, passing the quals is pretty much required at any decent PhD program that I know of.
It’s part of getting a PhD.
The sad part about this is that the student decided not to invest his time doing something that he wasn’t interested in just to fabricate a resume, and you are suggesting that choosing to not be fake is what cost him in the application process…
This expectation of community service for kids has gotten way out of hand. What percentage of adults are involved in community service, unless it involves their own kids or has some other self serving professional or social component? How many adults start a nonprofit? What a joke.
Despite your cynicism, planner03, many, adults participate in volunteer work. And kids should too. Giving back to others is a good thing. IMO, too many people, kids and adults, have become selfish and narcissistic. The kid should have stepped outside hiscomfort zone and done some volunteer work. Its a good experience in many ways, including learning in life we will have to do things we don’t like.
How in-depth is undergraduate research? Maybe it is my German worldview, but what can undergraduates possibly research? I mean, a high school education can’t be enough to do anything really groundbreaking?
Can someone please tell me if I have understood the US medical education system correctly:
If you want to go to become a practicing doctor, a MD will suffice. However, to do research one should have a PHD.
Getting a PHD in the US after finishing my German degree would be a huge waste of time, as it will take an additional 5/6 years and LMU offers a 3 year PHD program for graduated medical students.
Going into the MD/PHD route after finishing the German medical degre emakes no sense either , because that will take 15 years.
If I want to get into a MD/PHD program I either need to 1. do an undergraduate degree in the US or 2. do a bachelor in Germany (some MD/PHD programs won’t accept however).
So in conclusion: Going to the US after a bachelor for a MD/PHD or a med school is risky (as admission requires undergraduate research and admission is difficult); going after my German medical degree is time-consuming (PHD in Germany would only take 3 years); going after a PHD is too late; I would be 28 by then and probably would just want to stay in Germany forever.
So it’s best to make the jump to the US now, take a gap year and apply to full rides. Med school won’t be guaranteed, however, and it will become expensive later on.
Even if I get undergraduate research done in Germany it will only matter if I do a Bachelor in chemistry or so (and not medicine, as there is no bachelor in medicine). And assuming I won’t be offered admission in the US I will be in Germany with a Bachelor in Chemistry and no chance at a medical degree.
Am I getting everything correct? Or am I missing something?
Sounds about right except :
You do 4years undergrad with pee reqs, a choice of major, research , and medical-related experience
Then 7-8 years MD/PHD -> research
OR
4 years + residency -> practice (although, just like in Germany, some specialties take longer)
If you have a medical degree from Germany and want to do a PhD it’d probably take you 3years. I don’t know how likely it is you’d be admitted straight to a PhD from a German MD.
Obviously I know how it works as I have been through that decades ago. I am saying some school use the qualifying exam to weed students, so they do not worry too much admitting students from anywhere.
The last sentence:
was referring to having a master degree, research experience, and/or publication.