Please help, international student, second Bs degree? or othe option

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DragonSoul

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Hi,

I had my first BS degree in China in Aerospace Engineering, but low GPA 2.8, then I had my MS degree in Computer Science from University of Texas GPA 3.8. I really want to get in medical school, what should I do? some school don't even consider if you have your bs degree in other country, should I get second BS degree? I have applied Barry University second BS in Pre-med. Will that help me?

Thanks so much!! I am really lost and don't know what to do.

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I found this in the Non-Trad Forum. The poster can be PMed with specific questions:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottish Chap
You'll basically find the following types of medical school:
1. Those that want 60-90 credits completed in the U.S. with those credits to include chemistry, biology, physics, organic chemistry, and sometimes English. These schools are most common. Sometimes completion of the prerequisite courses alone with satisfy the Admissions Committee and they'll let you slide if you have a M.S. or a Ph.D. (with a decent GPA) from the U.S.
2. Those that want an entire U.S. undergraduate degree earned from scratch (Mayo Clinic springs to mind). These schools are uncommon.
3. Those that want 60-90 credits completed in the U.S., and the credits can be a mix of graduate school credits and one or two scattered prerequisites. If you look hard enough, you'll find a handful of these schools. This is the route that I took, but keep in mind that no two applicants look the same and so conditions will vary.
4. Those that want 60-90 credits completed in the U.S. and they won't make you do the prerequisites over. These medical schools are VERY hard to find, and usually a political connection at the school makes this possible.

If you want to bypass studying for a U.S. undergraduate degree, some colleges will allow you to roll several years of foreign undergraduate credits on a 'pass' basis into a an accelerated U.S. undergraduate degree, and you may only get away with taking the prerequisites over 18 months. Find BlueMirage on SDN. This is what he did, and he successfully gained admission, too.

In all of the above cases, a professional evaluated transcript of the foreign credits will generally be expected. AMCAS will not verify those grades, but several medical schools will add them to your file.

All of the above information also assumes that the applicant has a green card or U.S. citizenship; without that, the level of difficulty in securing admission for each of the above cases should be multiplied several fold.

A U.S. Ph.D. - even with a nice GPA - does not carry a whole lot of clout with U.S. medical schools. This is from first-hand experience. Neither do prerequisite courses earned overseas - even if it's from a 'prestigious' school. This is also from first-hand experience. Publications do help for some of the private, research-oriented medical schools but, again, you really have to look as close to a U.S. applicant as possible. PM me if you have any other worries. I've posted a lot on this subject and I don't want to start sounding like a broken record. Good luck!
 
Thanks so much for your reply. I went to see FAU's advisor today, she said that I just need to take post Bach classes, because my old BS degree was 10 years ago, med school will likely to ingore it, is that true?
 
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Every med school is different, so this can't be answered with a generalization. Since your undergrad GPA was low, it might be best if you don't try to transfer the credit to a US school, and rather just start over. You might do best to call the admissions offices of schools you want to attend (if they take international applications) and ask them what their guidelines are in your situation.
 
I wonder what your current status is.

If you are not permanent resident or citizen of the US, there is almost no chance of getting into most medical schools in the US. The biggest problem is that foreign students cannot receive financial aid and must have proof of having enough money (around ~$100,000) in their bank so that they can pay for the med school.

There is a slim chance, but most are special cases with exceptional stats who are often accepted as MD/PhD.

If you qualify above criteria, then I would take all the prereq courses.
 
I wonder what your current status is.

If you are not permanent resident or citizen of the US, there is almost no chance of getting into most medical schools in the US. The biggest problem is that foreign students cannot receive financial aid and must have proof of having enough money (around ~$100,000) in their bank so that they can pay for the med school.

There is a slim chance, but most are special cases with exceptional stats who are often accepted as MD/PhD.

If you qualify above criteria, then I would take all the prereq courses.

Thanks for your reply. I am permanent resident right now, so I guess I won't worry about about the status. Thanks!
 
Every med school is different, so this can't be answered with a generalization. Since your undergrad GPA was low, it might be best if you don't try to transfer the credit to a US school, and rather just start over. You might do best to call the admissions offices of schools you want to attend (if they take international applications) and ask them what their guidelines are in your situation.


Thanks for your reply. I am admitted in second BS biology program in Barry University, they told me that my first BS degree is too old (11 years ago), do second BS would help me with the GPA, I think this is the better solution than past BS program.
 
Good choice. If you keep your cGPA as high as you did for the masters program (3.65 being the median for students accepted to med school), you will be competitive.
 
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