Questions Concerning a British Education

[sam500]

Hello,
I'm a recent PhD student interested in transitioning into a medical career.
However, I have had a somewhat non-standard eduction as summarized below.

(I'm 28yold married and am a Citizen of the United States- assuming this is pertinent)

Undergrad: University of Cambridge, England
BA Natural Sciences
1st year: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths
2nd year:Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology
3rd year: Biochemistry
Masters: University of Cambridge, England
Msci: Biochemistry
Another Masters: University of California, Berkeley
MA: Molecular and Cellular Biology

While my British undergraduate background is much more "broad background" than others in England, it is very narrow compared to those in the USA. British students specialize early and as a result I do not have any Humanities or English university classes under my belt. I also have not performed any community service or volunteer medical work.

I do have 2 masters, over 6 years of chemistry and biochemical lab experience, and a couple of publications in scientific journals I do not have a GPA for my undergrad as such, but did score a 1st in my second year and a 2.1 in my 3rd year. My GPA for the Berkeley masters was a 3.823.

Assuming I score well on the MCAT, is it worth my while applying to med school this year?
Alternatively, I could take some english and history courses at a local community college and do some volunteer work at a hospital and apply next year (although it is possible to rush to get these tasks done this summer).
Basically, am I competitive? Should I apply this year or wait until next?

Cheers,
Sam

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[flip26]

You need to carefully read the requirements for all US med schools RE your undergrad degree - my understanding is that it must come from a US or Canadian college. Therefore I don't think you have the proper qualifying degree(s). For med school purposes, you wasted your time getting a second masters degree at Berkeley...it is no substitute for a US undergrad degree...

In addition, med schools require that international applicants (or in your case, an applicant with a non US degree) do their pre-reqs and last 60 hours of work at your US degree granting institution, so you will have to take all of those science pre reqs again despite your background and credentials - at least it should be a slam dunk for you to make great grades.

Your lack of volunteer/clinical, even if you had the US degree, would kill your chances.

My guess is that you will need to find a US college where you can earn a second undergrad degree - your previous course work will count for somethin, probably for 2 years credit - but you need to fully understand the requirements. The degree can be in anything, say general studies.

Thus, to answer your question: You are nowhere near ready to apply. You have at least 2 full years of study at a US college, just to get the degree. You should be able to apply once you have 90 hours of credit at the US college, or after one full year, assuming your British undergrad work garners you approx 60 hours of transfer credit...

 

[combatwombat]

In my years of lurking on SDN I've never seen someone with a case like yours. I'd read up on school policies for people with non-US degrees ASAP. If it turns out, as flip says, that you need a whopping 60 credit hours in US college courses, and you Berkley Masters doesn't count towards that, then you're in for quite a long road. However, given your past experience I'm guessing you could make short work of the required courses.

 

[clausewitz2]

My situation is somewhat similar to the OP's (Cambridge degree, very little US undergrad work), and I was also told about this 60-credit requirement in a U.S. institution. Of course, I didn't have the pre-reqs to begin with by any stretch of the imagination, but I am also not sure that grad credit hours don't count towards the limit.

ScottishChap, if you read this, I think you are the resident expert on translating British credentials into the American medical school application experience....

 

[Scottish Chap]

My situation is somewhat similar to the OP's (Cambridge degree, very little US undergrad work), and I was also told about this 60-credit requirement in a U.S. institution. Of course, I didn't have the pre-reqs to begin with by any stretch of the imagination, but I am also not sure that grad credit hours don't count towards the limit.

ScottishChap, if you read this, I think you are the resident expert on translating British credentials into the American medical school application experience....

I sent her a detailed note by PM. Not sure if it helped her, though. I'm at the start on internship, so I'll be pretty scarce on these boards for a while.

 

[sam500]

It helped.
Thanks.
I'll PM you as I think up more questions.
I'm calling all my prospective med schools tomorrow and will take things from there.
Cheers!
Hopefully things aren't so grim as FLIP implies

 

[flip26]

Please keep us posted...this could become a "sticky" reference for all foreign educated applicants...

Good luck.