International "Alien" students and Medical School.

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bachi

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Hi aliens,
I thought I'd start this thread for all the international who're being 'biased' sort of in the medical application process. Did anyone get into a medical school? What schools did you apply to? MCAT verbal problems? How are you planning on paying for school if you don't have a cosigner? sort of questions that i have in mind.

post anything you'd like to share with us,

best wishes,

bachi
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bachi said:
Hi aliens,
I thought I'd start this thread for all the international who're being 'biased' sort of in the medical application process. Did anyone get into a medical school? What schools did you apply to? MCAT verbal problems? How are you planning on paying for school if you don't have a cosigner? sort of questions that i have in mind.

post anything you'd like to share with us,

best wishes,

bachi
Click to expand...

Are you on a student visa or on a permanent residence visa?

I am a permanent resident and I've been told I have the same priority as US citizens. Plus I do qualify for financial assistance. If you're a PR I wouldn't worry too much about it.
 
baylormed said:
Are you on a student visa or on a permanent residence visa?

I am a permanent resident and I've been told I have the same priority as US citizens. Plus I do qualify for financial assistance. If you're a PR I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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No, I'm just a pure alien. no PR. it sucks to be an alien. (somebody told me they don't see antenna on my head... :mad: ) so I've been wondering if any internationals been getting replies or got admission.
thanks for your reply tho,

bachi
 
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bachi said:
No, I'm just a pure alien. no PR. it sucks to be an alien. (somebody told me they don't see antenna on my head... :mad: ) so I've been wondering if any internationals been getting replies or got admission.
thanks for your reply tho,

bachi
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Hey bachi,

International student here in TX - no PR. 5 interviews so far... and waiting for acceptance(s). What about you?
 
ClearDay said:
Hey bachi,

International student here in TX - no PR. 5 interviews so far... and waiting for acceptance(s). What about you?
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woah! which schools? i just had one interview at dartmouth. but i was an august mcater. i'm getting impatient waiting.
 
bachi said:
woah! which schools? i just had one interview at dartmouth. but i was an august mcater. i'm getting impatient waiting.
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That's the TX factor for you. I'm only applying to TX schools which have been incredibly kind to me (esp. Baylor and UT Southwestern) Hopefully I'll get an acceptance somewhere. BTW, most TX schools only look at state residency rather than PR or US citizenship. And, according to TX law, I am considered a TX resident. Dartmouth is great. Good luck - I'm sure you'll do great!
 
ClearDay said:
That's the TX factor for you. I'm only applying to TX schools which have been incredibly kind to me (esp. Baylor and UT Southwestern) Hopefully I'll get an acceptance somewhere. BTW, most TX schools only look at state residency rather than PR or US citizenship. And, according to TX law, I am considered a TX resident. Dartmouth is great. Good luck - I'm sure you'll do great!
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thats nice, i had undergrad in wisconsin. no such residency consideration for me. residency for tax purpose is as far as they go. plus none of the med schools in WI accept internationals. :(
good luck, i hope you get in, really.
 
bachi said:
thats nice, i had undergrad in wisconsin. no such residency consideration for me. residency for tax purpose is as far as they go. plus none of the med schools in WI accept internationals. :(
good luck, i hope you get in, really.
Click to expand...
Finally some aliens to share ideas with!! I'm holding one acceptance and I interviewed at a non-rolling school which doesn't send out acceptances until March. I'm just dying....i'm searching for a cosigner but i can't get any since i don't have any family here. Really desperate....does anybody know where i can get a loan without a cosigner?
 
ellgh1 said:
Finally some aliens to share ideas with!! I'm holding one acceptance and I interviewed at a non-rolling school which doesn't send out acceptances until March. I'm just dying....i'm searching for a cosigner but i can't get any since i don't have any family here. Really desperate....does anybody know where i can get a loan without a cosigner?
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which schools?? I have the same question... to get loan without cosigner... its hard. i also don't have family here. My parents are trying to get loan from my country's government. i might have luck there...
 
bachi said:
thats nice, i had undergrad in wisconsin. no such residency consideration for me. residency for tax purpose is as far as they go. plus none of the med schools in WI accept internationals. :(
good luck, i hope you get in, really.
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Yeah it's nice... I actually didn't do undergrad in TX. When I was seriously looking into applying to med school, I did some research about intern'l student acceptances, etc. TX seems to be the only state that doesn't mind non-citizen or non-PR. So, I moved to TX mainly because of that. Good luck to you. :)

Keep your chin up.
 
ellgh1 said:
Finally some aliens to share ideas with!! I'm holding one acceptance and I interviewed at a non-rolling school which doesn't send out acceptances until March. I'm just dying....i'm searching for a cosigner but i can't get any since i don't have any family here. Really desperate....does anybody know where i can get a loan without a cosigner?
Click to expand...

Congrats on your acceptance. Have you checked out this page?
http://www.edupass.org./finaid/loans.phtml If I remember correctly, I think there are some loans listed here that do not require co-signer.
 
ClearDay said:
Congrats on your acceptance. Have you checked out this page?
http://www.edupass.org./finaid/loans.phtml If I remember correctly, I think there are some loans listed here that do not require co-signer.
Click to expand...
Thanks ClearDay and Bachi.....i hope something works out for us all....the true 'underdogs' in medschool application
 
So far 6 interviews (4 in TX). Although, unlike ClearDay, I have NO TX residency, hence no love from either UT southwestern or Baylor :(

No acceptances yet. But I'm keeping my hope alive.

$ would be a potential problem but to be dealt with after acceptance.

And yes, we are biased against. My backup is Masters in MEMS or Imaging and come out with a kickass research paper in a year. Take that Med. schools. Basically, we have to be 32+, 3.9+ with a hot shot resume to be even considered. Dunno...atleast thats what I feel.

Gooluck to yall! :thumbup:
 
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Hi guys,

Another alien, no PR here. I've had 11 interviews (went to 9, declined 2), 1 acceptance, 2 nonrolling schools that I'm waiting to hear from, and 6 TX schools that I'll find out about on match day. Like Clearday, I lucked out in that I qualify as a Texas resident.

Good luck to y'all. I was feeling very, very alone with all the FAFSA talk going on and realizing that I will basically have to take out huge loans with high rates and no help from anyone.
 
Lyricist said:
Hi guys,

Another alien, no PR here. I've had 11 interviews (went to 9, declined 2), 1 acceptance, 2 nonrolling schools that I'm waiting to hear from, and 6 TX schools that I'll find out about on match day. Like Clearday, I lucked out in that I qualify as a Texas resident.

Good luck to y'all. I was feeling very, very alone with all the FAFSA talk going on and realizing that I will basically have to take out huge loans with high rates and no help from anyone.
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Hi Lyricist,

I didn't know that you're an international student. I'm not sure if you remember me, but we interviewed at a TX school together (the one that you got accepted to). Do you think any TX schools count our non-PR status against us? At UTSW and A&M, they asked me when I'll be getting my PR, which makes me feel a little nervous.

BTW, would you mind sharing your stats? PM me if you prefer.

Thanks!
 
ClearDay said:
Hi Lyricist,

I didn't know that you're an international student. I'm not sure if you remember me, but we interviewed at a TX school together (the one that you got accepted to). Do you think any TX schools count our non-PR status against us? At UTSW and A&M, they asked me when I'll be getting my PR, which makes me feel a little nervous.

Thanks!
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I don't see why they should hold our non-PR status against us. For their purposes, all that should matter is that we are Texas residents, but although that's how it should be, I do think we are at a general disadvantage. It's very hard to get into US medical schools as a non-US citizen/ PR because of the general perceptions that a) you might have immigration problems and have to leave the country b) you might choose to leave the country after completing the training or c) you might have difficulty paying for medical school without any of the resources available to other med students.
 
Good to see you all. Where are you all from and how long have you been living in the US? I guess I expected international students to have poor language skills.
 
I am also an international student. I have 2 acceptances so far and one school has offered me a full tuition scholarship. It seems that schools in the #20 range (Vandy, Emory, U Chicago) offer merit based scholarships that do not take into consideration whether or not you are a PR or citizen.
 
its good to see all internationals here... which schools offer full tuition? i know dartmouth, brown try to help internationals.. others?
 
International here on a NAFTA TN Status Professional Visa (from CAN).
Accepted to two MD/PhD programs in the U.S. so far. - both of these schools had private endowments and so were not constrained by NIH funding stipulations, hence they did not discriminate against internationals as much as some schools.
 
Wow...full tuition scholarship!! I've been the in the States for about 13 years, but not a PR. So i had to apply as an internation...Got denied twice. This year finally I was accepted at the University of Kentucky. And i don't expect any scholarships at all with my stats. I would love to know what kinda figures you had to have to get a full scholarship offer.
Congrats to all that have been accepted...and to all that are waiting..Keep your head up.
 
Another alien here.... two interviews, no acceptances yet, though I really don't expect to hear from either for awhile. I'm not sure how to pay for anything... i might re-apply next year. I applied to MD-PhD programs, but no luck. Alternatively, since I really want to do the MD-PhD route, I might try to transfer into the program after M1... assuming I get in to either of the two schools in the first place :p

I didn't realize there were many schools that offered non-need based full tuition scholarships to internationals... i might have applied to them had i known! Does anyone have more info on this (stats required, schools, etc)?
 
Heyyyy guys,

I'm an international applicant too! I just looked through the AMCAS medical school guide book and applied to 8 schools that accept international students - I didn't know Texas accepts international students tho.

I'm a very late applicant, and so far I only have two interviews (one at top 20). Hopefully I'll get in somewhere and earn a merit-based scholarship because I don't even know how I'm going to pay for my education considering I'm not eligible for gov't loans and stuff like that - yea it sucks to be an int' student.

Moomoo, can I ask where you got accepted at?
 
shinenjk said:
Heyyyy guys,

I'm an international applicant too! I just looked through the AMCAS medical school guide book and applied to 8 schools that accept international students - I didn't know Texas accepts international students tho.

I'm a very late applicant, and so far I only have two interviews (one at top 20). Hopefully I'll get in somewhere and earn a merit-based scholarship because I don't even know how I'm going to pay for my education considering I'm not eligible for gov't loans and stuff like that - yea it sucks to be an int' student.

Moomoo, can I ask where you got accepted at?
Click to expand...

I was accepted at Vanderbilt and University of Chicago. You should definitely apply to these schools
 
I didn't know Vandy accepts int' students, but I did apply to Chicago. I am still waiting to hear back from Chicago... time is running out though. I would LOVE to go to Chicago. I'm guessing you got a full from Vandy cos they have lots of money. :p Your stats must be REALLY good anyway to get a full scholarship like that, I envy you!! Congratulations on your acceptances!!! ;)
 
shinenjk said:
I didn't know Vandy accepts int' students, but I did apply to Chicago. I am still waiting to hear back from Chicago... time is running out though. I would LOVE to go to Chicago. I'm guessing you got a full from Vandy cos they have lots of money. :p Your stats must be REALLY good anyway to get a full scholarship like that, I envy you!! Congratulations on your acceptances!!! ;)
Click to expand...

Actually I got a scholarship from Chicago - I didn't expect it at all! When I was interviewing there I really just didn't care because I totally did not expect to get ANYTHING from them and when I asked their admissions people about financial aid they basically made it appear like they had no money available to international students so it was totally unexpected...
 
Wow I'm so jealous of you... For one reason Pritzker is my top choice and would die to go there, and for second reason you stole that scholarship from me!!! Hehe j/k about the second part. Wish me luck... I'd be really happy if I get an interview invite from Pritzker. Can you tell me what your stats were if you don't mind so I can compare myself to you?
 
I am a so-called “alien” too! I remember feeling really weird the first time I was called that. I applied to five MD-PhD programs and got one interview. If I don’t get into that school I am gonna try again next year but also do some straight MD applications too. I didn’t know that those schools what were mentioned took international students. That is so cool and offers me a lot of hope. I wish I knew about the Texas thing. I would have transferred in undergrad. What a bummer. Did anyone find out any info about non-cosigned loans? I remember seeing something about loans you can get without a co-signer if you had three years of good credit. I will look for it and let you guys know what I find.
Cheers! :love:

I am so happy that are other intl’ students on SDN!
 
I am a so-called “alien” too! I remember feeling really weird the first time I was called that. I applied to five MD-PhD programs and got one interview. If I don’t get into that school I am gonna try again next year but also do some straight MD applications too. I didn’t know that those schools what were mentioned took international students. That is so cool and offers me a lot of hope. I wish I knew about the Texas thing. I would have transferred in undergrad. What a bummer. Did anyone find out any info about non-cosigned loans? I remember seeing something about loans you can get without a co-signer if you had three years of good credit. I will look for it and let you guys know what I find.
Cheers!

I am so happy that are other intl’ students on SDN!
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Hi there! Yea it's nice to meet other int' students here at SDN... I seriously thought I was like the only int' applicant.

You should go check out the AMCAS medical school guide book that lists all the stats/info. I borrowed mine from a friend, got a list of schools that accept int' students and applied to most of them. If my memory serves me correct, there's only about 13-15 schools that accept int' students. You can look at my profile and see what most of those schools are.

I think someone posted a link to loans for int' students in this thread so check it out. I'm not sure about the co-sign loan business because I've never heard of it. I should definetly check that out also if I get in somewhere...

Best of luck!
 
shinenjk said:
Hi there! Yea it's nice to meet other int' students here at SDN... I seriously thought I was like the only int' applicant.

You should go check out the AMCAS medical school guide book that lists all the stats/info. I borrowed mine from a friend, got a list of schools that accept int' students and applied to most of them. If my memory serves me correct, there's only about 13-15 schools that accept int' students. You can look at my profile and see what most of those schools are.

I think someone posted a link to loans for int' students in this thread so check it out. I'm not sure about the co-sign loan business because I've never heard of it. I should definetly check that out also if I get in somewhere...

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

can you post a link to your profile? a friend of mine could use the list of schools. Thanks
 
Hey Guys, another international no PR student here. I got the MSAR and applied only to schools that accepted international students and I made sure the percentage of international students was above 3%. Applied to 7, got 4 interviews and I've been accepted at 2 so far. One interview was only yesterday, so I should hear something from both by the end of Feb. Congrats to Moo on the full schol. You're living my DREAM right now!!!!
 
keedz said:
Hey Guys, another international no PR student here. I got the MSAR and applied only to schools that accepted international students and I made sure the percentage of international students was above 3%. Applied to 7, got 4 interviews and I've been accepted at 2 so far. One interview was only yesterday, so I should hear something from both by the end of Feb. Congrats to Moo on the full schol. You're living my DREAM right now!!!!
Click to expand...

hello keedz,
what were your stats and schools you applied to, if you don't mind telling... just curious how other internationals are doing and where they apply and where they get in..

thanks,
bachi
 
hello internationals,
just wondering about any updates.... replies, interview, acceptances, news....
 
ClearDay said:
That's the TX factor for you. I'm only applying to TX schools which have been incredibly kind to me (esp. Baylor and UT Southwestern) Hopefully I'll get an acceptance somewhere. BTW, most TX schools only look at state residency rather than PR or US citizenship. And, according to TX law, I am considered a TX resident. Dartmouth is great. Good luck - I'm sure you'll do great!
Click to expand...


So i am going to be a hater for a minute...I dont hate you are anyone else who is an intl. student, but I do hate the fact that it is so easy for you, as a non-citizen, to gain TX resident status. Well, Texas is kind of backwards!!!

So I am curious, why do you want to study medicine in the US? Do you plan on staying or going back to your country?

Any intl student (with the exception of Canadians) can answer this question.

Just wondering!

cya!
 
bachi said:
thats nice, i had undergrad in wisconsin. no such residency consideration for me. residency for tax purpose is as far as they go. plus none of the med schools in WI accept internationals. :(
good luck, i hope you get in, really.
Click to expand...
I live in WI, and I didn't know that. They do accept resident aliens though, because one of my friends is just that (and got into both schools). Good luck though!
 
got my first acceptance!
 
TheProwler said:
I live in WI, and I didn't know that. They do accept resident aliens though, because one of my friends is just that (and got into both schools). Good luck though!
Click to expand...


yea, but i'm not a resident alien..
 
stherling said:
wash u in st louis.
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were you an august mcater? i'm waiting reply from there... by the way, how was interview? and the area? i'm visiting there next month.
 
riceman04 said:
So i am going to be a hater for a minute...I dont hate you are anyone else who is an intl. student, but I do hate the fact that it is so easy for you, as a non-citizen, to gain TX resident status. Well, Texas is kind of backwards!!!

So I am curious, why do you want to study medicine in the US? Do you plan on staying or going back to your country?

Any intl student (with the exception of Canadians) can answer this question.

Just wondering!

cya!
Click to expand...

Fair enough. You can think it's easy, if you choose, but it's never been easy for me. :oops: To answer your question, I've been in this country for almost ten years and intend to stay. My family and I have paid plenty of taxes so I don't think I'm taking a free ride here. I have applied for US residency and it's taking painfully long. By the way, the only way TX would consider a foreign student a TX resident is when he/she has petitioned for US residency, hence, it's not for any int'l student. Hope this answers your questions.
 
bachi said:
were you an august mcater? i'm waiting reply from there... by the way, how was interview? and the area? i'm visiting there next month.
Click to expand...

Yup. Took the August 2005 MCAT. I got the interview invite in early december and interviewed there mid december. The interview itself was really laidback, very conversational... they also fed us well (breakfast and lunch) and gave us a nice tour of the facilities. pretty standard stuff. I didn't have a lot of time to explore St. Louis, so let me know what you think of the city when you go to visit!
 
ClearDay said:
Fair enough. You can think it's easy, if you choose, but it's never been easy for me. :oops: To answer your question, I've been in this country for almost ten years and intend to stay. My family and I have paid plenty of taxes so I don't think I'm taking a free ride here. I have applied for US residency and it's taking painfully long. By the way, the only way TX would consider a foreign student a TX resident is when he/she has petitioned for US residency, hence, it's not for any int'l student. Hope this answers your questions.
Click to expand...


oh ok. So from what country do you originate, and what about the US made you want to move?

good luck w/ your residency app!! :)
 
riceman04 said:
oh ok. So from what country do you originate, and what about the US made you want to move?

good luck w/ your residency app!! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I got tired of Thailand... Why US? I guess it was because my parents got their master's here. hmm...maybe this is too much personal info for the public eyes. :)

Are you applying to TX schools?
 
riceman04 said:
So i am going to be a hater for a minute...I dont hate you are anyone else who is an intl. student, but I do hate the fact that it is so easy for you, as a non-citizen, to gain TX resident status. Well, Texas is kind of backwards!!!

So I am curious, why do you want to study medicine in the US? Do you plan on staying or going back to your country?

Any intl student (with the exception of Canadians) can answer this question.

Just wondering!

cya!
Click to expand...


Well check this out

For texas residency, if you did 3 years of high school, you become TX resident for life. That is regardless of your citizenship. My parents have petitioned for residency too, but it is taking SOOO LONG! and their I-485 is pending so i can't be classified as TX resident - just an international student.

That 3 yr law? so many illegal immigrant's kids are studying in public institutions that way. They eat YOUR tax money. My rentz pay taxes , but still no residency for me, how is THAT fair?

My prediction is this: some of these kids will apply to med schools in TX purely based on that law without a proper status: then what?

just a fact: 50,000 illegal students are graduating from US universities like that.
 
InternationlDoc said:
Well check this out

For texas residency, if you did 3 years of high school, you become TX resident for life. That is regardless of your citizenship. My parents have petitioned for residency too, but it is taking SOOO LONG! and their I-485 is pending so i can't be classified as TX resident - just an international student.

That 3 yr law? so many illegal immigrant's kids are studying in public institutions that way. They eat YOUR tax money. My rentz pay taxes , but still no residency for me, how is THAT fair?

My prediction is this: some of these kids will apply to med schools in TX purely based on that law without a proper status: then what?

just a fact: 50,000 illegal students are graduating from US universities like that.
Click to expand...


With posts such as the one above, I'm afraid this thread will spiral into a discussion on illegal immigration and will deprive students like me of one of the few threads on schools that admit international students without PR. Please do not steer the discussion away from the focus of this thread.
 
travelbug73 said:
With posts such as the one above, I'm afraid this thread will spiral into a discussion on illegal immigration and will deprive students like me of one of the few threads on schools that admit international students without PR. Please do not steer the discussion away from the focus of this thread.
Click to expand...


i agree, i have wanted to raise hope as an alien, but its been depressing me instead.... (making me wish i was a resident instead...)
 
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