Advice needed: applying as US resident with foreign coursework

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Hi all,

I hope you guys can give me some advice or tips about the situation that I’m in. I’m from Australia and there aren’t really pre-health advisors or anyone with experience in US MD/DO schools whom I can turn to.

I finished undergrad in December 2019 and due to circumstances, I’m following my family to immigrate to the US. After looking through the general entry requirements for MD/DO schools, I noted that I’m missing out on a few pre-reqs and well…research and clinical experience.

I’m planning to take a post-bacc program in the states to fulfill those missing courses + to have time to gain work/activities hours (thinking of CNA as my main). And of course, I’ll also be studying for the MCAT, writing personal statements, yada yada yada.

I think all of that would leave me applying for MD/DO schools in 2-3 years (Fall 2022 or Fall 2023?).

1. Does that sound like a plausible/realistic plan? Any obvious problem that I’m missing out on? The difficulty I'm facing right now is finding a post-bacc program that accepts international coursework but I’m sure that can be overcome.
2. Are foreign courses accepted as pre-reqs even if they don’t contribute to my US GPA?
3. If “Yes” to the question above, then should I get a transcript evaluation before doing anything else? Just to make sure I know exactly what courses I’m missing out on and what US-equivalent grades I have.
4. I think a formal post-bacc would better prepare me, but since it costs $$$, would an informal post-bacc hurt my chance in any way?

This is pretty new territory for me so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading. Cheers!