Advice Please!! A Complicated Situation

[SodaiGakusei]

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TO THE POINT

My question is, will my unique background most likely hinder me or help me in applying to pre-med programs ( I am hoping to apply to BM, Penn, Tufts and Goucher)? Do they take into consideration international experience and language abilities and such challenges?
Do you guys know of anyone in a similar situation who has applied, or better yet, been accepted? Any general advice you would give, or things you would do in my situation?

THE DETAILS

I would really appreciate the experts' advise on my situation, since it really doesn't fit any of those stated by others on this board.

First let me state a very important fact that seems to get taken incorrectly in most of my correspondences with Pre-Med programs thus far.
I am not an "International Student" in the United States. I am a US Citizen, born and raised until 19 in California with 400 years of Welsh American ancestry, so I don't need Permanent Residence, a green card, or anything else that the machine churned e-mails tell me I should look into.
Now that that is out of the way, the straight info:

*I went to Japan and am at a Japanese university in Tokyo, Japan, where I AM an international student. It is highly ranked (Ivy League equivalent) and has international standing as well as being accredited with every US university. My major is Developmental Econ. with a minor in Public Health.

* I have contacted most US medical schools and they have told me that my degree will be accepted (all except Columbia which wants a full US degree), but that I have to complete all my science requisites at a US university (i.e. pre-med program).

*GPA: 3.65-3.7

*I will have about 200 hours of volunteer work in a Japanese hospital when I graduate.

* I spend about 2 months each year doing Infectious Disease/Public Health volunteer work at a rural hospital in Vietnam.

* I am fluent in Japanese and Vietnamese (partial in Chinese)


Thanks for reading all these long winded explanations and rants.

 

[Doctorita]

My best bet is that you'll be a fine candidate to those schools, and while Goucher and BM might not accept you, Penn/Tufts most likely would ...

That being said, I couldn't know definitively, and I doubt anyone else on these boards would. I think it would do to contact the postbac programs you are interested and ask them individually. I assume they will take the credits as a degree, but they can guarantee that better than I can. And I have no idea whether there will be the name recognition that might help with the more competitive programs. So just ask the schools, and see what they say ...

Also, I doubt being "Welsh American" will have any significant effect on your app.

 

[NewmansOwn]

I agree with the above poster. You really ought to contact Bryn Mawr and Goucher. You have a great track record, especially the languages -- which trust me, Bryn Mawr (at least) loves. The problem is, programs like the two I've just mentioned survive at the top because they have 100% or near-100% acceptance rates to medical school, so they want to be sure you're a shoe-in at at least some medical school. Any uncertainty in that regard could be the kiss of death. That being said, do you feel your high GPA is as impressive as one from an American university? (I'm sure it is -- I'm just playing devil's advocate). It might help if you explain to them, perhaps in your personal statement, why you chose to forgo American higher education and head to the land of the rising sun instead. As Doctorita said, I don't think any of us can know for certain -- but I can speak from experience and tell you that at least Bryn Mawr has some of the nicest people I've ever met as program directors, and they will happily have a frank and realistic discussion with you about your situation.

As a sidenote, I know a girl who got her undergraduate degree in Scotland (also an American citizen) and is now an MS1 at Drexel School of Medicine.

 

[SodaiGakusei]

Thanks Everyone!!! I really appreciate the input and it really helps me organize and get things into perspective. But I was sooooooo counting on the Welsh-American approach 😛 Too bad.

One follow-up question. My biggest worry is, as you guys stated, showing my ability as a "medical school shoe-in", as well as the problem of comparing GPA's across national systems. With this in mind I have been doing a lengthy academic graduate thesis on Public Health, and have organized a research study and test project on Nosocomial Infections in a Vietnamese hospital. Do you think that this will help prove the legitimacy of my grades, and support my GPA, or will it only count as simply some extracurricular brownie points?

 

[NewmansOwn]

Thanks Everyone!!! I really appreciate the input and it really helps me organize and get things into perspective. But I was sooooooo counting on the Welsh-American approach 😛 Too bad.

One follow-up question. My biggest worry is, as you guys stated, showing my ability as a "medical school shoe-in", as well as the problem of comparing GPA's across national systems. With this in mind I have been doing a lengthy academic graduate thesis on Public Health, and have organized a research study and test project on Nosocomial Infections in a Vietnamese hospital. Do you think that this will help prove the legitimacy of my grades, and support my GPA, or will it only count as simply some extracurricular brownie points?

What exactly do you mean by "organized?" Did you find physician-researchers licensed to administer product (if it's a clinical trial)? If so, how did you secure funding? Are your protocols and SOPs commensurate with the FDA and the NIH here in the States? As you wrote it, however, it sounds very impressive -- and let me tell you, that's more than half the battle. My Bryn Mawr application (which was successful, I should add) sounded way more impressive on paper than it felt, to me, in practice.

 

[Doctorita]

Do you think that this will help prove the legitimacy of my grades, and support my GPA, or will it only count as simply some extracurricular brownie points?

It seems like you have two separate concerns. If you're not sure whether or not your accreditation will be sufficient for the various postbacs programs, it sounds like you probably have nothing to worry about -- you go to an accredited foreign university, and almost all of the medical schools you have talked to said it wasn't a big deal -- so it probably won't be.

Whether or not you'll be accepted to Goucher/BM is fairly unrelated. It looks like your extracurrics are good/grades were good, so you'd certainly have a shot, but that's virtually all anyone on the board can say to anyone, except an applicant who is obviously unqualified. Sure you look like a viable candidate, but nobody here would know the nuances of how a foreign degree might change things, either positively or negatively. One thing that might be more significant from you than from graduates of North American Universities that adcoms are more familiar with: how'd you fare on standardized tests (SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.)?

 

[medgrl]

Would any of you guys minded if I PM'd you about BM?

Thanks!

 

[NewmansOwn]

Sure. You can PM me about Bryn Mawr.

 

[SodaiGakusei]

Sorry for the late reply, we are right in the middle of our final exams here. Thanks everybody for you insight!! It is really helpful!!

The project is organized as a clinical study, and I formed a group of researches, designed the study then proposed it to an NGO in Vietnam that is executing the study through a hospital that I have been working at during breaks. So its a bit complicated. But you guys are right, I am really getting into to pitches and details that can only really be answered by the programs I am applying to. Sorry about that, just getting a little bit anxious.

I have contacted Bryn Mawr and they are incredibly helpful!! I was shocked at the knowledge and insight, and assistance, of the people there. It really fits a lot of the comments I have seen on this board. I really hope to get into that program since if they are so helpful at the beginning even before applying, they have to be good once you are in. One quick question, on average how many, if any, science classes did you guys take before entering your programs? Any idea on where the beneficial/ disqualifying line is? Oh, and did you guys take the GRE before entering your programs? Was it required?

Thanks again guys (on the west coast this includes girls), you are definitely helping me through this process.

 

[medgrl]

Sure. You can PM me about Bryn Mawr.

Thanks NewmansOwn!

 

[NewmansOwn]

Sorry for the late reply, we are right in the middle of our final exams here. Thanks everybody for you insight!! It is really helpful!!

The project is organized as a clinical study, and I formed a group of researches, designed the study then proposed it to an NGO in Vietnam that is executing the study through a hospital that I have been working at during breaks. So its a bit complicated. But you guys are right, I am really getting into to pitches and details that can only really be answered by the programs I am applying to. Sorry about that, just getting a little bit anxious.

I have contacted Bryn Mawr and they are incredibly helpful!! I was shocked at the knowledge and insight, and assistance, of the people there. It really fits a lot of the comments I have seen on this board. I really hope to get into that program since if they are so helpful at the beginning even before applying, they have to be good once you are in. One quick question, on average how many, if any, science classes did you guys take before entering your programs? Any idea on where the beneficial/ disqualifying line is? Oh, and did you guys take the GRE before entering your programs? Was it required?

Thanks again guys (on the west coast this includes girls), you are definitely helping me through this process.

I took no science classes during my undergraduate stint and that's the norm. Some people have taken General Chemistry, but anything beyond that and you can't apply (this is for Bryn Mawr, though I think it's true for all the formal programs).

Only take the GRE if your SAT scores are less than impressive. I didn't take the GRE, but I know some people did to show they could handle standardized tests. If you have great SATs, though, that'll do just fine.

 

[medgrl]

That's true, when I called a few post-bac programs, they said one or two science courses was just fine, but that's about it.

 

[Sterro]

I can't speak for general school policies, but from my own experience: I took one trimester of intro chem, one year of intro bio, and one trimester of genetics and was admitted at both Goucher and BM for next year.

 

[SodaiGakusei]

I have talked to Bryn Mawr quite a bit and Goucher. They both said that if you take to many science courses (even if they are from abroad and can't be used for medical school) you can't enter the program. But it did sound very flexible. Thankfully, it doesn't seem that I am anywhere close to getting near that questionable mark.

However, it seems that my advantages of the uniqueness of going abroad have to be paid for in a lot of hoops to jump through and overall mysteries as to how my application will be reviewed and assessed. So far Bryn Mawr seems the most accommodating and helpful for foreign degree holders. Goucher seems a bit more apprehensive and its questionable how exactly they will assess it. Pity, since I like the class structure at Goucher though BM is also nice.

Any one from Bryn Mawr or Goucher take GRE and if so, what where your scores? I am a little apprehensive about taking it after not taking an English exam for over 5 years.

Thanks again everyone for your help!!!!

Cheers