All the Nigerian premeds and med students, get in here!!!

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How is the cycle going for you all? I'm still taking prerequisites and won't be applying for a few years. Hope things have progressed nicely for the group!
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Hey,

Nigerian International here. Moved here 4 years ago for undergrad. I am an applicant in this cycle. I am glad a couple of you have gotten accepted. Still out here waiting for God's intervention.

Happy for you all.
 
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God'sOwn said:
Hey,

Nigerian International here. Moved here 4 years ago for undergrad. I am an applicant in this cycle. I am glad a couple of you have gotten accepted. Still out here waiting for God's intervention.

Happy for you all.
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Praying for you! Also I think we have the same first name but I can’t PM you to confirm this haha
 
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Chromium Surfer said:
Praying for you! Also I think we have the same first name but I can’t PM you to confirm this haha
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Your prayer is greatly appreciated. That's cool, what makes you think so? (The SDN anonymity life :D).
 
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The cycle is going really well, hope it's going well for yall too!
 
Just matched (Texas is weird about med school apps OK) into my top choice school! Very happy, very surprised tbh (considering my stats coming into this...)! I have never seen my parents that happy before lol
 
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Luftwaffle said:
Just matched (Texas is weird about med school apps OK) into my top choice school! Very happy, very surprised tbh (considering my stats coming into this...)! I have never seen my parents that happy before lol
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Congratulations!!!!!!!!! Happy for you.
 
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My naija family, I hail o, how una dey? Anyone applying or accepted to start med school this fall?
 
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ick19 said:
Same! I still have not decided where and am still waiting on a few post-interview decisions.
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Good luck and praying for ya! Keep us posted on where you end up too!
 
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I want to be mad this forum exists but I can't be.
Omo! We out here.
wish everyone well for the upcoming cycle!
 
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Hi guys!
Wow, where una dey all this while?!

Help your brother here desperately needs advice and tips about med school admission.

Am a Chemistry graduate of University of Ilorin and just relocated to the US last year.
I have done my credentials evaluation through WES and would be taking my prereqs at UCLA extension coming Spring.

However I am still afraid of my chances of getting into a US medical school.
What advise(s) can you give?
Currently, have not been able to meet anyone to mentor me through this process and I do not want to end up wasting my time , energy and money.
 
Sead said:
Hi guys!
Wow, where una dey all this while?!

Help your brother here desperately needs advice and tips about med school admission.

Am a Chemistry graduate of University of Ilorin and just relocated to the US last year.
I have done my credentials evaluation through WES and would be taking my prereqs at UCLA extension coming Spring.

However I am still afraid of my chances of getting into a US medical school.
What advise(s) can you give?
Currently, have not been able to meet anyone to mentor me through this process and I do not want to end up wasting my time , energy and money.
Click to expand...
LOL

My first advice would be to start working on your permanent residency (i.e. green card) if you don't already have one, while you're taking prereqs. You need to have a green card or citizenship by the time you're applying, there's a box you have to check for immigration status on the application forms. Very few schools, if any, consider international graduates whom don't have a green card, the ones that do require a U.S. bank account that's loaded with tuition for the entire 4 years I think (you probably already know this). Out of many things that is of concern for medical schools in the U.S. when considering international graduates, include: (a) how are you going to pay tuition and survive financially while in the program, (b) their aim is to train doctors who plan on practicing in the U.S.... immigration troubles might be an issue for someone without at least a permanent resident status.

Secondly - Ace your prereqs whenever you take them (a couple Bs shouldn't be an issue)

Thirdly, get various volunteer and shadowing experiences so you have inspiring stories to show your commitment for community service tell as well as to have inspiring experiences you can share on your personal statement. Do this while taking your prereqs.

Get a medical/science research experience while taking your prereqs.

Kill your MCAT because at the end of the day, it shows how ready you are for the rigorous medical curriculum.

Save money for whenever you start applying to schools. It can get costly... but not something to really worry about just yet..

Hopefully this helps!
 
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Docslizzy said:
LOL

My first advice would be to start working on your permanent residency (i.e. green card) if you don't already have one, while you're taking prereqs. You need to have a green card or citizenship by the time you're applying, there's a box you have to check for immigration status on the application forms. Very few schools, if any, consider international graduates whom don't have a green card, the ones that do require a U.S. bank account that's loaded with tuition for the entire 4 years I think (you probably already know this). Out of many things that is of concern for medical schools in the U.S. when considering international graduates, include: (a) how are you going to pay tuition and survive financially while in the program, (b) their aim is to train doctors who plan on practicing in the U.S.... immigration troubles might be an issue for someone without at least a permanent resident status.

Secondly - Ace your prereqs whenever you take them (a couple Bs shouldn't be an issue)

Thirdly, get various volunteer and shadowing experiences so you have inspiring stories to show your commitment for community service tell as well as to have inspiring experiences you can share on your personal statement. Do this while taking your prereqs.

Get a medical/science research experience while taking your prereqs.

Kill your MCAT because at the end of the day, it shows how ready you are for the rigorous medical curriculum.

Save money for whenever you start applying to schools. It can get costly... but not something to really worry about just yet..

Hopefully this helps!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I do appreciate you taking your time to give a detailed answer . I would do well to follow the tips and advice

Actually, I am an American citizen and now a California resident too. However my great concerns are:
- how the admission committee would view my foreign bachelor's degree
- would taking prereqs at UCLA extension ( a DIY post bacc) give me enough leverage to get admission into medical schools as compared to going for a 2nd Bachelor's degree?

Am even more concerned about the DIY post bacc at UCLA as it is not structured and I would have to get LORs, volunteer/shadowing experience and a medical/research experience all by myself. I only opted for it as it's the only viable option available to me since I live in LA.

Thus, I would greatly appreciate tips on how to get those letters and experiences by myself.
I wouldn't mind if you can give job tips too.. I don go interview tire! These people do not regard my degree a bit. However I have been working as a caregiver to an autistic teenager for now....
 
Hey guys! Omg so happy I found this thread :) Yoruba girl on the East coast. I applied this cycle, hoping to get off a couple waitlists. (and some more interview love)
 
Sead said:
Thanks! I do appreciate you taking your time to give a detailed answer . I would do well to follow the tips and advice

Actually, I am an American citizen and now a California resident too. However my great concerns are:
- how the admission committee would view my foreign bachelor's degree
- would taking prereqs at UCLA extension ( a DIY post bacc) give me enough leverage to get admission into medical schools as compared to going for a 2nd Bachelor's degree?

Am even more concerned about the DIY post bacc at UCLA as it is not structured and I would have to get LORs, volunteer/shadowing experience and a medical/research experience all by myself. I only opted for it as it's the only viable option available to me since I live in LA.

Thus, I would greatly appreciate tips on how to get those letters and experiences by myself.
I wouldn't mind if you can give job tips too.. I don go interview tire! These people do not regard my degree a bit. However I have been working as a caregiver to an autistic teenager for now....
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The admissions committee would most likely focus on the WES evaluation when looking at your academic history but more importantly, they'll evaluate you based on your recently post-graduate performance (i.e. pre-reqs).

I'm not sure what you mean by " I would have to get LORs, volunteer/shadowing experience and a medical/research experience all by myself." Though it is recommended to have a committee letter from your undergraduate institute, it is not required. Moreover, you still have to get these letters yourself by either going to professors (preferably science professors) you are confident can write you a strong letter. Get these letters from instructors when you take your prereqs (hence the reason you should try to ace those classes). Also get letters from physicians you shadowed and gained meaningful experiences from. Approach these professors at the end of the semester and physicians towards the end of the experience.

My advice to you on jobs, look for ones that aren't looking for extensive years of experience. Look into emergency room technician/assistant, scribe, clinical research technician types of positions. At the end of the day, you want to get clinical/medical/hands-on healthcare experience and have something to say about how it pushed you even further to become a doctor. Your current job as a caregiver is a plus in your resume/application but not enough.
 
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Surgeonmymind said:
Hey guys! Omg so happy I found this thread :) Yoruba girl on the East coast. I applied this cycle, hoping to get off a couple waitlists. (and some more interview love)
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Welcome! Send update and thank you letters to places you have interview, doesn't hurt your chances (unless you reveal something bad about yourself). Good luck to you and keep us posted!
 
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Thanks bro @jaggabrotha
Those are really helpful tips. I do appreciate.

One question about how the adcoms view the WES evaluation, so my GPA on evaluation in US standard came as 3.19. Is this good enough? I had hoped they wouldn't look into it o ...

So the post baccalaureate program at UCLA is a DIY type - I guess DIY means Do It Yourself. Thus it's quite unstructured as compared to other post bacc programs where the schools readily helps the students with LORs, volunteer opportunities, research etc.

As someone who just moved here, doing that already feels overwhelming. The system is completely new to me. But I guess once I start my classes I'd be able to learn and adapt.

As per the job ish, thanks!
I have not even looked into those jobs coz I thought they'd require some certification of some kind. But I would look into it now.
 
Veronica Mars MD said:
Hey hey,
Fellow naija here, Yoruba girl to be exact
I did a DIY post-bacc and mostly took the upper division science classes that many medical schools recommend
(i.e. embryology, histology, biochem). Doing it this way is cheaper and will also help increase your 3.19 GPA which tbh is on a bit of the low side. Also the professors from your post-bacc classes should be able to write you a LOR if you do well in their classes and you've established a good rapport.

Scribe jobs also seem to be ideal and what a lot of recent successful applicants have done; you gain clinical exposure and a paycheck lol; try looking for a position on Scribeamerica.com

Best of luck!!
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Oh thank you! My fellow omoluabi. Am also Yoruba - Ondo state precisely.

Am highly considering the scribe job.. I already applied to scribe America and now awaiting their reply.

About the upper level science courses, well I dont know if its advisable for me to do the upper level courses because I actually did my undergrad in naija. My science classes were wack (mostly theoretical and labs were mediocre).... I would nevertheless do some of the upper level as I proceed.
 
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Veronica Mars MD said:
Oh...Then starting off with some of the lower level classes like general bio, general chemistry and such will be ok and help build up your science GPA as well as give you the proper foundation for MCAT content. Don't take the MCAT until you've completed these courses and feel comfortable with the content!!!
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Would keep that in mind.
Thanks!
 
Sead said:
Would keep that in mind.
Thanks!
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Honestly, I don't know if anyone has told you this. But it might not be appealing to you. If you're not too old like in your late 30's to 40's, I would advise you to pursue a second bachelor's degree in the US or just take prerequisites. You do not have to complete a degree though. Just start afresh taking classes. Leave out your Nigerian Chemistry degree entirely. This would make life easier for you to evaluate your GPA. This is from experience. Good-luck!
 
Newtonian21 said:
Honestly, I don't know if anyone has told you this. But it might not be appealing to you. If you're not too old like in your late 30's to 40's, I would advise you to pursue a second bachelor's degree in the US or just take prerequisites. You do not have to complete a degree though. Just start afresh taking classes. Leave out your Nigerian Chemistry degree entirely. This would make life easier for you to evaluate your GPA. This is from experience. Good-luck!
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Hi,
Thanks, I actually have been told that. Actually, I was all in for a 2nd bachelor's degree only to discover that the egoistic schools in California or say in Los Angeles do not accept students for a 2nd bachelor's degree. USC however does but it's expensive and then I found out taking prerequisites at UCLA Extension affords me the chance to work part-time since classes are mainly in the evening and on the weekends.
 
skeptastic said:
How is the cycle going for you all? I'm still taking prerequisites and won't be applying for a few years. Hope things have progressed nicely for the group!
Click to expand...
Got 4 MD A already, canceled two DO II. Have two MD II to attend still. Goodluck y'all.
 
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Orthopedics101 said:
It's the specialty I've shadowed the most (3 different orthopedic surgeons). Also seen some surgeries and I like how mechanical the procedures are. What about you?
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Hello my broda I am Igbo and also interested in Ortho. I am in my first year and seeing how this thread was some time ago, are there any updates? Are yall currently applying to ortho residencies and did any of yall complete Nth dimensions?
 
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