Applying for med school while abroad?

[sunset823]

I am going to be in Austria this summer for an internship (first week of June-last week of August), and I also wanted to apply this coming cycle (for entry in 2008). Is it possible to do apps when you're abroad? Are most of them done online, or is there still some snail mail to worry about?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[Catalystik]

Some applications can be done on-line. Others require snail-mail. Many require additional items to be mailed, like photos, copy of a birth certificate, signed statement that you have no legal issues, and/or a check to cover the secondary fees. Of course it's possible to do applications while abroad. I'd assume Austria has reliable mail service, but any overseas mail takes longer and costs more.

If you have a trustworthy family member, it might be safer to have everything mailed from your home address (after you mail it there with signatures in place) so you have a good idea of when it will arrive at its destination.

 

[MadridChic]

I am currently living in Madrid and applied this cycle while working over here. It hasn't been the easiest way to apply, but it has certainly been possible and you can do it if you plan ahead. I have had no problem with mail because my parents just open all the snail mail, but it did take some extra effort to coordinate my interviews to minimize the number of trips I had to make back the US. I submitted my AMCAS the first day possible because the sooner you turn it in, the more likely it is that you will be invited for an interview relatively early. In my experience, the sooner you are invited for an interview, the more flexibility you have to request specific interview dates. I am also from California, so being able to request dates and do all the California interviews in one week was essential because I could not manage to fly back and forth from the West coast to Spain. Overall, it was obviously more expensive to apply from abroad, but it ended up being more managable that I thought it would be and my experience in Madrid has been priceless. Also, most admissions interviewers tend to be pretty impressed when you that you flew in from Europe to do your interview. No one doubts that you really are interested in the school after you drop that little piece of information. Good luck!!

 

[boilermaker2151]

I will be applying this summer for the 2008 cycle but will likely be deploying sometime this fall. The plan is to finish at a minimum AMCAS before I leave, and hopefully the majority of secondaries. As far as interviews go, I hope they don't mind doing a telephone interview (HOPEFULLY i can even do that, depending on where they send me) from the sandbox.

 

[RyanReynolds]

I did all my primary AMCAS and a few secondaries from Australia last summer and I was back in time to do the rest of the secondaries (July) Just make sure to get your transcripts and phone call needs taken care of early because business hours are minimal with the time change.

Other than that take your laptop to an internet cafe, have a cafe con leche and enjoy!

 

[PeripateticMD]

There is nothing, nothing, like walking into an interview and saying "I just flew in from a deforestation project I'm doing in Costa Rica" or "I just got evacuated from the Darfur border" or "I've just finished an internship working on health policy in Austria" - hands down, they love it. It will completely derail the interview (generally) in your favor (if you are doing it for the right reasons and have a solid head on your shoulders).

It's a pain in the arse. That said, Austria shouldn't be that bad. I was in internet-intermittent middle of Africa where insects were my most constant companions. So you'll be fine. Just make sure you have someone VERY VERY reliable on this end. I'd also look into getting a "Power of Attorney" so someone (like your father, or brother, or husband) can sign legally for you, sign checks for/from you and so on. Especially if you're out of the country for more than 4 months.

Also, applying from abroad gives you MUCH more leway in nagging schools, I sent an email indicating that I was going to be back for 3 weeks, and over half the schools offered to interview me in those three weeks, so it really helped with stacking my interviews (which is a whole other can of worms). IF you do stack your interviews (which you will have to if you apply from abroad), apply EARLY, I mean EARLY. And make your 3 week plan to come back sometime around Thanksgiving. And then email them two months before you come back, then one month, then call.

Okay... I think that's all I can think of... but personally, applying from abroad was one of the best things ever for me about the whole process. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it in the end.

 

[Catalystik]

OP, as you plan to be back by the end of August, you should not have to worry about scheduling interviews prior to your return.

The idea of giving power of attorney to a parent is great, if they are totally trustworthy and communicate often by email.

 

[jester384]

i also did everythign while in mexico in july. A few places i had to have my parents back in the states fax something.... but mostly i just used web apps

 

[weathertalk]

As long as you have a reliable internet connection and someone to do snail mail stuff for you at home, you're fine. The vast majority of secondaries are web-based. My school has a letter service that allows me to send Letters of rec via the internet, so it wasn't a big deal. The only thing that might need to be done by snail mail is payments at some schools, or sending a photo (though some schools ask for an electronic copy)

I finished all my secondaries while studying abroad in China over the summer, it was fine.