Can anyone with a BS from a foreign university get into med school?

[ksu]

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Hello everyone!

Is it mandatory to have a BS to get into a school of medicine? Actually I have a BS in pharmacy from a foreign university and was wondering if I had to take classes to have a degree here in US or just completing the prerequisites is enough. I really have the desire of becoming a gynecologist since the time I was in school. Can anyone give me some med schools that do accept degrees from foreign unis or dont require a degree at all?1 Where do I start from? I have no clue...please help!

Thank you 🙂

 

[shiftingmirage]

No, a US BS/BA is not required to get into med school. Most schools require the pre-reqs and 90 credit hours in a US school. That being said 99.9% of accepted individuals have a BA/BS.

You're in a unique (to me at least) situation of having a BS from a foreign school. If I was on an adcom, and you app came up and said, I did the pre-reqs, and the reason I didn't get a BA/BS is because I already have one from another school. That seems like a perfectly legit reason to me, but I can't say adcoms would agree with my logic. There is probably some pride issues as well, in the sense that Americans tend to believe this is the best country, best education, tech advances, etc. So I could also see an adcom saying, his BS was at a school on Mars where most people stop school at grade 8, so his BS doesn't carry the same weight as a US BS.

 

[ksu]

No, a US BS/BA is not required to get into med school. Most schools require the pre-reqs and 90 credit hours in a US school. That being said 99.9% of accepted individuals have a BA/BS.

You're in a unique (to me at least) situation of having a BS from a foreign school. If I was on an adcom, and you app came up and said, I did the pre-reqs, and the reason I didn't get a BA/BS is because I already have one from another school. That seems like a perfectly legit reason to me, but I can't say adcoms would agree with my logic. There is probably some pride issues as well, in the sense that Americans tend to believe this is the best country, best education, tech advances, etc. So I could also see an adcom saying, his BS was at a school on Mars where most people stop school at grade 8, so his BS doesn't carry the same weight as a US BS.

Thank you so much shiftingmirage!...for taking time out to read and answer my post! 🙂 Your reply completely makes sense to me...so knowing that a BS is not a requirement I would go ahead and think more seriously about getting into a med school...One more question...How early should one start...scheduling for MCAT...applications through AMCAS? I am thinking of completing the prequesites by fall 2011...I am sorry these might be really simple things everyone here might know but I feel completely lost cuz everything is so different😳

Thank you so very much!

 

[Catalystik]

You might consider having your transcript officially evaluated by a service like WES and then try to transfer some of the credit to a US accredited college to shorten your educational path.

You can find additional helpful threads on this subject in the NonTraditional Forum, with search topic "international'. Here is a recent one: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=677617

 

[dentist82]

Hello ksu,

I have exact same situation as you. I, also have a bachelors degree in Dentistry from a foreign university and considering career change to medicine. I haven't started the process yet but I will share with you what I know for sure.

1- All medical schools in texas and one in alabama REQUIRE U.S. BS degree. It is really unfortunate since texas is where I reside! I have called so many medical schools and almost all told me they don't require a BS and for my (our) case we just need to take the pre-med prereq. (Bio, Phy, Chem, Eng and Math) and the MCAT.

2- When we apply to medical school the AMCAS will NOT verify our foreign degree, I contacted them personally and they told me they wont require my transcripts, however, medical schools will require translation and evaluation of your degree by WES or ECE ect...

3- Here's how medical school will view your GPA, there is Cumulative GPA also known as overall GPA which in our case will be the foreign degree GPA... Also, there is Sceince GPA (sGPA) which is your grades in premed prereq mentioned above. You also need to take the MCAT.

4- If you have a GPA problem being low, there is a way around that by enrolling in masters degree program or post-bacc. In our case, a master of public health would be good. Sometimes you just have to get masters in order to prove to ADCOM that you can handle graduate course load at a U.S. institution. The reason why I'm saying a maters degree becasue you will save a year that way versus going for another BS in the U.S. (Masters in Public Health can be done in a 1/1.5 year.

5- Let's break down the semister credit requirement for U.S. medical schools. Most medical schools require 90 credit hours. Once you start taking the premed prereq you will have at least 40-45 undergraduatre credit hours. Keep in mind, when you take masters degree in public health or any other graduate degree (which is usually 40-60 GRADUATE credit hours) it will NOT count towards the 90 UNDERGRADUATE credit hours requirment. My point is, the MPH will help improve your GPA, prove that you can handle graduate course work but it's not going to count toward the requirement. In Texas, you would still have to have BS to apply to med school even if you have masters in public health(I know, very ******ed!!) but thats only in Texas.

6- I've called med schools and told them about my situation. From what they've told me, your sGPA and MCAT can cover little for your foreign degree low GPA(if you have one) but you should give them VERY good reason for that.

7- My best advice for you is to call each and every medical school you're interested in and ask them in detail about your situation. It's better to hear it from them directly; but HEY don't forget to update me!!! lol I need more information about that too.

If you need anything else plz let me know and again, let's keep each other informed of what we find out!

Thanks!

 

[ksu]

Hello ksu,

I have exact same situation as you. I, also have a bachelors degree in Dentistry from a foreign university and considering career change to medicine. I haven't started the process yet but I will share with you what I know for sure.

1- All medical schools in texas and one in alabama REQUIRE U.S. BS degree. It is really unfortunate since texas is where I reside! I have called so many medical schools and almost all told me they don't require a BS and for my (our) case we just need to take the pre-med prereq. (Bio, Phy, Chem, Eng and Math) and the MCAT.

2- When we apply to medical school the AMCAS will NOT verify our foreign degree, I contacted them personally and they told me they wont require my transcripts, however, medical schools will require translation and evaluation of your degree by WES or ECE ect...

3- Here's how medical school will view your GPA, there is Cumulative GPA also known as overall GPA which in our case will be the foreign degree GPA... Also, there is Sceince GPA (sGPA) which is your grades in premed prereq mentioned above. You also need to take the MCAT.

4- If you have a GPA problem being low, there is a way around that by enrolling in masters degree program or post-bacc. In our case, a master of public health would be good. Sometimes you just have to get masters in order to prove to ADCOM that you can handle graduate course load at a U.S. institution. The reason why I'm saying a maters degree becasue you will save a year that way versus going for another BS in the U.S. (Masters in Public Health can be done in a 1/1.5 year.

5- Let's break down the semister credit requirement for U.S. medical schools. Most medical schools require 90 credit hours. Once you start taking the premed prereq you will have at least 40-45 undergraduatre credit hours. Keep in mind, when you take masters degree in public health or any other graduate degree (which is usually 40-60 GRADUATE credit hours) it will NOT count towards the 90 UNDERGRADUATE credit hours requirment. My point is, the MPH will help improve your GPA, prove that you can handle graduate course work but it's not going to count toward the requirement. In Texas, you would still have to have BS to apply to med school even if you have masters in public health(I know, very ******ed!!) but thats only in Texas.

6- I've called med schools and told them about my situation. From what they've told me, your sGPA and MCAT can cover little for your foreign degree low GPA(if you have one) but you should give them VERY good reason for that.

7- My best advice for you is to call each and every medical school you're interested in and ask them in detail about your situation. It's better to hear it from them directly; but HEY don't forget to update me!!! lol I need more information about that too.

If you need anything else plz let me know and again, let's keep each other informed of what we find out!

Thanks!

Hey Dentist82!

Thanks for such an informative post...It helped me see a more clear path ahead...I would now do just that...call each and every med school i want to go to and collect information from them...sure I will keep you posted 🙂

Thanks again!