Hello guys, I am a 2nd year student at one college in Ohio. I moved to USA couple years ago from Russia. And there I studied for 1 semester at local university. I don't have any official documents and transcripts from there, but I had some grades (most of them were pass/fail instead of number). I really didn't care about it because I knew I am going to start totally new life in the US, so grades far from perfect (A, A, C, pass, pass, fail, fail). I am going to apply at med school after graduation and I really don't want to tell them that I studied there, can they ever figure this out? I did some search and most people say that pass/fail doesn't affect GPA, is this true? Thank you
Pass/Fail does not impact GPA.
Med school application services do not accept foreign transcripts.
If your current school accepts the transferred coursework, you might be able to graduate sooner. But you would have to pay to have the old transcript translated into a US equivalent by a service like WES. And you would be required to list the transferred classes and grades on the med school application. If you don't have the credit transferred, you are not obliged to list the grades earned abroad.
From page 38 of the AMCAS Application Guide:
Independent Attendance, Credits Transferred
Courses attempted independently (not through a study abroad program) at a foreign institution
must be listed if the credit has been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution by using a credit
hour system convertible to semester hours. Courses include those taken in a foreign country before
formally enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution, as well as those taken independently after
enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution.
• In Schools Attended, list the U.S. or Canadian institution that granted your transfer credit and list
the foreign school. You must request a transcript exception for the foreign institution and select the
reason Foreign Institution or study abroad program sponsored by U.S., U.S. territorial, or Canadian
institution—Credits transferred. When asked if the credits from the foreign school were transferred,
you must select Yes and select the name of the U.S. or Canadian Institution that granted the credit.
• List foreign coursework as it appears on the U.S. or Canadian transcript under the foreign institution
at which it was attempted. Do not list the coursework twice.
• If transfer credits are not assigned to individual courses, subdivide the credit hour total as appropriate
and assign credit hours to each course.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution awarding transfer credit provides letter grades (e.g., A, B, C) and
credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course on your transcript, enter all required course
data. AMCAS will include the coursework in your AMCAS GPAs, regardless of institutional policies.
• If the U.S. or Canadian institution does not provide letter grades other than pass/fail:
° Indicate Pass/Fail as the Special Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering
the transcript grade exactly as it appears on your official transcript.
° AMCAS will include this coursework in your cumulative Pass/Fail–Pass and Pass/Fail–Fail credit
hour totals, not in your AMCAS GPAs.
Independent Attendance, Credits Not Transferred
Courses (other than MD coursework) attempted independently at a foreign institution do not have to
be listed if credit has not been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution, except to meet medical
school prerequisites unduplicated by other listed coursework. Such courses include coursework taken
in a foreign country before formally enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution, as well as coursework
taken independently after enrolling in a U.S. or Canadian institution.
You are not required to list these courses in your AMCAS application, but you may do so if you would
like to make medical schools aware of the courses taken. AMCAS will not verify the coursework and
will not include the courses in your AMCAS GPAs.
If you include this coursework in your application:
• Include the foreign institution in Schools Attended, request a transcript exception for the school,
and select Foreign Institution—No credits transferred. Do not send foreign transcripts
or certificates to AMCAS.
• Provide all required course data from the foreign institution except credit hours attempted and grades.
