Clinical Lab Scientist with foreign bachelors Degree applying for Medical School

[Boofsteak101]

Hello Everyone,

I have read some of the threads here and it kind of given me light on whether or not I should still pursue my dream of being a doctor here in the US. I had my bachelors degree in Medical Laboratory Science from the Philippines (graduated last 2018) and since I am a permanent resident of the US I immediately came back here and did my exams for my licenses and certifications in order for me to work as a clinical laboratory scientist here in the US.

I have been working as a CLS in a total of 3 hospitals for over year now and I kinda lost my hope of getting into Med School since I've been reading a lot of stuff in the internet and most of them says that there's a slim to none - chance of getting into Med School having a non-US bachelors degree, up until I came across this forum and saw that it is still plausible to do it.

I currently applied to an accelerated BSN program as my second degree, it is a 16 month 62 credit study which complies to some of the Medical Schools requirements (1 year of schooling in the US and a minimum of 30 credit units). After I'm done with it I am gonna try to apply to Medical School.

If you guys have insights regarding my situation could you help or guide me on whether I am or I am not taking the right route. I don't know what else I need in order for me to qualify for the application requirements demanded by the Medical Schools here in the US.

Would these two bachelors degree and my work experience be enough for me to be competitive? (plus the MCAT)

Thank you guys.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[gyngyn]

Here's a good thread: A Guide to Applying US Med School with a Foreign Bachelor Degree

 

[Hiree44]

I don't know that much about applying with a foreign degree, but I know a little. I watched a few of my friends try to pull it off, none of them successfully. I know that there is definitely a bias against non US citizens. Unfortunately that applies to permanent residents as well. Although most med schools say outright that they won't take students that aren't citizens or permanent residents, they don't say that they still view permanent residents with a bias (which many do). This is not to say it can't be done. Have you considered getting a master's instead of patching together a premed degree in the US? Also is the BSN degree just to get US class time in, or do you actually have an interest in pursuing that as a career too?
The majority of my friends got master's degrees, applied and were denied, and then ended up going to the Caribbean. Unfortunately, I think that option is closing. With residencies getting more competitive and STEP1 moving to pass fail the future looks like it will be impossible to be a doctor in the US unless you've gone to medical school here.

 

[Hiree44]

If I were you I would get sometime with an advisor. Talk to someone that knows the ins and outs of the medical school application process. A lot of people on SDN claim to know it because we've been through, but that is very different from guiding hundreds of students through it every year. If you can't sit down with a quality university premed advisor then maybe try to get some face time with the advisors from private companies. I don't know which ones are the best, I never used them. You'll have to do some research on that. But, anyways, you have a complicated situation and I think professional eyes could help better than strangers on the internet. I hope it works out well for you.

 

[gyngyn]

A lot of people on SDN claim to know it because we've been through, but that is very different from guiding hundreds of students through it every year.

If you see a badge under any member's avatar, you can be sure that their credentials have been verified.

 

[Boofsteak101]

I don't know that much about applying with a foreign degree, but I know a little. I watched a few of my friends try to pull it off, none of them successfully. I know that there is definitely a bias against non US citizens. Unfortunately that applies to permanent residents as well. Although most med schools say outright that they won't take students that aren't citizens or permanent residents, they don't say that they still view permanent residents with a bias (which many do). This is not to say it can't be done. Have you considered getting a master's instead of patching together a premed degree in the US? Also is the BSN degree just to get US class time in, or do you actually have an interest in pursuing that as a career too?
The majority of my friends got master's degrees, applied and were denied, and then ended up going to the Caribbean. Unfortunately, I think that option is closing. With residencies getting more competitive and STEP1 moving to pass fail the future looks like it will be impossible to be a doctor in the US unless you've gone to medical school here.

Thank you for your reply @Hiree27. I didn't know that there is still bias against Permanent residents over US citizens which is really saddening. I did plan to get a masters degree but upon reading through the requirements of most medical schools, almost all of them require 60-90 undergrad credits and a bachelors here in the US, so I made a decision of just pursuing another degree which is from here to at least suffice those two requirements. Also, I plan to take all the prereqs here too while being on the ABSN program (which is really redundant since I already took all those courses back in college) to make widen my options of schools to apply to since there are some requiring prereqs to be done here in the states. I have no plans of pursuing nursing as a career, I am doing it to fulfill the requirements needed by the Medical schools. I guess if everything else fails I guess I can go up to be a DNP or CRNA instead. I will look into that professional advising and do some research on it. My head is still in the game so I am still not giving up on this MD, not until I can say that I've tried everything I could.