confused reapplicant in need of advice

[InternationalMf]

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Hello everyone.

I am reaching you for advice.

I applied late in the cycle for the med class starting 2016-2017 but still received two interviews and practically got rejected.

I got accepted at a good college that is not in the USA: American University of Beirut AUB.
I find myself confused. I am tempted to reapply next year, but what is the best I can do during the next year?
I am fairly confident I would be accepted again at AUB again next year if I reapply having done something useful in that year. So even if I do not get accepted in the states, I can always become a doctor by going at my home institution which is great, but presents many disadvantages ( similar tuition to US schools while I am an IMG at residency, just to cite one)

Should I go for a master's degree? Is it too late now to apply for a masters in the US? what about the UK? Is it worth it ( money wise since these graduate studies are pretty expensive )?
Should I just go into AUB medical school and reapply to the states next year as a Med1 ?
Is it possible to find paid research in the states which I'd do for a year? or volunteer somewhere although this doesn't typically excite me much...

Any other ideas?

 

[Udreamin]

I was reading the admissions guide for this university which had an interesting note about obtaining MD.

To be eligible for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, a student must satisfactorily complete the curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine and must be recommended by the Academic Committee. The degree may be granted with distinction to students who attain a grade of excellent in at least 50 percent of their credits and with a grade of pass in no more than 20 percent of credits during the four years of the program.

The Faculty of Medicine offers post-graduate training positions in the various academic departments at AUBMC to AUB and non-AUB medical graduates.

I am also confused about whether the degree is accredited in the U.S.

If you want to practice in the U.S., then I imagine everyone's answer will be the same: apply U.S. school and attend it.

 

[tantacles]

Hello everyone.

I am reaching you for advice.

I applied late in the cycle for the med class starting 2016-2017 but still received two interviews and practically got rejected.

I got accepted at a good college that is not in the USA: American University of Beirut AUB.
I find myself confused. I am tempted to reapply next year, but what is the best I can do during the next year?
I am fairly confident I would be accepted again at AUB again next year if I reapply having done something useful in that year. So even if I do not get accepted in the states, I can always become a doctor by going at my home institution which is great, but presents many disadvantages ( similar tuition to US schools while I am an IMG at residency, just to cite one)

Should I go for a master's degree? Is it too late now to apply for a masters in the US? what about the UK? Is it worth it ( money wise since these graduate studies are pretty expensive )?
Should I just go into AUB medical school and reapply to the states next year as a Med1 ?
Is it possible to find paid research in the states which I'd do for a year? or volunteer somewhere although this doesn't typically excite me much...

Any other ideas?

Where do you want to practice? If you want to practice in the United States I would suggest you take a year off to improve your application and apply again. If you are interested in practicing in Beirut, on the other hand, AUB sounds like a great choice.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Things to consider:
1. What are your stats/EC's?
2. Where do you want to practice? As others have said, if your goal is to practice medicine in the US, you should strongly consider improving your app and reapplying to US MD/DO schools.
3. It's absolutely possible to find paid research jobs, assuming you're able to work in the US.

If you do choose to reapply, you should figure out the weak points in your application and where there's room for improvement. And apply early this time! 🙂

 

[hopefulERdoc251]

GO DO!!!!!!!!

 

[InternationalMf]

Hey everyone. Thanks on the feedback.

@Udreamin the academic committee seems like bull**** to me. Everybody who passes their courses would get MD in my opinion. I don't get your point. There are many post-graduate programs at AUBMC indeed and the school's quite good, it boasts to be top in the region.

I asked students here and checked some websites. Apparently, around half of the students from AUBMC take what's called a prelim year, maybe you guys can tell me if it applies in the states too, and then go on to the states. Students and doctors here tell me that AUBMC has a good reputation in the states and that those who apply get into their top choices when matching, but I would be doubtful, perhaps they do not aim, in the first place, to the really competitive specialties since they are IMG.
So if the goal is to practice in the states, it seems I can do it this way. @gonnif @tantacles what do you think? Am I missing something?

As for my grades, I have a really high gpa according to amcas 3.9something and good mcat scores: 14 PHYS 15 BIOL 10 ENGL 10 PSYCH sections.
I have good volunteer experience locally (1000+ hours).
a week project in restoration of prisons
2 months clinical research( mostly literature review )
40 hours shadowing
a full merit scholarship during my undergrad at AUB
Semester Abroad in Switzerland with a Model United Nations diplomacy award

What do you think I should work on?

And @thatwouldbeanarchy my question to the third point, where can I find such paid research positions?

Thank you all for your help!

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Hey everyone. Thanks on the feedback.

@Udreamin the academic committee seems like bull**** to me. Everybody who passes their courses would get MD in my opinion. I don't get your point. There are many post-graduate programs at AUBMC indeed and the school's quite good, it boasts to be top in the region.

I asked students here and checked some websites. Apparently, around half of the students from AUBMC take what's called a prelim year, maybe you guys can tell me if it applies in the states too, and then go on to the states. Students and doctors here tell me that AUBMC has a good reputation in the states and that those who apply get into their top choices when matching, but I would be doubtful, perhaps they do not aim, in the first place, to the really competitive specialties since they are IMG.
So if the goal is to practice in the states, it seems I can do it this way. @gonnif @tantacles what do you think? Am I missing something?

As for my grades, I have a really high gpa according to amcas 3.9something and good mcat scores: 14 PHYS 15 BIOL 10 ENGL 10 PSYCH sections.
I have good volunteer experience locally (1000+ hours).
a week project in restoration of prisons
2 months clinical research( mostly literature review )
40 hours shadowing
a full merit scholarship during my undergrad at AUB
Semester Abroad in Switzerland with a Model United Nations diplomacy award

What do you think I should work on?

And @thatwouldbeanarchy my question to the third point, where can I find such paid research positions?

Thank you all for your help!

Are you a US citizen? Also, that MCAT score doesn't make sense. They are three digit numbers.

 

[InternationalMf]

Are you a US citizen? Also, that MCAT score doesn't make sense. They are three digit numbers.

I am not a US citizen.

Yes, my mcat scores are:

Total Score 517

Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems 131
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills 127
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems 132
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior 127

 

[ThoracicGuy]

I am not a US citizen.

Yes, my mcat scores are:

Total Score 517

Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems 131
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills 127
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems 132
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior 127

As a foreigner, it well be harder to get a spot in a U.S.medical school. Having the benefit of a green card out citizenship would make it much easier. Your mcat score is great, but many schools require US or Canadian undergraduate courses.

The easiest path for you is to go to your local medical school. Make sure that you can get ECFMG certification with that school. Then take the usmle steps during school, try to arrange some US clinical rotations, and then look to match into a spot in the US as a resident.

There is no guarantee that you would match, though, so be ready to practice in Lebanon or other countries that your degree and training would be accepted.

 

[InternationalMf]

I appreciate your advice @gonnif
@ThoracicGuy I disagree with applying as ECFMG since this is a shot in the dark and with relatively low chances to a few specialties.

However, if I go to a US school, will I still be at a disadvantage when applying to residency program as I am an non-US citizen?

I am still confused on how to approach the coming year. I still have the same questions I asked initially.
Any help and guidance is greatly appreciated

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

And @thatwouldbeanarchy my question to the third point, where can I find such paid research positions?

If you're interested in clinical research, I'd start by looking at academic hospitals in your area to see if they're hiring Research Assistants. You could also look for non-clinical research at a university.

Should I go for a master's degree?

Personally, I can't think of any benefit to getting a Master's if you have a 3.9 GPA.

Should I just go into AUB medical school and reapply to the states next year as a Med1 ?

Do you mean that you'd try to transfer out of AUB? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the impression that most US MD programs don't accept transfer students. I think it'd be a very risky move to leave a medical school and try to apply again. I think it's probably in your best interest to either commit to AUB or decline that offer and try to get into a US program.

 

[InternationalMf]

Yes, you would. While you wouldnt be an IMG, hospitals have to get certain work visas and many will not bother with that. Hence, many programs will only consider US citizens

Thanks again!
Any statistics on this?

 

[InternationalMf]

If you're interested in clinical research, I'd start by looking at academic hospitals in your area to see if they're hiring Research Assistants. You could also look for non-clinical research at a university.


Personally, I can't think of any benefit to getting a Master's if you have a 3.9 GPA.


Do you mean that you'd try to transfer out of AUB? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I was under the impression that most US MD programs don't accept transfer students. I think it'd be a very risky move to leave a medical school and try to apply again. I think it's probably in your best interest to either commit to AUB or decline that offer and try to get into a US program.

I thought that a global health or public health master would help me as an applicant now and would also present me as a more interesting candidate later when applying to residency programs, but I could be wrong.

Problem is maybe that I already applied to AUB so rejecting the application to do research and then not being accepted to the states and then reapplying to AUB AGAIN wouldn't be a very good idea... unless I can convince them that I was interested in research or I was just making sure I wanted medicine... It's a risky move indeed.

What would you guys do? I'm 21 so I'm still young and I could always reapply later but I don't want to spend 2 years now if I'm not going to get anything out of them...

Thanks for the support everyone