Does US citizenship matter?

[TheKoman]

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Hey everyone,

Just wondering if not being a US citizen matters in the application process to med school. I know it matters for things like financial aid but other than that, does it influence the adcoms decision. Im not a foreign student thou, I grew up in the US since the age of 3 but I just never got around to getting my citizenship. Ive been a permanent resident for over 20 years now...... And my citizenship status is from Canada....(i know i know...no canadian jokes). Anywayz, just wondering if anyone knew anything. Thanks

 

[birdie]

If you are a permanent resident, you should be fine. It is foreign students that have only a student visa who have a hard time getting in. As a PR, you will be considered equal to US citizen in the admissions process.

 

[DarkChild]

the answer to your question is no. permanent residents and citizens are considered the same in eyes of adcoms AND for financial aid. a friend of mine (a recently naturalized perm. resident) and I (a perm resident) had this conversation recently.
ohhh. whoops - the big one is armed forces related financing of med education. those guys only want us citizens.

 

[neofight]

No, but size does.

 

[jeffsimz]

I've looked into some schools and they've told me that Canadians are considered the same as out of state applicants.

 

[Lab-Rat21]

I am a permanent resident for 13 years and i think it does not matter. I had one rude interviewer that implied I was unpatriotic or whatever, but I quickly outmaneuvered out of that and was waitlisted there (not rejected).

I think it helps a lot to do your citizenship b/c a lot of grants/scholarships want only US citizens. After i get into med school I will take care of this and become a US citizen ASAP.

 

[DrM]

No, being a permanent resident does not hurt your chances of admission. If anything it makes you stand out as an applicant. I am a permanent resident and got 6 interviews (a few at top 10 schools), 2 acceptances and 3 waitlists.
At some of my interviews, my interviewers wanted to be sure that I was committed to practicing in the US, but overall I believe that my non-American background helped my application.
The only down-side of not being a US citizen is not being able to get military scholarships. All federal loans are available to permanent residents and I have also received a few merit scholarship offers, so those are fair game too.