Engg grad from India looking to switch to medical

[medaspire1]

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Hi
Am a engg grad from india ( US citizen here ) looking to switch to do my medicine .
I will be entering as a non -trad
Background
1. 4 year undergrad engg degree in computer science ,
2. Masters in USA in computer science
3. 10 years worked in technology field
4. Have done some shadowing and volunteering ( on pause now due to covid) at local hospitals

What I see is most med schools need a UG from USA . I am looking to do a post bacc pre med and reached out to a few schools and some advise I might need to do a UG as most med schools in US need a UG from US

Looking for someone who might have been this in route ahead of me and could help advise on next steps .

 

[Catalystik]

Hi
Am a engg grad from india ( US citizen here ) looking to switch to do my medicine .
I will be entering as a non -trad
Background
1. 4 year undergrad engg degree in computer science ,
2. Masters in USA in computer science
3. 10 years worked in technology field
4. Have done some shadowing and volunteering ( on pause now due to covid) at local hospitals

What I see is most med schools need a UG from USA . I am looking to do a post bacc pre med and reached out to a few schools and some advise I might need to do a UG as most med schools in US need a UG from US

Looking for someone who might have been this in route ahead of me and could help advise on next steps .

If you can get a US university to accept your foreign undergrad credits, or at least some of them, it would shorten your path to a US degree. You should plan on retaking all med school prerequisites, even if credit is transferred.

All (most) med schools don't require a US bachelors degree, but the majority will require 60-90 semester hours of US classroom work, which can (usually) include the masters degree credits.

A few med schools don't require all the typical prerequisites and are willing to accept evidence of competency (like a high MCAT score). Some are OK with only 30 US semester hours (it seemed to me these are mostly the highly-selective schools). Obviously you will severely limit your list of med schools to target, if you rely on this approach.

I suggest you gather detailed information on the med school requirements for those schools you are most likely to target. As you can see, there is no "rule of thumb" that applies to all of them.

 

[medaspire1]

Thanks for the feedback . So I take doing a post bacc will be helpful .

 

[Catalystik]

Thanks for the feedback . So I take doing a post bacc will be helpful .

Not just helpful, but essential.

 

[medaspire1]

One follow up : Does it have to be a formal structured post bacc or can I do DIY post bacc at local college


I am from the NY/NJ area and most of the pacc-bacc around the area are unstructured and with UG students anyways .

 

[medasez]

doing a post bacc is required in your case, as you need to complete the formal requirements for medical school. I believe you have to do a DIY post bacc to complete necessary requirements, as the formal ones are basically higher level science courses.

 

[Wolvvs]

doing a post bacc is required in your case, as you need to complete the formal requirements for medical school. I believe you have to do a DIY post bacc to complete necessary requirements, as the formal ones are basically higher level science courses.

There are career-changer postbacs as well which are designed to satisfy the prerequisites for medical school, they're formal programs that often offer a committee letter. In this case it might be a good idea to go for one of those.

 

[Catalystik]

One follow up : Does it have to be a formal structured post bacc or can I do DIY post bacc at local college

I am from the NY/NJ area and most of the pacc-bacc around the area are unstructured and with UG students anyways .

DIY at a 4-year college is fine. Make a point of connecting with your professors so you can get sterling Letters of Recommendation. If the school offers a committee letter, find out early on what their requirements are. Look online and/or meet with their premed advisor.

 

[samac]

Agree with Catalystik.
At the absolute minimum you’re going to have to take the required classes. This usually includes a couple semesters of English, at least a semester of math, 2 semesters of gen chem with lab, 2 semesters of organic chem with lab, 2 semesters of general biology with lab, 2 semesters of physics with lab.
with your computer science masters from the US and your requirements you should be fine with the hours.
good luck!

 

[DarklingThrush]

There are career-changer postbacs as well which are designed to satisfy the prerequisites for medical school, they're formal programs that often offer a committee letter. In this case it might be a good idea to go for one of those.

Just a side note... I did a DIY post bacc at a 4 year uni. The school had a premed advisory committee, and I applied for a committee letter like every traditional undergrad. You don’t need a formal post bacc to obtain one.

 

[medaspire1]

Thanks All 👍

 

[Goro]

One follow up : Does it have to be a formal structured post bacc or can I do DIY post bacc at local college


I am from the NY/NJ area and most of the pacc-bacc around the area are unstructured and with UG students anyways .

You can do either, but a formal program will give you advising and ideally, some MCAT prep

 

[medaspire1]

Questions related to MATH and English

In the post bacc pre med courses ( structured and unstructured ones ) Math courses do not seem to be on the list .

Math :
When i review the requirements in some schools they have listed math as necessary . In my cases ( Undergrad from India has the math ) . Do I need to do a math course as well

English
I see some med schools need a year of english . I have my english courses , GRE , TOEFL and IELTS from grad school . Will that suffice or do I need to take courses in english

 

[medaspire1]

Related thread I found useful ( atleast knowing that many people are in the same boat)

A Guide to Applying US Med School with a Foreign Bachelor Degree

After being on SDN for a while, and fortunately enough getting an acceptance from an med school, I would like to contribute something. I've seen a few posts here related to this topic. So I think it might be a good idea to make a guide (it’s more like sharing my thought) and initiate a...

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