Foreign Credits

[eric40k]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I was wondering if any schools out there accept foreign credits as part of the 90 credit reqirement. I know Utsouthwestern in Dallas is one. As a clause, all preqs must be taking in an american college or university.

 

[Bluemirage]

All schools accept foreign credit as part of the 90 credit hour requirement if you have all of them transferred onto a US University transcript, course by course (lump sum does not count- must be course by course). There are some medical schools that specifically require a U.S bachelors degree (advanced degrees done at the US does not count toward this requirement). Prereqs are a different story...nearly all schools want every single credit done at a US college or University. Hope that helps.

 

[chilon85]

This is something that I have wondered about as well. I transferred last year from a university in England to one in USA and the university in USA transferred all of my classes and applied them to specific requirements in their undergraduate curriculum.

However, my biggest question was whether or not AMCAS would count these classes as part of my Science/Overall GPA. When I called them, I was told that even though I would have to list them on my application, they wouldn't actually count them and that they would only count the classes that I took in USA. I have since talked to several people about this and they all think that this is odd....so has anyone else had any similar experiences or know what AMCAS would do in such a situation?

 

[musiclink213]

This is something that I have wondered about as well. I transferred last year from a university in England to one in USA and the university in USA transferred all of my classes and applied them to specific requirements in their undergraduate curriculum.

However, my biggest question was whether or not AMCAS would count these classes as part of my Science/Overall GPA. When I called them, I was told that even though I would have to list them on my application, they wouldn't actually count them and that they would only count the classes that I took in USA. I have since talked to several people about this and they all think that this is odd....so has anyone else had any similar experiences or know what AMCAS would do in such a situation?

You might get more answers in pre-allo than in MCAT discussions, but here's my experience. I took some credits at University of Paris, and those grades transferred to my university, and is listed as specific courses. But, it's listed as transfer credit and isn't applied towards my GPA. They also don't require the transcript, but AACOMAS does, so if you're applying DO, get your transcripts in ASAP. So from what happened to my courses, the classes didn't count in my overall GPA, and I had to list the classes but htey were transfer credit from a foreign university. If you take less than a given number of credits, you don't need a transcript, and the grades won't matter.

 

[chilon85]

You might get more answers in pre-allo than in MCAT discussions, but here's my experience. I took some credits at University of Paris, and those grades transferred to my university, and is listed as specific courses. But, it's listed as transfer credit and isn't applied towards my GPA. They also don't require the transcript, but AACOMAS does, so if you're applying DO, get your transcripts in ASAP. So from what happened to my courses, the classes didn't count in my overall GPA, and I had to list the classes but htey were transfer credit from a foreign university. If you take less than a given number of credits, you don't need a transcript, and the grades won't matter.

Thanks for responding. It makes me feel a little better because AMCAS said the same thing you said. I was just getting nervous because people like my pre-med advisor were telling me that they thought it was odd that AMCAS would do it that way. I suppose I should just listen to AMCAS.

By the way, do you know what the maximum number of transfer credits you can have before AMCAS requires a transcript is?

 

[musiclink213]

By the way, do you know what the maximum number of transfer credits you can have before AMCAS requires a transcript is?

I just logged on to my AMCAS app to see what it says about foreign coursework. I'm assuming you didn't go to a American university overseas, so here's the story.

Courses attempted independently at a foreign institution must be listed if the credit has been transferred to a U.S. or Canadian institution using a credit hour system convertible to semester hours.

· Include the foreign institution and the U.S. or Canadian institution accepting transfer credit in your list of colleges attended.

· Request a transcript exception for the foreign institution. Indicate the U.S. or Canadian institution on whose transcript these transfer credits will appear.

· List foreign course work under the foreign institution at which it was attempted.

· The College Name/Location assigned to this course work will appear on your AMCAS application as follows:

· Name/Location of U.S. or Canadian institution

· Transfer Credit

· (Name/Location of foreign institution)

· 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, etc.) and credit hours convertible to semester hours for each course on their transcript or on an official letter attached to their transcript:

· Enter all required course data.

· AMCAS will include this course work in 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 Course Type and provide all other required course data, entering the transcript grade exactly as it appears on your official transcript.

· AMCAS will NOT include this course work in AMCAS GPAs; however, AMCAS will include this course work in cumulative Pass/Fail - Pass and Pass/Fail - Fail credit hour totals.

So basically, if your school didn't give letter grades, it won't count in your GPA. If you just got transfer credit, it counts towrads overall credits, but not GPA.

 

[chilon85]

I just logged on to my AMCAS app to see what it says about foreign coursework. I'm assuming you didn't go to a American university overseas, so here's the story.



So basically, if your school didn't give letter grades, it won't count in your GPA. If you just got transfer credit, it counts towrads overall credits, but not GPA.

Hmmm, this is interesting. Thanks for taking the time to look into it. I asked my university here in usa how my transfer credits would show up on my official transcript because my unofficial transcript lists the classes and grades exactly as I had received them from England, i.e they didn't give me letter grades and count it towards my GPA but just listed the grades I got for them in England. I was told however that my official transcript wouldn't go into all of that detail and would just state that I transferred a certain number of credits from a different institution. So I guess they will not be counted by AMCAS and I will just have to list the classes as foreign credit but I am planning on stressing about it after this Saturday's MCAT!

Eitherway, I was going to get my classes from England evaluated by the ECE so that my grades can be adjusted to the American scale so hopefully it'll all work out in the end. Thanks again for your help.

 

[eric40k]

All schools accept foreign credit as part of the 90 credit hour requirement if you have all of them transferred onto a US University transcript, course by course (lump sum does not count- must be course by course). There are some medical schools that specifically require a U.S bachelors degree (advanced degrees done at the US does not count toward this requirement). Prereqs are a different story...nearly all schools want every single credit done at a US college or University. Hope that helps.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Arsenic]

great responses guys. the thread fits better in pre-allo though than in the mcat forum so i'm moving it over there.

 

[peterpansy]

Kind of a different scenario, but still on topic, i hope. Do study abroad grades count for GPA? If the grades are listed on my home university transcript, I wouldn't need to get a transcript directly from the school abroad, would I?

 

[musiclink213]

Kind of a different scenario, but still on topic, i hope. Do study abroad grades count for GPA? If the grades are listed on my home university transcript, I wouldn't need to get a transcript directly from the school abroad, would I?

That depends on your study abroad trip. If your trip is sponsered by your school, or another American college, then those grades would count, I believe. My school sponsers study abroad trips, and those grades show up on the transcript because it's like you took a class at your school. If you went through another school, you would need a transcript from that school. But not the foreign school, just the school that sponsered your study abroad. If you went independently, like I did, where you just signed up for classes at a foreign uni, then those grades don't count, and you don't need a transcript.

If you're applying to DO schools, and you studied abroad independently, then you do need to get a transcript from that school and have it evaluated for American equivalency. Not sure if the same is true for DO and studying abroad through an American university trip.

 

[peterpansy]

That depends on your study abroad trip. If your trip is sponsered by your school, or another American college, then those grades would count, I believe. My school sponsers study abroad trips, and those grades show up on the transcript because it's like you took a class at your school. If you went through another school, you would need a transcript from that school. But not the foreign school, just the school that sponsered your study abroad. If you went independently, like I did, where you just signed up for classes at a foreign uni, then those grades don't count, and you don't need a transcript.

If you're applying to DO schools, and you studied abroad independently, then you do need to get a transcript from that school and have it evaluated for American equivalency. Not sure if the same is true for DO and studying abroad through an American university trip.

Thanks! That clears it up.

 

[chilon85]

That depends on your study abroad trip. If your trip is sponsered by your school, or another American college, then those grades would count, I believe. My school sponsers study abroad trips, and those grades show up on the transcript because it's like you took a class at your school. If you went through another school, you would need a transcript from that school. But not the foreign school, just the school that sponsered your study abroad. If you went independently, like I did, where you just signed up for classes at a foreign uni, then those grades don't count, and you don't need a transcript.

If you're applying to DO schools, and you studied abroad independently, then you do need to get a transcript from that school and have it evaluated for American equivalency. Not sure if the same is true for DO and studying abroad through an American university trip.

Musiclink, if you applied to DO schools, who did you use to get your courses evaluated? I am planning to apply to both MD and DO and was going to use ECE to evaluate my courses. How long did it take? Did you find that your grades increased once they were evaluated for American equivalency?

 

[musiclink213]

Musiclink, if you applied to DO schools, who did you use to get your courses evaluated? I am planning to apply to both MD and DO and was going to use ECE to evaluate my courses. How long did it take? Did you find that your grades increased once they were evaluated for American equivalency?

check your PM

 

[babybichon]

This is something that I have wondered about as well. I transferred last year from a university in England to one in USA and the university in USA transferred all of my classes and applied them to specific requirements in their undergraduate curriculum.

However, my biggest question was whether or not AMCAS would count these classes as part of my Science/Overall GPA. When I called them, I was told that even though I would have to list them on my application, they wouldn't actually count them and that they would only count the classes that I took in USA. I have since talked to several people about this and they all think that this is odd....so has anyone else had any similar experiences or know what AMCAS would do in such a situation?

I transferred from the University of the Philippines to a university in Chicago in 2002 when my family moved to America. WHen I applied to med school, AMCAS requires all classes taken after high school to be entered into the part where you're supposed to list your classes, so I entered each and every single class I took at the U of the Philippines, but then I had to note that they were classes taken at a foreign university so they DID NOT count towards the GPA calculated by AMCAS. Only the classes I took in the United States were included in the calculation. I had over 100 credits from the U of the Philippines, a lot of them were Biology classes. So even though they did not count towards my GPA, they were considered to count towards the prerequisite courses needed for med school. But my degree and diploma are from an American university.

 

[chilon85]

I transferred from the University of the Philippines to a university in Chicago in 2002 when my family moved to America. WHen I applied to med school, AMCAS requires all classes taken after high school to be entered into the part where you're supposed to list your classes, so I entered each and every single class I took at the U of the Philippines, but then I had to note that they were classes taken at a foreign university so they DID NOT count towards the GPA calculated by AMCAS. Only the classes I took in the United States were included in the calculation. I had over 100 credits from the U of the Philippines, a lot of them were Biology classes. So even though they did not count towards my GPA, they were considered to count towards the prerequisite courses needed for med school. But my degree and diploma are from an American university.

Hey, thanks so much for responding. I was starting to get really worried about it, especially because different people were telling me different things, but it definitely helps hearing from someone who went through the process first hand. I am pretty much in the same situation as you were in. Although I grew up in USA, I decided to go to college in England (which I did for 2 years) and then realized it was going to be too much of a hassle to apply to med schools in USA from England so I transferred back here again. I too have approximately 100 credits that have transferred from England and were counted towards some prerequisites for med school. I guess I am really worried about how they will accounted for by AMCAS.

Did you face any questions from Medical Schools about the classes that you had taken abroad or have any other difficulties when applying?

 

[BeakerBreaker]

I transferred from the University of the Philippines to a university in Chicago in 2002 when my family moved to America. WHen I applied to med school, AMCAS requires all classes taken after high school to be entered into the part where you're supposed to list your classes, so I entered each and every single class I took at the U of the Philippines, but then I had to note that they were classes taken at a foreign university so they DID NOT count towards the GPA calculated by AMCAS. Only the classes I took in the United States were included in the calculation. I had over 100 credits from the U of the Philippines, a lot of them were Biology classes. So even though they did not count towards my GPA, they were considered to count towards the prerequisite courses needed for med school. But my degree and diploma are from an American university.

pulling up an old post here! i'm in roughly the same situation as you. Just wondering, how did it appear on your transcript? I'm doing my ugrad now in UIC and they accepted all of my pre-med prerequisites but they only listed them as proficiency credit (P) instead of a letter grade. That however is available in my transcript from my foreign institution.

What did the adcoms say about your transcript when you were in the interview?

 

[Catalystik]

[babybichon last posted on SDN in 2006.]