Foreign undergraduate degree - What are my chances of getting into medical school in the US?

[andreabocobo]

Hi All,

I have a very unique case and I'm hoping someone can maybe help me out/give me some advice. I graduated from a university in the Philippines with a degree in B.S. Psychology and a 3.03 GPA. I've taken a few of the medical school pre-requisites (General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, General Biology, Molecular Biology) with average grades. I'm currently working as a Clinical Research Coordinator at UCSF and I did an internship working as a Research Assistant at Stanford (good LORs/experience). I'm a US citizen so I won't have any visa issues.

I've really been considering going to medical school in the US but it just seems impossible due to my mediocre grades and the fact that I graduated with a foreign undergraduate degree. Is there any chance I can make up for these things by enrolling in a Post-bacc/SMP program and doing well on the MCAT?

Thanks.

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[gyngyn]

If that is your real name, may I suggest protecting your anonymity by a change?

 

[LegendaryTucker]

Maybe do a postbac here? Your foreign grades are not counted towards the GPA unless they are on a US transcript which isn't the case here so yes you have a chance if you come and do your prerequisites here

 

[Doug Underhill]

In theory, if you do well in a US postbac and get a good MCAT score, the 3.03 GPA from the Phillipines will probably be viewed as much less representative of your abilities than the American GPA.

 

[biryani86]

My wife is in a similar situation, but she completed a BS in pharmacy in India. Some schools require 60 credits in an US higher education institution. Can she get away with community college credits to fulfill this requirement? We're trying to squeeze into the 2016 application cycle somehow.

Not sure how admission committees are viewing these type of non-traditional applicants these days, but I'm sure acceptance rate is still 10-15% range, right?