How much does not having an MSPE hurt my application?

[WolfParkinsonBrown]

IMG here, and my medical school is quite malignant. They force students to beg/plead the dean to get an MSPE, and often include negative feedback. This is because the dean is openly “against people leaving the country”.

As a U.S. IMG, with a Pass/250, how much does it hurt me to apply without an MSPE + before I graduate?

My grad date is in November, and I’ll be applying in September, which might also count against me?
With all these red flags I’m not sure if I should just wait till next year to apply.

Can someone please give me some advice? I really really need it

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[NotAProgDirector]

There's no clear answer. But not having an MSPE could hurt you in many ways.

Each program likely has a filter for "complete applications ready for review". There's no single standard about what constitutes "complete". But I expect many places may include that an MSPE has been received. If so, your application will never get seen, at all.

My sinstitution requires an MSPE for onboarding. Others may also.

Getting ECFMG cert will require your school to play ball also.

 

[LucidSplash]

IMG here, and my medical school is quite malignant. They force students to beg/plead the dean to get an MSPE, and often include negative feedback. This is because the dean is openly “against people leaving the country”.

As a U.S. IMG, with a Pass/250, how much does it hurt me to apply without an MSPE + before I graduate?

My grad date is in November, and I’ll be applying in September, which might also count against me?
With all these red flags I’m not sure if I should just wait till next year to apply.

Can someone please give me some advice? I really really need it

Yeah the basic answer is yes, not having an MSPE can hurt you.

No one can give you advice because no one knows or has influence at the internal politics of your school. As it is not a US school, they are not subject to the same rules and regulations as US schools and no one here is likely to know anyone who can influence your Dean to give you a letter.

So you should do whatever you can to get a favorable MSPE. US schools give MSPEs out early in 4th year so students can have them for applications. If your school won’t give you one until you graduate, then personally would not apply this year. As an IMG the cards are already somewhat against you compared to US grads. Apply after graduation isn’t great but it’s fairly typical of IMGs.

 

[comp1]

This is so far from anything resembling a possible experience at a US medical school that it's hard to even process. The MPSE is not an optional thing from US medical schools, it's an automatic, almost clerical thing. Here is what ERAS says:

What if my medical school does not provide an MSPE?​

If you are unable to secure the MSPE from your medical school, you must indicate this on the Additional Documents page in the MyERAS application. A neutral placeholder letter will be provided in place of the MSPE. This will ensure that your application will appear as complete for those programs that require an MSPE before considering your application. The neutral placeholder will state, “This document is provided in lieu of the applicant’s MSPE. Please contact the applicant with any questions you may have.”

So your application should show up as complete to schools, but wow are they going to have some questions. If you have really amazing answers, I guess you could still apply. I'm not sure, "my school is really mean and hates Americans" is going to cut it. I think this exception is more for schools that literally don't provide them and clearly your school does. I guess my advice is that you should be talking to your school's leadership about this right now, today, and see how realistic your fears actually are. You seem to have beliefs about how things work at your school, but where are they coming from? What have other people in your situation done? All the Americans just become permanent residents and open practices? But again, I can't even really conceptualize this, so I don't know. I just don't get a school wanting non-citizens to stay in the country that badly, particularly Americans.

 

[WolfParkinsonBrown]

It really is insane, I find it difficult to believe as well. However a lot of people in the year above me struggled with this same issue, and ended up having to wait a year to apply.

This Dean basically refuses to give an MSPE before you graduate, which makes applying before your degree is out impossible