International "Alien" students and Medical School.

[jochi1543]

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I'm applying this year as an international. I'm a Russian citizen and Canadian permanent resident. I hope that the fact that I did my undergrad and got a HS diploma in the US will help me a little bit compared to some other international applicants.

I didn't encounter any problems with MCAT VR, but I scored very highly on the TOEFL and the SAT back in the old days (99% and 95% respectively), so language was never really a concern.

I'm a little concerned about discrimination (couple of "****ing foreigner" comments in the past), but I honestly think my biggest hurdle will be getting that F-1...probably a bigger hurdle than getting in, even. Considering my extensive past in the US and total absence of any family in Canada, it's gonna be darn hard for me to "prove" that I want to stay in Canada (which I don't really, haha).

 

[nadica31]

i wouldnt worry about it..if you get into medical school and they want you, americans wouldnt mind and you will ge thte F-1...its not like they are giving you citizenship and besides, if you came to hi school here and you still on visa, that sais that youa re not trying to stay here, just getting a good education and spendin more money in the US..and besides, who wouldnt want an additional doctor in their country? think about it?? maybe i should be more worried than i am, but i actually think that the americans who work for the consulates are very smart and they do most of the time make smart decisions of who to let in their country and who not!!!

 

[qtrlifecrisis]

Applicants of the 2007 cycle: any luck?

 

[sefago]

Can someone explain how to build a good credit history? I do not have a school loan or a credit card.

 

[qtrlifecrisis]

Can someone explain how to build a good credit history? I do not have a school loan or a credit card.

You could start by getting a credit card, using it (occasionally, if not regularly) and paying the bill on time. I don't have a credit card yet either, and plan to apply for one soon.

About building good credit history, here's a useful link I found through Gooogle:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/YourCreditRating/4stepsToBuildingGreatCredit.aspx

There's tons of information online. Good luck!

 

[jochi1543]

Yeah, and if they tell you that they can't give you a credit card - though honestly, some of the limits are so low, I can't imagine you being unable to obtain one anywhere - you can always ask if you can have a cash-backed credit card. Basically, you'd give them X dollars to put into a credit account and they give you a credit card for that amount, so they don't have to worry about you never paying off what you used up.

 

[day]

Can someone explain how to build a good credit history? I do not have a school loan or a credit card.

If you are planning to buy a car...
Do the financing on your car even though you do not need it. You can always do refinancing after you build your credint record or pay it off.

When I first arrived in US, I financed my car for 60 months term and paid off all my money after 10 months. During that 10 months, I got my credit card based on my credit record from car finance!

In my brother's case, he went to bank inside his school several times and they finally gave him a credit card with 300 dollars limit. You can start with that. It would be easier to get a one from the bank in your school. Once you have one, you will be drowned with pre-approved offers from various credit card companies in your mailbox.

Hopely, it helps.

 

[Creightonite]

A question for non-US residents and non-US citizens...

Have anyone mentioned in their PS why they want to study medicine in the US and not in their home country? also did anyone mention anything about coming back to their home country to practice medicine there? I am not sure how the med schools will look at that. I guess with the rediculously low numbers of the accepted intl. students, they do not really care what we will do??

Anyone got accepted to GW intl. MD program? seemed like they had reasonable grade requirements.

 

[qtrlifecrisis]

A question for non-US residents and non-US citizens...

Have anyone mentioned in their PS why they want to study medicine in the US and not in their home country? also did anyone mention anything about coming back to their home country to practice medicine there? I am not sure how the med schools will look at that. I guess with the rediculously low numbers of the accepted intl. students, they do not really care what we will do??

Anyone got accepted to GW intl. MD program? seemed like they had reasonable grade requirements.

I'm applying next year, and I experienced the whole brain drain guilt trip a few months ago. I would not discuss anything to do with my status as an international student in my PS -- I'm afraid my thoughts might be misconstrued as excuses for leaving my home country, and might distract the ad com.

The purpose of your PS is to explain why you want to be a doctor and why you'd be a good candidate for medical school. Unless your internationalism is tightly linked to your candidacy, I see no reason why you should discuss where you want to practice, or why you're not studying in your home country.

You should definitely think through these issues though, so you can address possible questions at the interview. PM me if you want to know more about how I've worked through this issue.

 

[dgunarat]

Hey everyone, I'm so glad there are other people out there who are just like me! I am a Canadian citizen and trying to apply to med school in the US. I am completing my undergrad in Oklahoma and I'm looking for med schools to apply to that might actually take me. I go to a pretty small private Christian college, does anyone know if that will hurt my chances or not?
-Worried-😕

 

[pure0401]

Hey everyone, I'm so glad there are other people out there who are just like me! I am a Canadian citizen and trying to apply to med school in the US. I am completing my undergrad in Oklahoma and I'm looking for med schools to apply to that might actually take me. I go to a pretty small private Christian college, does anyone know if that will hurt my chances or not?
-Worried-😕

Hi,

I also attended a small private Christian college in the East Coast and I got into SUNY Upstate Medical University through their Early Assurance Program. I think the thing that may put you in a disadvantageous situation is if your college is accredited or not (I'm not exactly sure the details but I've heard from a friend of mine, who is also an international student, that she got rejected right away from a couple of medical schools because her college wasn't accredited). I think, at least for me, the bigger concern was whether or not a particular medical school even considers accepting international students. There are quite a number of medical schools that do not even accept applications from international students.

Good luck!🙂

 

[artaxerxes]

I see a lot of Canadians applying to US med schools, which is difficult due to the who nationality thing. So is it harder to apply to Canadian MS even though US med schools screen against Canadian citizen/PRs? I've always wondered about that since US and Canada are pretty much equally developed countries.

 

[dgunarat]

Hi,

I also attended a small private Christian college in the East Coast and I got into SUNY Upstate Medical University through their Early Assurance Program. I think the thing that may put you in a disadvantageous situation is if your college is accredited or not (I'm not exactly sure the details but I've heard from a friend of mine, who is also an international student, that she got rejected right away from a couple of medical schools because her college wasn't accredited). I think, at least for me, the bigger concern was whether or not a particular medical school even considers accepting international students. There are quite a number of medical schools that do not even accept applications from international students.

Good luck!🙂

That's awesome that you got into the early assurance program. What did you need to do/have to qualify for the early assurance ? I'm pretty sure my school is accredited because people that have graduated from there have gone to a lot of different MS's.

 

[dgunarat]

I see a lot of Canadians applying to US med schools, which is difficult due to the who nationality thing. So is it harder to apply to Canadian MS even though US med schools screen against Canadian citizen/PRs? I've always wondered about that since US and Canada are pretty much equally developed countries.

It is pretty hard to get into MS in Canada. I'm also pretty sure my degree from a small private school in the US will hurt my chances for getting into a Canadian MS, since there are so many people apply for so few positions.

 

[pure0401]

That's awesome that you got into the early assurance program. What did you need to do/have to qualify for the early assurance ? I'm pretty sure my school is accredited because people that have graduated from there have gone to a lot of different MS's.

First of all, you have to be a sophomore (so right now, you must have just finished your sophomore year) to be eligible to apply. I think I applied in the summer right after my sophomore year in college. You don't have to have your MCAT scores, but you have to submit your SAT scores along with your GPA. I think you have to have a certain score in SAT to be considered; I'm not sure what that is currently. Then the rest of the application process is similar to what you have to do to get in the regular way - recommendation letters, list of extracurricular activities/honors, personal statement (there were several questions), etc. Only thing is that this progrm is a binding program, meaning you can't apply to other MSs once you have been accepted and agreed to keep that acceptance.

I hope this helps. You can find more information at SUNY Upstate website http://upstate.edu/com/admissions/

 

[dgunarat]

First of all, you have to be a sophomore (so right now, you must have just finished your sophomore year) to be eligible to apply. I think I applied in the summer right after my sophomore year in college. You don't have to have your MCAT scores, but you have to submit your SAT scores along with your GPA. I think you have to have a certain score in SAT to be considered; I'm not sure what that is currently. Then the rest of the application process is similar to what you have to do to get in the regular way - recommendation letters, list of extracurricular activities/honors, personal statement (there were several questions), etc. Only thing is that this progrm is a binding program, meaning you can't apply to other MSs once you have been accepted and agreed to keep that acceptance.

I hope this helps. You can find more information at SUNY Upstate website http://upstate.edu/com/admissions/

Thanks a lot for the link. I checked it out and the deadline to apply was July 1st. Wish I had checked it out sooner. I'll look up some other early acceptance programs now that you mentioned it! Thanks again and good luck!

 

[bozz]

assemble all aliens

 

[Ella Shepherd]

Hey bachi,

International student here in TX - no PR. 5 interviews so far... and waiting for acceptance(s). What about you?

Cool. How much did you spend for the applications and stuff?

 

[bozz]

Cool. How much did you spend for the applications and stuff?

Unfortunately, that's a really old post :/

 

[IvanD]

bump

 

[BritIndian]

I know this thread is kinda dead and all, but I'd appreciate it if some of you guys, who have made it into Med School would post some advice on
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=832999

Surely appreciate any help!

thanks

 

[deathvvv]

Think how hard it is to get accepted to a California med school, then increase the difficulty by 2X.

The difficulty in getting into Canadian med school is not because of how developed/rich Canada is. Rather, its more about how medical education is financed. In Canada, all med schools are public. As such, every medical seat is heavily subsidized by the government (most med school tuition is about 15-20k). Because of this, the number of seats in Canadian medical school is limited. In the early 90s, cuts in government funding has actually reduced class size by half in some medical schools. Due to diminished seats and increased interests in medicine, the acceptance rate for Canadian applicants is very low (overall 25%, but can be as low as 10-15% in certain regions of Canada). Because of this, many choose to go south or even overseas in order to realize their dream of becomming a doctor.

I see a lot of Canadians applying to US med schools, which is difficult due to the who nationality thing. So is it harder to apply to Canadian MS even though US med schools screen against Canadian citizen/PRs? I've always wondered about that since US and Canada are pretty much equally developed countries.

 

[Mithril]

Think how hard it is to get accepted to a California med school, then increase the difficulty by 2X.

The difficulty in getting into Canadian med school is not because of how developed/rich Canada is. Rather, its more about how medical education is financed. In Canada, all med schools are public. As such, every medical seat is heavily subsidized by the government (most med school tuition is about 15-20k). Because of this, the number of seats in Canadian medical school is limited. In the early 90s, cuts in government funding has actually reduced class size by half in some medical schools. Due to diminished seats and increased interests in medicine, the acceptance rate for Canadian applicants is very low (overall 25%, but can be as low as 10-15% in certain regions of Canada). Because of this, many choose to go south or even overseas in order to realize their dream of becomming a doctor.

Actually, the number of seats in Canadian med schools has gradually been going up. Saskatchewan increased to 84 seats not too long ago and UBC added another 32 seats this year. The seat numbers have been going up, but the number of interested applicants has been going up by a faster rate.