International Applicants

[thanhhailhp1301]

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Hello,

I will be a sophomore next fall 2013 and I am an international student. Right now I am just wondering what should I do to make my application strong. I did research in inorganic chemistry and I am a full time research assistant at a children hospital. I have 5 leadership positions at school. I am going to do an undergraduate minor at a medical school after being accepted throughout a really competitive application process. My GPA is 3.71 in my freshmen year and I am planning on making it higher the next 3 year. I am thinking about taking the MCAT next year. What do you guys think ? Thanks.🙂

Also I want to know whether I should skip Organic chemistry or not. I did well on placement test at my school and I was able to skip both general chemistry and organic chemistry. I am planning on taking higher level courses but I am afraid that this will hurt my chance of getting into Med school.

 

[Lya]

When you say you are an international student, are you from Canada originally or other places? In general, international students have much more difficulties in getting accepted, but Canadian students tend to be "relatively" easier. Check the MSAR and cross off all the schools that don't even accept international students. If I remember correctly, UAB, WashU, Harvard, and Vanderbilt are among the ones that accept international applicants.

However, some students go get in, so it is not impossible. I have great respect for international students because some of them work so much harder than other pre-meds I know.

Back to your question, yes it seems reasonable to take MCAT next year (before your junior year), so that you can apply early during the summer after your junior year.

From my understanding, it is highly recommended to take gen chem and orgo even if you could test out. Other people can correct me if I am wrong. Even if you can test out or get credits through AP's, it's required to take gen chem and orgo classes. The reason is because, I think, adcoms are more interested in whether you can handle those courses, not necessarily whether you got credits.

 

[thanhhailhp1301]

Thank you Lya,

I am a Vietnamese citizen. Is it really that hard ? I am thinking about MD/Ph.D because I am really interested in doing research. I will think more about the Gen Chem and Organic Chem problem. If it is really crucial that I have to take them then I will take them then. It was like a test I did in college to proof that I have already learned all those stuffs and no need to take lectures anymore. I also planning on finishing my bachelor degrees in Chemistry and Biological Sciences before applying for med school. If I have these two Bachelor, will the pre-reqs are still that important ?

Thanks.

 

[Lya]

Thank you Lya,

I am a Vietnamese citizen. Is it really that hard ? I am thinking about MD/Ph.D because I am really interested in doing research. I will think more about the Gen Chem and Organic Chem problem. If it is really crucial that I have to take them then I will take them then. It was like a test I did in college to proof that I have already learned all those stuffs and no need to take lectures anymore. I also planning on finishing my bachelor degrees in Chemistry and Biological Sciences before applying for med school. If I have these two Bachelor, will the pre-reqs are still that important ?

Thanks.

The poster above answered that already. I would take those classes and they are crucial.

Yep, it doesn't matter if your bachelor is in chemistry or biology. I know it's a bummer, but try and see if you could squeeze those easy classes in your class schedule, since you already know some materials and they shouldn't be too difficult.

About the citizenship, honestly, it will be harder than if you are a permanent resident or a US citizen. But like I said, some students do get in. It is not impossible. Use the MSAR and see which schools accept international students and go from there. Also remember that you can do research as a MD, so you don't necessarily have to have MD-PhD to be allowed in doing research. I'm telling you this because MD-PhD is even more competitive than MD applications. It's up to you!

 

[Caristra]

The poster above answered that already. I would take those classes and they are crucial.

Yep, it doesn't matter if your bachelor is in chemistry or biology. I know it's a bummer, but try and see if you could squeeze those easy classes in your class schedule, since you already know some materials and they shouldn't be too difficult.

About the citizenship, honestly, it will be harder than if you are a permanent resident or a US citizen. But like I said, some students do get in. It is not impossible. Use the MSAR and see which schools accept international students and go from there. Also remember that you can do research as a MD, so you don't necessarily have to have MD-PhD to be allowed in doing research. I'm telling you this because MD-PhD is even more competitive than MD applications. It's up to you!

MD-PhD may be more competitive for most students but it is actually a lot easier of a route for international applicants. Many schools that will not accept international applicants into their MD program will accept them into their MD-PhD program. Part of this is because most MD-PhD programs are fully funded so they are not worried about the students ability to pay without getting federal money.

If you are thinking about MD-PhD you should make sure to start working in research labs so you can really know this is what you want to do. You cannot be a competitive MD-PhD applicant without significant research experience, but once you have research experience the process may actually be smoother for you.

 

[Lya]

MD-PhD may be more competitive for most students but it is actually a lot easier of a route for international applicants. Many schools that will not accept international applicants into their MD program will accept them into their MD-PhD program. Part of this is because most MD-PhD programs are fully funded so they are not worried about the students ability to pay without getting federal money.

I didn't know that. Thanks for correcting me!

 

[thanhhailhp1301]

Thank you for valuable advice guys. This helped me a lot 🙂