International Students

[GoBearsGo]

Hi everybody,

I have a friend who is applying to medical school next year. Her stats are pretty good (35/~3.9), and she has a good record of ECs (EMT stuff, volunteer stuff, etc.). The only problem is that she is not a US citizen, which is, unfortunately, a big problem. She has, however, attended both high school and college in the US. Any input would be much appreciated.

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[none]

Yep. It'll be super-hard. Your friend knowing that will make planning a bit easier. Definitely apply to a range of schools (even those way below those stats) and your friend will probably need to stick to privates. It has been done before, though. Tell her to get working on citizenship now!

 

[UHS2002]

If your friend is a permanent resident, this is not such a great problem, although some state schools still discriminate against permanent residents (illegal but hard to track). Many private schools (but not all) do not discriminate against permanent residents and her stats and extra curriculars are great, so there should not be much of a problem.

If you friend is not a permanent resident, then comes the question of how did she manage to attend high school and college here. If on a student or dependent diplomatic visa, then she needs to prove she has the money upfront to pay for med school plus living expenses and, even then, very few schools will seriously consider applicants on a student visa.

There are plenty more qualified US citizens applying to med school than seats avaliable and, even if some are accepted with stats less than your friend, hey they are US citizens, it just makes sense to give them preference rather than have US citizens go abroad and have to deal with culture/language barriers just to give their seats here to foreigners (no offense meant).

 

[doraemon]

It sounds like your friend has very good stats and ECs. She should definitely go for it and apply to a wide range of schools. As it is with other applicants, make sure that she spends time on her application. International students often have to overcome extra hurdles to get their acceptances, but it is definietly not impossible. I am an international student with stats lower than hers, but I have already gotten into an MD/PhD program.

A big issue with internationals is financial aid. Not many schools give out grants/loans to international studnets, some even require a proof of finanacial support before matriculation. But that often does not occur until after the acceptance offer though. One option is to apply for MD/PhD programs with full/partial scholarships. But again, only limited number of schools take international students into their MD/PhD programs.

The bottom line is to do some research ahead of time. Find out which schools take internationals and their requirement. With some planning, your friend will be able to get into med schools.