International US citizen questions, please help!

[Dr.FQ]

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Hey everyone. I hope this is in the right place.

So basically, I was born in the US (so I have a passport and citizenship), but have since lived in the middle east. I just entered Medicine in a university here, and I'm starting the 2nd semester of the 1st year of a 6 year program. Unfortunately, before I applied and stuff, I didn't know of the great disadvantages IMGs have with regards to the match and residency; people used to tell me I'll be golden because I have the citizenship (which didn't turn out to be the case).

Recently, I've been seriously considering starting pre-med in the USA and spending an extra year (since this one would be wasted), and work my ass off, so I can have a lot more options open for me. I've heard that you can't get scholarships if you're a foreigner. But what about me? I mean, since I have a US citizenship and stuff. Does that help? Can I go to Uni for pre-med with a scholarship? I know med school doesn't offer any scholarships, but I was wondering about Pre-med.

Also, I've heard that if I have ~1800 on my SAT, or some other requirements, Pre-med will only be 3 years instead of 4. Needless to say, I've stopped trusting those things that people tell me, and I wanted to know for sure. If it matters at all, in high school I did IGCSE and took the externals. I got 7 A*s and 3 As in O level, and 1 A* and 1 A in A levels. I don't know if that's what they look at.

Also, given that I have a US citizenship but hypothetically was accepted to a Pre-med University program, will my situation hinder me in any way from being accepted into med school, given I do all the right things (GPA, MCAT, research, shadowing, etc)?

Again, sorry if this is in the wrong place or if I didn't give enough info or something, but I wanna make sure I get the facts straight so I can weigh my different options. Thanks!

 

[valkener]

Having US citizenship means you are treated like every other US American when applying. Getting scholarships depends on your grades and SAT scores as you stated, and this varies greatly depending on the college.

I think there's actually a good chance you would receive college credits for the undergrad work that you have already done. Even if you went to highschool for 13 years, which is common in other countries, US colleges often give you 0-18 credits. For this you have to go through an international agency and I forgot the name about it. What you need to do is find colleges you would like to attend, look at their tuition costs, contact their international advisers. Even though you're not an international student, having US citizenship, he/she will be able to answer most of your questions concerning undergrad.

Being US citizen helps greatly with any admissions in the US, contrary to what most people believe. You might be charged "out-of-state" tuition though, which is often higher -- at least for the first semester or two. Again, a college advisor would be best for this because you don't have to be concerned about med school right now, it's about undergrad college.

 

[Dr.FQ]

Ah thanks for the heads up valkener. I thought undergrad was pretty much kind of free, or that most people (like 90%) get full scholarships or something, and they have to start worrying about stuff when med school starts. When I was in school, my parents told me getting a scholarship was not the problem, but going from pre-med to med is. I guess I'm willing to take that risk now, since I've had light shed on facts that I didn't know about before.

I took a lot at the MCAT just to get a general idea of what it was about. I was happy to find out that a lot of the physics/chem I actually learned and sat for exams for in med school (IGCSE). So I guess that helps a little. But can you give me a little overview of what undergrad is like? Do everything I learn end up being tested on the MCAT, or do I study a lot of extra classes that have nothing to do with anything (like I have to do at med school here)? And when I sign up, do I sign up for something called "Pre-med", or do I pick a major (like bio for example), and just do that and at the end do the MCAT like an independent applicant? Oh, just a random question, if you were to compare relative Step 1 scores and MCAT scores, what would a 33 or 35 on the MCAT be equivalent to, as a very rough estimate? 250?

Also one more question, sorry 😛 When you say I might get up to 18 hours credit, how much does that equate to? a semester? Less? More? I really have no idea. But who can I contact to ask all those questions, if you have any idea?

Thank you so much for your time, and I'm sorry I'm bombarding you with all these questions, but I feel lost and I have to know everything there is to know before taking such a life altering step!

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

Step 1 and MCAT have nothing to do with one another - don't get ahead of yourself, you have a lot to do before you need to think at all about step 1.

 

[Dr.FQ]

TraumaLlamaMD I know. I just wanted to know how high a 35 on the MCAT was. For example, when someone gets a 250 on step 1, it's considered very competitive. so what the "equivalence" of a 250 for MCAT?

 

[xffan624]

TraumaLlamaMD I know. I just wanted to know how high a 35 on the MCAT was. For example, when someone gets a 250 on step 1, it's considered very competitive. so what the "equivalence" of a 250 for MCAT?

Irrelevant. You will not be taking the current MCAT. They are revamping the test and the new one will be starting in April I believe. There are additional subject matter and some of the same that you already reviewed. The new test has a different scale, which I don't think has been released yet (at least as far as the percentages go). And regardless, the two tests are not really equivalent. Completely different subject matter and population taking it. You can look at the percentiles on the AAMC website if you're really curious, but at this point, your time would be better served figuring out what undergraduate school you will attend and what coursework you would like to do. The AAMC website has guidance on that as well for pre-meds. This forum is really designed for more complex and nuanced questions. Regarding the basic questions we really expect you to do a little of your own research or at least use the search function on this forum as I can guarantee 99% of your relevant questions have already been answered by someone else. Also, when you start your undergrad career you will likely be assigned a career adviser or pre-med adviser or both. They will help you navigate your way through your specific school and through the process. At that point when you have additional questions or follow up to what they say (not all of them are 100% right all the time) then come here, search first, and then start a thread as necessary.

Here is the link for the AAMC Pre-med section. This is your first stop for medical school admissions guidance https://www.aamc.org/students/aspiring/

Read everything on there first and then come back with questions as necessary. Also, in the future, post in the pre-allopathic forum as that is what you will be until you are accepted to medical school in the United States.

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

I mean, an MCAT of 35 and a Step 1 of 250 are both good scores. Average on Step 1 is, what, mid-high 220s these days? No idea what average MCAT is now/will be with the new test. That said, the people who do very well on the MCAT are not necessarily the ones who do very well on Step 1.

 

[hmockingbird]

Pre-med is not typically a major. It is more a term used to describe the pre-requisite classes you need to take in college for med school. Some schools will have more of a structured program for this, but it is usually not a full major. Also there is no such thing as taking an MCAT through a program, everyone is an "independent applicant" aka you just sign up for it by yourself (I'm guessing that where you are now, you take tests through your school?). You will need to pick another major (which can be ANYTHING does not have to be bio and there is no advantage to picking bio) and then also take the required pre-req classes for med school. This info is on med school websites and the MCAT will only cover these classes. (Again there are not enough of them to be a full major plus many schools require courses outside of your major, so it will not cover your full plan of study.) If you pick a science major some of these may overlap. Even if you have taken some of these classes in high school, you will need to either take them again in college or take a higher-level class in the same field (e.g. if you took the equivalent of college Bio 1 and 2, you would need to take 2 upper-level bio classes).

Most degrees in the US are 4 years. You can shorten that with transfer credits from classes you have already completed (for example at your current college, if they are accepted) and possibly with taking more classes per semester and/or in the summer. However, to get into medical school in the US, you also need to complete volunteering, shadowing, extracurricular and leadership hours, so you do need time for that.

A typical class in the US is 3 credits or 4 credits with a lab. The minimum is usually around 12 hours and 18 hours is a bit of a heavy course load for one semester (but probably typical for a lot of pre-meds).