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I was wondering if there are any international students in the U.S. who have been accepted into an American medical school. Can you provide some tips for me?
Thanks.
Thanks.
internationals in US med school
- Thread starter byeus
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It's definitely possible for international students to get into American allopathic med schools, and I am not just talking about Canadians either.
No brainer here really. It's difficult to get in as an international to be sure, but high GPA and MCAT will still give you a shot. Maybe shoot for >3.8 and 33+? It also helps to be coming from a reputable undergrad if you went to school in the US. If you attended an international school for undergrad, then you need to make sure whether or not American med schools will acknowledge your course credits. Also, you are going to be at a disadvantage at most of the state schools, so you will have to apply mostly to private schools.
No brainer here really. It's difficult to get in as an international to be sure, but high GPA and MCAT will still give you a shot. Maybe shoot for >3.8 and 33+? It also helps to be coming from a reputable undergrad if you went to school in the US. If you attended an international school for undergrad, then you need to make sure whether or not American med schools will acknowledge your course credits. Also, you are going to be at a disadvantage at most of the state schools, so you will have to apply mostly to private schools.
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Originally posted by jlee9531
you can do a search on this here on sdn...and put in the member name calbe as well...
he is an international student and has been known to give good information.
you wont be disappointed.
Word! Shout out to Calbee
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darn it, I have been trying hard to stay out of the spotlight! Just today alone I received THREE PM's about Int'l student application!
I can answer specific questions if you have them, and really there's nothing general I can recommend. Just make sure you build up a strong application before you apply, and apply wisely to schools that you have a good shot at.
Sometimes being an int'l student can be an advantage to you, at schools that look for diversity in background and experience. By all means, emphasized that.
You know how sometimes interviewers ask you to introduce yourself? Most people will probably say, "I was born in L.A., raised in L.A., lived my entire life here, AND I'm White"
Well, here's how I do mine: "I was born in India (Gasp)...and I'm an Australian citizen (Gasp)...but I lived in England before and in Hong Kong most of my life (Gasp)...then I came to the U.S. 7 years ago by myself to study in a high school in Santa Cruz. Now I'm at UCLA (Gasp)" That always helped me start an interesting conversation.
I can answer specific questions if you have them, and really there's nothing general I can recommend. Just make sure you build up a strong application before you apply, and apply wisely to schools that you have a good shot at.
Sometimes being an int'l student can be an advantage to you, at schools that look for diversity in background and experience. By all means, emphasized that.
You know how sometimes interviewers ask you to introduce yourself? Most people will probably say, "I was born in L.A., raised in L.A., lived my entire life here, AND I'm White"
Well, here's how I do mine: "I was born in India (Gasp)...and I'm an Australian citizen (Gasp)...but I lived in England before and in Hong Kong most of my life (Gasp)...then I came to the U.S. 7 years ago by myself to study in a high school in Santa Cruz. Now I'm at UCLA (Gasp)" That always helped me start an interesting conversation.
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Hey there! I am also an international student from Canada. I have had a lot of success this application season and I have been excepted to more than one US med school. I think that the main thing for med schools is that, if you are an international student, you need to have graduated from a US undergrad university. Also, you need higher stats than your US peers. I am not talking 37 and 3.9, but you need to be solid and not borderline.
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I think the most important things that schools watch out for in international students are ties with wherever you came from, and potential to contribute to issues surrounding diversity in the school.
Schools dont want to just fill their quota: they want a student who will use that diversity quota well.
Just gleaning from the experiences of several of my friends who were very successful, I would give the following advise:
a) Reflect on how your background gives you a different point of view in your essays. With an increasingly diverse population, especially in the North East and the South of the US, there is an impetus for schools to really push the multi-cultural compettence factor
b) You better have a solid plan for paying your tuition if you dont have a green card. At Hopkins and Stanford (those two are the ones Im sure of), you would have to pay ALL FOUR YEARS TUITION into an escrow fund (yikes!)
c) If you have previous experience volunteering abroad, or you transferred from a foreign college to a US college, high light that as well
d) Hopefully show evidence of leadership on campus. If you dont, plan on doing so.
e) Be prepared to answer dumb questions like: "what is your support system in the US like?", "are you planning on migrating to the US?", "what would you do if you dont get accepted here - go back home?", without showing the slightest trace of irritation
f) never be apologetic about the fact that you are an international student.
I'm using much of this advise myself right now, so we'll see how it will go.
BTW, Some of the Texan Schools have a great system where if you've lived in the state for a couple of years, you are considered a resident for all purposes including tuition and admissions. Maybe this will help if you live in Texas.
Schools dont want to just fill their quota: they want a student who will use that diversity quota well.
Just gleaning from the experiences of several of my friends who were very successful, I would give the following advise:
a) Reflect on how your background gives you a different point of view in your essays. With an increasingly diverse population, especially in the North East and the South of the US, there is an impetus for schools to really push the multi-cultural compettence factor
b) You better have a solid plan for paying your tuition if you dont have a green card. At Hopkins and Stanford (those two are the ones Im sure of), you would have to pay ALL FOUR YEARS TUITION into an escrow fund (yikes!)
c) If you have previous experience volunteering abroad, or you transferred from a foreign college to a US college, high light that as well
d) Hopefully show evidence of leadership on campus. If you dont, plan on doing so.
e) Be prepared to answer dumb questions like: "what is your support system in the US like?", "are you planning on migrating to the US?", "what would you do if you dont get accepted here - go back home?", without showing the slightest trace of irritation
f) never be apologetic about the fact that you are an international student.
I'm using much of this advise myself right now, so we'll see how it will go.
BTW, Some of the Texan Schools have a great system where if you've lived in the state for a couple of years, you are considered a resident for all purposes including tuition and admissions. Maybe this will help if you live in Texas.
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Oh, yeah: and if you are a Canadian student, you arent really considered an international student. At least, not in the classical sense. So if you are, dont be worried about your chances. The only thing is that Canadian students are expected to have super duper high scores (avg GPA 3.7; MCAT 32). Can someone explain why?
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I disagree with the above statement. Through my experiences, only few (like 2) medical schools will group Canadian citizens with US permanent residents or US citizens. Pretty much all med schools still consider you international, even if you are Canadian. Canadians are ineligible for financial aid in the US, just like other foreigners. I think the benefit that Canadians have is that if you graduate from a Canadian undergrad, it is less of a problem than if you went to undergrad in another foreign country. This is just what I have gathered from my experiences with applying as a Canadian.
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1. Canadians ARE international students at most medical schools, except a few.
2. Ties to a different country are most useful if you have ties to the culture as well. The example I gave was meant as an ice-breaker between me and my interviewer, not a way to boost my application.
3. I'm not sure what "Never be apologetic about being int'l student" means...I think the questions of "Why U.S. schools instead of your own schools?" can easily come up during interviews, and you just have to truthfully answer it. Don't hint that you're "entited" to a medical education in the U.S. even if you're a bright and hard-working person.
4. Questions about support system, chance of immigration have both come up in my interviews. My answers? Long-distance phone calls, friends here, and yes I hope to settle down in the U.S., but I can't get a working visa without a job yet.
2. Ties to a different country are most useful if you have ties to the culture as well. The example I gave was meant as an ice-breaker between me and my interviewer, not a way to boost my application.
3. I'm not sure what "Never be apologetic about being int'l student" means...I think the questions of "Why U.S. schools instead of your own schools?" can easily come up during interviews, and you just have to truthfully answer it. Don't hint that you're "entited" to a medical education in the U.S. even if you're a bright and hard-working person.
4. Questions about support system, chance of immigration have both come up in my interviews. My answers? Long-distance phone calls, friends here, and yes I hope to settle down in the U.S., but I can't get a working visa without a job yet.
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I have a question. When you guys say international students, you mean non US permanent residents and non US citizens, right? I immigrated to US 6 yrs back and have become naturalized US citizen. I wouldn't be considered international right?
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