{}{}{}***{}{}{}| Official Premed Application Thread for INTERNATIONAL Students |{}{}{}**{}{}{}

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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onyxbell said:
See my stat in signature. Also I had similar stat from a previous failed cycle with 0 interview invites.
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I know it's definitely a good deal harder for international students to get an acceptance but if those really are your stats and you got zero IIs last cycle, then I feel like there must be something else that's severely hurting your app. I mean you can hardly get any better than those numbers.
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onyxbell said:
See my stat in signature. Also I had similar stat from a previous failed cycle with 0 interview invites.
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It can’t be the stats that were dragging you tho. I had similar/slightly lower stats as an international applicant. 0 II’s with those stats probably indicated some significant red flags in your application...
 
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Hi everyone,
I'm an international applicant applying this cycle. So far I have received 4 rejections and 1 hold but no interviews. Stats: 4.0 GPA and 510 MCAT. Should I start considering taking a gap year as well as retaking my MCAT?
 
thinkerbelle said:
Hi everyone,
I'm an international applicant applying this cycle. So far I have received 4 rejections and 1 hold but no interviews. Stats: 4.0 GPA and 510 MCAT. Should I start considering taking a gap year as well as retaking my MCAT?
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I would say there’s still time to hear back from schools. How many schools did you apply to?

Also, to all international applicants:
Did any of you get interview invites yet (MD or DO)? Are you Canadian or non Canadian? Thanks in advance!
 
BeDoctorOrDieTrying said:
I would say there’s still time to hear back from schools. How many schools did you apply to?

Also, to all international applicants:
Did any of you get interview invites yet (MD or DO)? Are you Canadian or non Canadian? Thanks in advance!
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23
 
medDaisuki said:
Dear fellow international students,
I heard that some medical schools, such as Vanderbilt, SLU have a GPA cut-off of 3.80, does anyone know if its true? Also what GPA is enough for an international applicant?
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Can anyone answer my question loool
 
medDaisuki said:
Can anyone answer my question loool
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I did receive II from SLU in my previous application cycle with a GPA of 3.73. So unless that cutoff was something recently invented, I don't think so - at least with SLU.
As for enough GPA...higher the better. Average matriculant GPA last wear was 3.70. So definitely higher than that, considering that internationals are expected to have higher academic credentials.
 
seren1051 said:
I did receive II from SLU in my previous application cycle with a GPA of 3.73. So unless that cutoff was something recently invented, I don't think so - at least with SLU.
As for enough GPA...higher the better. Average matriculant GPA last wear was 3.70. So definitely higher than that, considering that internationals are expected to have higher academic credentials.
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Did u get an interview from SLU with 3'73 GPA? Also just out of curiosity, how did u increase your GPA after your previous cycle?
 
medDaisuki said:
Did u get an interview from SLU with 3'73 GPA? Also just out of curiosity, how did u increase your GPA after your previous cycle?
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Yeah, got an invitation with 3.73. I work as a research tech at the medical school and our staff benefits package covers course tuition, so I decided to take some courses. Basically a DIY post-bacc.
 
Dear Fellow international students, has anyone here applied and got accepted into summer research fellowship programs??? Which ones did you apply for and which ones are more international-friendly???
Thanks in advance!!!!!
 
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Halcyon32 said:
Also, who funds students for non-MSTP?
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I'm late for this, but there are MSTP programs (NIH funded) that internationals can apply and get accepted into. You will be funded by the school/PI, yes, but you are still studying in an NIH-supported program. PM me if you have additional questions, I am a non-citizen MSTP student.
 
totafan said:
Non-Canadian international checking in, good luck to everyone who's applying this cycle! Still halfway through my secondaries, hoping to finish them all before the end of the month 😛
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Did you do your undergrad in the US? what were your extra curriculars like? I need help 🙁
 
Successful non-Canadian international applicant! I didn't score a 99th percentile on my MCAT nor did I attend an ivy undergrad (or a top 100 one for that matter). I also didn't build an orphanage in Africa. It is possible ladies and gents! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! PM me if you have any questions, I am more than happy to encourage you.
 
Wannabedr.s said:
Did you do your undergrad in the US? what were your extra curriculars like? I need help 🙁
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I know the question wasn't directed at me but I will tell you my experience. I did attend undergrad in the US. I also took 2 gap years doing full time biomedical research. Extracurriculars include tutoring, research, hospital volunteering, summer internships at other institutions, minimal shadowing, volunteering at a homeless shelter, student court (got a lot of questions about this during interviews lol), trivia club. Feel free to PM me for more detailed information.
 
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success16 said:
I know the question wasn't directed at me but I will tell you my experience. I did attend undergrad in the US. I also took 2 gap years doing full time biomedical research. Extracurriculars include tutoring, research, hospital volunteering, summer internships at other institutions, minimal shadowing, volunteering at a homeless shelter, student court (got a lot of questions about this during interviews lol), trivia club. Feel free to PM me for more detailed information.
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Hi. I am an international student as well. I am applying this cycle. Would you mind me asking you a few questions regarding your application?
 
ehnix said:
Hi. I am an international student as well. I am applying this cycle. Would you mind me asking you a few questions regarding your application?
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Hi! I'm happy to. Can you PM me with specific questions?
 
Non-Canadian International checking in, glad to see there’s a thread for us. Planning on applying next cycle good luck to everyone. Just remember all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed
 
I’m just curious on how you’re all planning on paying? Do schools help? I’m not applying yet just cuz of the $$$ 🙁


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Mathcha said:
I wanna know this as well... Since med schools don't offer financial aid and often require escrows of up to 4 years, how are you guys paying?
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Schools rarely offer much help at all. Unfortunately we’re not eligible for many to most scholarships, nor other forms of financial aid. My school asks for two years escrow up front and it can vary, as you noted. So securing some loans (an international bridging loan, in my case) is one option. Post-acceptance, I even had to defer for one year due to difficulty finding that funding but it came through last second, thank God. It’s def not an easy task since they ask for so much up front for us, but you got to keep searching hard and long, and keep your mind open. Don’t give up. Good luck peeps!
 
Any internationals applying this year? Any interview news?
 
How are you guys planning on paying for tuition?

For those who are planning on taking out private loans, how does that work exactly for international students? Do I need to have a good credit score?
 
and 99 others said:
I am at 4 II for the time being. 3 Rs in the last 3 days lol
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When did you send in your secondaries? I really haven’t heard anything back from any schools other than the two which gave me interviews
 
and 99 others said:
For those who are planning on taking out private loans, how does that work exactly for international students? Do I need to have a good credit score?
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Unless you're borrowing money from your home country, you'll need an American cosigner.
 
Does anyone know that stats on how many non-Canadian internationals matriculate into US medical schools?
The data here shows that 97/1195 internationals matriculated into US medical schools, for a matriculation rate of 8% in the 2018-2019 cycle. But how many of these would be Canadians, who have an advantage over non-Canadians?
students-residents.aamc.org

Applying to Medical School as an International Applicant

Information for international applicants who want to apply to U.S. medical schools.
students-residents.aamc.org students-residents.aamc.org
The data here (also from the AAMC) says "In the 2017 AMCAS application cycle, 1,933 foreign applicants applied to M.D. granting programs in the United States and 350 of those applicants were accepted. Of those accepted, 274 matriculated into medical school." which is different to the data in the table. Any reason why that might be the case?
 
Mathcha said:
Does anyone know that stats on how many non-Canadian internationals matriculate into US medical schools?
The data here shows that 97/1195 internationals matriculated into US medical schools, for a matriculation rate of 8% in the 2018-2019 cycle. But how many of these would be Canadians, who have an advantage over non-Canadians?
students-residents.aamc.org

Applying to Medical School as an International Applicant

Information for international applicants who want to apply to U.S. medical schools.
students-residents.aamc.org students-residents.aamc.org
The data here (also from the AAMC) says "In the 2017 AMCAS application cycle, 1,933 foreign applicants applied to M.D. granting programs in the United States and 350 of those applicants were accepted. Of those accepted, 274 matriculated into medical school." which is different to the data in the table. Any reason why that might be the case?
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Around or less than 10% acceptance rate for internationals sounds like a right number to me. There is a difference between Canadians and non-Canadian internationals. I don't know the acceptance rate per se, but it is reasonable to think that it is more difficult for non-Canadian internationals for several reasons.

The school systems of Canada and US are similar enough, so med schools have a better idea what educational background a Canadian applicant has compared to other internationals.
Plus lots of non-Canadian internationals did not come from English-speaking countries and do not use English as their first language, so being from Canada pretty much guarantees the English proficiency at least. It is definitely an advantage in interviews to speak good English.
Additionally, there are med schools that take Canadians but not other internationals, so Canadian applicants have a larger number of schools they can apply. And even for schools which say that they take both Canadian and non-Canadian internationals, it is hard to say whether there is a preference or not.

Therefore I don't think med schools prefer Canadians over non-Canadian internationals per se. It is just that Canadians have a larger number of schools to apply to and possible better English writing and interview skills. That is what puts Canadians to a better position than the rest of international applicants.

Also from my experience (so please take it with a grain of salt) -- my Canadian friends hear back earlier than me from schools even they submit their secondaries later than me.

So my own observation/conclusion is that for non-Canadian applicants, the top tier schools are usually the most friendly ones, plus some New York Schools (not sure why, but it is what I noticed from scrolling down MSAR). The mid-tier schools mostly are state schools that consider only a small number of OOS applicants, not to mention internationals. There is really no safety schools.
 
I also think that every year brings a new story with respect to the previously defined stats and expectations when it comes to international students. I think the fact that a lot of med schools change their policies on international students plays a huge role, and that we're forgetting that there exist more categories to applicants than Canadian and Non-Canadian internationals applying from other countries.
I'm curious to know how med schools perceive international students who completed their undergrad in the United States vs. Canadian international students given that the pace and the difficulty of schooling is arguably similar.
 
I was told that 85% of internationals who matriculate into US medical schools are Canadians... how accurate do you think this is?
 
Mathcha said:
I was told that 85% of internationals who matriculate into US medical schools are Canadians... how accurate do you think this is?
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I would not be surprised if that is true, but I really haven't looked into any data though.
 
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