peia: please advise me

[Jim Henderson]

Dear Jim,
>
> Right now i'm doing a career research and i find doing medicine is an
> interesting career coz' i have this desire to help people regardless of race and
religion.
>
> On the other hand,I find doing medicine in USA a
> barrier to me just
> becoz' i'm not an American citizen but an
> International student.
>
> I know it's very competitive, and the first priority
> is definitely
> given to American citizens. DO you have any
> suggestions on how i can do
> medicine in any accredited medical colleges in US?
>
> Just want to tell you more about me, i'm right now
> in Arizona State
> University, currently a pre-business student. My
> school doesn't offer
> medicine but Pre-med like Biology, Chemistry,
> Physics. What's the
> difference if i major or minor in Biology, with a
> major/minor in
> Biology affect my chance in getting into good
> medical school? When
> should i take MCAT? What results are consider good?
>
> Please advice me coz' i feel really hopeless that i
> don't have much
> chance in doing MD in US. My chance looks very
> bleak... Please tell
> me coz' i don't want to spend my time and money,
> which in the end i got
> nothing and with my dreams tarnished.
>
> hope to receive
> your email ASAP.
> Take care!

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[drhenderson]

Peia:
First, where are you from?

Your admiration and courage are admirable.

US medical schools do have out-of the country grads, but you are correct in stating
preference is generally given to US grads.

The main challenge facing non-us grads is more financial than academic. It is very
difficult to get the appropriate loans if you are not a US citizen.

Sudying in biology should not affect your chances of admission one way or the other,
but may affect your MCAT scores.

It is traditional to take the MCAT in the spring of your junior year, but many people
take it in the fall.

Start studying for the MCAT now!

If you gave good grades and a solid MCAT you can get in. But you may have to secure
the financial resources and should start working on that early.

Here is a link for non-us grads:
http://www.aamc.org/stuapps/appinfo/start.htm


------------------
Jim Henderson, MD of Medicalstudent.net

 

[Jim Henderson]

from adskyrider:

I am sorry not to have more encouraging news but it is almost impossible for non-US
citizens to gain admission into a US med school. The few that do, have major
connections and/or money. Additionally, if you do happen to gain acceptance, you
must show that you have the financial resources to cover all tuition and expenses up
front, as you will not be eligible for any financial aid.
Even for permanent residents it is very hard and they usually need much higher
numbers than their US citizen counterparts. This is
an unspoken policy, of course, as it is against the law to discriminate against
permanent residents...

Although it may seem unfair, given the huge number of applicants for med school in this
country, compared to the relatively few seats, it makessense that citizens, who have
less of an opportunity to study medicine elsewhere, be given priority for admission.

My suggestion is that you apply, nevertheless, to the few schools that have accepted
foreign students in the past, as long as you have the numbers and the financial
resources to do so. Although the odds are heavily stacked against you, who knows,
you may be one of the lucky few!!! In the meantime, try to focus on an alternative
career path, for the time being, in some
field related to medicine such as research. You do not have to be a US citizen to
gain scholarships for grad school, as you may know. If you were to become a
citizen one day and were still interested in going to med school, you would
have an edge over other applicants.

MSII

[email protected]

 

[Jim Henderson]

from peia:

Dear People,
Thank you for your precious advice, sincerely i really appreciate them all.

Well, I'm from Singapore. Frankly after reading all these advices, i can at least see
there's a little hope... By the way, how can one know if they really have the
patience and determination to study for 10-12 years of medicine? I know doing
medicine in US is extremely costly, how does one apply for scholarship? Isn't it difficult
coz' one has to be one of the top scholars in school?

Anyway, thank you for replying my mail so rapidly. I appreciate it.

Take care all of you & once again thank you!

Peia