Question about Study Abroad

[thomasc93]

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Hi, everyone!

So I'm a 4th year International Relations undergrad currently on the tail end of a study abroad year in Germany. I just decided to commit to premed last summer so I don't actually start my premed classes until I return to the US in August.

I do have a question about my study abroad time and how it will look to med schools when I go to apply, as due to some administrative mishaps I've encountered some problems.

So like I said, I'm currently in Germany and have been here for about 9 months now, and will be here another 2. I was supposed to be able to take classes here towards my degree, but the professor who does the advising for the program kind of screwed me over. I get here and 3 months into the program I get an email from the dean's office telling me 2 things: 1. They implimented a new system this past year for transferring back study abroad credits, and due to this everything I take abroad will only count as elective credit, and 2. Because of this new credit transfer system, any class I take abroad will only count as half a class. Apparently the advising prof knew about this but "forgot to tell me."

So this will result in it appearing on my transcript that during study abroad I only took 1.5 to 2 elective classes that don't count for anything per semester for the past year (my 4th year). I basically have a big hole in my transcript for my study abroad year thanks to the prof that advised me and the university's new policies. I've tried to appeal with the dean's office, but my appeals were denied.

Will med schools look at this negatively? I also have had a teaching assistantship for the past year, so I've also been teaching 2 classes per semester while taking 4, which I could list on a resume. I also haven't started my premed coursework yet (I'm staying in undergrad an additional 2 years), so I guess at least it won't look like I took a break in the middle of that to just "goof off abroad."

Any thoughts?

Thanks so much!

 

[NickNaylor]

Interesting predicament. I think you should try and explain this somewhere in your app, but the question is where. Perhaps list the study abroad trip as well as your teaching assistantship and include how many total credit hours you took prior to them being changed by your registrar. Then very briefly describe how the study abroad credit was handled by your university. By very briefly I mean a single sentence - no need to blab on about it.

 

[noodledoodle123]

I studied abroad for a semester in a developing country and took courses that did not count at all towards my degree (including a dance class). However, I knew this coming in to the program. My application focused on how my study abroad experience shaped my desires to pursue medicine and helped me grow as a person. No one that I interviewed with seemed to notice or care that my classes were essentially worthless.

 

[allantois]

I studied abroad for a semester in a developing country and took courses that did not count at all towards my degree (including a dance class). However, I knew this coming in to the program. My application focused on how my study abroad experience shaped my desires to pursue medicine and helped me grow as a person. No one that I interviewed with seemed to notice or care that my classes were essentially worthless.

may I ask about how study abroad shaped it in general terms?