steps needed to get to MD school

[lioyd]

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Hello,
I'm from EGYPT, and i just got my green card to USA. I'm studying at our faculty of medicine(one year to get my bachelor's degree)and I'm in my last year now... there are 2 paths to get in the US medical system wither to do USMLE exams and treated as IMG..... but recently I'm considering about to renter medical school here in USA to be an AMG.... what are the steps needed to do ?
Do i have to take MCAT exam and the AMCAS would convert my study in to GBA?

and what are my chances to get in to medical school here? is it preferable to continue my study in Egypt and then get into medical school here ( i mean would my BCH degree would help me here to get into medical school?
😀

 

[Pons Asinorum]

I would start here...
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=85

Much more experience there in the international forums than here.

Hello,
I'm from EGYPT, and i just got my green card to USA. I'm studying at our faculty of medicine(one year to get my bachelor's degree)and I'm in my last year now... there are 2 paths to get in the US medical system wither to do USMLE exams and treated as IMG..... but recently I'm considering about to renter medical school here in USA to be an AMG.... what are the steps needed to do ?
Do i have to take MCAT exam and the AMCAS would convert my study in to GBA?

and what are my chances to get in to medical school here? is it preferable to continue my study in Egypt and then get into medical school here ( i mean would my BCH degree would help me here to get into medical school?
😀

 

[Scottish Chap]

Hello,
I'm from EGYPT, and i just got my green card to USA. I'm studying at our faculty of medicine(one year to get my bachelor's degree)and I'm in my last year now... there are 2 paths to get in the US medical system wither to do USMLE exams and treated as IMG..... but recently I'm considering about to renter medical school here in USA to be an AMG.... what are the steps needed to do ?
Do i have to take MCAT exam and the AMCAS would convert my study in to GBA?

and what are my chances to get in to medical school here? is it preferable to continue my study in Egypt and then get into medical school here ( i mean would my BCH degree would help me here to get into medical school?
😀

Welcome!

Your undergraduate grades and GPA in Egypt cannot be used in partial fulfillment of a U.S. undergraduate or medical degree. You'd have to start over if you came here.

You have two options:
1. Finish medical school in Egypt, take the USMLE Step 1, Step 2CK, Step 2CS, then get your ECFMG certificate. Then apply for residency. As a greencard holder, you will be more attractive to residency programs that international medical school graduates without a green card, but you will be less attractive than someone who trained at a U.S. medical school.

2. Come to the U.S. and complete a bachelors degree (medical degrees in the U.S. are not bachelors degrees), take the MCAT, then apply to a U.S. medical school. Unlike the undergraduate MBBS/MBChB in Egypt, you will need a separate B.Sc. in the U.S. before being eligible to apply to medical school.

Experience tells me that option #2 will make you most competitive for a good residency program in the U.S., but it is a far bigger gamble for you because you are not used to the U.S. education system. You would be taking a gamble by assuming you could gain high enough grades here to make it into a medical school. I know a few internationals that tried this but did not do well enough to secure a medical school seat in the U.S. Right now, you are in medical school and if you prepare diligently, you can obtain a good score on the USMLE.

Good luck!

 

[lioyd]

I would start here...
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=85

Much more experience there in the international forums than here.

i read topics over there but i didn't find a case like mine..
thank u 😀

 

[lioyd]

Welcome!

Your undergraduate grades and GPA in Egypt cannot be used in partial fulfillment of a U.S. undergraduate or medical degree. You'd have to start over if you came here.

You have two options:
1. Finish medical school in Egypt, take the USMLE Step 1, Step 2CK, Step 2CS, then get your ECFMG certificate. Then apply for residency. As a greencard holder, you will be more attractive to residency programs that international medical school graduates without a green card, but you will be less attractive than someone who trained at a U.S. medical school.

2. Come to the U.S. and complete a bachelors degree (medical degrees in the U.S. are not bachelors degrees), take the MCAT, then apply to a U.S. medical school. Unlike the undergraduate MBBS/MBChB in Egypt, you will need a separate B.Sc. in the U.S. before being eligible to apply to medical school.

Experience tells me that option #2 will make you most competitive for a good residency program in the U.S., but it is a far bigger gamble for you because you are not used to the U.S. education system. You would be taking a gamble by assuming you could gain high enough grades here to make it into a medical school. I know a few internationals that tried this but did not do well enough to secure a medical school seat in the U.S. Right now, you are in medical school and if you prepare diligently, you can obtain a good score on the USMLE.

Good luck!

thank u for your information..
from option 2 i understand that :
i have to take a basic science course before i take MCAT exam and i have to make a good score to obtain a good seat in medical school...
my point i was asking about : i saw what requirements medical school want i wonder if AMCAS can transfer my grade in the medical school in to GBA so that i won't have to take a basic science course and then go for MCAT exam ( i'm already studied all there subjects 2 times one in undergraduate in my country and one in my medical school )
is getting my bachelor's degree would help here for option two....
one last question: how many years i should spend before actually to get a seat in a medical school here ?

thank you for ur patience.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Unless you're adamant about doing a specialty that your current degree won't get you into, it is completely ******ed and a waste of time to do undergraduate and medical school all over again. The amount of debt and time lost treating patients doesn't justify it.

 

[ymcMD]

thank u for your information..
from option 2 i understand that :
i have to take a basic science course before i take MCAT exam and i have to make a good score to obtain a good seat in medical school...
my point i was asking about : i saw what requirements medical school want i wonder if AMCAS can transfer my grade in the medical school in to GBA so that i won't have to take a basic science course and then go for MCAT exam ( i'm already studied all there subjects 2 times one in undergraduate in my country and one in my medical school )
is getting my bachelor's degree would help here for option two....
one last question: how many years i should spend before actually to get a seat in a medical school here ?

thank you for ur patience.

You can try transferring and have re-evaluated your Egyptian transcripts into the equivalent of a U.S degree; however, before doing so I recommend you contact the agencies that re-evaluate degrees because perhaps what you have done in Egypt is not an equivalent degree in the U.S. I work at a university and I get cases like this all the time but it varies from person to person. As far as med-schools go I dont really know if they would accept a re-evaluation of your credits or not, but Im sure there is a way to find out. If so then you might have your pre-reqs and the only thing you would need would be a good MCAT score. I do agree that maybe it would be a waste of all the time you have already spent in your current medical school. Just offering another option.

 

[Scottish Chap]

thank u for your information..
from option 2 i understand that :
i have to take a basic science course before i take MCAT exam and i have to make a good score to obtain a good seat in medical school...
my point i was asking about : i saw what requirements medical school want i wonder if AMCAS can transfer my grade in the medical school in to GBA so that i won't have to take a basic science course and then go for MCAT exam ( i'm already studied all there subjects 2 times one in undergraduate in my country and one in my medical school )
is getting my bachelor's degree would help here for option two....
one last question: how many years i should spend before actually to get a seat in a medical school here ?

thank you for ur patience.

This is what I attempted. I'll tell you first-hand that the agency you submit medical school grades to (AMCAS) does not accept the GPA from a foreign undergraduate degree - even if they are evaluated by a professional agency. The letter grades may stay, and schools may look at the evaluation, though. Do a search - I've posted multiple times in the past about this. Good luck!

 

[glamqueen]

You can try transferring and have re-evaluated your Egyptian transcripts into the equivalent of a U.S degree; however, before doing so I recommend you contact the agencies that re-evaluate degrees because perhaps what you have done in Egypt is not an equivalent degree in the U.S. I work at a university and I get cases like this all the time but it varies from person to person. As far as med-schools go I dont really know if they would accept a re-evaluation of your credits or not, but Im sure there is a way to find out. If so then you might have your pre-reqs and the only thing you would need would be a good MCAT score. I do agree that maybe it would be a waste of all the time you have already spent in your current medical school. Just offering another option.

This is not true. You have to do at least 90 credits in the U.S. even if they accept his bachelor's degree.

OP - I suggest reading up on requirements to apply to medical school in the U.S. www.aamc.org

Also, if you are about to graduate from medical school somewhere else, I agree with the other above poster who said it is really a waste of time to do another bachelor's in the U.S. (or 90 hours - whatever) and then go to medical school here. Just take the USMLE steps and apply for residency. Don't count on getting something competitive, though. If you do want to do something competitive, ask yourself if it is worth going through another bachelor's degree (possibly four years) and medical school again (four years). Wouldn't be worth it to me. You can always do IM and fellowship your way to something "interesting" if primary care isn't your thing.

My two cents...

 

[lioyd]

Unless you're adamant about doing a specialty that your current degree won't get you into, it is completely ******ed and a waste of time to do undergraduate and medical school all over again. The amount of debt and time lost treating patients doesn't justify it.

actually i want surgery residency because i like i do all this so that i can join it, so the time for me needed to do USMLE exams and get join a residency would be 2 years and the medical school here is 4 years after MCAT,, so it's not completely waste of time,, consider the advantages of being AMG vs IMG to get surgery residency here.

 

[lioyd]

You can try transferring and have re-evaluated your Egyptian transcripts into the equivalent of a U.S degree; however, before doing so I recommend you contact the agencies that re-evaluate degrees because perhaps what you have done in Egypt is not an equivalent degree in the U.S. I work at a university and I get cases like this all the time but it varies from person to person. As far as med-schools go I dont really know if they would accept a re-evaluation of your credits or not, but Im sure there is a way to find out. If so then you might have your pre-reqs and the only thing you would need would be a good MCAT score. I do agree that maybe it would be a waste of all the time you have already spent in your current medical school. Just offering another option.

believe me me too i want option one i'm just calculating the years would i spent there and here and advantage of both being AMG or IMG... I DON'T AGENCIES DO THAT CAN U guide me to one ?😀

 

[mspeedwagon]

Given the interest in surgery, I would suggest coming to the US and taking 90 semester hrs of undergrad work as soon as you are able to (including all pre-reqs).

After that take the MCAT and apply to US medical schools.

Unfortunately there is no fast track process and you are looking at 3 yrs of undergrad, followed by 4 years of medical school and then several yrs of a surgery residency (depending on what speciality). Given your interest in surgery, the 3 extra yrs isn't that big of a deal.

actually i want surgery residency because i like i do all this so that i can join it, so the time for me needed to do USMLE exams and get join a residency would be 2 years and the medical school here is 4 years after MCAT,, so it's not completely waste of time,, consider the advantages of being AMG vs IMG to get surgery residency here.

 

[lioyd]

This is not true. You have to do at least 90 credits in the U.S. even if they accept his bachelor's degree.

OP - I suggest reading up on requirements to apply to medical school in the U.S. www.aamc.org

Also, if you are about to graduate from medical school somewhere else, I agree with the other above poster who said it is really a waste of time to do another bachelor's in the U.S. (or 90 hours - whatever) and then go to medical school here. Just take the USMLE steps and apply for residency. Don't count on getting something competitive, though. If you do want to do something competitive, ask yourself if it is worth going through another bachelor's degree (possibly four years) and medical school again (four years). Wouldn't be worth it to me. You can always do IM and fellowship your way to something "interesting" if primary care isn't your thing.

My two cents...

90 hours i think it's gonna be one year,, but in the years what i'll be studying if its one year so the total with medical school is 5 years i think i can do MCAT while studying the 90 hours credit.....but if it's gonna be end like repeat 4 years of pre medical it's gonna be completely waste of time.
all i want is some at a university that i can contact and explain to me the required steps to apply here

 

[lioyd]

Given the interest in surgery, I would suggest coming to the US and taking 90 semester hrs of undergrad work as soon as you are able to (including all pre-reqs).

After that take the MCAT and apply to US medical schools.

Unfortunately there is no fast track process and you are looking at 3 yrs of undergrad, followed by 4 years of medical school and then several yrs of a surgery residency (depending on what speciality). Given your interest in surgery, the 3 extra yrs isn't that big of a deal.

ok i agree with you, but 90 hours credit means 3 years of under graduate ..i can't explain it ,, that's why i need some one in student counselor to tell me how many year i have to do under graduate ?
where do i begin to do it or contact who ? and i'm already here in USA in a vacation


because if it's gonna end like 3 years like u tell,,, i think I'll go for USMLE and try my shot in surgery

 

[Pons Asinorum]

ok i agree with you, but 90 hours credit means 3 years of under graduate ..i can't explain it ,, that's why i need some one in student counselor to tell me how many year i have to do under graduate ?
where do i begin to do it or contact who ? and i'm already here in USA in a vacation


because if it's gonna end like 3 years like u tell,,, i think I'll go for USMLE and try my shot in surgery

You could theoretically get the 90 credit hours done in two years, minimum. But for most undergraduate students in the US, they take ~15 hours per semester, two semesters a year (30 hours/year). That's where the 3 year number came from. If you took something on the order of 21-23 hours per semester (which is doable for some, but not all students,) plus some classes during intersessions and summer sessions, you could knock it down to two years of undergraduate. You will not be able to get 90 hours in one year. No one will be able to describe a scenario where you can do that.

However, the chances of any non-U.S. IMG successfully matching into a catagorical surgery residency is not good. (Last year, of 1077 catagorical surgery residency slots, non-U.S. IMG's were able to fill 53 seats.) If you are going to try to go the USMLE route, be sure that you can make the scores necessary to match into surgery. It is a competitive residency to match into.

 

[lioyd]

You could theoretically get the 90 credit hours done in two years, minimum. But for most undergraduate students in the US, they take ~15 hours per semester, two semesters a year (30 hours/year). That's where the 3 year number came from. If you took something on the order of 21-23 hours per semester (which is doable for some, but not all students,) plus some classes during intersessions and summer sessions, you could knock it down to two years of undergraduate. You will not be able to get 90 hours in one year. No one will be able to describe a scenario where you can do that.

However, the chances of any non-U.S. IMG successfully matching into a catagorical surgery residency is not good. (Last year, of 1077 catagorical surgery residency slots, non-U.S. IMG's were able to fill 53 seats.) If you are going to try to go the USMLE route, be sure that you can make the scores necessary to match into surgery. It is a competitive residency to match into.

thank you for ur advice.. i appreciate it
now i understand that i can make it in one year like u told above ...
do i have to finish the 90 hour credit before i enter MCAT exam or i can take the exam while taking the courses ?
after one year or year and half of studing undergraduate i'll be eleigible directly to match for medical school of course after the MCAT score ..

one last question where do i contact or go to make reservation for the undergraduate courses and make the suitabl'e table for my case i'm living now in LA california.. can kaplan make it for me ?😀

 

[glamqueen]

thank you for ur advice.. i appreciate it
now i understand that i can make it in one year like u told above ...
do i have to finish the 90 hour credit before i enter MCAT exam or i can take the exam while taking the courses ?
after one year or year and half of studing undergraduate i'll be eleigible directly to match for medical school of course after the MCAT score ..

one last question where do i contact or go to make reservation for the undergraduate courses and make the suitabl'e table for my case i'm living now in LA california.. can kaplan make it for me ?😀

There are some serious language barrier issues going on in this post. I wish you the best of luck, but I think you should work on your English language comprehension before trying the MCAT at least. See if you can get with a friend who comprehends English better to get the points that were made in the above posts. I think it would help you, and I think you are misunderstanding a lot of the advice being given to you.

Best of luck.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

There are some serious language barrier issues going on in this post. I wish you the best of luck, but I think you should work on your English language comprehension before trying the MCAT at least. See if you can get with a friend who comprehends English better to get the points that were made in the above posts. I think it would help you, and I think you are misunderstanding a lot of the advice being given to you.

Best of luck.

+1

lioyd - You can NOT complete 90 hours in 1 year, or 1.5 years.

 

[lioyd]

+1

lioyd - You can NOT complete 90 hours in 1 year, or 1.5 years.

I got your point but the american system is different than ours in the undergraduate courses and how to accomplish the number of hours required that's all.

 

[mspeedwagon]

You can take the MCAT whenever you would like. The MCAT results are valid for 3 years. It's in your best interest to wait to take them until you are consistently scoring well on practice tests. I'm going to guess that you will struggle on the verbal section.

90 credit hrs (assuming you go to school all summer) can be done in 2 yrs on the fast side and 3 yrs in most caess.

If you are in LA, then your best bet is seeing is you can sign up for classes at UCLA (they are a very respected school and they will be a good deal cheaper than alternative 4-yr private schools).

thank you for ur advice.. i appreciate it
now i understand that i can make it in one year like u told above ...
do i have to finish the 90 hour credit before i enter MCAT exam or i can take the exam while taking the courses ?
after one year or year and half of studing undergraduate i'll be eleigible directly to match for medical school of course after the MCAT score ..

one last question where do i contact or go to make reservation for the undergraduate courses and make the suitabl'e table for my case i'm living now in LA california.. can kaplan make it for me ?😀