the question is : is it impossible ?

[future_doc_?]

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greetings to all ,

i just really want to know if it is impossible for international students ( non-US) to get accepted in american med. schools ....

i'm from kuwait , lived in the states for 8 years, really want medical school but some one told me it is more impossible than possible .... is it 😕 ?

i have got an acceptence for biology ( premed ) in 3 universities , but will that be for nothing ? 👎

i know the MCAT score has to be high and all , but ..... i don't know ....

 

[Celestron2000]

I don't know for sure, but my sense is that it is possible, but very difficult. I believe that several med schools accept a very limited number of international students each year. Obviously at any state school you'll be out of state. UK for example admits only 5 out of state students each year, but I believe that that can include foreign students. The stanards are much higher, tuition is much higher, chances of acceptance are much lower and you still need to show some sort of connection to or reason why you particularly want to be in Kentucky.

 

[dmk724]

Why would it be impossible? I think that the medical school application (AMCAS) specifically asks for your citizenship, so there must be at least a few non-US students who apply, and I imagine that at least some of them would get in. The bigger difficulty for most non-US students is that they might not have a good enough grasp of English to do well in their college courses or on the MCAT, and, of course, they might not be eligible for federal financial aid, and so can't afford to go to medical school. If you're really worried, you can call the admissions office of a medical school that you might like to go to in the future, and ask them. I can't guarantee that they'll be helpful, but at least you'll have some information.

Good luck!

 

[Friday]

Ahlen Wa Sahlen ,
Its definitely possible. Perhaps they say its next to impossible to discourage huge numbers from applying. I think the only thing is that you need to have a degree from a 4 year American college (which looks like where you seem to be headed). I have friends who were international (F-1 visa) who got accepted to medical school. A few points though:

1, Many med schools will accept you only if you can prove you can finance your entire med school education yourself. This is because as a non-citizen you would be ineligible for federal and some private loans. Proof may include a bank account with at least $150,000, or parents bank statements. Alternatively, if you secure outside funding, perhaps from your nation's government, which is guaranteed to you for the 4 years, you can get in.

2, There are some schools that provide aid to international students. So far the ones I've heard that do this are the richer/more elite private med schools like Yale, Harvard or Penn.

3, I heard, though others can confirm/dispute this, that schools don't want someone they'll educate for 4 years then immediately return to their home countries. They fear that by immediately returning you will not be able to pay your loans and you also won't be serving the area (country or state) that helped educate you. Because you've been in the country a while, it probably wouldn't be hard to show that you plan to stay after med school.

Hope that helps.