After being on SDN for a while, and fortunately enough getting an acceptance from an med school, I would like to contribute something. I've seen a few posts here related to this topic. So I think it might be a good idea to make a guide (it’s more like sharing my thought) and initiate a discussion about applying US med school with foreign, non-Canadian, bachelor degree. I wrote this based on my own experience, so please correct me if I’m wrong.
I would start with my story, and you can ask me about it too.
I’m a US citizen, born in the US. I grew up in a foreign country and completed my college there. No degree in the US. Native language is not English. ORM.
Outside of the US: I have some leadership experiences, only limited community (non-clinical) volunteering. Done some research without any publication/poster. Bio major with mediocre GPA.
In the US: I will have been in the US for 3 years before getting into med school, 2 years in a post-bacc program for pre-reqs with 60 semester hours, and 1 gap year for working and applying. ECs include clinical volunteering, shadowing, and more research in the gap year. Better post-bacc GPA.
I’m also a re-applicant with 4 years in between. MCAT twice, from a mediocre to a high score. I applied ~10 schools at the first time, no interview and no acceptance. The second time I applied significantly more schools, got some interviews, with at least an acceptance.
A Guide to Applying US Med School with a Foreign Bachelor Degree
Citizenship:
It is significantly better if you have a
US citizenship or a green card. Most med schools require one. However, I personally know a few international students who have done well and got accepted to some particular schools. If you are an international student, ask the schools or check on their websites to find out the eligibility.
Course Requirement: (the most important part, IMO)
Med schools have different course requirements, especially for us who did not attend to a US/Canadian college. I emailed/called a lot of schools to ask or to confirm what’s on their websites. Based on what I got, the requirement can be categorized into the following:
- A US bachelor degree is required. Mayo has been mentioned several times. I found some other schools have the same requirement.
- An advanced degree in the US is required, such as a master or PhD, with a foreign bachelor degree. I personally don’t have one, and I don’t remember seeing many of them.
- 30, 60, or 90 semester hours in the US, with a foreign bachelor degree. A lot of schools are in this category, IIRC. Some schools might require all undergraduate level courses, while some accept master/PhD level courses.
- 1 or 2 years of study in the US, with a foreign bachelor degree. Might be undergraduate level or other advanced degree level depending on schools.
- Prerequisites in the US. What courses count as prerequisites also depends on schools.
- International/foreign degrees or credits are acceptable. They are rare but they do exist.
As you can see, some categories are overlapping. I personally did 60 semester hours including pre-reqs, and that’s a 2-year full-time study in the US. That limits me from applying schools that require a US degree or 90 hours, but I do have plenty schools to choose from categories 3~6.
That being said, you can go through different paths. I know some people using their extra time to take pre-reqs while doing a master/PhD in the US. You can also go to a formal or DIY post-bacc program. A second bachelor degree is another good choice. I’m not sure about transferring credits to US schools, but in theory this might work.
Bottom line, a foreign/non-Canadian bachelor degree is acceptable and not required in most cases if you have some coursework done in the US. If you have an advanced degree in the US, it’s a plus. If you have a 2nd bachelor in the US, you’re golden. And ask schools about their policies if needed.
AMCAS:
The
foreign coursework will not be verified by the AMCAS and you don’t need to send the foreign transcript, period. I listed all of them anyway to let schools see my other courses. Nevertheless, if you only have foreign coursework in the AMCAS, your GPA in it is zero.
Your GPA in the AMCAS will be calculated from your US coursework. (This actually works in my favor) Some schools might want to see your foreign courses and degree evaluation from WES or similar corporations, but it’s not required by the AMCAS. I personally had not been asked for one for med school application.
ECs:
Just like other applicants, we need all sorts of ECs. However, in addition to leadership, sports, artistic endeavor, etc., I strongly suggest a good amount of clinical exposure in the US even if you have done some oversea. Clinical volunteering or shadowing are necessary, IMO. The reason is that you have to be familiar with the health care in the US.
Others:
I didn’t specifically bring up anything about why I want to come to the US in the primary app, secondaries, or interviews. I was only asked in a few interviews to compare the health care in two different countries. However, be prepared for this “why US” type of question.
Strategy:
As everyone else, my strategy for applying was to maximize my chance. Yet, I didn’t want to do research while doing my US coursework, so no Master or PhD. I also wanted to take the risk of not spending a long time. Therefore, I planned my own path and fortunately it works. So plan your path according to your own situation.
I also have done extensive research on the course requirement of most, if not all, schools. It’s important to know which schools you want to go to and you are eligible to apply. Then it will be an easier, maybe only slightly, work when generating a school list for primary application.
Finally, please remember there are many aspects in the application, GPA, MCAT, PS, ECs, LORs, secondaries, interviews, etc. This is only my personal experience and opinion for planning a path and finding out chances before applying with a unique situation. Also, I believe it’s far from comprehensive since my knowledge is limited. I also don’t have enough experience with DO schools, transfer courses, community college, etc.
Feedback, questions, and discussions are welcome. PM me if needed. Special thanks to many wise SDNers that are answering the questions or spreading out useful information.
