UK In The USA (GPA, British Degrees...)

[Drewishhh]

Hi,

I'm a recent graduate from the UK (Psychology & Biochemistry) now living in NYC. In the UK, my plan was to eventually go the route of clinical psychology, perhaps initially starting with licensed social work/mental health counselling. Now I'm in NYC, and new possibilities have opened up.

I have a upper-second class degree with honours (being one mark off a first class degree, which is a Britishism for top grade). Are there any other students of UK-origin who found themselves in a similar boat, having a UK degree? From what I can tell online, my degree translates to something like a GPA of 3.33 - 3.67 (but probably more like 3.67, given the one-mark-off thing).

How do British degrees fit into the GPA landscape of the US medical school? What have your experiences been?

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[allantois]

What does clinical psychology have to do with medical school? US med schools do not accept foreign coursework to satisfy pre-requisite classes. It is also incredibly difficult to get into a med school unless you are a citizen or a green card holder. You would also need to show that you have sufficient funds to pay for medical school.

http://web.jhu.edu/prepro/Forms/International.Students.MS.Policies.pdf

 

[Drewishhh]

Hi there!

Clinical psychology doesn't have anything to do with med school, I was just giving a little bit of context to what my plans where.

US med schools won't accept a British Psychological Society-approved BSc (with Honours) program in Psychology & Biochemistry? I have passed various courses in molecular biology, organic chemistry, neurophysiology, etc. I'm actually waiting on a response from NYUSoM on those issues, though. The website states that the program must be from "an accredited college or university", and given that the APA recognises the BPS, and that presumably the NYCSoM recognise the APA as an authoritative professional organisation, I think that will work out. It's actually part of the reason I was asking, to survey the potential pitfalls.

I hope to be a green card holder soon, so I'll be applying as a resident.

Thanks for your response, I appreciate the food for thought!

 

[urzelight]

Yes, foreign courses and grades are not counted. You must take the prerequisites in the U.S.

Also, you should probably remove your picture, you're supposed to be anonymous in here 🙂

 

[genericpremedstudent]

Not gonna happen unless you redo your undergrad in the states. you have a better chance of practicing medicine in the states if you go to med school in the UK and apply for residency as an FMG.

 

[urzelight]

Not gonna happen unless you redo your undergrad in the states. you have a better chance of practicing medicine in the states if you go to med school in the UK and apply for residency as an FMG.

He is going to be a green card holder so no need of redoing the whole undergrad but a post bacc is fine. With a good MCAT score and EC's, he should be fine.

OP: take couple years to do all this. You will need to wait to get your green card anyway.

 

[Petrichor1]

Yes, foreign courses and grades are not counted. You must take the prerequisites in the U.S.

Also, you should probably remove your picture, you're supposed to be anonymous in here 🙂

actually it depends on what university of Britain you graduated from. It is possible that if you graduated from top 5, there could be some SOMs here that may very well accept your curriculum. You have to ask individually though by making personal phone calls. An example would be if you graduated from Oxford or Cambridge.

 

[genericpremedstudent]

He is going to be a green card holder so no need of redoing the whole undergrad but a post bacc is fine. With a good MCAT score and EC's, he should be fine.

OP: take couple years to do all this. You will need to wait to get your green card anyway.

explain your thinking on this. im under the impression that none of his undergrad in the UK will be applicable. meaning, if he only fulfilled pre-reqs, he would be applying without a bachelors degree in the eyes of AAMC.

 

[allantois]

explain your thinking on this. im under the impression that none of his undergrad in the UK will be applicable. meaning, if he only fulfilled pre-reqs, he would be applying without a bachelors degree in the eyes of AAMC.

He would need a US college to recognize his bachelor's degree and admit him for a postbac program. It sounds more feasible than getting med schools to recognize a foreign degree.

Still, I should add that there are schools which only admit students with a US degree.

 

[genericpremedstudent]

He would need a US college to recognize his bachelor's degree and admit him for a postbac program. It sounds more feasible than getting med schools to recognize a foreign degree.

Still, I should add that there are schools which only admit students with a US degree.

ah, didn't think about transferring the credits to a postbacc program. makes sense, but still sounds like a huge pain in the ass. and his status will still be an issue when it comes to applying and financial aid.

 

[urzelight]

ah, didn't think about transferring the credits to a postbacc program. makes sense, but still sounds like a huge pain in the ass. and his status will still be an issue when it comes to applying and financial aid.

No, he is going to be a green card holder which means a permanent resident. So every school and finacial aid is opened to him.

 

[genericpremedstudent]

No, he is going to be a green card holder which means a permanent resident. So every school and finacial aid is opened to him.

he hopes...