{}{}{}***{}{}{}| Official Premed Application Thread for INTERNATIONAL Students |{}{}{}**{}{}{}

[673441]

Hey everyone! I am a 2nd yr currently at Ross University. I am more than willing to answer any questions about the school and living abroad. If anyone wants to troll me about being an IMG I am also ok with that too lol... Good luck on this admission cycle everyone!

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[UBC2014]

Hey everyone! I am a 2nd yr currently at Ross University. I am more than willing to answer any questions about the school and living abroad. If anyone wants to troll me about being an IMG I am also ok with that too lol... Good luck on this admission cycle everyone!

I believe the intention for this thread is for international students applying to USMD or USDO schools.

There's an international subforum located here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/categories/international-medical-forums.75/

 

[Aboody Toty Fruity]

Hey everyone! I am wondering if there is any med school in the US that gives international student partial scholarships. If you aware of any please let me know. The only school I know that does is John Hopkins but I am looking for other schools. Thank you.

 

[childofmercy]

Hey everyone! I am wondering if there is any med school in the US that gives international student partial scholarships. If you aware of any please let me know. The only school I know that does is John Hopkins but I am looking for other schools. Thank you.

I know for sure ouwb and Howard do

 

[Xenith]

Hey everyone! I am wondering if there is any med school in the US that gives international student partial scholarships. If you aware of any please let me know. The only school I know that does is John Hopkins but I am looking for other schools. Thank you.

Any school that gives out Merit Aid. Merit aid is status blind. But of course, not everyone gets merit aid.


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[Aboody Toty Fruity]

Any school that gives out Merit Aid. Merit aid is status blind. But of course, not everyone gets merit aid.


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ok so by Merit Aid you mean an international student who is applying to med school with exceptionally high MCAT and GPA ? or how they define Merit ?
Thank you

 

[Aboody Toty Fruity]

I know for sure ouwb and Howard do

Thank you very much for letting me know. I just looked at ouwb an it look like they only accept Canadian international students. I am not Canadian.

 

[Xenith]

ok so by Merit Aid you mean an international student who is applying to med school with exceptionally high MCAT and GPA ? or how they define Merit ?
Thank you

Not just MCAT and GPA. If you are a top applicant and have a solid chance of getting accepted in multiple top schools (often top 10 schools) and the school in question really likes you then you may get merit. Not all schools give significant merit money though. Some may only give to a handful of students and that award may range anywhere from 5000 to full tuition.

Also, if a school offers merit scholarships, all applicants (international or domestic) are eligible.

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[Aboody Toty Fruity]

Not just MCAT and GPA. If you are a top applicant and have a solid chance of getting accepted in multiple top schools (often top 10 schools) and the school in question really likes you then you may get merit. Not all schools give significant merit money though. Some may only give to a handful of students and that award may range anywhere from 5000 to full tuition.

Also, if a school offers merit scholarships, all applicants (international or domestic) are eligible.

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Thank you a lot! That was very helpful.

 

[Huntington's]

I don't know if my question is relevant in this thread. I used to be an international student (just got my green card recently). I want to talk about the disadvantages I faced as an international student in undergrad and the uncertainty of applying to medical school in the U.S. Is it wise to discuss this issue, or would I just come off as a whiny candidate trying to sell a sob story?

A bit of background info about me: I came to the U.S 5 years ago, did all of my undergrad course work in the U.S. I was on a full-ride scholarship. my family wouldn't have been able to pay for all 4 years of medical school even if I had been accepted as an international student. Luckily, I got my GC and stand a much better chance now. Nevertheless, I feel like my status as an international student during undergrad years greatly affected my career plan and commitment to medicine. On many occasions, I felt like I was pursing a lost cause. I switched my career goals many times, trying to do different things before coming back to medicine. As a result, I only got good GPA but not a lot of health-related research and ECs. Non-Canadian, ESL student here. Any advice and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance and good luck to all international students out there!

 

[Xenith]

The disadvantages you face are not at all related to your immigration status at this point. Rather, they are the perceived loss in commitment and the resulting lack of meaningful exploration of medicine. I would take a year or two to cover your bases and apply when you have done all the volunteering, shadowing, and research. At that point you can tell this story. Right now I as an Adcom would say, "i get it. There are many people in your shoes out there. But I have 100 candidates who have showed commitment despite everything."


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[deleted673832]

Thanks for creating this thread! International student here as well. Applying this summer for the 2017 cycle. Currently researching schools and whatnot. What have you guys done so far to prepare for the AMCAS? Has anyone collected any LORs?

 

[wonton000]

Thanks for creating this thread! International student here as well. Applying this summer for the 2017 cycle. Currently researching schools and whatnot. What have you guys done so far to prepare for the AMCAS? Has anyone collected any LORs?

I am also applying this cycle as well! I am currently just shadowing, studying for the MCAT, and collecting LORs. Good luck to you!

 

[InterviewI]

Hi fellow internationals.

I want to share my woes. Briefly, I was accepted into a US medical school but tuition is too expensive. ~100K COA / year.
I want to share my brilliant plan and ask for your kind critiques.

So I did some research on the school I was accepted at. It appears that they have a residence policy for students to determine if they will be classified as in-state vs. out-of-state. Here is what I found.

"A non-citizen transferred to Michigan for employment purposes may be classified as a Michigan resident for tuition purposes, if such person has an appropriate, current visa, and meets the requirement for Michigan resident status specified in this policy"

One of these Michigan resident status is: Physical Presence in Michigan for a period of one year prior to school matriculation. Also, permanent full-time employment in Michigan.

Basically, I'm wondering if I can defer my acceptance to medical school for one year and during that time, work in the state of Michigan.

Things I would have to do: Find a job willing to provide a work visa for a period of a year. Also, the job must be ok with me leaving after 1 year to pursue medicine.

Firstly, has anyone ever attempted this with any success or have friends with a similar situation? Secondly, is this even feasible or is there a huge flaw that I'm not even seeing? Lastly, would you recommend I contact research faculty members of the school to inquire about research opportunities I can work on during that gap deferral year? My logic is that they would be more sympathetic to my situation than a random job at biotech company XYZ.

 

[Huntington's]

I think your best bet is to contact the international student office directly and ask if that is the case. Non-citizen can mean permanent resident. But if the criteria states :"current visa", then OPT or H1B should be considered legitimate for residency purposes. I don't think faculty will be helpful because many of them are unfamiliar with the issue. If the international officer is clueless as well, consult an immigrant lawyer. You'll be surprised how much they actually know (that JD degree haha). I think a research gig with the faculty is a good idea. Good luck and congratulations on the acceptance!

 

[InterviewI]

I think your best bet is to contact the international student office directly and ask if that is the case. Non-citizen can mean permanent resident. But if the criteria states :"current visa", then OPT or H1B should be considered legitimate for residency purposes. I don't think faculty will be helpful because many of them are unfamiliar with the issue. If the international officer is clueless as well, consult an immigrant lawyer. You'll be surprised how much they actually know (that JD degree haha). I think a research gig with the faculty is a good idea. Good luck and congratulations on the acceptance!

Thank you for the insight. I never considered that non-citizen could mean a permanent resident. In their policy, it mentioned having a current visa, so I assumed that meant that permanent residency status was not necessary. I'm going to do some digging around and hopefully see if I can get an application in for a visa as soon as possible.

 

[Aboody Toty Fruity]

I see a need in this thread to find a way to separate Canadians vs Non-Canadians international students. Reading posts by Canadians, who did not state their citizenship in their posts, is quite misleading for other international students. This because they get much more options than others and so other students may make false assumptions such as "oh, school X accept internationals, lets apply to it" but the school actually only takes Canadian internationals. I suggest that everyone write whether they are Canadian or not. Otherwise, lets make a new thread only for Canadian international students.

 

[Xenith]

I see a need in this thread to find a way to separate Canadians vs Non-Canadians international students. Reading posts by Canadians, who did not state their citizenship in their posts, is quite misleading for other international students. This because they get much more options than others and so other students may make false assumptions such as "oh, school X accept internationals, lets apply to it" but the school actually only takes Canadian internationals. I suggest that everyone write whether they are Canadian or not. Otherwise, lets make a new thread only for Canadian international students.

You just need an MSAR subscription to figure that out. If you have a subscription go to the top left hand corner to download the attached PDF. that will give you a breakdown of schools that accept Canadian or non-Canadian international students.


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[harder]

Like this message if you are a non-Canadian international student applying this cycle!

 

[aladinforever]

Does anyone have any experience using a private loan to pay for part of the money needed to pay up front as escrow?

 

[Xenith]

Does anyone have any experience using a private loan to pay for part of the money needed to pay up front as escrow?

The escrow requirements are very difficult to finance I think :/ Lenders for private student loans can only approve you for one years worth of loans at a time. Most escrow requirements are for four years, so I don't think any student loan lender would finance that much money up front. You could do a equity line of credit to draw money from a house that has equity... but that is so risky. Considering that most of us are too young to own a house, that equity would be coming from our parents' lifelong investment... I could never risk that. Pretty much the escrow option is for those who have the money already. Your best bet would be to ask the school if they are willing to waive your escrow requirement if you are able to 1) get approval for at least one year of student loans and 2) are able to show some money/assets as a guarantee for future years.

 

[Brunox13]

The escrow requirements are very difficult to finance I think :/ Lenders for private student loans can only approve you for one years worth of loans at a time. Most escrow requirements are for four years, so I don't think any student loan lender would finance that much money up front. You could do a equity line of credit to draw money from a house that has equity... but that is so risky. Considering that most of us are too young to own a house, that equity would be coming from our parents' lifelong investment... I could never risk that. Pretty much the escrow option is for those who have the money already. Your best bet would be to ask the school if they are willing to waive your escrow requirement if you are able to 1) get approval for at least one year of student loans and 2) are able to show some money/assets as a guarantee for future years.

Do you have any sources to support the claim that private lenders are only willing to provide one year's worth of med school tuition/attendance? I think this information would be super valuable to readers of my blog. Thank you!!

 

[childofmercy]

Do you have any sources to support the claim that private lenders are only willing to provide one year's worth of med school tuition/attendance? I think this information would be super valuable to readers of my blog. Thank you!!

Canadian banks release a small amount of loan money each year, with the max being around 70k. Their websites have this info.

 

[Xenith]

Do you have any sources to support the claim that private lenders are only willing to provide one year's worth of med school tuition/attendance? I think this information would be super valuable to readers of my blog. Thank you!!

Students generally don't borrow 4 years of tuition at one go, so this information isn't available on lender websites (at least none that I found). Just call different student loan lenders and they will tell you. Makes sense imho... 4 years of med school costs as much if not more than a house.

 

[paul2752]

I have a question regarding financing medical schools.

I have been in the US since 8th grade as a foreign student, and now I am an undergrad.(guess where I go).I was expecting to get PR within 1~1.5 years but for some reason it's pushed back farrr away...like 6 years from now? Meaning that I will most likely be PR before I graduate med school or any graduate school. So I have been searching for medical schools that accept international students and they ARE a number of schools, which was a bit of surprise.

I m not freaking about how hard it will be to get in because...I am a foreigner, what did you expect? But the problem is financing. Even if I do get in, how will I pay for medical schools? Plenty of people(US citizens included) tend to go to med school in debts which will be paid when they get job after, but what can a foreign student do? I have been in presidential scholarship in undergrad thanks to all the hard work in high school, but I know lots of med schools don't offer many merit awards, and even those that do doesn't cover a lot. Are foreign students able to sign loan, be it entire COA or partial? I have read several threads here and this 4 year tuition upfront scares the crap outta me.

 

[aladinforever]

I have a question regarding financing medical schools.

I have been in the US since 8th grade as a foreign student, and now I am an undergrad.(guess where I go).I was expecting to get PR within 1~1.5 years but for some reason it's pushed back farrr away...like 6 years from now? Meaning that I will most likely be PR before I graduate med school or any graduate school. So I have been searching for medical schools that accept international students and they ARE a number of schools, which was a bit of surprise.

I m not freaking about how hard it will be to get in because...I am a foreigner, what did you expect? But the problem is financing. Even if I do get in, how will I pay for medical schools? Plenty of people(US citizens included) tend to go to med school in debts which will be paid when they get job after, but what can a foreign student do? I have been in presidential scholarship in undergrad thanks to all the hard work in high school, but I know lots of med schools don't offer many merit awards, and even those that do doesn't cover a lot. Are foreign students able to sign loan, be it entire COA or partial? I have read several threads here and this 4 year tuition upfront scares the crap outta me.

Paying four years' tuition upfront is an incredibly scary prospect. I think it was an even bigger hurdle than actually getting into medical school. I was personally incredibly fortunate that my parents paid 100% of it. While I did try other means, i.e. private loans, asking to pay for part of the tuition, my school did not allow this at all. The most important thing you can do right now is to do a bit of research. Compile a list of schools that accept international students and see what their requirements are. Do they require four years' tuition upfront, two years, or one? Are they willing to accept private loans on a yearly basis? Remember that policies for international students for all schools are very strict so don't expect there to be wiggle room once it's time for you to pay. Also remember that even if you do get a private loan (which requires a co-signer with PR) that some schools will not accept it even if you're willing to pay higher interest.

 

[paul2752]

I have already compiled the list of med schoosl that accept international students. All I need to do is email/call them individually after Sunday(this will be very time consuming...)and see what they require from me.

Thanks for your information @aladinforever

 

[Xenith]

Paying four years' tuition upfront is an incredibly scary prospect. I think it was an even bigger hurdle than actually getting into medical school. I was personally incredibly fortunate that my parents paid 100% of it. While I did try other means, i.e. private loans, asking to pay for part of the tuition, my school did not allow this at all. The most important thing you can do right now is to do a bit of research. Compile a list of schools that accept international students and see what their requirements are. Do they require four years' tuition upfront, two years, or one? Are they willing to accept private loans on a yearly basis? Remember that policies for international students for all schools are very strict so don't expect there to be wiggle room once it's time for you to pay. Also remember that even if you do get a private loan (which requires a co-signer with PR) that some schools will not accept it even if you're willing to pay higher interest.

Hey Paul, I was in the same situation. My suggestion is to mainly apply to those schools that require no more than 1 year of payment at a time. The only financing option for people in your position is private loans, which are only given on a year to year basis. What are your stats? I don't mind helping you out. I was pretty successful in targeting the right schools, but I kinda need to know your strengths/weeknesses to recommend those schools to you.

 

[paul2752]

I only just finished 3 rd semester so it's too early to think about my chance for med school. However, my current CGPA is 3.42 and my sGPA(excluding my engineering classes) is 3.39. Yes I completely bombed my Cell bio classes. The reason my sGPA is so low is that I skipped general chemistry, biology, and calculus classes. I plan to take general physics 2 and other relatively easier math classes to cure both my cGPA and sGPA. My cGPA is good for engineering but terrible for med school.

I have taken this selective scholar program in 1st and 2nd semesters(called Emerging Scholar Program), and have been in research with the chemical engineering professor that I have known since 2nd semester. I am also in honors college, which doesn't mean anything other than getting priority registration.

So far, I am a decent engineering student but very unimpressive pre-med student. I hope to alleviate my bad GPA ASAP and get lots of extracurricular activities to show I have a heart great enough to be a doctor in future.

Regarding private loans, my sister, who's a citizen and plan to graduate from Vandy next year, is planning to sign loan for me if I ever get in med schools.

 

[Xenith]

I only just finished 3 rd semester so it's too early to think about my chance for med school. However, my current CGPA is 3.42 and my sGPA(excluding my engineering classes) is 3.39. Yes I completely bombed my Cell bio classes. The reason my sGPA is so low is that I skipped general chemistry, biology, and calculus classes. I plan to take general physics 2 and other relatively easier math classes to cure both my cGPA and sGPA. My cGPA is good for engineering but terrible for med school.

I have taken this selective scholar program in 1st and 2nd semesters(called Emerging Scholar Program), and have been in research with the chemical engineering professor that I have known since 2nd semester. I am also in honors college, which doesn't mean anything other than getting priority registration.

So far, I am a decent engineering student but very unimpressive pre-med student. I hope to alleviate my bad GPA ASAP and get lots of extracurricular activities to show I have a heart great enough to be a doctor in future.

Regarding private loans, my sister, who's a citizen and plan to graduate from Vandy next year, is planning to sign loan for me if I ever get in med schools.

Yea, you should definitely work on your GPA among everything else. 3rd semester is not too early, because it takes a lot of time and planning to lift your GPA higher. You might consider taking the intro classes you skipped. Most of the schools that accept international students are very selective, so a solid application is definitely necessary.

As far as your sister is concerned: Yes, she should be able to sign for your loans. However, you need to still find schools that do not expect more than 1 year of tuition at a time. No bank will give you 4 years worth. Furthermore, your sister will only qualify to sign for you if she has a good job, low loans, and a good credit score.

 

[cantstopwontstopvu17]

How are all my other internationals faring so far this cycle?

 

[belvita]

How are all my other internationals faring so far this cycle?

This probably isn't representative, but I've heard rumors of an international student at a friend's school who is sitting on Columbia and Vandy II's. No clue about stats, but he's probably gonna do very well this cycle

 

[paul2752]

Something internatonal students will need to know:

Do NOT pick your majors that has absolutely nothing to do with medicine if you are already studying US undergrad and plan to go US med school. There is a law that states that your off campus internship has to be directly related to your major, so if you pick major like English, sociology, philosophy, music, etc etc that has zero bearing in medicine, you will have VERY hard time finding internships

 

[harder]

Is there a "safe" number of II?

 

[gyngyn]

Is there a "safe" number of II?

Not until you have an acceptance.

 

[harder]

Not until you have an acceptance.

Thanks for the advice! I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[PeruvianMD]

How is the cycle going for you guys?

 

[harder]

How is the cycle going for you guys?

Submitted my apps pretty late (End of August ~ now). 2 IIs so far (1 for MD and 1 for MDPhD).

 

[PeruvianMD]

Submitted my apps pretty late (End of August ~ now). 2 IIs so far (1 for MD and 1 for MDPhD).

Well at least you have II's! good luck!

 

[harder]

Well at least you have II's! good luck!

Thank you You too!

 

[Xenith]

Something internatonal students will need to know:

Do NOT pick your majors that has absolutely nothing to do with medicine if you are already studying US undergrad and plan to go US med school. There is a law that states that your off campus internship has to be directly related to your major, so if you pick major like English, sociology, philosophy, music, etc etc that has zero bearing in medicine, you will have VERY hard time finding internships

What law is this? I was a humanities major and did just fine...

 

[adweet]

Canadian PR, Canadian undergraduate (not complete yet), LizzyM 75.9.
So far, only Pittsburgh has shown some love (II). hopefully, the other 26 say something soon haha

 

[PeruvianMD]

Hi fellow international students! I just got accepted to 3 schools today! Such a happy day

 

[Bottle]

Hi fellow international students! I just got accepted to 3 schools today! Such a happy day

Congratulations!!

Do you mind me asking if you are Canadian or non-Canadian?

 

[PeruvianMD]

Congratulations!!

Do you mind me asking if you are Canadian or non-Canadian?

Thank you! Non-canadian

 

[adweet]

Hi fellow international students! I just got accepted to 3 schools today! Such a happy day

Congratulations!
Do you mind sharing your stats (LizzyM) and when you completed your secondaries?

 

[PeruvianMD]

Congratulations!
Do you mind sharing your stats (LizzyM) and when you completed your secondaries?

Thank you! My lizzyM was 68, high gpa average mcat. For the schools that interviewed me and accepted me I completed their secondaries from mid june to july. I applied as soon as the AMCAS opened.

I was accepted to a school where my mcat was waaay below their 10th percentile, so Im really happy.

 

[krukshanks]

Hey fellow internationals, how many interviews have people got so far? I've two right now...

 

[adweet]

Thank you! My LizzyM was 68, high gpa average mcat. For the schools that interviewed me and accepted me I completed their secondaries from mid june to july. I applied as soon as the AMCAS opened.

I was accepted to a school where my mcat was waaay below their 10th percentile, so Im really happy.

That's awesome. Smart move! Unfortunately, due to some some delays, I completed secondaries in August. Good luck with everything

Hey fellow internationals, how many interviews have people got so far? I've two right now...

Still at one. Fresh new rejects though Still waiting to hear back from ~20 schools..

 

[izzinator64]

Hey fellow internationals, how many interviews have people got so far? I've two right now...

3 so far. a handful of rejections, waiting to hear back from about 20ish schools as well. It's still early-ish? Why do i have the feeling that they also often hold international student applications until most others come through as well. The whole considered as normal applicant spiel is suspicious?