undergrad at unimelb, thinking abt australian or US med school

[Winged Scapula]

hi everyone, this is my first post here. I'm a dual US/aus citizen, first year at unimelb doing science. I'll be trying for both australian and american medical schools when the time rolls around and I was just wondering what exactly I'd need to do to get into an american med school. I know about the 1 year of bio/chem/orgo/english requirement and I'll be taking the MCATs soon, but does anyone know how they'll consider my grades? I know really high grades are not ucommon in the US--I did some schooling there--but how would my low 80s GPA stack up? and I know I'm not considered an international, right?

And concerning australian med schools, I noticed they mention only GPA, GAMSAT as shortlisting criteria, then the interview. But i've heard elsewhere that extracurriculars are really important, especially of the patient contact sort; i suppose this is what they talk about in the interview. Is that right?

thanks a lot to anyone who can shed some light on this. sorry if i'm asking questions that you've heard a million times before - feel free to point me to an old thread

As a US citizen you would not be considered an International student when applying to US medical schools. However, please be aware that many schools require US medical students to have done up to 90 units in a US undergraduate school. Since there are foreign nationals studying at US medical schools and I'm not sure all of them did their undergrad in the US, they may be a way around this, but you need to investigate the requirements for individual schools. If you are not a resident of the US, your chances at state schools which derive part of their income from the state taxes you and/or your parents pay, might be decreased.

The US schools will have to look at a way to evaluate your grades independently, if they can and will. Grade inflation is pretty rampant in the US and your grades, which are presumably not subject to such, may not compare favorably to the US students (ie, low 80s is usually considered a B- average).

Extracurriculars have traditionally been more important in US schools but as the Aussie schools move more toward a graduate education model, these are gaining in importance. Generally, both like to see some sort of medical/clinical experience, especially that which has helped shape your career goals. it can be important for interview topics but also helps let them know you have some idea about what medicine entails.

Hope this helps.

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[sp3]

hi everyone, this is my first post here. I'm a dual US/aus citizen, first year at unimelb doing science. I'll be trying for both australian and american medical schools when the time rolls around and I was just wondering what exactly I'd need to do to get into an american med school. I know about the 1 year of bio/chem/orgo/english requirement and I'll be taking the MCATs soon, but does anyone know how they'll consider my grades? I know really high grades are not ucommon in the US--I did some schooling there--but how would my low 80s GPA stack up? and I know I'm not considered an international, right?

And concerning australian med schools, I noticed they mention only GPA, GAMSAT as shortlisting criteria, then the interview. But i've heard elsewhere that extracurriculars are really important, especially of the patient contact sort; i suppose this is what they talk about in the interview. Is that right?

thanks a lot to anyone who can shed some light on this. sorry if i'm asking questions that you've heard a million times before - feel free to point me to an old thread

 

[sp3]

thanks for the response. pretty much what i was thinking, but it sucks because the reason i went to australia in the first place was because I hated my large state school, where I spent a semester (got a 3.3) then dropped out. How ironic is it that my lackadaisical performance at a mediocre school is more highly considered than first class honours at an internationally renown university...

If they're going to take my grades at face-value, like they would canadian graduates, I haven't got a shot, because even the canadian system is somewhat comparable to the US (at least that's what a friend tells me, whose 85%+ earns him "A"s) despite having somewhat less grade inflation. Do you happen to know what the requirements for residency are/where I can find out about this? I've been living in the same state for the past 5 years and I've been gone for less than a year.

I've always been interested in volunteering/working as an EMT but I suppose this wouldn't be possible in Australia. I might just do some kind of nursing instead.

The more I learn about Australian graduate med schools, the less enthusiastic I am about attending one. I might end up transferring to an American college, but it would have to be much different than my lousy state school. Columbia General Studies is appealing but money is also a factor.

As a US citizen you would not be considered an International student when applying to US medical schools. However, please be aware that many schools require US medical students to have done up to 90 units in a US undergraduate school. Since there are foreign nationals studying at US medical schools and I'm not sure all of them did their undergrad in the US, they may be a way around this, but you need to investigate the requirements for individual schools. If you are not a resident of the US, your chances at state schools which derive part of their income from the state taxes you and/or your parents pay, might be decreased.

The US schools will have to look at a way to evaluate your grades independently, if they can and will. Grade inflation is pretty rampant in the US and your grades, which are presumably not subject to such, may not compare favorably to the US students (ie, low 80s is usually considered a B- average).

Extracurriculars have traditionally been more important in US schools but as the Aussie schools move more toward a graduate education model, these are gaining in importance. Generally, both like to see some sort of medical/clinical experience, especially that which has helped shape your career goals. it can be important for interview topics but also helps let them know you have some idea about what medicine entails.

Hope this helps.

 

[spherical]

The more I learn about Australian graduate med schools, the less enthusiastic I am about attending one. I might end up transferring to an American college, but it would have to be much different than my lousy state school. Columbia General Studies is appealing but money is also a factor.

Hey, you're Australian? You are currently in an Australian uni? Really, many of the oft mentioned problems are "international student problems". You would be local. You are probably looking at a fraction of the expense if you go to an Australian school (as an Australian) versus a US school (as an American). While I would be reluctant to suggest Americans go to Australia as international students -- it's both difficult for them to return to the States and difficult for them to stay in Australia -- I think, if you are an Australian citizen, going to an Australian school could be pretty good deal.