Hi, Dear all 
First time to here. Nice to see everybody! 
I think I am a very untraditional 
medical school applicant, and I really want your opinions.
First, I am an international student with student visa.
I had a good GPA (3.8/4.0) 
in college majored in Biology. (But the school is outside of US)
I will graduate in 2007 with a Ph.D degree majored in Developmental Biology from US top 20 University (GPA 3.6/4.0)
One scientific publication on top journals.
I am preparing my MCAT on this August.
Do I have any chance to be accepted by medical schools with finicial aid or scholarships? 
THank you very much for your suggestion! 
Paranoid
Welcome!
As an international applicant without permanent resident status (“green card”), it is difficult to get accepted at most medical schools. You are also not eligible for most government-funded financial aid and scholarships.
It would be a good idea to find a copy of the MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements) book, which is available at most university libraries. This will list admissions requirements for all US and Canadian medical schools; it will also give useful information for foreign applicants.
good luck!
With a student visa, not only are you generally not eligible for admission to any of the state medical schools, nor for financial aid, but most of the private schools will want you to guarantee payment up front for anywhere from one to all four years of medical school. Sometimes there are exceptions to this, so you’ll want to talk to the financial aid offices of the schools you are interested in.
Cheers,
Judy
It all depends on how much you want to be a doctor.
You just might check out a “new” school being opened in Gerrero, Mexico.
It is an American Medical School.
You have to have your MCAT score and everything.
Their web site is: imsaonline.us
Have a look and call them. They’ll answer your questions.
I went to the website and must say: It is NOT an American medical school unless you are using “American” to mean anywhere in North America. In the context of medical schools, an American medical school is a member of the AAMC (American Ass’n of Medical Colleges) or the AACOM (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine… or something like that). IMSA clearly states that it is an international school, a branch campus of the South Pacific School of Medicine, chartered in the Cook Islands.
If you follow the link on the IMSA website to the “parent” school, SPSOM, you find this:
"SPSOM is the only English speaking medical school specifically designed to recruit and train medical students desiring to integrate their Christian faith into their medical practice. Furthermore, SPSOM has a special vision to assist persons who desire to serve the underserved as God may lead them.
"To this aim, SPSOM has enriched its curriculum with special opportunities to explore cross cultural ministry, Biblical ethics, and the totality of intellectual, spiritual, and physical aspects needed for lifelong learning in becoming a medical professional.
"SPSOM supports this professional development practically by offering scholarships and other financial assistance to make the dream of service as a Christian physician become a reality. The tuition of the school remains reasonable and competitive. The SPSOM Cook Islands tuition includes housing and other support services."
This is interesting. Honestly I don’t have a strong opinion on the religious emphasis pro or con. I think it’s a laudable goal, and of course there are schools with varying degrees of religious affiliation in the U.S. I don’t recall seeing anything quite so overt, however, from, say, Georgetown or Albert Einstein. And I admit I don’t know how the SPSOM stuff about its religious mission relates to the goals of IMSA. I do note that except for this specific text, however, the two websites are virtually identical.
Anyway. I note that BOTH these schools have not successfully started any classes yet. This all sounds great on paper, but do you want to be the guinea pig? Read Kahkeetsee’s description of her plight after the implosion of St. Chris (another school far away from its chartered land) and think long and hard about this.
Quite frankly I’d advise working hard to buff up an application - even if it takes another few years - and/or applying a couple of times to U.S. schools over going for the tremendous uncertainty of a brand-new school with such nebulous chartering arrangements. This is not the same as VCOM or the other new DO schools opening in the States.
"Caveat emptor."
Mary
Still, they are offering all the classes in English and it’s open to U.S. Citizens.
For those of us that don’t want to jump through all those hoops to get into one of the big medical schools IMSA sounds good.
I’ll be 50 by the time I retire and start school.
I have no plans to work in any big city.
I’ve lived here on the border for a lot of years and I plan to stay here.
As far as SPSOM looking just like the IMSA web site SPSOM redid their site to match.
Their old site was a lot different.
Yep be careful, I was one who went to the “Imploded SC” and now in the Caribbean. I think the caribbean or an old european med school that has an english program are the only choices other than the US schools. PM me if you want my take on which schools are okay since I have done tons of checking before going where I am. But there are 4 that are almost 99% safe out here, AUC,ROSS,SGU and SABA, I talk to you about the rest, but remember there is an area of risk, way less at these schools and grows as you get further away from them, someschools are close to be a fraud! Please do not even think of any school that says it gives advanced standing to health professionals or internet Basic Sci courses they are a fraud.
One advantage the caribbean schools have over the European ones is 18 months of basic Sci then back to the USA for clinicals. Disadavantages is that the rules can change in some states at anytime on FMG’s ( if you go to medical school outside the USA anywhere you will be an FMG)
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For those of us that don’t want to jump through all those hoops to get into one of the big medical schools IMSA sounds good.
I say again, IMSA will sound good if it pans out. Since its first class hasn’t even started yet, much less actually sent anyone through the boards and credentialling process, it’s a black box if you ask me.
As for “going through all the hoops,” I have to be honest, I’ve never understood this way of thinking. If being a doc is worth it to you, why wouldn’t you want to “go through all the hoops”? And furthermore, while there may be some front-loaded “hoops” for getting into a U.S. medical school, they’re nothing compared to the hoops that the FMGs have to go through at many different steps along the way. I have seen lots of colleagues go through this during med school and residency and it’s really tough. Doable? Sure, but why make it harder?
IMSA may turn out to be great, and I wish you all the best. I would also urge anyone considering it to think long and hard about being a guinea pig for what sounds like a bunch of entrepreneurs.
My .02.
Mary
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For those of us that don’t want to jump through all those hoops to get into one of the big medical schools IMSA sounds good.
I say again, IMSA will sound good if it pans out. Since its first class hasn’t even started yet, much less actually sent anyone through the boards and credentialling process, it’s a black box if you ask me.
As for “going through all the hoops,” I have to be honest, I’ve never understood this way of thinking. If being a doc is worth it to you, why wouldn’t you want to “go through all the hoops”? And furthermore, while there may be some front-loaded “hoops” for getting into a U.S. medical school, they’re nothing compared to the hoops that the FMGs have to go through at many different steps along the way. I have seen lots of colleagues go through this during med school and residency and it’s really tough. Doable? Sure, but why make it harder?
IMSA may turn out to be great, and I wish you all the best. I would also urge anyone considering it to think long and hard about being a guinea pig for what sounds like a bunch of entrepreneurs.
My .02.
Mary
I agree with Mary here, While I think the caribbean is an alternative to the US, I do not think it is a substitute. I think circumstances and individual goals dictate what one does in these cases. Yes I’m a little rebel at heart (from Atlanta LOL) but somethings need to be carefully done and this must be a well thought out move. Don’t spend years and thousands on getting an MD from a school only to find out you cannot be licensed.
Just my 1 guilder.
Well, if you think this (applying) is going through hoops you are in for a rude awakening for that lies ahead. Medical school and beyond is nothing but jumping through hoops. Again, go ahead and believe some website instead of seasoned folks that have BEEN there and DONE that. You will have an uphill battle as an IMG/FMG getting a residency spot here. Sure it IS done by SOME IMG/FMG but not ALL get into residencies here!