Hi everybody, as I mentioned I have a foreign undergrad from Russia. I am working on a list of medical schools I have spoken to regarding the admission of US Citizens/Residents with foreign undergraduate coursework. Here are some answers I have got:
NYU School of Medicine - yes, all the sciences and English have to be taken in the states plus credentials evaluated by WES.They have admitted people before. no community college prereqs
Tufts University SOM - yes same situation as NYU SOM , no community college prereqs
BU SOM yes even though the website says they only need one year of coursework they actually require all one prereqs plus English…they have foreign applicants each year…I don’t know what are the chances though : a friend of mine has undergrad from Boston College and did not get into BU
UMASS Med School - yes, you need mass residency, post bacc in the states and double digits on each section of MCAT…no community college classwork accepted
Yale School of Medicine - yes , they mentioned that they do have people apply with foreign undergrad without any graduate coursework in the states…no CC classes
Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine yes , post bacc in the states plus public speaking class, community college ok.
University if New England COM - yes, post bacc in the states…but i think they prefer people from new england and that school graduates doctors that most end up in primary care in the state of Maine at leas that’s what i have been reading.
University of Vermont - yes and they in fact accepted a girl last year with Russian undergrad with only post bacc i the states without PhD of Masters. they were most helpful when i called.
Rosalind Franklin Med School Chicago - yes, post bacc only required to be taken in the states…many foreign people apply.
Brown University Medical School requires PHD in the states.
Harvard Medical and UPenn i called for fun… they surprisingly get a lot of applicants with foreign undergrad…UPenn said that since they are an AMCAS school the AMCAS does not acknowledge evaluations from foreign institutions and thats why they need to see 2 years of coursework in america…
None of the schools I called in New England Area mention minimum of 90 credits…but Florida and Taxes Schools in fact said they would not even consider with less than 90 credits
I would love to try and apply with only post bacc and English but i don’t think I make it before MCAT changes and I’ll end up with way more credits than just post bacc…I would really hate to get into Masters or PhD program and put all this time and money just to be competitive and go straight to med school without using it…I was thinking to get PhD in mental counseling and work for a little while before applying but I really want to be a physician and i have already taken plenty of detours:)…
I will continue with school list as i am running out of my lunch break time
Hello LifePlus
thanks for this list. Let me tell you about my experience and what I have learned in the process.
- The most important aspect, in my opinion, is to be a permanent resident or citizen. Without that, the battle is lost even before it begins.
- Most schools, and in Texas in particular (this is where I applied) list 90 credit hours as a minimum. BUT the truth is that virtually 100% of matriculating students have a at least a Bachelor (from a US school). This requirement depends on school and some may be willing to provide waivers, but it seems that without a substantial amount of coursework in the US, you will not be given any sort of consideration.
- Community college credits are an eternal debate. There is no doubt that without 4 year univ credit, you will be less competitive.
My situation is the following: PhD in Biochem from France(and MBA from US). uGPA = sGPA = 4.0, Overall GPA = 3.69. MCAT = 36P (after retake post 30Q), both MCAT unbalanced with low verbal. I did all my pre-reqs in CC (+CLEP) and have near 70 credit hours.
I have applied to 8 Texas Schools, and received 2 invitations so far. I know that 4 schools have looked at my application and haven’t given me consideration yet.
So I know that my CC credits hurt a bit, but at least for 2 schools, I am in the first batch of interviewee. Hence the famous “it depends” from Gonnif’s rules. I would bet that if my pre-reqs were 1) Done and 2) From a 4 year, then I would have 3 or 4 interviews thus far. However, with two kids not going to daycare due to cost and two part-time jobs, I can’t set my schedule for a 4 year, aside from the cost of attendance that I cannot bear.
My application has some good and some bad. I made my choices knowingly, keeping in my mind that trying, even if everything is not perfect or ideal, is better than not trying. I don’t know if I will make it, but I have 2 interviews and perhaps one of these will work. And the interview season is just starting.
Good luck to you.
Hi All,
I’ve been lurking on this site and finally took up the courage to participate in this great forum. And for some strange reason, I already feel much better!!!
I too have a foreign undergrad (in computer sciences) and an MBA from the US. I am fluent in French and currently living in Texas with family.
Redo-it-all, I could not help but notice our similar backgrounds :-).
Because of Texas minimum of 90 credit hours I requirements, I started taking classes at a local community college (it is more affordable 4 me right now). I am hoping to transfer in a 4 year college next fall and complete the 90 credits requirements (including remaining premed classes) before applying to medical school. I would love to hear more about your experiences thus far. For instance which med school you applied and which ones you got interviews. What did u do to improve your verbal score on the MCAT? English not being my native language, I am very concerned about this section on the MCAT. Any help in acing that section on the MCAT will be greatly appreciated.
Hi, all:)
Redo-it-all, thank you for sharing your experiences. Yes for some reason most of the schools I called in Florida and Texas require min of 90 credits…
As I mentioned I am enrolled in Harvard Extension Premed as of this fall… Community college would be awesome, more affordable and easier for me to get good grades but none of the schools on my top list accept CC prerequisites except 2 osteopathic colleges I mentioned earlier. I will have to struggle through this for a while:))
I also spoke to admissions in UMASS Boston regarding transferring my foreign undergrad in Psychology towards completely new degree in Biology…they said it’s possible and I could apply for spring semester. I was thinking if they transfer one and a half years worth of studying and get accepted it would give me a new US bachelor and cover all the prerequisites. Does this make any sense?
I was wondering if you guys live in Texas and want to apply to schools in Texas would that have been an option for you to transfer 30 credits from France and complete 90 to get a US bachelor? instead of Masters or PhD and still worry that we don’t have US undergrad. Or would that study curriculum interfere with job/family?
And as for verbal section of MCAT : is this section getting eliminated from new MCAT 2014-2015?
Thank you and best of luck
With regards to verbal, in my opinion the best way to improve the score for a non-native speaker is to read, read, read and practice a lot of verbal passages. The examkracker 101 passage is a great resource. I got a 10 on my verbal, not super high, but I was pretty satisified with the score as a non-native speaker.
Thank you Apple Pie, and I also found one SDN forum thread very helpful: “drop medicine because of verbal reasoning?” there’s some advice people have based on their struggle/success with verbal
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=9…
Hi LifePlusMedicine,
This is a very helpful information! I also have a list of schools I am calling and will post again when I have more info . Since I really want to stay in NY, I have started with local schools… So far my top choice is SUNY Downstate and their website says that they accept prereqs completed abroad. Stony Brook also accepts credits completed abroad. Also, if anybody is interested in going to Israel, the Ben-Gurion University has a 4 year US style program in collaboration with Columbia (note: separate from Columbia P&S) http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/bgcu-md/ and they told me in person that they have no problem with foreign undergrad degrees and have accepted people from many countries.
Thank you all for sharing. It’s good to see that there are many other french speakers here.
Below are some information I obtained from some New York schools’ website, and I personally called their admission office to confirm.
- Weill Cornel medical school / Deadline: October 15
We strongly encourage you to complete a minimum of one year of full time course work at an American college and to take courses in chemistry (organic and general), physics, biology and/or English before applying to medical school. If you have not completed the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree abroad, you should work towards doing so in the U.S.
- New York Medical College/ Deadline: December 15
Although not required, it is strongly recommended undergraduate coursework leading to a baccalaureate degree is completed at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.
- University at Buffalo/ Deadline: October 15
All candidates must complete 60 credit hours of higher education in the US or Canada. This coursework must be finished prior to applying to our Medical School.
- SUNY UPSTATE/ Deadline: October 15
Applications are accepted from foreign citizens who have completed at least 90 semester hours of college coursework in the United States at an accredited institution. The admissions procedures are the same as US citizens.
- SUNY DOWNSTATE/ Deadline: December 15
If you were educated abroad, a minimum of two full time semesters (one academic year) of college study at a CHEA regionally accredited college/university in the United States prior to application is required. In addition, you must demonstrate English proficiency, both verbally and in writing, if your prior medium of instruction was in another language. If a substantial amount of your education has been completed abroad, or if you have completed science prerequisites abroad, you are required to submit a course by course educational credentials evaluation from a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) agency, such as World Educational Services to enable the Committee on Admissions to assess prior academic performance.
- ALBERT EINSTEIN/ Deadline: November 1st
Students who have earned baccalaureate degrees outside the U.S. or Canada are required to complete at least one year of formal coursework in the sciences (about 30 credit hours) in an accredited American college or university prior to making application to the College of Medicine. It is recommended that such students also take courses in English if it is not the student’s first language.
- ALBANY M.C.
Successful completion of a minimum three years college work (90 semester hours or 135 quarter hours of credit) completed in an accredited college or university, preferably in this country or Canada.