Transfering from the middle east.

[Seph]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here on the board and I would like to express my happiness to have found this unique and informative place to discuss our medical careers. ;)

I'm on the verge of transferring or if you may, applying to a new premed program somewhere in the middle east region or even Europe. I did enroll at the University of Alexandria medicine faculty but after facing tremendous obstacles due to the arabic medium of instruction I was faced with the option of postponing my study there to look for another alternative. My HS GPA was 3.7.

I've tried WCMC-Q, RCSI-MUB but to no avail. I would like someone to help guide me in the right direction as I'm lost and confused at this point...

I once again Thank the admins and the members for establishing this wonderful platform.

[jameslynton]

As bad as this sounds what is your native language? The University of Alexandria as bad as this sounds is a pretty poor Medical school. They are little better than a nursing school in what they teach. Yea they have who and all that but after I translated the pages - they are 30+ years back in time with current US and UK, Italian medical schools (the world gold standard) in medical schools.

My son wanted to go to a school medical in Madagascar till more than several people total him that just flat out dumb. Yo - you can go to the schools in the in Africa. Here is the issue you will face. If you want to go to the US for a fellowship. You have to past the tests USMLE step 1 2 and 3. These schools do not prep you for current US medicine... Period the end. They do prep you for ... ok I just forgot what they prep you for. Yea, you will pass your critical folks to another hospital where they will most likely will not survive the trip (several days from your small under staffed clinic and where you don't have the medical resources available to help the critical patients that just came in the door).

On reading this - it sounds I am a bit bitter. Yea - that is a true statement. There are places on our planet where there are people in serious need. You need to make choice! What do you want to do?

[Seph]

I'm not really sure... I need help lol. My native language is English, or so I think. I'm an Egyptian citizen but have lived abroad nearly all my life. I have to agree with your statements, James. The university offered little guidance and did not have an acceptable standard for a medical college, hell, it doesn't even have a rank amongst them.

I'm running out of time right now, having to chose whether to go back there as I have not yet found the alternative, the right path. I've already postponed an academic year to find a solution, but that wasn't fruitful.

Hoping to hear more from you guys.

[jameslynton]

My suggestion - being in a medical school already. Try for AUC & SGU in the island schools Take the MCAT and get your stuff in for some US schools if you have the grades. There are a certain number of transfers allowed into US schools. Next choice do the UK schools. The UK & Irish schools are
"Excellent".

[Changngo]

User can't play nice!

[AUCMD2006]

You know what, try Stewart University here in California, they do take transfers, they will listen to your situation, but you might have to take the TOEFL exam if your English is not up to par, stay away from the Caribbean, you end up being blackballed.

stewart university is not accredited as a med school in california, it holds classes differently than other schools which may or may not be a problem later on. email pat park from the cali medical board and see what they say.

good luck!

[AUCMD2006]

as for being 'black balled' i don't know about that, i am only in residency with other auc, ross, sgu, mua grads and every single person i know from ross, sgu, auc (except 2 that missed the match) are in residency now.

i wonder if someone attending an unaccredited medical school (by lcme) on US soil would be blackballed? not bashing just asking because other foreign schools have tried it on indian reservations and they were very quickly closed down so since stewart does things differently i wonder if they found the best loophole in med school hx?

[Changngo]

User can't play nice!

[AUCMD2006]

One of my friends had graduated from Ross and when he went into the his Residency interview he was turned down because they had asked him why he went to the Caribbean, he tried to wing it, but it failed. But everyone's experience is different.

Stewart University might be doing the same things as the Caribbean, but its a North American School. If they are on a military base, then that means the US government has let them be there. Who knows?

I just graduated, with a 3.4, psych major and getting ready to apply...

yea everyone has a different experience, i was asked about my school on a few interviews and why i went there...i was honest and said i didn't get in a US school and this was another opportunity.. i received very good feedback from all my sites. a few sent form letters signed by the PD, a few sent handwritten notes from the PD or attenidngs, others sent a follow up email al saying i would make a good fit they enjoyed the interview and they hoped i would keep them in mind.

now i am sure some of this is just a show to make sure they don't have a year without a resident but the personalized handwritten letters seemed authentic and every time i called one of these places witha question i was immediately connected with the pd or one of the staff that interviewd me

maybe by "winging it" he shot himself in the foot? they are already interviewing us, they know the school we come from so they basically wanna hear the truth and not the 1st year med student excuses that they wante dto live in a foreign country, liked to travel, etc.:D


the thought of putting a med school on tribal land was tried and failed misserably in the past but the idea of just having the tribe charter it is novel and may work out wonderfully giving us students another avenue to get a degree which i am in full support of and wish the school the best of luck

there are a few things that are kind of questionable right now and a ton of questions that need to be answered before the school becomes a destination for us grads over more established carib schools even if they are in third world countries.

mainly this is a new way of doing thinsg and no one knows how licensing boards will take this. in wyomiong they ruled that even if it is on tribal land there could not be an unaccredited med school there...maybe california will be more open minded

the school does not currently have imed/who listing. maybe someone can answer wether the who recognizes US tribes as nations, because they have to be recognized as a seperate sovereign nation to be listed in imed (look at hutt principality thread)

[Changngo]

User can't play nice!