I Need honest advice

[mwissa]

I am an undergraduate student in the University of California system and I am getting my bachelors degree in Genetics. I have a 3.1 GPA and a 30 MCAT and have strong extra-curricular credentials. Which Institutions would fit my profile. The University must give me the ability, if I choose, to return to an American Residency program or to return as a practicing doctor. I found it peculiar that throughout the forum no one mentions doing their residency in the european country they are enrolled in for Med School; Why is that?
Thanks
Michael

oh please mention tuition costs with any prospective institutions.

[blueeyes]

...I found it peculiar that throughout the forum no one mentions doing their residency in the european country they are enrolled in for Med School; Why is that?
Thanks
Michael

oh please mention tuition costs with any prospective institutions.

I think it's partly because most people who use valudmd are American or Canadian and want to return to practice in North America. Another, related, reason is that since most posters here are not EU citizens, it's often difficult to get a European post-graduate training spot (i.e. residency).

Some of us are planning to do our specialty training here. The only reason I don't post more about it is that I don't think it would apply to many people. Basically, France is unusual in that you can obtain citizenship fairly readily (and without relinquishing prior nationality). And also, unlike in most countries, their post-graduate medical training system is very well organized and everyone who graduates from a French med school is guaranteed a specialty (even though the biggest specialty, by far, is Family Medicine). Basically, everyone writes a comprehensive national exam and your ranking on this exam determines which specialty spots are available to you. To get a surgery spot in Paris, you have to do really well.

If you have EU (or Swiss or Norwegian) citizenship, then you have a lot of options. If not (unless you study at a French med school) it will probably be tough for you to get a residency here. If you're an American, it would be easier for you to do a residency in the US.

BTW, on the off chance that you do speak French (and since you asked)...tuition here is about 150 euros. :D

If you have questions about training in other countries, I might be able to help. I know a (little) bit about Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, etc. (Just what I pick up from French forums.)

[mwissa]

So what foreign schools do you suguest I apply to. Considering reputation, placement in residency programs, and of course the ability for me to get accepted.
Thanks,
Michael

[blueeyes]

So what foreign schools do you suguest I apply to. Considering reputation, placement in residency programs, and of course the ability for me to get accepted.
Thanks,
Michael

Do you speak any non-English European languages?

[mwissa]

Unfortunatly not...Are my grades and MCAT (3.1 and 30) too low for the Irish Medical schools or any English speaking medical school in Europe.

[blueeyes]

Unfortunatly not...Are my grades and MCAT (3.1 and 30) too low for the Irish Medical schools or any English speaking medical in the US?

I thought they would be but judging from a post by roper on the European forum, you may stand a good chance of getting into the Irish schools (but as you probably know, they are very expensive).

I did some checking on some American stats and was surprised to see that you might be able to get into a number of American schools too. However, I have a feeling that this only applies to state med schools in regions where there isn't much competition. (Sorry, I just rechecked your post and saw you were from California. As I'm sure you're painfully aware, all California state schools are pretty competitive.)

If money's no object, check out the Irish schools. You might want to check out the University of Edinburgh in Scotland too. You might want to check out the California approved English programs in a few Eastern European schools (i.e. in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and perhaps soon in Poland). The Eastern European schools are cheaper but you would need to learn the local language for your clinicals. If you're considering that route, make sure you talk with current students.

If you're willing to go outside Europe, Australian med schools are a good option.

On the basis of reputation alone, Irish, Scottish, English and Australian med schools might be your best bet. However, if I were in your shoes, I'd be more interested in a couple of the Eastern European schools. (Providing you're genuinely interested in the language and culture of one of these countries.) In fact, you should probably make sure you like the culture, lifestyle and teaching methods of whatever country you choose to go to.

BTW, the only reason I didn't mention any Caribbean schools is that I read your post in the European forum and I'm assuming they're not your cup of tea.

[sheikh1]

Drexel medical school, here in Philadelphia ask me if I had mcat of 30, but too bad I had 26. Are sure you tried all US medical schools.

[mwissa]

The problem is my LOW GPA not MCAT scores. Which American schools do you think I could potentially get accepted to? The GPA averages I checked out are well above mine. Can you tell me how much the Irish tuition is? Also, background on Edinburgh. I think the Irish schools are the most appealing, to me can anyone give me their avg. GPA and MCAT scores for those who entered thorugh the international 5 yr. program with a Bachelors degree in a "hard science".
Thanks
Michael

[wolfvgang22]

Check out the med schools in Kansas and in South Carolina.

[Picard]

Try DO schools as well.

P

[mwissa]

Where can I obtain information on admission standards of DO Schools?

[sheikh1]

Go to googles and ty...in medical schools, and you choose osteophatic, instead of alophatic. Good Luck!!

[drmikey]

With an MCAT score of 30 and a 3.1 GPA you should really consider trying to get into a U.S. allopathic or maybe an osteopathic. medical school. Right now your GPA is kind of low, but if you enroll in one of those special master's programs to improve your GPA you will have a very good chance of getting into a U.S. school if you do well in the program. You might also want to try getting a part time job in a lab/healthcare, or volunteer while you're doing the master's program. If your grades are good at the end of the 1st year you can apply to U.S. allopathic and osteopathic school and you should have a very good chance of getting in.

I'm not saying that the caribbean, Irish, or European medical schools are inferior to the U.S. schools, however, you will have a much easier time with clinicals and obtaining the residency of your choice coming from a U.S. school. I just recently graduated from one of the better schools in the caribbean, and even with good grades and board scores I was overlooked by some programs only because I graduated from a foreign school. When I was applying to medical schools I had a 2.7 GPA and 34 on the MCAT, I should have entered a master's program but I wanted to go to medical school so desperately that I didn't want to wait to improve my grades and try to go to a U.S. school. You might also realize that moving to a foreign country and leaving your life here in america is a difficult adjustment, and some people fail just because of that.

[ninjabunny]

i don't think you need to enroll in a master's program. you can take some easy upper division course as a post bac in your local state university and try to pull up your gpa. med schools only look at your overall science gpa and don't care whether the class is difficult or not. by the way, did you know that astronomy is consider a physics course and can be calculated into your overall science gpa?

I am in the same situation as you. I graduated from Berkeley with a 2.8 science GPA in molecular and cell biology. I did fairly well in my upper division courses but was kicking it too hard during the ochems and the physics and the calculus. I am not retaking those courses because even in a state university, lower division courses are known to be difficult and time consuming and also because i can prove that i have master the material by doing very well in the mcat. Since you've done well in your mcat, you will just need to improve your gpa. a delay of a year is not biggie because once you've entered medical school, you know that you will be a physician.

good luck!

[Tyson]

There are a lot of options for your. You can go get a masters degree then apply, go take more undergrad courses to bring up your GPA or you could go to SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba, UAG......... there are others. I would go for SGU if I were you. I have a friend in surgical residency here in California right now and he went to SGU. He loved it and met his wife there.

It really depends on what you are willing to put up with. Either way you will have timgs to overcome. Either you will be an IMG or you will have to fight your way into a US medical school which will take a long time and a lot of money. Its up to you.

Good Luck,

Tyson

[student-2]

How is your science GPA? What about Israeli med schools? Would they be an option?

[Hotsauce]

I am new to this how do i post forums