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English Proficiency for International Students

25 June 2011 26 June 2011

English proficiency is an absolute requirement if you are to enter medical school.  Unlike graduate schools which require international students to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), medical schools do not have a requirement for TOEFL.  Universities like Harvard (external link) do not require TOEFL but do require their applicants to have taken at least one year of courses taught in the US or Canada.

When reviewing applications from international students, one wonders if the applicant is proficient in English language.  Without an interview, how can a reviewer know that you speak English well?

  • Score a Q or higher on your MCAT writing sample
  • Earn an A- or higher in a University-level English course
  • Ask that your letter writers comment on how well your written AND spoken English is
  • Request a letter writer from your University-level English course

 

Checklist for International Premed Students

26 June 2011

As an international student applying to US medical school, you will need:

  • A baccalaureate degree or graduate degree from a university in your country, USA, or Canada
  • Complete all medical school requirements (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry)
  • Have an MCAT score (taken within past 3 years)
  • Demonstrate English proficiency (i.e. Good writing MCAT sample score, good grade in English course in a postbacc program)
  • Obtain student visa for study in the United States


Letter to incoming third year medical students (i.e. MS6+) - Part 1

25 June 2011 25 June 2011

This letter is intended for the MD/PhD students who are reentering third year of medical school, but feel free to read it if you are also entering third year of medical school after having JUST finished your second year of medical school.

Hi MS6+ (Assuming you took 4 years for PhD),

Do not be afraid of entering 3rd year of medical school. That is what I tell my classmates and those who I know who have taken  4+ years to pursue the pursuit of graduate school. The greatest fear that any medical student who has taken time off after second year of medical school is how am I going to fit back in?  In retrospect, everyone is trying to fit in. Whether it be an MS3 who just finished his Step 1 exam last week to someone like myself who took Step 1 5 years ago, we all felt the same emotions that first day of third year of medical school.  Because when it comes down to it, third year of medical school is a new transition that no one, even someone who just finished second year of medical school, can honestly prepare for.

Gone are the daily lectures. Gone are the days whether you get comfortable at your favorite study corner studying for pathology. Gone are the nice syllabus and required readings which will prepare you for an exam written solely from the required readings. Gone is your sense of familiarity and routine. The loss of hand holding and sense of routine is what makes third year such a dreaded period in their education.  It doesn't matter that you are an MS3 or an MS6+, that same gnawing feeling in your stomach is felt across all freshly minted third year medical students.

However, as an MS6+, you shouldn't view yourself as being "disadvantaged" that you don't remember your heme synthesis pathway or neuroanatomy as well as a MS3 who just took their USMLE Step 1 exam last week.  To be honest, I had to look up information from my first two years of medical school when studying for my exams in third year.  But then again, you will be surprised how many MS3 also have to look up information from first two years of medical school as well.

Any other "disadvantages" MS6+ have besides the slight information gap? Not at all!

 

 

To be continued...

 

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