International Student Forum/ Message Board

Hello to everyone C:
At the moment I'm 16 turning 17 in a week or so & I'm deeply interested in studying medicine like my father but in the US.
I haven't taken the SAT yet, I live in Trinidad and I want to try and get into a university after Form 5 since I really don't want to complete Lower 6 and Upper 6.
I had pretty good grades but my Fourth Form (9th grade) year sucked due to family problems and such and I haven't performed well. I really am looking forward to getting into Brown or any other Ivy League and am worried about the tuition costs. I need help as to the score I need to get accepted into the school of choice and when I should write the SAT and scholarship information.

If there is anything else, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.

Hello Saeura,

I am an international student from Trinidad currently pursuing a Masters degree at Stanford University. I also did my undergrad in the U.S and so I know quite a bit about financial aid for international students.

Firstly you should know that in the U.S, in order to attend medical school, you must first complete an undergraduate (Bachelor of Science) degree in some medical/biology related major - preferably a BSc. in Pre-Medicine or Biomedical Science. After obtaining your Bachelors, you then apply to medical school.

Second, you should know that it is EXTREMELY difficult to obtain scholarships/fellowships/grants for international students regardless of how stellar your academic qualifications are. Many of the scholarships offered by U.S schools are primarily for U.S citizens or U.S permanent residents (green card holders). So you have to search very carefully for schools that specify that their scholarships are open to international students as well - and look for schools offering full scholarships. (I know this because I went thru this as well - it was really difficult finding scholarships for my undergrad).

There are a limited number of schools that offer need-blind admission for international students. They can be found at this link:

http://www.internationalstudent.com/sch ... rding_aid/

Other than that, you have to search school websites for schools that offer either full scholarships for internationals - or offer significant funding. When checking a school website, and looking at their scholarships - ALWAYS look at the requirements and check to see if being a U.S citizen or Permanent Residence (green card holder) is a requirement. If this is the case, and you are neither, you are out of luck. Also look for scholarships specifically for international students (very limited). If you can't find this kind of information, give the school a call and ask them specifically.

Many of the Ivy league schools require 2-3 SAT subject tests (with excellent scores) in addition to stellar SAT scores (on average 2190 to 2400) and a 3.8 on a 4.0 scale or higher for full or almost full scholarships. They calculate it based on your CXC grades and your high school transcripts. They also, in general do not offer scholarships for international students. My advice to you, would be to try for non-Ivy schools for your undergraduate first - it is a lot easier to get scholarships from them in general (that is the ones that actually offer scholarships to international students). You can then try for an Ivy league school for med school. Here are some schools that offer significant funding for international students - if other people have other examples feel free to post:

The University of Arkansas - http://www.uark.edu (they have a tuition grant specifically for Caribbean students: it pays the difference between instate and out of state tuition)
Howard University
Coppin State University
FAMU
Montana State University
Lafayette College
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
Auburn University
Claflin University
Dillard University

You should take the SAT as soon as possible because you typically have to submit an application by October/November (some schools are later) of the previous year in order to be considered for scholarships. So if you would like admission by 2010 Fall, your applications including SAT scores should be complete by about October/November 2009 on average. Also when you write the SAT it may take up to a couple months for the schools to receive scores from international exam centers.

It is very difficult to get accepted to medical school as a non-U.S citizen or non-permanent resident - and even harder to get financial aid for medical school. This website explains the policies quite well.

http://www.fiu.edu/~preprofc/Internatio ... licies.htm

If you are a U.S citizen, or a green-card holder - I am not sure if you are - then it is a lot easier in general to get admission and financial aid for both undergrad and medical school.

If you decide to take A-levels, you can always apply to St. George's University in Greneda, or UWI St. Augustine, or UWI Jamaica. I know at both UWI campuses, doing medicine is currently paid for by the government. In general, admission into UWI Jamaica med is a lot easier than UWI St. Augustine.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other specific questions.