Never give up but be smart about what you do. You will spend countless hours and about $1000 just to apply/interview. Some schools charge $500 on top of the $100 application fee just to interview you! Take a good look at your personal situation and determine if you have a shot at transferring. The ideal candidate: someone who was waitlisted while applying to a US school.
Numbers: You need to have had pretty solid numbers in BOTH UG and med school. If you had the following: 15 MCAT, 2.0 UG GPA, Med GPA 4.0, USMLE 1 250, there is a good chance that you will not transfer. I remember reading a story about a student applying for transfer with a perfect med school GPA and ~268 on his USMLE Step 1... he was not offered any interviews because of a poor MCAT score!
I know it sounds harsh, but the reality is that medical schools filter based on improving their statistics (and ultimately us news type rankings). This means that
1) your UG stats should be somewhat near their published avg gpa/avg mcat
2) you should improve their match list- solid grades/numbers allow you to match into a competitive residency.
A rough estimate is as follows (you should shoot to have higher numbers):
• UG GPA: >3.0
• MCAT:>25
• Med School GPA: A’s and B’s
• USMLE: All the transfers I have spoken to have been in the 225-255 range
Again, your results may vary.
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Hi, thank you for all the information, it is much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI have a question. It may sound silly but I have to ask.
Is having an undergaduate degree compulsory in order to transfer?
I currently go to a medical school in the UK where studens go straight into the 5 year medical program right after high school (A levels). Therefore I do not have a Bachelor's degree.
However, I am a permanent resident and will gladly take the MCAT.
Thank you.
The schools I applied to required some schooling in the US/Canada. This is quoted directly from Drexel's transfer page (http://webcampus.drexelmed.edu/Admissions/documents/Advanced_Standing_Requirements.pdf)
ReplyDelete"ELIGIBILITY:
• US citizenship or permanent residency and have completed the science pre-requisite courses
at a US or Canadian undergraduate school.
• MCAT exam.
• Students attending LCME approved medical schools who have satisfactorily completed all first
year courses (for applicants to the second year class) or all first and second year courses and
USMLE Step 1 scores received by May 15 (for applicants to the third year class).
• (1) Students in foreign medical schools listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools
published by the World Health Organization; (2) Dental Students, dental school graduates or
dentists applying to the Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Program; and (3) Osteopathic medical school
students or graduates who can document that they have satisfactorily completed classes equivalent
to our first and second year curriculum."
if you don't mind me asking, which caribbean school did you transfer from?
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