Foreign Medical Schools
In some instances it may be easier to gain admission to foreign medical schools than to U.S. medical schools. There are also difficulties in such a venture: cost, language and cultural barriers, licensure to practice in the U.S. If you plan to attend a foreign school, you should anticipate finishing your education there. Some students have been able to transfer back to American schools. The number of such transfers is small and fluctuates unpredictably. An indication of the hostility that AAMC has for foreign trained medical students is that they have denied access to Part I of the National Medical Boards to American students studying abroad, and have set up a separate exam (Medical Science Knowledge Profile) in order to avoid comparison with U.S.-trained students.
Look at foreign schools very carefully and ask advice of a disinterested party like your Pre-Med advisor. See the AAMC web site for more information on foreign medical schools.
Most foreign medical schools will not take Americans (just as American schools do not accept many aliens). There are a few in recent years which have accepted sizeable numbers of American students. Some are listed below with comments and addresses where further information may be obtained.
For more information on a particular medical school, or for a listing of medical schools by country, you may wish to search the International Medical Education Directory.
AUSTRALIA
Comparable in competition and cost to U.S. schools. They expect MCAT scores in the initial screening and have recently engaged in recruiting in the U.S.
AUSTRIA
German language is required. There is very limited experience of Americans completing studies and successfully returning to practice in the U.S.
Austrian Information Center
31 East 69th Street
New York, NY 10021
BELGIUM
Many of the texts are in English whereas the lectures are in French or Flemish. Quality is good but only a small number of Americans get in. Advanced degrees may help.
Belgian Consulate General
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
CARIBBEAN
There are well-established schools, St. Georges in Grenada and Ross University in Dominica, and several others in Saba, Antigua, and the Dominican Republic.
CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA
A number of countries and private medical schools recruit American students. Some few have relatively stable histories and traditions (e.g. Chile). Some are extremely unstable enterprises with inadequate facilities. Several were investigated by the U.S. Postal Service for fraud in their recruitment procedures.
FRANCE
The French system allows for relatively easy admission to the first year of medical school, after which an extensive examination screens out all but a small percentage for the second year. There are a few private universities (e.g., Mediterranean Program, Marseille, or Faculties Catholiques de Lille) who seem interested in recruiting Americans.
IRELAND
Costs are similar to U.S. schools. A few Americans get in each year. Family connections may help, e.g. Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland.
ITALY
Recent indications are that Italy will continue to enroll some aliens in Italian medical schools. Italy has been the single largest source of medical education for Americans in Europe. Two schools are in Rome and Bologna. Contact the Italian consulate. Tuition is free or low. Do not pay high application fees to privateers.
MEXICO
There are two schools, Monterey and Guadalajara, which have traditionally accepted American students.
PHILIPPINES
Lectures are in English. Clinical experience is very shallow. There are about six schools of mixed quality and stability. All welcome tuition in U.S. dollars. Americans would be better off staying in Manila to minimize general adjustment problems. Contact the Philippine Consulate.
POLAND
Karol Marcinkowski, Poznan; instruction is in English.
PLACEMENT SERVICE
Evaluating foreign programs is difficult. The situation varies with current events. One source is the A.M.A. record of those foreign medical school graduates who pass the board examination. You should be able to extract this information from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
