All these suggestions are very good but only if the student can handle standardized tests.
@mystifiedStudent Come back with test results.
There are school that offer merit scholarships:
LSU-full ride merit scholarship. MINIMUM Req. are 1430 math+CR and 3.8GPA I think.
Howard University-3.5 UW gpa and 1400 Math+CR. Full tuition, room, board, book voucher.
U alabama: full tuition for 3.5 GPA and 1400 Math+CR
If there was even a remote possibility of the OP graduating from college a US citizen, s/he would be well into the process already. One doesn’t become a naturalized US citizen overnight…
What I meant is that after getting an undergraduate degree in the US, the OP may choose to stay in the US (and may start the citizenship process) or s/he may return to Bangladesh or go to another country. The point is that if s/he wants to go to college in the US, s/he needs to concentrate on the next step, which is an undergraduate degree. In the next four or five years his/her situation and objectives may change.
@momrath: the situation in the US right now (absurd immigration rules wrt the actual situation) is that there is no “citizenship process” to start for students with a US undergraduate degree, and in fact students can’t “choose to stay in the US”. They can be lucky and get an OPT position, then return to grad school, then get another OPT, then if they’re lucky this might start a H1B petition and if they’re very lucky it may be granted within the very short time frame before the small limit number for the year has been reached and they may have a short term work visa… and they’re not even “in the citizenship process” yet.
This is why Canadian corporations come to US universities in bordering states to “poach” international students (they can be permanent residents within 3 years, and then quickly become citizens, vs. the uncertain and protracted current US process. And US-educated graduates are economically valuable to Canada.)
I realize that there need to be barriers to illegal immigration but internationals with US undergraduate degrees aren’t really the worst immigrants to have in my opinion.
I think we all agree that it’s extremely unlikely that the OP would be able to afford medical school in the US. So there’s a decision to be made about priorities. What does the OP want most?
(a) Study in the US for a few years, without a clear path to staying in the US and without studying medicine.
(b) Immigrate to the US, maybe or maybe not as a physician.
© Go to medical school and become a physician, maybe or maybe not in the US.
In scenario ©, the OP’s best option in my opinion would be to study medicine at home. Maybe s/he’d get a residency position in the US, maybe not, but either way, s/he would be well on the way to become a physician.
If the number 1 priority is immigration, the objective should be to marry a US citizen. Unfortunately, that’s the only real option for immigration for most people (even highly-educated skilled workers). Going to college in the US might facilitate that.
Really, I dont intend to cause heated arguments but illegal immigrants make it increasingly harder for foreigners to LEGALLY immigrate!
@b@rlum, The way I interpreted the OP’s objective was that s/he wants to go to college outside of Bangladesh. A lot of 16/17 year olds think they’re headed for medical school, but end up changing course for various reasons.
You’re right though, if medical school is the immediate top priority s/he’s better off pursuing that some place other than the US.
I’m an American expat living in a country that has a lot in common with Bangladesh and I’ve seen quite a few nationals attend US colleges both for undergraduate and medical school. They definitely received financial aid for undergraduate school, but I never thought about how they financed med school. Maybe their family’s had more money than I was aware of.
@MYOS1634, interesting, thanks.
@paul2752, the good news is that many colleges now classify undocumented immigrants who graduate from college in the US in the same category for admissions as US citizens. This helps to reduce competition in the international pool.
@MYOS1634
Thanks for the interesting information. Maybe I will try to get Canadian citizenship later
Yes, there are many of my senior students from the school I know who have been studying or working in the USA for such a long time .I know many seniors who are studying in university of Alabama ,Oxford (uk) & even in Indian universities.Some of them were students like me or even weaker than me ! But I am worrying for myself cause it is not as easy for me as it was for them back then.There are huge competitions now and girls like me are more talented than I would ever imagine!@momrath
Thanks all for the advices.I will come back with my grades and I should concentrate on undergraduate study rather than medical school.Till then I am gonna think about these medical school things.
@mystifiedStudent, I would suggest you start with Smith and Mt. Holyoke. They are all women’s colleges, and very strong academically. They offer both need-based aid and merit aid to internationals. They guarantee to meet demonstrated need, but how much this would mean for you specificially would depend on your family’s financial situation. To get an idea of how how much need-based aid you might be eligible for, you should contact the colleges’ financial aid departments.
@mystifiedStudent Include financial safeties in your list: Alabama, Howard and Maine (Orono and Farmington). You will get automatic merit money with a good GPA and SAT scores which should make these choices affordable for your family.
And add in the University of Southern Maine. With the best international merit aid the cost would only be 18K a year. Portland is a great city with good medical facilities.