Scholarships in the US [for International Student]

Why? Why do you want to become a doctor?

This is actually a very important question and one you will be asked over and over again as you go through the med school admission process.

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Apologies if this was answered upthread…but can you study to become a doctor in your home country?

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It wasn’t directly addressed, but OP noted in one of the posts that their school grades were “average”. So that would probably make admittance to medicine difficult . It seems there is also a very difficult exam for entrance in Brazil. That said… admittance to medicine anywhere is going to be difficult and generally only realistic for top students. The nursing pathway is probably a more realistic one. If that is being undertaken as a path to immigrating to the US, however, that’s going to be at least a 6 year time investment between degree, work experience and wait for the green card process/doing the US exams.

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You are 21. Please explain WHY you plan to study for this test at your age for 3 years. You will be applying as a mature student. Colleges will see that and they will be interested in what you have been doing since you graduated from high school. They will probably not care at all about your test score if you take it when you are 24. The test is designed for high school students. Your life experiences will be MUCH more important.

Do you have any background In volunteering or working in healthcare in Brazil? @WayOutWestMom is very authoritative and can explain better the kind of experience you will need outside of college to be accepted to a med school program. Working in hospitality in Oregon is not the right kind of experience for medical school. (I hope I’m reading your words correctly. Perhaps you meant hospital?)

It’s a nice dream to come to the US and get a free education. But the reality is that you need money and a lot of it. US citizens can’t get a free education. Others have laid out the obstacles you face. Probably pursuing medicine in Brazil is your best option.

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The path you can choose is to get a nursing degree in Brazil while working on your English, get a visa to practice nursing in the US, and THEN get a BSN degree (for which your Nursing degree grades as well as your experience will be used to decide where you get in. While in the US you’d be allowed to take a class while working, probably at a CC because you’d have to pay for it out of pocket, but these grades would also count toward admission to a BSN so you’d have to be sure your English and time management skills are ready.) It’s a long term plan.

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And I’m not sure your costs for schooling here would be 100% covered.

But agree…nursing is a more likely path!

My daughter, a US resident and very low income, secured a full ride (need based) to a top school. She then went to medschool. Had some financial help but still graduated with over 200k in debt. Went into residency in an expensive city while making residency pay for 7 years. Now in fellowship for year 8 for still crappy pay. Husband also in same med school debt but at least an attending with a better salary.
My daughter is about to turn 35 with no gaps in her education and will finally be making good money.
I tell you this as you seem to have a unrealistic idea of coming to the US and becoming g a Dr and making good money. The above was my daughters experience, so you can expect something so much harder. Dreams are nice, but you wake up to reality.

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Have you considered pursuing other health care professions in your home country, Brazil? You mentioned nursing, and that is one. But you will need some biology, and chemistry background and courses for a nursing degree.

Please check out options in your home country. They are likely more affordable, and might be more accessible.

Can you take one or two college courses while you work to see how you do? That might be a good start.

The track to becoming a nurse and then moving to the U.S. was clearly outlined on one of your threads. It will take years, but it’s possible…IF you can get a nursing degree and job in Brazil.

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I tought that if i moved to the US as a nurse and took the prereqs there maybe i could apply for medschool. But @WayOutWestMom said that there are low chances of get in with a degree abroad. And that the prefered ones would be in things like biology or chemistry.

My opinion…why aren’t you looking at options to become a doctor in Brazil…if you only want to be a doctor?

Patient care provided by nurses is so very important to most medical systems.

If you do pursue nursing in brazil, AND work here, and get a green card, you might be able to become a nurse practioner in the future…much of primary care is in their domain. And YES it will take many years to get all this done. @WayOutWestMom could this work?

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The science courses required for nursing school are not the same ones required for medical school. All med school pre-reqs would need to be completed after they got to the US.

SO—

IF he gets a nursing degree in Brazil
AND IF
he is able to come to the US to work as a nurse
AND IF
he qualifies for a green card after several years working in the US
AND IF
he takes additional coursework in the US that include all the pre-reqs classes while working full time as nurse
AND IF
he does well in those classes (all As)
AND IF
he studies for and takes the MCAT
AND IF
he scores high enough to be a viable candidate for med school
AND IF
he is able to get strong letters of recommendation from his professors in the US
AND IF
he has fulfilled all the expected extra-curriculars for med school
AND IF
he has good answers for why he wants to become a doctor
AND IF
he applies to a range of US MD and US DO schools

Then he has about 40% chance of getting into med school

IF @Solaris_73 is accepted to a US medical school, the financial aid office will help him figure out how to pay for his medical education.

But there’s a whole, very long list of IFs that need to happen first.

Not impossible but it will require a pretty long range plan that will encompass at least a decade or more and still without an guarantee of success.

~~

Seriously, it would be a faster and more direct route to attend medical school in Brazil, then apply for a US medical residency through the ECFMG.

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I’m asking if becoming a nurse practitioner would be possible…not medical school.

Would that be possible…assuming a nursing degree in Brazil, work experience, coming here to work and obtaining a green card, working as a nurse…and eventually taking NP courses?

@WayOutWestMom

Honestly, I don’t know enough about nursing programs to say if this is a possibility.

My uneducated guess would be yes, it may be possible so long as he has earned a BS in nursing (not just as ASN or RN), passed the NCLEX exam and has gained the relevant work experience.

But I will defer to those with more knowledge of how the nursing program consider foreign degrees.

I know a few people who’ve done the nurse green card route. There are a number of agencies who facilitate this (match applicants with employers who will sponsor green cards) and they list the requirements on their websites. It’s pretty easy IF you have the degree + 2 years work experience, assuming anyone with those can pass NCLEX. But that’s a pathway to working as a nurse, not medical school.

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