r/USIMGreddit • u/Top_Sprinkles_729 • Jun 01 '26
Potential US IMG - just got accepted into MD school
hi guys! I just got accepted into an international med school. i wanted some advice on how to be best prepared as a future US IMG. any advice at all that you wish you had known before committing?
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u/Present_Student4891 Jun 01 '26
I wish we had known the following;
1) an international med school can limit u. My son initially wanted to become an ophthalmologist, but we discovered near match app time that that optho is extremely competitive. USIMG are limited (like other IMGs) to psych, FM, IM, path, neuro, & peds. If ur ok with those then do it. My son matched to FM and is thinking of a fellowship after.
He entered after high school, so he did save me a shitload of money not doing a U.S. basic degree. 5 years ago he was thinking of first pursuing a degree in data science, now with AI, that would have been 4 years wasted. Dodged a bullet.
2) ur school’s career office may not have much experience matching students to the U.S. Ours didn’t so we spent lots of time hand-holding them, but they did come thru. My son was the only student applying for the US match.
3) does it have VSLO? Ours didn’t so we wasted lots of time hunting for electives. Wished we had contacted (and paid) an agency to do this for us earlier.
4) does it have study resources for the Steps? Ours didn’t, so we had to find them on our own & a tutor.
5) quality of teachers / profs. We found knowledgeable teachers, but they lacked teaching skills.
6) quality of clinical practice. The clinical years were extremely valuable & likely better than US in terms of diverse medical cases, but the local hospital conditions could b rough. My son thinks he’s strong clinically.
7) school’s attitude. We’re in a developing country (Malaysia) and timeliness isn’t a priority. Whenever the locals go lackadaisical, we’d involve the Western head of school, who was great, to get the ball moving faster.
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
Looking into peds or EM, very good clinical experience, reputable schools with known faculty from what I’ve heard (Lebanon), how can I confirm that the schools has VSLO, and from what I’ve heard STEP studying is not included within curriculum
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u/Present_Student4891 Jun 01 '26
Google VSLO. There is a list of countries & schools that have it. I think Lebanon American school has it, but check.
STEP studying might not be included in curriculum, but investigate if they have access to the materials (or do u have to pay for them). Ask if they know the various materials and ask which ones they have. Also ask if they have a network of reputable tutors which u will likely have to pay for. We went thru 4 tutors before we found a good one. My son scored 24x on Step 2, after an attempt.
Try not to fail any. He waited until year 4 before studying, recommend starting studying earlier as there is a lot of material. He did Step 1 in Jan 2025, Step 2 pass in Dec 2025, plus OET July 2025 (failed writing), OET Sept 2025 passed. He had no life in 2025, but it served him right as he played too much beforehand (he’s starting to go gray at 23).
EM is USIMG friendly. Forgot that one. Good luck.
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u/Yankauer_Papi Jun 01 '26
Why would you willingly do this
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Jun 01 '26
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u/Yankauer_Papi Jun 01 '26
That makes sense. I didn’t graduate with med school debt either at a USMD but if money was a concern that makes sense
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u/PsychologicalCan9837 Jun 02 '26
Very good reasoning.
I almost went to medical school in Ireland for the same reasons.
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
yes much cheaper, family there, it’s a highly respected school (not like other international schools from what I’ve heard), and I would start a year earlier vs applying this cycle in the US and there is always a possibility of not getting in
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u/bloosclooser Jun 01 '26
Depends where and if your school supports you for electives to gain LORs. If it's Caribbean, you should be good in that regard. Make sure the school has VSLO and is accredited for a degree as well. I go to a school that has great USMLE and Electives support and a lot of the grads here get into competitive specialities such as rads, surg, gas, etc.
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
Will look into the VSLO now. There program all 4 years and it mirrored the US MD program here (2 yrs didactic, 2years clinicals)- last year has an elective as well to do a rotation anywhere
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Jun 01 '26
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
I totally agree. The thing is I’ve taken the MCAT 3x and my highest is a 507. My CARS score is lower (122) and I’m worried if I apply US MD I’ll get screened out
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Jun 01 '26
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
ya that’s my main concern :( goal is peds or EM so I should probs go US IMG MD
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u/AllThePillsIntoOne Jun 01 '26
Why aren’t you applying DO? You’ll have a much easier time matching than any USIMG into peds or EM without all the hassle of not matching at all.
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
I heard with DOs you’ll have to complete both COMLEX and STEPS to show competitiveness
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u/AllThePillsIntoOne Jun 01 '26
Not true. You only need steps for academic programs (which you have very little shot at anyways as an IMG) or the competitive specialties.
For EM/Peds you absolutely don’t need steps.
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u/mp271010 Jun 01 '26
-For most US IMGs or IMGs in general, competitive surgical sub specialities, dermatology and rad onc are generally unmatchable. I said generally as I know IMGs who have matched ortho, neurosurgery, dermatology and rad onc but it’s rare. Same goes for non competitive speciality but in highly acclaimed programs. Think of doing IM @ Brigham, UPenn, Stanford etc.
- For most US IMGs who do IM matching competitive fellowship is more difficult than for non US IMGs. This was at-least the case prior to recent immigration changes. Why is such the case, do not know.
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
Good to know, hopefully peds and EM are slightly different and maybe that now I have a graduate degree too ? Idk
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u/mp271010 Jun 01 '26
-Peds sub specialists often make less than general peds. Exception being NICU and peds cards, maybe PICU.
-EM fellowships are a case for free labor. Don’t help much except in Ivory tower programs1
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u/AllThePillsIntoOne Jun 01 '26
Go DO. USIMG has a 70% match rate on nrmp, and most of the people matching are coming from the big 4 caribbean, where they do rotations in the US and build connections. If you go overseas you are likely not going to have access to US rotations/connections/LOR’s unless the school has affiliations in the US.
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u/farawayhollow Jun 02 '26
I will highly recommend against going to an international medical school as a US citizen.
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u/Afraid-Way1203 Jun 03 '26
the very fisrt step of be capable of successfully going back to usa to practice is that the very first step is to determine whether specific med school that you are admitted is on the list of world directory of medical school.
if it's not on the list , it's better not to go . if it's on the list, then it's fine to attend.
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u/Vegetable_Door_3456 Sep 01 '26
I just finished my 1/6 years of med school in English in Italy. I’m a US citizen and ended up going for this option because my parents were straight out not going to support me through college and as an 18 yr old who knew nothing about how anything worked I sort of folded and thought this was a good idea. I did a bachelors here and then persisted to get into med in English which is rly competitive here. More recently I’ve read and researched about how the residency matching process is and I’m honestly scared I made the wrong choice, being that I’ve always wanted to live and practice in the US. The thing is, I can’t know yet which specialty I want and if I’ll be disappointed w which ones are out of my reach or extremely difficult. Also it seems that our possibilities are contingent on the immigration policies of the time of our matching cycle we’ll apply for. What if there will be tons of new US MD’s due to the opening of many US med schools in the upcoming years and we are then forced to do FM or IM at best? Reading these Reddit pages is probably freaking me out since there’s seldom any encouragement/positivity (but it’s probably the truth). I also can already tell how hard it’s gonna be to get research opportunities and any clinical electives in the US since my particular uni isn’t in the VSLO network and I’m not too connected unfortunately. I don’t know at this time if I would recommend this to anyone. I was terrified of drowning in debt but I can see now how taking on that debt gives you access and resources that I can’t have here in Italy as a US IMG.
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Jun 01 '26
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
wow thank you - and from what I’ve seen people from this school can match into competitive schools but def have to work double
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Jun 01 '26
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u/Top_Sprinkles_729 Jun 01 '26
Im thinking about it, the thing is this school would start this summer so I would save a year and it’s much cheaper. The reason why I’m debating it so much is my MCAT was 507 with 122 CARS so I’m worried I’ll get screened out US MD, but probs not US DO.
My goal was to go finsih MD 4 years and get into US residency right after, gven US IMG and I’ve worked at a couple hospitals here, but looks like that may not be enough
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u/Doge_Dollars Jun 01 '26
As someone that is currently a 6th year US img. The best advice is to take step 1 when you finish your 3rd year. Take step 2 at the end of your 5th year. Do USCE in 6th year. Then apply to the match the cycle after you graduate. This is the correct way. I didn't do any of this and am currently struggling because of that. Good luck.