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Frequently Asked Questions
International Students
Currently, it is very difficult for non-U.S.–residents (citizens or permanent residents) to be admitted to medical schools in the United States. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, most U.S. schools are required to give preference to applicants from their own states or regions.
Prospective applicants from other countries should study carefully the medical school application consideration and admissions criteria for any school in which they are interested. Successful medical school applicants from other countries will ordinarily have completed several years of their undergraduate college work in the United States. Proficiency in the English language is, of course, essential, and medical schools may require proficiency certification from the appropriate official agency in the applicant’s own country or from the American undergraduate college the applicant has attended.
International applicants should be prepared to present detailed plans for financing their medical education. Much of the financial aid available to U.S. medical schools requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Since some countries impose severe restrictions on the exportation of currency, the applicant should investigate the accessibility of financial resources before applying. In no case should international applicants assume that financial aid will be available in the United States.
Please note that F-1 and J-1 student visas are unavailable to students enrolled in our Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Studies Program.
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Program size
Our program is small by design, with a total of approximately 90 - 100 students. We enroll about forty new students each year.
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Notification of Acceptance
After we have received your completed application (i.e., completed and signed application form, personal statement, letter of recommendation, official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended, current resume, and application fee), we will review the application and mail our decision within two to four weeks.
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Deferrals
Students must be prepared to begin the program during the semester for which they applied. Deferrals are generally not granted.
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Transferring from other postbacc programs
Because of the nature of the postbaccalaureate certificate program, we cannot consider applicants who began their coursework at another prehealth postbacc program.
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Previously taken science courses
Please see the information under "Prospective Students." As a career changer program, we expect students to take all or most of the prehealth curriculum at NYU. If you have taken one or two science courses at your undergraduate institution, we will still consider your application, but you must be prepared to complete at least 24 credits as a postbacc student. (For credit equivalencies, please see the information under "curriculum.")
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Committee letter and support for application to medical school
NYU's Committee on Recommendations to Schools of the Health Professions writes on behalf of each of our postbacc candidates. We understand that individuals may face unique challenges and that no candidate can be summed up in numerical values of the gpa or MCAT score. We therefore provide access to our Committee process and will write a letter for all postbaccs who complete our program. That said, students are encouraged to keep in mind the competitiveness of medical school applications and should understand that their numbers certainly will play a role in admissions decisions. Postbaccs are always encouraged to speak with an adviser about the process.
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Acceptance to medical and dental schools
Students who earn a minimum of a 3.6 GPA in our postbacc program and an MCAT score of at least a 31 are considered competitive for medical school admissions. Year to year, we are consistently seeing approximately 90% of our students with these numbers get accepted to US Medical Schools. On average, our successful applicants are earning gpas around 3.7 in our program and 32s on the MCAT.
Students from our program have been offered admission to, among others, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NYU School of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine (University of Chicago), and Yale School of Medicine. We also have linkages with seven medical schools (George Washington University, Mount Sinai School of Med, Tulane University School of Med, UMDNJ-New Jersey Med, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson, SUNY Downstate and Stony Brook) through which students have gained acceptance.
Students who earn a minimum of a 3.5 GPA in our postbacc program and DAT scores of 20 overall are considered competitive for dental school admissions. Last year, candidates were offered admission to the dental schools at, among others, NYU, SUNY Stony Brook, and UPenn.
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Health Insurance
Our postbaccalaureate students are eligible for health insurance but must elect coverage by going to the Student Health Center, 726 Broadway, Third floor, Suite 346, (212)443-1020.
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Financial Aid
Students accepted into our program (which is a non-degree, certificate program) are eligible for a limited amount of financial aid in the form of low-interest loans. Federal loans are available for up to two years of the program; you will need to file the FAFSA. New York State residents may also be eligible for a limited amount of aid through TAP (Tuition Assistance Program). You may also be eligible for private loans.
Regulations are subject to change, so please enquire about these loans at the Financial Aid Office, first floor, 25 West 4th Street. You may also call them at (212) 998-4444 or see their website at www.nyu.edu/financial.aid.
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Should you still have questions about our program after reading through this site, please email your specific question to postbacc@nyu.edu.
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