1-School transcript
If
you’re a 6th year, the transcript won’t have them, thus just tell the vice dean
/registrar to sign the following statement: [This student will have finished Surgery
and OBGYN clerkship by the time he starts his elective at your school in
dd/mm/y
2-Courses duration
3- Letter of Good standing/ letter of academic standing/ Letter of
support ( shehadt kayd)
This
is basically a letter that mentions: [the student X is enrolled here, and he
is in good academic standing, in the last year of a 6-year program]
with the dean/vice dean/registrar signature.
4- Letters of Recommendation (LoR) from
faculty member.
- This is a document that is supposed
to give the reader a general “good” description of your previous
accomplishments, current endeavors, and future goals, as seen by a faculty
member who interacted with you long enough to be able to tell such
description.
- When doing the LoR, remember that;
- Make sure to “offer help” in writing the LoR so as it doesn’t contain any
negative attributes (and it shouldn’t). You can even write it, and ask the
staff to sign it, if he was willing.
- Try to add authenticity by getting the letter stamped by the school seal.
“Normally, it should be even on school-specific stationary paper”
- Make sure that some contact information of the letter writer are present
(email, cell phone, and address)
- Tell the letter writer that they “might” contact him by email.
Some, like Hopkins and Cornell, will ask you for a “Dean’s LoR”. Have a
friendly conversation with the dean, tell him your ambitions, give him a CV
copy if he asked for one, and in shaa Allah he’ll do it.
5-.
The Application Form of the school you’re applying to. Try to make the name
as in the passport
6-
The
Health Form from the school as well. Basically, it should be filled by a
physician who did a complete physical, and lab tests. Sometimes, they tell you
to fill it, but require Immunization/Antibody record to be attached as well.
Vide infra.
7-
The Curriculum Vitae.
8-
The
Personal Statement/ Letter of Intent/ Admission Essay.
- SOME schools want it, others
don’t. Usually there is a cut-off limit for number of words, and a
standard format (Text type, size, and space) that are requested. ADHERE to
them.
- ( There
are these websites, which help shaping the PS AFTER you have your
blueprint,
- And to brush up and polish the
overall quality, I suggest using,
-
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary/Thesaurus mainly for thesaurus (instead of
using “loving”, use “ardent”), which are ESSENTIAL to buff up your style.
- A
Quote dictionary would also come in handy, as it can give you ideas and idioms
to use. Check "The Yale Book of Quotations", and "Oxford
Dictionary of Quotations" )
9-
The Immunization and/or vaccination record. This is a record
that shows that you’re immunized against some famous communicable diseases
(HAV, HBV, MMR, DT, and TB)
- Usually, you’ll need a paper, from
a local lab, indicating that you had the vaccines in the recent past. You
can do this at our Medical Syndicate (elne2aba) or Health office (maktab
se77a)
- If you don't have past record of
vaccination, you can have the vaccination again at our Medical Syndicate.
They'll give you a certificate of vaccination. If you aren't keen on
getting vaccinated again, you can get an antibody titer. Note that
sometimes, the vaccine certificate doesn't replace the need for AB titers.
- You do an Antibody Titer for the
diseases mentioned in the health form, and when you have “positive” IgGs,
this means you’re immune/vaccinated. Some would require qualitative AB.
Titre (+ or -), while others require Quantitative (titer in numbers, as in
850 µg/dL), with latter usually required in HbsAg abs.
- Where to get these AB titers done?
Any local lab can do them. Note though that they are quite expensive.
- Details vary by school. If
anything is vague, contact them.
10-
Health Insurance. Easiest way is to get it from Egypt Air,
or Thomas Cook. A 3-months contract from TC would be around L.E. 600.
- Some require their own health
insurance. Others might need Health insurance from a US based company.
Consider http://www.visitorscoverage.com/index.php , which compares all of the "Visitor Medical
Insurance" plans in the USA. Usually a 6 month coverage will be
around $200 (from $100 to $350).
11-
Mal-Practice
Insurance. A lot of discussion can be found over this topic. Best place by far
is www.ProLiability.com.
Other companies include academicins (http://www.academicins.com/), and HPSO (http://www.hpso.com/).
Check on the discussion about pros/cons of each here (http://www.mededia.com/node/16),
and here (http://www.mededia.com/node/37#how_much_time_malpractice_coverage).
- Note that most programs waive the
Mal-Practice till after you get accepted. But some need it right from the
start.
- Medical Student Insurance can be
obtained from Academic Group. The insurance is usually valid independent
of the school you're applying at. Contact them with any questions. They
are pretty helpful. ALWAYS mention your credentials in full details.
- Student Medical Assistant
Insurance is directed to "students" of "Medical
assistant" careers, such as Physician assistants, and Nurse
Practitioner students. HOWEVER, these work pretty well, and most people
get those because they're cheaper. Proliability and HPSO sell those, but
you need to be "school specific", that means, they're issued for
a particular school and for a particular duration. So make sure you got
accepted first before applying.
12-
If asked for "Criminal background Check", this is
the "Feesh we Tashbeeh" done at any Police Station. Address it to the
School, translate it, and send the translation along with the photocopy with
the rest of the documents.
13-
iBT
TOEFL. Try to do it, and always send a photocopy of the mailed report, even if
not required. IELTS as well will be a benefit. No need to send via ETS.
- This test is remarkably easy, if
you know the right resources (Barron’s, a Pronunciation / speaking guide,
and a simulated KAPLAN exam). Work thru Kaplan and Cambridge TOEFL
preparations first. Both are great. Then do Barron's stuff. I got 111/120
without taking any courses whatsoever, and I’m from “madrasa 7komeyya” .
NB. Official ETS guide is remarkably shallow.
- My best advice is to download
simulated exams, and practice the test from them. This is simply because
this is a STANDARDIZED test, and not an English test. You need to study
for it, as you studied for the USMLE. By doing questions.. Learning by
doing IS the fastest.
- I think if you want to focus on
everyone's weakest points (usually speaking, and listening), try to do
self-propelled teaching. Start a sound recorder (present in any Windows OS), and
start talking about any subject/a subject ur brother chooses at random,
for about 5 continuous minutes. Then listen to your recording, and
identify your Grammar, Vocabulary, and Pronunciation mistakes... Then
re-record and try to correct them...
- Use Jason's website for ideas on
Speaking/Writing. http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/ibt_speaking_writing/2008/05/40-new-practice.html
- Usually 1 week of 2 ~3 hours/day
is enough. But again, it depends on how established you are i the
Language. Can take up to a month of 3 hours/day if you're
"daye3" :) ...
- And forget about books. Barron's
book is great, but I think it's a big waste of time.. HOWEVER, you can use
this book, 400 words for the TOEFL, to sharpen your vocab... Just memorize
these words. http://www.4shared.com/file/cHgGLdl4/400_Must_have_Words_for_the_TO.html
14-HIPPA Certificate.
- Each school has its own course on
HIPPA. Just complete it, sign/print the certificate, and send it along
your documents.
15-
School
specific documents (e.g. CORI form in Harvard application)
16-
You can also attach a copy of your school’s IMED FAIMER
profile (https://imed.faimer.org/).
Won’t hurt.
17-
If
there’s a processing fee involved, there are several ways you can pay for it;
- You can use “Traveler checks” from
Thomas Cook, or American Express outlets in Egypt. They all accept them.
Note however that they aren't fractionated.. They ONLY come as $100 bills.
You can't have a $120 bill for example. You'll have to pay $200 for $120 !
- OR, the most famous DRAFT way, is
to get a decent bank account (HSBC, NSGB, CA, CIB,..), and then ask them
to write a DRAFTED CHECK off your savings: They take the $ from your
account, and then they write a check to be drawn from THEIR OWN account in
a USA bank for the same dollars and then give it to you to mail. The check
will have the sentence "Drawn on any US bank" on its back.
- Money Order is something you ONLY
do at USA Postal Service (USPS). You give them money and an address, and
they mail the "USPS check" to recipient. YOU CAN'T do it outside
USA.
- Wire Transfer = International
Inter-...Bank transfer. You transfer funds from one bank to another, and
for this, you need the recipient Bank Account Number, AND the routing
Number... NOT recommended.
- Some schools now ask to have the
tuition fees paid electronically, like Yale. The huge amount of money
can't be paid by a Credit Card, so I suggest having a Debit Card (linked
to your bank account). and pay directly with it.
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