International students are defined as those students who are not green card holders or permanent residents. Permanent residents are generally treated the same as all U.S. citizens. Most public medical, veterinary, and dental schools give some preference to residents of their state which automatically makes application more difficult for an international student without a green card. In addition, many schools that will consider students from outside their state will not consider international students.
International students not holding a green card will have a more challenging time in the school admissions process, because only a limited number of schools can consider them. To illustrate this point, in 2002, only 181 international students enrolled in US medical schools out of a total national enrollment of 17,445. This number is so small because even for the private medical schools that are open to international students, some have policies which may require evidence of the student’s capacity to pay tuition above and beyond the INS requirements for an I20. In fact some schools may require the student to pre-pay tuition for the entire 4 years or create an escrow account for these funds. Some institutions may accept loans cosigned by a US citizen. International students do not qualify for financial aid, with the exception of merit scholarships at a few institutions.
