If you're an aspiring medical student hoping to attend a U.S. medical school and you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you have probably heard that it's extremely difficult for international students to be admitted to or pay for a U.S. medical school.
如果你是心怀大志的医科生梦想留美学医，却并非美国公民或永久居民，你很可能听说作为留学生被美国医科学校录取或承担在美学医的费用是极其困难的。
Premedical advisory websites from undergraduate institutions around the country advise their students that it is very unlikely that international students can attend, or find the financial resources to attend, an American medical school. Yale University even goes one step further, advising prospective undergraduate students to think carefully about applying with the intention of eventually attending a U.S. medical institution.
北美本科院校的医学预科资讯网站提示他们的学生，留学生很难被美国医科学校录取，或很难找到经济资源资助他们的学业。耶鲁大学甚至特别建议所有有意向申请美国医科学院的即将毕业的本科生三思而后行。
The biggest difficulty students from overseas, or those without certain legal residency statuses, face is the inability to access federal student loan funding. The Yale website also notes that scholarships to attend medical school are rare for even U.S. applicants, let alone those from abroad.
海外留学生或是没有合法居留权的学生所面临的最大的困难就是无法获得联邦学生贷款资金。耶鲁官网上也说明了对于医科学校录取学生，即使是美国申请者，成功申请到奖学金也很罕见，更不用说是留学生了。
Association of American Medical Colleges admissions statistics from 2011 note that 88.4 percent of foreign applicants didn't matriculate to a U.S. institution, versus a range of approximately 40 percent to 60 percent of applicants from each U.S. state. Public institutions, it also emphasized, rarely admit out-of-state U.S. applicants, and virtually no international ones, due to funding constraints.
美国医科大学协会2011年的录取数据表明88.4%的外国申请人未被美国院校录取，然而，同比美国本土各州约为40%-60%。此份数据特别强调，事业单位极少录取非本土申请者，主要由于资金约束，实质上也就是没有国际生名额。
If you want to attend an American medical school, what is the best strategy?
如果你想上美国医科学校，怎样才是最好的策略呢？
1. Research early: This may sound obvious, but depending on your stage in the medical school search process, thorough research can be very important to avoid potential disappointment or missed opportunities.
1. 先下手为强：这可能看起来显而易见，但却取决于你对医学院探寻进程的阶段，周密的探寻是避免潜在失望或错失良机的关键点。
It is important to decide, for example, where you want to complete your undergraduate work. Determining the financial aid policies for international students at your schools of choice is even more important, as some schools require four years of tuition deposited up front into an escrow (or third party) account, or proof of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets. If schools do not specifically require financial information, it may be needed anyway to apply for a F-1 student visa.
抉择至关重要，例如，你想在哪里完成你的本科学业。而依据留学生经济支援政策抉择则你所心仪的学校的更为重要，如一些学校会要求学生将四年学费提前支付给第三方账户或是提供数十万美元财产证明。如果学校没有特殊要求经济信息，申请F-1学生签证的时候可能仍然需要。
A good place to start is the website of the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, which provides a comprehensive list of school-specific policies regarding how they define "international students" and what opportunities may be available to those students.
国家医疗从业者顾问协会的网站是个开始查询的好地方，此网站提供了一个较为全面的学校列表，以及他们如何定义“国际生”和这部分学生所可能获得何种机会的具体政策条款。
2. Consider completing some coursework in the U.S.: The schools that do admit international applicants typically require a bachelor's degree issued by a U.S. institution, or at least one year of U.S.-based coursework. The schools prefer that the coursework at a U.S. school be in the sciences.
2. 考虑在美国完成课业：那些录取国际申请者的学校通常会要求一份由美国机构提供的本科学历，或者至少为期一年的在美学习课业。学校更倾向于在美学习的是科学课业。
If you are already finishing, or have finished, your undergraduate degree outside the United States—or Canada for some schools—it may be worth your while to plan a year of coursework at an American institution. That will help you not only meet requirements and open doors to applying to more schools, but it will also help you determine whether studying in the United States is ultimately right for you.
如果你在美国（或是加拿大，对于部分学校来说）以外正完成，或已经完成你的本科学业，可能计划一个一年左右的美国院校提供的课业项目是值得的。这将不仅帮助你达到要求、获得更多可申请的学校，而且也帮你更好的看清在美国继续学习对你而言是否是个正确的选择。
3. Consider M.D./Ph.D. programs: Because slots for these positions are usually fully funded, due to the Ph.D. component, international students are generally thought to fare slightly better in gaining admission and funding for pursuing a medical education through this route in the United States.
3. 考虑研究生、博士生项目：因为这些职位通常是有充足资金支持的，由于博士的组成，在美国留学生通常被认为更容易获得录取资格以及医科教育的基金资助。
However, international students are subject to the same requirements, must have a solid research track record, and should be committed to a career as a physician-scientist. Schools value applicants' career ambitions heavily, as it can cost more than $350,000 to train students in these programs. A list of institutions offering positions via the Medical Scientist Training Program is available through the National Institutes of Health.
然而，国际生适用于同等要求，必须有坚实的科研记录，决心投身临床科学事业。正因为这些在医疗科目上培养学生的项目耗费超过350,000美金，学校很注重申请者的事业志向和抱负。提供“医学家培训项目”申请名额的院校机构列表可通过美国国立卫生研究院进行查询。
Don't be discouraged if you are determined to attend a medical school in the United States. In 2011, 174 non-U.S. applicants matriculated at a U.S. medical school, according to the AAMC.
看到这里，即使你决心留美进入医科院校攻读也别灰心。在2011年，根据美国医学院协会的数据，有174名非美籍申请者得到美国医疗院校的录取。
Many schools have the same admissions standards for domestic and foreign applicants and would offer admission in the same manner, although for foreign admits, they are contingent on financing. There are also school-specific loan programs, such as at Yale, in addition to programs offered by major banks, some of which require American cosigners.
许多学校在录取标准和录取操作上对本国申请者和外国申请者一视同仁，虽然对于外国申请生来说资金支持视情况而定。当然也有学业专项贷款项目，例如对于耶鲁大学学生，大多数银行为其提供的贷款项目，但是其中一些项目需要美籍联合签署人。
