Documents by your school :

1-School transcript

If youre a 6th year, the transcript wont 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 doesnt contain any negative
attributes (and it shouldnt). 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 Deans 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 hell do it.

5-. The Application Form of the school youre applying to. Try to make the name as in the
passport
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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.

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The Curriculum Vitae.

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The Personal Statement/ Letter of Intent/ Admission Essay.

SOME schools want it, others dont. 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,

- http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/personal_statement.shtml

- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/01/

- http://www.studential.com/guide/write_personal_statement.htm

- http://students.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/index.htm

- http://www.ucas.com/students/startapplication/apply09/personalstatement/

- http://www.personalstatement.info/

- http://www.admissionsessays.com/

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" )
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The Immunization and/or vaccination record. This is a record that shows that youre
immunized against some famous communicable diseases (HAV, HBV, MMR, DT, and TB)

Usually, youll 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 youre immune/vaccinated. Some would require
qualitative AB. Titre (+ or -), while others require Quantitative (titer in numbers, as in
850 g/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.

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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).
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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.

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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.

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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 (Barrons, 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 Im 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.

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School specific documents (e.g. CORI form in Harvard application)

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You can also attach a copy of your schools IMED FAIMER profile (https://imed.faimer.org/).
Wont hurt.

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If theres 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.