Details of elective programs of some US universities

INSTITUTIONS THAT NEITHER REQUIRE STEP 1/ TOEFL, NOR HAVE ANY FEES:
These are the ones  which are least in  number  because every one is  looking for  them, since they neither have any application fee nor  have  any tuition  fee.

ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE (AMC), ALBANY, NEW YORK
Located in the  capital of New York State, Albany, this  institutions provides  Free  electives  to  foreign  and  international  students. Academic and  teaching  depends  upon  the  Consultant  or Visiting physician  with  whom  you  will  be  associated  during  your  rotation. It  all  depends  upon  your  physician  that  how  he  uses  you  or to  some  extent  that how you  make  yourself  useful  by  your  knowledge, interest and  hard work. It  provides  electives  in  all  the  departments  of  the college.
KNOWN PROBLEMS:
1)    The  college  does not  provide  accommodation  of  its  own, you  will  have  to  find  one  for  yourself.
2)    The  institute  is  not  among the  top most  institutes  of  USA, so you  may  get  visa  rejection.
3) AMC  also  requires  you, like  all  other  institutes of  New york  to  get  a  letter  of  eligibility  from  NY  state  education  department. This  is  not  a  big  problem  and  you  can  easily  get  that  letter  following  instructions  for  that  in  the  specific folder.
4)    AMC  also  states  in the  policy  that  you  need  to  send   along with  your  application  an  English  Language  certificate  from  your  college.
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
They also don’t have  any  fee, and  have  a  reputed  hospital  named, Hartford Hospital. You  may  need  to  be   very  quick  to  apply  there, because  they  stop  taking  applications  very  early.
KNOWN PROBLEM
They  state  the  policy  of  accepting  the  foreign students,  but  sometime   they  dont  even  respond  on  the  emails.
INSTITUTIONS  THAT DON’T HAVE ANY FEE BUT  REQUIRE  TOEFL  FOR ELECTIVES
If  you  plan   to  take  on  toefl  then  it  will  open  many  institutes  for  you, likewise:
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH(NIH):
It  does  not   have  a  medical  school  of  its  own, so  its  not  mentioned  in  the  website  of   extramural electives compendiu but it  is  a  very  highly reputed  institute  with  programs  associations  with  many  top medical  schools including  John Hopkins  etc. and  has  a  wide  variety  of  research  programs.
Moreover  the   application  procedure  is  simple, you  have  to  send  application  electronically  through  their  website. Then, you  will  have  to  send  your  transcript  and LOR s  by  mail.
You  will also  have  to  give   valid email   address  of  one of  your  college  faculty  members  and  the email  ID  of  Dean of Faculty/ Registrar  for your  reference. They will send the confirmation emails  to  those  email  IDs, and they must get the reply back to confirm your reference or your application will not process.
ADVANTAGE:

• It  is  widely  known  for  its  research  projects and  you  can  get one  if  you  impress  your consultant  during  your  elective.
• They  don’t  give  their  own  housing  but   aid  you  by  giving  a  list  of  available  housings  in  the  vicinity.
   UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE:
  A  very  good  institute   and  provides  all  the  electives   free   without any cost.
  Last  year,  they  stated  the  policy  on  their  website  about  the  requirement  of  TOEFL.
  But, recently few students  got  electives  there   without  even  taking  the TOEFL.   You  can send a email to their elective  co-ordinator  stating  that  the medium  of  instruction  in  your  institute  is  in  English  and that you will send a  letter for  that  proof  along  with   your  application. So, you  can  take  your  chance  and  if  luck  goes  you may  get  exempted  from  toefl.
  Remember, these  requirements  or  pre requisites  are  only  to  be  checked  by  the  elective  coordinator  and  if  somehow  you succeed in  convincing, you can get yourself exempted from these requirements.
• GOOD INSTITUTES THAT DON’T HAVE ANY FEES OR VERY LITTLE FEES, REQUIRES USMLE  STEP 1 BUT CAN EXEMPT THIS REQUIREMENT
  MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE:
  This  institute  owns  few of  the  top hospitals in  USA. Along with  Cornell, it is  one  of  the  best  medical  schools  in  NY  state. They  have  some   application  fee  around  250-300 dollars.
  They  can  exempt  you  from  USMLE Step 1  if  you  send  them  such  a  waiver  from  registrar  or  any  faculty member requesting  for  your  exemption  from  step 1.
  They  don’t  require  any  sponsor.
  Known Problem
  They  demand  J1  visa  for  their  electives ,  which  is  more  difficult  to get  than  B1/B2  visa. Moreover some people say you get a 2 year country restriction. However I am not sure about it.
• Anyways, you  can  overcome  this  problem  by  getting  visa  on  the  basis  of letter of another  university you are going for electives before or after this Mount Sinai elective. Once  you  are  in  USA, you  can   do  electives  in  Mount Sinai.
  HENRY FORD HOSPITAL, DETROIT
  It  has a  number  of  hospitals  in  the  Michigan  state,  which  have  good  reputation.
  They  can  also  exempt  you  from  USMLE  step  1 on sending exemption letter   and  also  provide  you  with  housing on payment.
  They  need  you  to  have a   sponsor  from any  of their  faculty  members  before  you  can  apply  there.
  To see 'how to get a sponsor' click here
  UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS
  They  have  some  affiliation  with  UHS  of  Pakistan. You  can  also  try  your  luck  there. You  can  only  apply   in  the  departments  of  INTERNAL MEDICINE  in  this  institute.
  SOME  OTHER  INSTITUTES THAT DON’T REQUIRE USMLE STEP 1 BUT  HAVE  SOME FEES:
  SUNY DOWNSTATE MEDICAL COLLEGE. NEW YORK:
  They  have  170 dollars  application  fees with 30 $ of NY letter. They  provide  accommodation to  visiting  students  on payment.
  KNOWN PROBLEMS
  They  send  the  acceptance  letter  quite  late. For  example,  If  you  want  to  apply  for  march  electives, your  acceptance  letter  may  come  after  January. So, your  letter may  be  too  late  for  visa.
  They  also  need  letter  of   eligibility  from  NY, State  Education  Department.
  UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AT GALVESTON:
  They  have  some application  fees  around  200  dollars.
  But  the  problem  is  that  they  require  you  to  come  on  F1  or  student  visa. F1  visa  is  usually  of  very limited  time  and  the  problem  may  arise  if  you  also  want  to  do  other  electives.
  Again, you  can  get visa  on  the  basis  of  some  other  university  letter.
  UNIVERSITY OF  VERMONT, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE:
  They  only  have  a  100 dollars  fee and have  no  particular  requirement. They don’t  require  toefl  from  students who come from a medical school where   medium  of instruction  is  English.
  KNOWN PROBLEM:
  They  don’t provide  electives  for  the month  of  March  and  April.
  TULANE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE:
  They  have  a  300  dollars application  fees  plus  300  dollars  tution  fees.
  KNOWN PROBLEM:
  They  have  not  been  accepting  too  much  students  since the  hurricane  in  their  area, so  your  300  dollars  fees   is  at  risk.
  INSTITUTES  THAT  REQUIRE USMLE 1 AND  HAVE  VERY  LITTLE  OR  NO  FEES
  If  you  have  already  taken USMLE step 1, then  you just  need  to sit back and  relax. Now,  you  have  many many   institutes  open  for  you. Majority  of  the  institutes   have  this  requirement, so  you  have  no shortage of  options…….
  Such  institutes  are:
  CLEVELAND CLINIC  is  the  best  hospital  in  USA. It provides free  electives.
  MAYO CLINIC is  the  2nd  best,  with  300  to  400  dollars  application  fees.
  Other  institutes are:
  University of Cincinnati
  University  of  Alabama
  Albert Einstein college of  medicine (only  have  25 dollars  fees)
  Louisiana state university
  Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
  Wayne State University  and  many  more…….
• WELL-REPUTED INSTITUTES WHOSE BIGGEST  REQUIREMENT IS THEIR  FEES
  If  you are  ready  to  pay  their  fees,  then  again  you  have  no  shortage  of  elective  institutes.
  YALE UNIVERSITY:
  Their  total  fees  is  3500  dollars   with  accommodation and  malpractice  and  health  insurance  also  included.
  Weil Cornell Medical College
  They have  2200  dollars tuition fees without  accommodation  with 100 dollars  application  fees.
  HARVARD UNIVERSITY
  Very  expensive…….fees of 3100  dollars