In our Fall 2024 newsletter, the Office of International Medicine Programs (IMP) at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) announced our exciting new Pre-Medical Mentoring and Advising Program that was launched in collaboration with the Kuwait Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) through the Kuwaiti Cultural Office in Washington, D.C. The program is an effort to support and prepare Kuwaiti-sponsored GW undergraduate students to apply to medical schools in the United States.
Upon admission to GW, IMP will offer students in the program individualized mentoring, advisement, and counseling sessions, in addition to a series of lectures and workshops designed to enhance their undergraduate medical education experience and develop the skills necessary to apply for U.S. medical schools. IMP also will assist students with preparation for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), facilitate placement in research, clinical, and non-clinical experiences, and provide support throughout the medical school application process.
The inaugural cohort of students in the program — five biology majors in the GW Columbian College of Arts & Sciences (CCAS) — began their undergraduate coursework at GW this year. We sat down with some students from the first cohort — Mohamed Dashti, Abdullah Al Ali, and Shaikhah Mohammed — to learn more about their aspirations and hear about how their first couple of months at GW have been.
Students had varying reasons for pursuing the pre-medical path at GW. Dashti’s interest in medicine, specifically orthopedics and sports medicine, started after a hip injury at the gym sparked a curiosity about how injuries can impact mobility and quality of life. He says he was “amazed by the use of robotic surgeries and Artificial Intelligence (AI), bridging the gap between technology and medicine,” and he aspires to work at the intersection of technology and medicine. Al Ali hopes to explore the relationship between diet and health, in addition to surgery, explaining that “whether it be diet, nutrition, surgery, cancer, diseases, or treating illnesses, medicine offers the knowledge you need to excel in those fields.” Mohammed, aspires to become a doctor to help ease the pain of her patients, says she knew “GW would be the one out of the other universities.”
All students are in their first year of classes at GW – Dashti began in Fall 2024, while Al Ali and Mohammed began in Spring 2025. Not only are they new to GW, but as international students they are far from their homes, families, and support systems in Kuwait. While the transition was challenging initially, students find it to be more manageable over time. Dashti explains, “adjusting to a different level of rigor, cultural differences, and being away from family was tough at first, but I eventually started to appreciate the opportunities I have as a pre-medical student in the U.S. Given GW’s diverse student body, welcoming faculty, and the program’s goal to set its students up for success, I have grown personally and mentally, making the transition a rewarding once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Al Ali says he “didn’t know what to expect, whether it would be the professors or even the weather. Nevertheless, even as a pre-med major, you are able to relate with someone in GW that is studying, for example, a major related to the arts. It’s truly a space for learning and innovation and you can just feel that everyone is doing it in their own way.” Mohammed highlights the challenge in adjusting to classes being taught in English, explaining that in high school all of her science subjects were taught in Arabic. She is now focusing on “trying to adapt to university life and find a balance between my personal life and college work. Although it’s only been a month and a half since the beginning of the semester, I am learning and discovering something new every day. Overall, every challenge, feeling, lesson, and discovery is part of the journey, and I am excited to see what the future holds for me!”
When asked how students think IMP’s Pre-Medical Mentoring and Advising Program will add value to their undergraduate experiences at GW, here’s what they said:
Dashti: Given the various opportunities the program provides for its students, I benefit from the many extracurricular opportunities the program offers to boost my resume as a competitive applicant for medical school. Through workshops, shadowing opportunities, and volunteering activities, I will be able to strengthen my passion and enthusiasm for medicine beyond the lecture halls. Given the diverse range of opportunities the program offers, I can further explore my interests in surgery and technology’s impact on patient success, network with physicians of interest, and collaborate with other members to ensure a steady path to medical school.
Al Ali: The amount of support and resources in the program feels like no other. Being surrounded by those who understand your struggles and those who treat you like family, I believe, truly allows an individual to maximize and realize their potential. I also feel that the program could lessen the burden of stress that comes with entering the pre-medicine path. Often, people who struggle alone tend to have a lack of motivation to continue. I feel that the program is a safety net there to understand you and the position you’re in.
Mohammed: Studying pre-med requires one to do or take-in many things in order to be able to apply for the MCAT and pursue a career in the medical field. It can be overwhelming and stressful, especially for students like me who are trying to figure out what “university life” looks like, and learn how to cope with that. The program is very effective at helping students to keep on track. For me, university is a completely new experience, and the program is helping me with in many aspects, such as registering, selecting classes to fulfill both my major and pre-health requirement, and providing advice from professionals who have gone through the whole process I am just starting and learning methods to overcome challenges may encounter; essentially, they contribute to making the journey of students easier and more clear.
We are thrilled to support these students throughout their undergraduate experience and road to medical school.
For more information on this exciting new program, please contact Shereen Toubaji at stoubaji@gwu.edu.