Caribbean school chances

[aquariusangel]

Hello all,
I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 2.99 GPA, with a 2.74 science GPA. I also just took the MCAT and scored a 485 (Yes, its low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean school would be (Ross, AUA, AUC, Saba, Trinity and St. Matthews). What can I do to help strengthen my application?

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[BadSanta]

If you have a pulse and an unquenchable desire to go into a massive amount of debt with a chance of never practicing medicine in the US, I'd say you have a pretty good chance. Someone I knew in undergrad went with a 17 and although she graduated, she is now in a PhD program after failing to match FM more than once.

Do not mistake their scheme of preying upon the desperate with the illusion that they like to give everyone a chance.

 

[Mad Jack]

I'd imagine with stats like that you would be better served going an alternative route, as it is highly unlikely you will pass the USMLE at all, let alone with a score good enough to match.

 

[deleted888443]

Hello all,
I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 2.99 GPA, with a 2.74 science GPA. I also just took the MCAT and scored a 485 (Yes, its low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean school would be (Ross, AUA, AUC, Saba, Trinity and St. Matthews). What can I do to help strengthen my application?

Ignore the folks above. The big 3 (SGU, Ross, and AUC) do reject people. You are unlikely to get direct admission into Ross or AUC. I don’t even know if you’ll get merp.
Now, the other ones on your list have very lax admission standards. Many of them don’t even require mcat. Do not go to these schools.
Your mcat score is very poor. I would retake it if I was in your situation.

 

[mcat_taker]

Hello all,
I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 2.99 GPA, with a 2.74 science GPA. I also just took the MCAT and scored a 485 (Yes, its low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean school would be (Ross, AUA, AUC, Saba, Trinity and St. Matthews). What can I do to help strengthen my application?

What can you do to help strengthen your application? You need to be better at school.


Not trying to be mean or hurt your confidence, but medicine is hard and your GPA and MCAT don't show that you are good enough to get through. My advice is to not even think about med school unless you can bring your MCAT to at least 500 if not higher. That is your first test.

There are no shortcuts in this career and some people aren't cut out for it. You're also a recent college grad so time is on your side if you want to reinvent yourself.

 

[Caribpro]

Ignore the folks above. The big 3 (SGU, Ross, and AUC) do reject people. You are unlikely to get direct admission into Ross or AUC. I don’t even know if you’ll get merp.
Now, the other ones on your list have very lax admission standards. Many of them don’t even require mcat. Do not go to these schools.
Your mcat score is very poor. I would retake it if I was in your situation.

All of the CAAM-HP and ACCM schools require MCAT for US students (its required to maintain the schools accreditation). Most of them require it for Canadian students too but definitely for US applicants.

 

[752779]

Hello all,
I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 2.99 GPA, with a 2.74 science GPA. I also just took the MCAT and scored a 485 (Yes, its low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean school would be (Ross, AUA, AUC, Saba, Trinity and St. Matthews). What can I do to help strengthen my application?

There are correlation that shows MCAT scores with passing the USMLE, that is relative and not always the case. I have meet a statistic professor and coach for the MCAT, he told me that it is not a very strong correlation. Having said that, I also recommend that you don't read or reply to folk who have negative views in this forum. They are the source of you not excelling. If you put your will to it, you will succeed. Everyone who graduated in medical school will likely to owe tons of money. Just keep your positive thought up.

I don't have a plan to retake the MCAT, I might or I might not. My undergrad GPA is 3.3 science GPA is a bit lower. I just got accepted to a master of science in biomedical sciences and will start this August. These courses will help you prep for the MCAT as well as medical school courses, and help fix your GPA. Search around, cause some of them will cost 30 grad or more for a year. I am doing mine in a year and will cost 22,000.

If you don't want to do the master of science rout, take more science classes and show a trend of increasing GPA. Get your GPA to at least 3.2 and then maybe take the MCAT again. If not apply to AUA medical school, you might have a good chance. Saba is another options. These are the 2/5 medical schools that required MCAT. I recommend you visit their websites and text the admission counselor. They will let you know what to do.

If you have any other questions feel free to talk to me. We're in the same boat, keep your head up, don't let other on here drag you down. They might think they are doing you a good favor by suggesting you to quit, save your money, and so on... ignore them.

 

[bedevilled ben]

There are correlation that shows MCAT scores with passing the USMLE, that is relative and not always the case. I have meet a statistic professor and coach for the MCAT, he told me that it is not a very strong correlation. Having said that, I also recommend that you don't read or reply to folk who have negative views in this forum. They are the source of you not excelling. If you put your will to it, you will succeed. Everyone who graduated in medical school will likely to owe tons of money. Just keep your positive thought up.

If you have any other questions feel free to talk to me. We're in the same boat, keep your head up, don't let other on here drag you down. They might think they are doing you a good favor by suggesting you to quit, save your money, and so on... ignore them.

There is no nuance left in these forums, I swear. Everything becomes so polarized. Either Caribbean schools are great and everyone graduates with honors and gets a residence in neurosurgery at Hopkins, or Caribbean schools are mafia-run money-laundering schemes that will take your lunch money, rape your childhood, and leave you penniless for life with no hope of ever becoming a doctor.

Please recognize that posting things like this can be harmful. You are a Pre-Medical student, you haven't even dipped your toe into the waters of medical education yet. I'm sure you think you're being helpful by offering uplifting and positive thoughts, but without experience to back up your words, you're potentially offering false hope and encouraging them to head down a path that is fraught with potential pitfalls. There are absolutely hard-fails in medical education, and in practicing medicine. You can be the most dedicated, hardworking, optimistic person imaginable, and still fall short. There are minimum requirements throughout the process, they are pretty high hurdles sometimes, and those requirements cannot always be met through hard work and determination. If there is one thing in medicine I have learned, it's that we have way way way less control over our own fate in life than we ultimately think. And most of the time, that's okay. Most people aren't good at dealing with uncertainty like that. But this is not an instance where you can afford to be oblivious to reality. It is entirely possible to do everything right and still have a bad outcome. This is true in medicine, and this is true in Caribbean medical education.

The reality is, of course, gray. There are some decent Caribbean schools that have a very good chance of awarding a respectable medical degree that leads to a good residency. There are some that leave you with 50/50 odds of graduating or securing a residency. There are some that your degree is worth less than the paper it is written on. By the same token, there are great students that will probably excel no matter where they go. There are crappy students that will probably struggle no matter where they go. The majority, in both instances, are somewhere in between.

A great medical student at a US medical school will do great. A great medical student at a Caribbean medical school will probably do pretty well. A bad medical student at a US Medical school will still do okay. A bad medical student at a Caribbean school will do bad. The problem is, you don't know what kind of medical student you're going to be until you're in medical school and already accumulating debt. It's easy to stick your head in the sand and think that once you're sitting in the lecture hall you will rise to the challenge academically and things will be different, but we know historically this is usually not the case. By focusing only on the positive and not having an appreciation for the risk and potential consequences involved, you're encouraging unknowing prospective students to stick their head in the sand.

 

[pyknosis]

Completely agree with the post above.

However, if you really are considering medical school before going to the Carribean, maybe do a 1 year post-bac to improve you medical/basic science knowledge.

There are many programs that are ran by the sister program of US med schools, like Drexel, EVMS, or Chicago Med School. It might cost a pretty penny, but if you don't survive and thrive in those post-bac programs making it through med school anywhere will be difficult.

Beyond the MCAT there is Step 1, Step 2 CS, and Step 2 CK, all of which are needed to match into a residency. If you go to the carribean or any foreign school for that matter you have to excel in those test, and you cannot fail them. It's a pretty difficult journey, doable, but difficult.

Hopefully that makes sense, feel free to PM me if you have other questions.

 

[aquariusangel]

There are correlation that shows MCAT scores with passing the USMLE, that is relative and not always the case. I have meet a statistic professor and coach for the MCAT, he told me that it is not a very strong correlation. Having said that, I also recommend that you don't read or reply to folk who have negative views in this forum. They are the source of you not excelling. If you put your will to it, you will succeed. Everyone who graduated in medical school will likely to owe tons of money. Just keep your positive thought up.

I don't have a plan to retake the MCAT, I might or I might not. My undergrad GPA is 3.3 science GPA is a bit lower. I just got accepted to a master of science in biomedical sciences and will start this August. These courses will help you prep for the MCAT as well as medical school courses, and help fix your GPA. Search around, cause some of them will cost 30 grad or more for a year. I am doing mine in a year and will cost 22,000.

If you don't want to do the master of science rout, take more science classes and show a trend of increasing GPA. Get your GPA to at least 3.2 and then maybe take the MCAT again. If not apply to AUA medical school, you might have a good chance. Saba is another options. These are the 2/5 medical schools that required MCAT. I recommend you visit their websites and text the admission counselor. They will let you know what to do.

If you have any other questions feel free to talk to me. We're in the same boat, keep your head up, don't let other on here drag you down. They might think they are doing you a good favor by suggesting you to quit, save your money, and so on... ignore them.

Thank you for that post! It means a lot. Good luck to you too and I hope you succeed!

 

[Skip Intro]

Just remember, there are two pathways in the Caribbean: (1) the reputable schools that will give you a sincere and realistic chance, but likewise will have no qualms about failing you out if you don't cut the mustard, and (2) schools that prey on those with false hopes of becoming a physician and for whom the odds that you will succeed are slim to none.

Be honest with yourself. No one is going to hand you a degree. You will have to pass (and score well) on standardized tests for the rest of your career. It doesn't end when you finish medical school. Healthcare is the most highly regulated environment in which to work, and it is only getting more so.

Be careful what you wish for. You may get a chance. You may succeed. But, this career is continuous effort and work. Some people have this starry doe-eyed dream of being called "doctor". Trust me, the Marcus Welby days are long gone.

-Skip

 

[MD54321]

There are correlation that shows MCAT scores with passing the USMLE, that is relative and not always the case. I have meet a statistic professor and coach for the MCAT, he told me that it is not a very strong correlation. Having said that, I also recommend that you don't read or reply to folk who have negative views in this forum. They are the source of you not excelling. If you put your will to it, you will succeed. Everyone who graduated in medical school will likely to owe tons of money. Just keep your positive thought up.

I don't have a plan to retake the MCAT, I might or I might not. My undergrad GPA is 3.3 science GPA is a bit lower. I just got accepted to a master of science in biomedical sciences and will start this August. These courses will help you prep for the MCAT as well as medical school courses, and help fix your GPA. Search around, cause some of them will cost 30 grad or more for a year. I am doing mine in a year and will cost 22,000.

If you don't want to do the master of science rout, take more science classes and show a trend of increasing GPA. Get your GPA to at least 3.2 and then maybe take the MCAT again. If not apply to AUA medical school, you might have a good chance. Saba is another options. These are the 2/5 medical schools that required MCAT. I recommend you visit their websites and text the admission counselor. They will let you know what to do.

If you have any other questions feel free to talk to me. We're in the same boat, keep your head up, don't let other on here drag you down. They might think they are doing you a good favor by suggesting you to quit, save your money, and so on... ignore them.

I 100% agree with this post. My MCAT score was consistently low and it did not reflect my USMLE scores as i did above average. I also did a post bacc program to raise my GPA. At the end of the day I still ended up in the Caribbean but the post bacc program really did help me build my study habits and helped me to be successful in medical school

 

[tabakhi_1]

Hey guys, I want to apply to Ross but I have a problem. I did many withdrawals from my university over the years due to my fathers health. I had to take care of him. My grades aren’t the best. As of right now my gpa is a 2.9. I got a D in organic chemistry lab and a D in calc. I have a lot of W’s on my transcript so I’m a little worried. I do have a 503 MCAT. Do I need to get a C or higher in all pre reqs. Will I be fine if I apply?

 

[Medic741]

Hey guys, I want to apply to Ross but I have a problem. I did many withdrawals from my university over the years due to my fathers health. I had to take care of him. My grades aren’t the best. As of right now my gpa is a 2.9. I got a D in organic chemistry lab and a D in calc. I have a lot of W’s on my transcript so I’m a little worried. I do have a 503 MCAT. Do I need to get a C or higher in all pre reqs. Will I be fine if I apply?

Do not go to the Caribbean. What’s your sGPA and can you fix it?

 

[emergentmd]

I am in my 40's and I run a 5.5sec 40 meter dash. Do you think I can make it to the next olympics in the 100m dash?

 

[Chondroclast]

It's not about getting into med school in the Caribbean, it's about staying in. I'm at SGU and they accept a lot of students here that should not be here, and they usually fail out the first or second term, or repeat a term or two and just don't make it. There is something to be said about your low science GPA and mcat- you just do not have the study habits and readiness for an intensive medical curriculum. Do a post-bacc/masters and get your GPA up and re-take the mcat. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure and a rude awakening here.

 

[deleted804295]

Ignore the folks above. The big 3 (SGU, Ross, and AUC) do reject people. You are unlikely to get direct admission into Ross or AUC. I don’t even know if you’ll get merp.
Now, the other ones on your list have very lax admission standards. Many of them don’t even require mcat. Do not go to these schools.
Your mcat score is very poor. I would retake it if I was in your situation.

Yeah let's ignore them they're just jealous attendings/med students from the US. I'm interested in going to SGU aka the Harvard of the Carribean, do you know what stats I would need to get in?

 

[Aonyx]

Jealous of what?

 

[deleted888443]

Yeah let's ignore them they're just jealous attendings/med students from the US. I'm interested in going to SGU aka the Harvard of the Carribean, do you know what stats I would need to get in?

The idea that all you need is a pulse and a checkbook to get into SGU is wrong, that’s what I meant. Also, while these people don’t work for SGU, they wouldn’t know the ins and outs of obtaining admission there.

And since you sarcastically asked me, You would probably need above a 3.2 and a 500 mcat to have a good shot at SGU.

 

[FutureDoctor5000]

The idea that all you need is a pulse and a checkbook to get into SGU is wrong, that’s what I meant. Also, while these people don’t work for SGU, they wouldn’t know the ins and outs of obtaining admission there.

And since you sarcastically asked me, You would probably need above a 3.2 and a 500 mcat to have a good shot at SGU.

That's a lie SGU's reported average is "497"

 

[andy133]

Hello all,
I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 2.99 GPA, with a 2.74 science GPA. I also just took the MCAT and scored a 485 (Yes, its low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean school would be (Ross, AUA, AUC, Saba, Trinity and St. Matthews). What can I do to help strengthen my application?

I am also in the same situation.... in 2022

I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 3.4 GPA, I also just took the MCAT (two times) and scored a 484 (low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean schools and be able to get good residency match.

Also what are good schools... I okay with the money I need to spend there.

 

[Whysoez]

I am also in the same situation.... in 2022

I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 3.4 GPA, I also just took the MCAT (two times) and scored a 484 (low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean schools and be able to get good residency match.

Also what are good schools... I okay with the money I need to spend there.

Getting into Carib school and getting into good residency are like water and oil, they don't mix.

 

[andy133]

Getting into Carib school and getting into good residency are like water and oil, they don't mix.

Thanks I know therefore I am not too picky .... I don't even know what are the cons beside good residency choices

 

[gyngyn]

I don't even know what are the cons beside good residency choices

A significant con is having no choices. A large proportion of those admitted are unable to discharge loans in bankruptcy.
Caribbean schools rely on the fact that about half of their matriculants will never make it to a residency application. Their business model requires that a large percentage of admitted students fail before requiring a clinical rotation.

 

[Goro]

I am also in the same situation.... in 2022

I am a recent graduate with a cumulative 3.4 GPA, I also just took the MCAT (two times) and scored a 484 (low). I was wondering what my chances of getting into a Caribbean schools and be able to get good residency match.

Also what are good schools... I okay with the money I need to spend there.

As long as you have a pulse and can write the tuition check, you're in.

Good schools and Caribbean medical schools cancel out. They're all educational predators.

Your MCAT scores put you in a major risk zone for failing out of medical school and/or failing boards. This is what the Caribbean predators are counting on, and in fact that lip smacking sound you hear off in the distance are those schools anticipating yet another desperate Mark.

If you have test taking anxiety issues, that can be fixed. What you need to do is improve your end performance to over 500, and then you should be in decent shape for DO schools.

You will need ace an SMP for a chance at US MD schools.