caribbean --> US any recent transfers?

[shouldigomd]

Hi guys,
I am a 3rd year SGU student in NY. I have read a few threads about transfers from years back but I am curious if anyone can give me any experiences especially recently. To those who have been and have not been successful. I am trying to weigh the pro's and con's as I can imagine assembling all the paperwork, going to interviews, and paying for all the applications will be a huge pain and require a ton of time which is tough during rotations. I realize it's a longshot but if I have a 1/10 chance I would think its worth it. I don't know what field I want to go in yet so I just want to put myself in the best position possible. Anyway my MCAT was 27, undergrad gpa 3.1, med school basic science avg A-, step 1 255. I don't have any amazing EC's or research. Is it something I should look into or is it a waste of time? Thanks!

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[Grace184]

Most med schools, as you probably know, don't (or rarely do) take transfer students. Carribean transfers is a whole other ball game. I'm sorry to say, I doubt this will happen...

 

[Dr.Smexy]

Hi guys,
I am a 3rd year SGU student in NY. I have read a few threads about transfers from years back but I am curious if anyone can give me any experiences especially recently. To those who have been and have not been successful. I am trying to weigh the pro's and con's as I can imagine assembling all the paperwork, going to interviews, and paying for all the applications will be a huge pain and require a ton of time which is tough during rotations. I realize it's a longshot but if I have a 1/10 chance I would think its worth it. I don't know what field I want to go in yet so I just want to put myself in the best position possible. Anyway my MCAT was 27, undergrad gpa 3.1, med school basic science avg A-, step 1 255. I don't have any amazing EC's or research. Is it something I should look into or is it a waste of time? Thanks!

Unlikely/almost impossible for a Caribbean student like you. Most schools only consider transfer for students who have significant other at their school or a student who is absolutely outstanding at another U.S medical school. Even then transfer is still a crap shoot. Probably best that you give up the dream and be realistic about what specialties you can get into as a Caribbean student. Sorry bud, it's tough luck but it is what it is.

 

[Goro]

Not gonna happen.

Hi guys,
I am a 3rd year SGU student in NY. I have read a few threads about transfers from years back but I am curious if anyone can give me any experiences especially recently. To those who have been and have not been successful. I am trying to weigh the pro's and con's as I can imagine assembling all the paperwork, going to interviews, and paying for all the applications will be a huge pain and require a ton of time which is tough during rotations. I realize it's a longshot but if I have a 1/10 chance I would think its worth it. I don't know what field I want to go in yet so I just want to put myself in the best position possible. Anyway my MCAT was 27, undergrad gpa 3.1, med school basic science avg A-, step 1 255. I don't have any amazing EC's or research. Is it something I should look into or is it a waste of time? Thanks!

 

[Hoa_Da]

Couldn't you have gotten into D.O. school with that stat?

 

[Law2Doc]

... I realize it's a longshot but if I have a 1/10 chance I would think its worth it. ...

But how about if the odds are 1/1000? Because that's much closer to reality. Most schools take 0-2 transfers a year. Such a small percentage of attrition occurs at US schools that they don't have many seats to fill. The vast vast majority of transfers are US school to US school. Of the hundred plus US schools, you hear about an offshore grad making the jump every few years. It's rare. Not a 1/10 chance or even a 1/100.

 

[Goro]

With those stats, OP definitely could have gotten into a DO school. Obviously the MD initials were more important. Actions have consequences.

Couldn't you have gotten into D.O. school with that stat?

 

[jakeislove]

A friend did it. She had a pretty solid Step 1 score.

 

[jl lin]

So incredibly risky. Some of us are OK with applying to both DO and MD, especially as nontrads.

I know of a doc that made it in FP from St George's, but what he was able to do was > a decade ago. Things have changed a lot since then.

I know there is some prejudice re: DOs. It makes little sense to me; but the only way this will change is as more DOs show excellence in their scores and practices as physicians. I don't even know what to say about it anymore; b/c I don't really see the point in the bias re: DOs. If I will be able to help people in primary practice as a DO or MD, ultimately, what difference should it make? The competitive specialities are the issue, and they are competitive enough amongst MDs.

Biases, sadly, are hard to change. They take time to change--just like for some folks, sadly having a doc from AF race or Indian race is an issue.

You can bang you head getting frustrated over it, or you can choose to do what you want to do, and hopefully, that is treating patients. There comes a point when you realize that you don't have a lot of time to worry about it; you just want to do your best and hit the goal.

 

[shouldigomd]

With those stats, OP definitely could have gotten into a DO school. Obviously the MD initials were more important. Actions have consequences.

Obviously lol... No I did not get into DO schools after 2 app cycles. MD vs DO vs carib MD ... in the real world of practicing medicine nobody cares. The real prejudice exists on the internet to be honest. What people care about is hard work and the reputation you build yourself.

 

[Goro]

Very sorry to hear of your woes. I just wonder if you had fixed your app deficits, whether you'd be in the situation you're in now. Of course MD vs DO doesn't matter to patients...but you have to be able to see the patients.

Obviously lol... No I did not get into DO schools after 2 app cycles. MD vs DO vs carib MD ... in the real world of practicing medicine nobody cares. The real prejudice exists on the internet to be honest. What people care about is hard work and the reputation you build yourself.

 

[Moose A Moose]

With those stats, OP definitely could have gotten into a DO school. Obviously the MD initials were more important. Actions have consequences.

A 3.1 and a 27? Please. You make it sound like he would've been a shoe-in.

 

[Goro]

I didn't say "all DO schools"....but with those stats, Wm Carey, LMU, the VCOMs, KYCOM, even LUCOM would have been doable. I suspect that there were other deficits or issues, if two consecutive cycles were a bust.

A 3.1 and a 27? Please. You make it sound like he would've been a shoe-in.

 

[twospadz]

I didn't say "all DO schools"....but with those stats, Wm Carey, LMU, the VCOMs, KYCOM, even LUCOM would have been doable. I suspect that there were other deficits or issues, if two consecutive cycles were a bust.

Exactly. With a 3.1 and 27, OP should have gotten into a solid DO program. His interview skills could have the been the problem or other things.

 

[Mad Jack]

Obviously lol... No I did not get into DO schools after 2 app cycles. MD vs DO vs carib MD ... in the real world of practicing medicine nobody cares. The real prejudice exists on the internet to be honest. What people care about is hard work and the reputation you build yourself.

The prejudice also exists when applying for residency.

Your only real shot is likely Drexel, but they rarely have spots open. That's the longest of the long shots, but give their transfer office a call and see if they bite. If you've already started third year though, it's basically impossible.

 

[shouldigomd]

The problem (so people stop making assumptions) was that I did poorly in college early on. Priorities weren't straight and got D's and F's and multiple repeats in core classes. My years 4/5 finished with a 3.7GPA in solid science courses but it wasn't enough. Brought 2.0-->3.1 overall GPA. I couldn't even get into biomed science programs after the damage was done from years 1-3. Maybe another year and a better MCAT could have done it ... maybe not... but I decided to go carib to give myself a fresh start after 2 years of trying.

Anyway, for future readers, I did look into transferring it and made a lot of calls. Drexel is notorious for transfers but there are other schools as well. Drexel is tough to get in as you are correct, they often don't have spots at all. Schools accepting IMG's often changes year by year so you have to research it and make the calls. The best way for caribbean students is to find kids in their class or previous who are transferring. There are transfers from Ross and SGU almost every year and it isn't nearly as rare as people on these forums lead to believe. Actually very few people even try which is what makes it rare. It isn't like everyone from SGU is drooling to go in the US and they are rejecting basically everyone. Hardly that... There are several from this year that I contacted. Being a 3rd year is better than 2nd year. The only way you will get in during 2nd year (unless you go back from 3rd year) is if you barely missed getting accepted in the first place. Doing very well in basic sciences won't help someone without a real shot at a US school in the first place. But someone who got wait listed and barely missed the acceptance ... they have a shot. The step 1 score now is a golden ticket that you can have. Two admissions committees told me I have a decent shot at transfer but unfortunately it's too late for this year so I would have to apply for next year and repeat year 3. Another school told me they had a spot but I would have to go back to 2nd year (also in a year from now).

 

[deleted547631]

The problem (so people stop making assumptions) was that I did poorly in college early on. Priorities weren't straight and got D's and F's and multiple repeats in core classes. My years 4/5 finished with a 3.7GPA in solid science courses but it wasn't enough. Brought 2.0-->3.1 overall GPA. I couldn't even get into biomed science programs after the damage was done from years 1-3. Maybe another year and a better MCAT could have done it ... maybe not... but I decided to go carib to give myself a fresh start after 2 years of trying.

Anyway, for future readers, I did look into transferring it and made a lot of calls. Drexel is notorious for transfers but there are other schools as well. Drexel is tough to get in as you are correct, they often don't have spots at all. Schools accepting IMG's often changes year by year so you have to research it and make the calls. The best way for caribbean students is to find kids in their class or previous who are transferring. There are transfers from Ross and SGU almost every year and it isn't nearly as rare as people on these forums lead to believe. Actually very few people even try which is what makes it rare. It isn't like everyone from SGU is drooling to go in the US and they are rejecting basically everyone. Hardly that... There are several from this year that I contacted. Being a 3rd year is better than 2nd year. The only way you will get in during 2nd year (unless you go back from 3rd year) is if you barely missed getting accepted in the first place. Doing very well in basic sciences won't help someone without a real shot at a US school in the first place. But someone who got wait listed and barely missed the acceptance ... they have a shot. The step 1 score now is a golden ticket that you can have. Two admissions committees told me I have a decent shot at transfer but unfortunately it's too late for this year so I would have to apply for next year and repeat year 3. Another school told me they had a spot but I would have to go back to 2nd year (also in a year from now).

Your Step 1 performance and basic science grades are great! I feel it'd worth your while to try to transfer into the third year (not second) of an LCME medical school if you could. Many doors re: specialty residencies would be opened up to you - having those options would be nice and you'd probably rock third year rotations since you've done them already.

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

So what are you gonna do op? You gonna try to transfer for next year ?