SGU 5 YEAR MD

[AEK98]

Hi All,

I am a student considering SGU's 5 Year MD program.

The program is appealing to me as I am a non traditional student, with a nearly 2 year gap followed by 1 year of sub par performance due to some extenuating circumstances.

Spoken to some advising officers and so long as I have at least 60 credits, with Courses in Biology 1/2, Stats, Gen Chem/ Orgo and a Physics course completed, I would meet the requirements for the program.

Ive done an extensive amount of research on SGU, and have been able to cipher out the reality of attending such a program as opposed to the information given out by the school itself. I am aware of the uphill battle ahead, however It is a more appealing option than Finishing a bachelors degree that would require an additional 2-3 years. I am already 23.


I have experience in Doctors offices, Shadowed/ Volunteered at a Surgical Center, and by the time of applying will have worked nearly 2 years as a Patient Care tech at a teaching hospital, Near a major Urban city. Have shadowed an ER doctor as well. Would these things on my CV help at all with the match process or even getting into the program? My GPA is on the lower side, with mixed Bs/Cs and a few As. Also a few retakes and withdrawals as well.



Anyone do this particular program? Would really like to hear from anyone who has along with some insight as to what the first year is like. Any other information would be greatly appreciated regarding the school as well.



Thanks

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[Dr Meow]

I started med school at 28.
Would not recommend going carribean especially since the only reason you're doing this self sabotage is because of an illusion that you're too old which you're not even by the time you finish those 2 years of college.

But let me get this straight. You can't do well in college but you think you can do well in a carribean med school where drop out rates are around 50-60%? And then you try to over compensate for study skills by filling your CV with too much volunteering/shadowing. I think the members on this site are about to give you a wake up call.

And then what if you fail? You're stuck with 80K debt after 1 year. No college degree.

Finish your college. Do well. If you can get 3.5+ on your remaining 2 years of college, then consider applying for med school.

 

[AEK98]

I started med school at 28.
Would not recommend going carribean especially since the only reason you're doing this self sabotage is because of an illusion that you're too old which you're not even by the time you finish those 2 years of college.

But let me get this straight. You can't do well in college but you think you can do well in a carribean med school where drop out rates are around 50-60%? I think the members on this site are about to give you a wake up call.

Finish your college. Do well. If you can get 3.5+ on your remaining 2 years of college, then consider applying for med school.

I can do well in college, The mixed Bs/ Cs are older grades I do not wish to retake. My upper level biology courses and
ORGO grades are the As I previously mentioned.


While away at school, I will not have the hour long commute or full time work schedule to commit my time to. Would just be me and my studies.


Going off what you previously said about finishing my college, In the one year I transferred and had a terrible performance, I transferred back to my original institution. Applying to US/DO programs would mean I have to submit that transcript along with my current one.

As opposed to Schools like SGU, every advising officer I spoke to said it would be fine to omit that transcript.

Which is why Im highly considering this type of program.

 

[EthylMethylMan]

Have you taken the MCAT? That would be a better indication of where you stand. Many, many premeds before you have thought they'd do well in med school because they did well in college. It is not a guarantee. The grind of MCAT studying is closer to the med school experience than taking an 18 credit college semester.

This is a terrible idea. Potentially saving a couple years of time is not worth the risk of entering this clearly predatory program. Take the MCAT and finish college. If your GPA is subpar, a post-bacc can salvage things. If your MCAT is subpar, you're probably not ready for med school.

 

[petomed]

It is a more appealing option than Finishing a bachelors degree that would require an additional 2-3 years. I am already 23.

No it’s not. There are few who are relegated to Caribbean territory when considering medical school.

Generally, they are:

1) Those with < 2.5 GPA (cumulative) after 30+ credit hours of repair
2) Those with debilitating institutional actions or a felony
3) Those who refuse to apply DO
4) Those who refuse to reapply to US schools
5) Those who feel they need to rush into medical school

Note that age isn’t in any of those criteria, nor is MCAT score. That’s because age is just a number and the MCAT is a test that requires paying a prep company in order for you to score > 500.

The only thing in your post pushing you to the predatory vultures that are Caribbean schools is your age. While there is a 50% chance going that route will grant you an MD, and a 80% ish chance you will then match into residency—you are far more likely to fare well by simply finishing your BS and applying US MD/DO in 2-3 years.

Enjoy those extra few years before entering medical school. Make friends. Travel. Develop your hobbies. You have your entire life to be married to medicine.

 

[Gambino.]

At least read the one SGU thread literally right below this post.

Copy and pasting my reply from there:

Not a single person should even think about SGU until GMDC has been accepted by WFME or they get CAAM-HP accreditation back due to the 2024 changes. Incoming students will not be allowed to apply for US residency spots until either of these things happen. Not to take away from your experiences but, these things should be mentioned when giving personal reviews of the school since almost everyone will be going there with the hope of working in the US.

 

[candbgirl]

Have you taken the MCAT? That would be a better indication of where you stand. Many, many premeds before you have thought they'd do well in med school because they did well in college. It is not a guarantee. The grind of MCAT studying is closer to the med school experience than taking an 18 credit college semester.

This is a terrible idea. Potentially saving a couple years of time is not worth the risk of entering this clearly predatory program. Take the MCAT and finish college. If your GPA is subpar, DO schools offer grade replacement. If your MCAT is subpar, you're probably not ready for med school.

They haven’t offered grade replacement in several years.

 

[EthylMethylMan]

They haven’t offered grade replacement in several years.

Shoot, seriously? Well that sucks. Sorry for the misleading info, I'll go ahead and edit that out.

 

[deleted1133766]

They haven’t offered grade replacement in several years.

Please be careful when posting this type of information as it is not completely accurate.

There are schools that do grade replacement outside of AACOMAS but they don't tell you that unless you ask admissions or find that information buried within their website or handbook.

I attend a DO school as an MS student and they do grade replacement.

If you are trying to get people to not apply to the Caribbean, make sure you are giving them the most accurate information for them to make a decision. I suspect a lot of people apply to the Caribbean because they don't know that some DO schools or even MD schools do reward reinvention generously.

 

[candbgirl]

Please be careful when posting this type of information as it is not completely accurate.

There are schools that do grade replacement outside of AACOMAS but they don't tell you that unless you ask admissions or find that information buried within their website or handbook.

I attend a DO school as an MS student and they do grade replacement.

If you are trying to get people to not apply to the Caribbean, make sure you are giving them the most accurate information for them to make a decision. I suspect a lot of people apply to the Caribbean because they don't know that some DO schools or even MD schools do reward reinvention generously.

I never said schools don’t reward reinvention. Many schools do. Would you share the name of your school. I’d like to investigate this myself since AACOMAS seems pretty specific in their guidelines. And this grade replacement possibility might be important for some students. Thanks.

 

[deleted1133766]

I never said schools don’t reward reinvention. Many schools do. Would you share the name of your school. I’d like to investigate this myself since AACOMAS seems pretty specific in their guidelines. And this grade replacement possibility might be important for some students. Thanks.

AACOMAS does have their guidelines but that doesn't mean a school won't have their own admissions guidelines. There are plenty of other health programs that have guidelines outside of the centralized application guidelines as well.

I'm in the MS program and I can tell you that once you are in the program, there is a lot of flexibility with what they want from us to get into the DO program that is not listed on the website. Some get in after 1 year, some after the 2nd year, and we even get preference for applying three years out of graduation as we are considered alumni.

It's not important where I attend. The point is that it is the student's responsibility to contact the schools that they want to attend and see what those schools policies are. To be fair, I didn't know my school did grade replacement till after I matriculated but I asked the right people and found that information. Anybody can do the same if they are that interested.

From what I have seen so far with DO admissions at my school and another school I am familiar with is that the process is unpredictable. I have seen 4.0's get rejected and sub 500 MCAT's get an acceptance so I wouldn't even feel comfortable telling someone what numbers will make them competitive. The only advice I will share is my school values perseverance.

My advice to any student who is serious about applying to a DO program is to research all the programs and pick the schools that you actually want to attend and then contact admissions directly to see if you would be competitive based on their specific admissions policies. That's the right way to go about it. Getting school-specific advice here is the wrong way to go about it.

 

[candbgirl]

AACOMAS does have their guidelines but that doesn't mean a school won't have their own admissions guidelines. There are plenty of other health programs that have guidelines outside of the centralized application guidelines as well.

I'm in the MS program and I can tell you that once you are in the program, there is a lot of flexibility with what they want from us to get into the DO program that is not listed on the website. Some get in after 1 year, some after the 2nd year, and we even get preference for applying three years out of graduation as we are considered alumni.

It's not important where I attend. The point is that it is the student's responsibility to contact the schools that they want to attend and see what those schools policies are. To be fair, I didn't know my school did grade replacement till after I matriculated but I asked the right people and found that information. Anybody can do the same if they are that interested.

From what I have seen so far with DO admissions at my school and another school I am familiar with is that the process is unpredictable. I have seen 4.0's get rejected and sub 500 MCAT's get an acceptance so I wouldn't even feel comfortable telling someone what numbers will make them competitive. The only advice I will share is my school values perseverance.

My advice to any student who is serious about applying to a DO program is to research all the programs and pick the schools that you actually want to attend and then contact admissions directly to see if you would be competitive based on their specific admissions policies. That's the right way to go about it. Getting school-specific advice here is the wrong way to go about it.

You are totally correct that it’s up to the applicant to research and consider every option. But the person who originally posted made a blanket statement that is not true. You were lucky enough to find some unknown information that seems like it has helped you but you were still bound by AACOMAS guidelines at the start . Good for you for figuring it out. When do you start med school or have you? Anyway. good luck as you move forward.