What are the USMLE pass rates of AUC, Ross, and SGU?

[zut212]

The passrate for first-time takers of USMLE I is 93%.

For SGU, I am seeing that it maybe as low as 84%:

http://www.sgu.edu/news-events/news-archives08-Grenada1USMLE.html

For AUC, it seems to be 93% according to their webiste.

For Ross, the estimates vary dramatically, from 70s%-90s%.

Please shed light as to these numbers.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Gfliptastic]

Granted now most Caribbean med schools require students to take and pass the NBME Comp "Shelf Exam". This helps indicate competency to sit for Step 1.

This is not unusual for some US med schools (MD or DO).

 

[Aphtalyfe]

Granted now most Caribbean med schools require students to take and pass the NBME Comp "Shelf Exam". This helps indicate competency to sit for Step 1.

This is not unusual for some US med schools (MD or DO).

Keep in mind that the only school accurately portrayed on that chart is SGU. (Grenada)

All the others have multiple schools contributing to the % pass rate.

I'm surprised SGU is at 84.4% though.

 

[JonathanMD]

According to the Ross seminar I attended a couple years back, the Ross Step 1 pass rates are something like ~90%.

--But what they don't tell you is that many students never pass 1st semester. A few students don't pass 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th. And then a few more students don't pass the Comp. If you only take into account the students that are still there and able to take the Step, they do very well.

A better question would be: What percentage of incoming 1st semester students ever eventually pass Step 1?

I don't think anyone really knows this answer.


edit: And yeah, that table would be a lot more useful if it broke down statistics down by schools, not islands.

 

[Gfliptastic]

It's not like I culled the data myself. LOL.

That would be useful. And when I read the study, the researchers in fact did want more but the schools claimed that data was intellectual property. So we only have based on country.

The ECFMG is pushing for better data. And since Ross is a subsidiary of a publicly traded US company, they will maybe eventually have to divulge that information.

 

[dragonfly99]

According to the Ross seminar I attended a couple years back, the Ross Step 1 pass rates are something like ~90%.

--But what they don't tell you is that many students never pass 1st semester. A few students don't pass 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th. And then a few more students don't pass the Comp. If you only take into account the students that are still there and able to take the Step, they do very well.

A better question would be: What percentage of incoming 1st semester students ever eventually pass Step 1?

I don't think anyone really knows this answer.


edit: And yeah, that table would be a lot more useful if it broke down statistics down by schools, not islands.

This is really the information that the OP (prospective incoming student) should be interested in, and not any other information bandied about by a school's marketers. I would be extremely surprised if any of the Caribbean schools has a higher USMLE pass rate than SGU. It appears to have the tightest admissions standards, probably the best campus, and to be the most expensive of the Caribbean schools, and probably the most similar to a US school. I'm not a proponent of going to Caribbean schools (especially if you are from US and not Canada, b/c you have more options for med school versus a Canadian) but if I were I think that SGU is probably the best of the lot. Ross also has the advantage of "name" recognition also, having been around for many years and a lot of them do get some sort of residency if they get through. Personally I would have gone to SABA if I had needed to go to a Carib school, because it's smaller...but I have heard the school has changed recently, and perhaps not for the better.

I wouldn't believe any USMLE or Match stats being claimed by any Caribbean school without independent verification. This research article is about the closest you're going to get.

I think it is interesting that Jamaica has so high a pass rate versus some of the other schools. I'm sure that is a school attended by the locals (Jamaicans) rather than one of those Carib schools for US and Canadian students.

 

[Gfliptastic]

In my past life (as a non-traditional student) I was paid to guesstimate. So I'll give it a whirl for Ross.

Assuming (conservatively) 200/semester in a 3 semester system means 600 students/year.

In 14 years of data, if all these student "survived" to take Step 1, you would expect 8400 students roughly speaking. 6700 sat for Step 1

6700/8400= 79.7 or 80% (conservatively speaking)

Considering I think class sizes are more like 250, we can use 750*14 for 10500

6700/10500 = 63.8 or 64%

So anywhere from 1/5 to 1/3 students will drop out before making it to sit for the Step 1.

I did an estimate for USMG's when I 1st became a member of SDN and got ~ 3% or 3/100 students don't make it. I know dropouts/burnouts exist in the US, so I like that #.

 

[RussianJoo]

SGU's current 1st time pass rate is in the low to mid 90's.. the 84.4% pass rate was by a study that looked at all the pass rates from 1993 to 2008 and averaged them out. as you can see SGU has the highest overall percent pass rate out of all the carib schools which is 84.4%.

 

[zut212]

Then what's the USMLE pass rates of the Big 3 Caribbean Schools?

Also, besides USMLE pass rates and average MCAT scores for MATRICULANTS (not accepted), what would they be for the Big 3?

Finally, besides these 2 metrics (i.e. average MCATS and USMLE pass rates), what other criterias would you look at?

 

[LadyMPH]

Granted now most Caribbean med schools require students to take and pass the NBME Comp "Shelf Exam". This helps indicate competency to sit for Step 1.

This is not unusual for some US med schools (MD or DO).

Take a look at the time frame of the study, it was over 15 years( 1997-2003). This study shows long term USMLE first time test takers which is an important quality to look at when researching Med schools. Schools can easily skew statistics to make there %'s to look better especially since they only report on students with a GPA of 2.5 or better. Im not saying this is a good quality but they more or less weed out the ones they know will not pass.
It is important that the school has an overall good track record. Although SGU may be 84.4% take a look at how many people took it compared to other islands that had more than one school on the island.
In terms of passing, Im sure every school could have a 99% pass rate because eventually everyone will pass. The important aspect of this study is first time test takers because this takes a look at which schools better prepare you for passing step 1 and 2, the first time. Which is very important come time for residency, especially if your in a competitive residency.

 

[aa62]

According to the Ross seminar I attended a couple years back, the Ross Step 1 pass rates are something like ~90%.

--But what they don't tell you is that many students never pass 1st semester. A few students don't pass 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th. And then a few more students don't pass the Comp. If you only take into account the students that are still there and able to take the Step, they do very well.

A better question would be: What percentage of incoming 1st semester students ever eventually pass Step 1?

I don't think anyone really knows this answer.

this is true. Ross boasts a step 1 pass rate of 95% and an average of 209...but these are the students who survived all four semesters on the rock, and passed the COMP and finished 5th semester. A ball park estimate, regarding the number of incoming 1st semester students that pass step 1, is about 70-75%.