Applying Foreign & Carribean M.D. Schools?

[spazz911]

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Hey Everyone,

2nd time applicant applying in U.S. to 17 M.D. schools, and around 5 D.O. schools. I was offered D.O. interviews but I was late to the cycle and thus they were for wait-listed seats, so I didn't bother.

This is my last time applying to medical school, and thus I am exploring applying to foreign MD schools as a back up plan.

Stats: Canadian/US dual citizen, Oregon resident. cGPA: 3.73 sGPA: ~3.68. MCAT: 30. EC's: ER Scribe, neuroscience research, HIV clinic volunteer, free non-profit clinic volunteer, tons of leadership in college, lots of diverse experiences in leadership, hobbies, talents, etc.

FYI: Educated in Spanish x3yrs, not really proficient anymore but can get by and can pick it up easily if I had to. Also, before you ask, since I'm not a Canadian resident of a province (but I am a citizen) it's really difficult to get into Canadian schools out-of-province.

Here are my questions:
1) Which Carribean schools should I apply to?
2) Which foreign medical schools in general do I have the best chance at? (e.g. UK/Europe)
3) How do I apply to Carribean schools?
4) How do I apply for Cuban schools? Should I?
5) Should I wait until I know if I'm rejected in US before applying abroad, or should I start ASAP?

**Note: I am completely aware the MD and DO is a dramatically better option than foreign med schools, but I humbly ask for any answers other users might have for me regarding schools abroad. This is for me to educate myself of what to do in the worst case scenario. Thank you all 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

... thus they were for wait-listed seats, so I didn't bother...
4) How do I apply for Cuban schools? Should I?

1. People get off the wait lists all the time. If you are for real, it was foolish not to bother.
2. You have zero chance of practicing in the US coming from a Cuban school. You do realize we have strained relations with that country and US tourists can't even travel from here to there without going through a foreign country, and you can't even legally bring Cuban made cigars/products here.
I hope this is a joke.

 

[spazz911]

Law 2Doc: What are your opinions regarding other foreign schools (not specifically Cuba) ?
Also, my interest in Cuba is pretty cursory, I'm merely looking for information to educate myself 🙂

 

[Law2Doc]

What are your opinions regarding other foreign schools (not specifically Cuba) ?
Also, my interest in Cuba is pretty cursory, I'm merely looking for information to educate myself 🙂

They should be a distant distant distant fallback position, after you have exhausted all US options after multiple attempts to fix things, because these are very low yield compared to all US options. If you are turning down interviews because they are waitlist spots you havent exhausted all US options. and if you have to go the offshore route, limit your Caribbean inquiries to the big three Caribbean schools --Don't consider bizarre options such as Cuba.

 

[boshtrich]

If you got DO interviews, I would apply again and make sure everything is in early. Getting interviews shows that you are a qualified student. Schools wouldn't take the time to interview you if they didn't view you as an acceptable applicant. Foreign medical school should be your last option, as matching into US residencies from foreign schools is already very competitive, and is only getting worse. There are many thread on SDN about the high attrition rate at Caribbean schools, and the difficulties of matching as an IMG.

 

[theseeker4]

Hey Everyone,

2nd time applicant applying in U.S. to 17 M.D. schools, and around 5 D.O. schools. I was offered D.O. interviews but I was late to the cycle and thus they were for wait-listed seats, so I didn't bother.

This is my last time applying to medical school, and thus I am exploring applying to foreign MD schools as a back up plan.

Stats: Canadian/US dual citizen, Oregon resident. cGPA: 3.73 sGPA: ~3.68. MCAT: 30. EC's: ER Scribe, neuroscience research, HIV clinic volunteer, free non-profit clinic volunteer, tons of leadership in college, lots of diverse experiences in leadership, hobbies, talents, etc.

FYI: Educated in Spanish x3yrs, not really proficient anymore but can get by and can pick it up easily if I had to. Also, before you ask, since I'm not a Canadian resident of a province (but I am a citizen) it's really difficult to get into Canadian schools out-of-province.

Here are my questions:
1) Which Carribean schools should I apply to?
2) Which foreign medical schools in general do I have the best chance at? (e.g. UK/Europe)
3) How do I apply to Carribean schools?
4) How do I apply for Cuban schools? Should I?
5) Should I wait until I know if I'm rejected in US before applying abroad, or should I start ASAP?

Considering your stats, unless you have a felony record, academic dishonesty IA, sex offense or the like on your record, Caribbean or any other non-US school should not even be in your mind if you ever want to practice in the US (possibly Canada as well, but I will defer to those more knowledgeable about that). Applying this cycle, and next cycle, and the one after that before getting in to a US DO or MD school would be far preferable to going to the Caribbean and finding yourself without the ability to match year after year after year. If you applied early this cycle, I have no doubt you will get in unless you treated your applications this time like you did the interview invites last cycle. In that case, apply again next cycle, early and with a quality application to a reasonable school list; don't apply off shore.

 

[spazz911]

theseeker: Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I think I have a good chance too this cycle, and it's a serious morale booster for me after the massive failure of my first cycle and all the stress I've been under recently. 🙂 You're a good dude/dudette

 

[Bacchus]

With your statistics you should not have to leave the 50 states.

 

[spazz911]

With your statistics you should not have to leave the 50 states.

While you're here I thought I'd ask a quick question: my MCAT distribution is kinda odd P10, B13, V7. It's one of those fluke type things where my verbal seems to screw me, in lieu of the fact that I'm a seasoned freelance writer since college. I've been making my essays extra impressive and powerful (without losing substance of course) this year, and I know at the interviews (knock on wood!) I will harp on my experience as a writer and my exceptional writer skills overall. I spoke to adcoms about my app for the last cycle, and no one really seemed to care about the distribution, they were mostly concerned about the total and the improvement from my original score of 25.

PS- Love your username ;D

 

[red7]

Matching through CaRMS as an IMG in Canada is more difficult than ERAS in the US - there are much fewer spare residency spaces once the local grads have matched in Canada. With your numbers, you could try the Ontario schools. None of them give Ontario residents preference, so you'd be on par with everyone. I'm thinking of Queen's and Western in particular, probably worth applying to Toronto and McMaster as well, unsure about Ottawa. You still have time to do this since OMSAS isn't due until October 2 (and there is no benefit to applying early in Canada). Also, Canadian schools don't care so much about MCAT - it's much more about GPA, extracurriculars, and/or essays (except McMaster which loves the VR section).

Foreign training in Cuban schools is mainly for internationals (including Americans) from disadvantaged backgrounds who are unable to finance medical education in their own country. It's a different philosophy from American medicine (much more community-centric/primary care focused), and may or may not be what you're looking for. If you don't know Spanish well enough, you will learn it there. Cuban schools should not be understood to be another SGU or Ross. They are schools for legitimately qualified Cubans and international students who are often sponsored by their home government (e.g. Venezuela sends many students to Cuba). For the students, the education is free or close to free. All that said, outside of North America/Europe, Cuban physicians are generally regarded as the best anywhere. If they can be compared to any other school in the Caribbean, they are probably closest to the anglophone University of the West Indies.

Edit: I also agree with above posters who say that if your plan is to practice in the US, go to medical school in the US.

 

[SnowyRox]

1. People get off the wait lists all the time. If you are for real, it was foolish not to bother.
2. You have zero chance of practicing in the US coming from a Cuban school. You do realize we have strained relations with that country and US tourists can't even travel from here to there without going through a foreign country, and you can't even legally bring Cuban made cigars/products here.
I hope this is a joke.

You do know that Americans are allowed to travel to Cuba now, right? Like every other country...😕
Your information is way outdated.

But I still wouldn't train there.

 

[Law2Doc]

You do know that Americans are allowed to travel to Cuba now, right? Like every other country...😕
Your information is way outdated.

But I still wouldn't train there.

The relationship remains strained and travel restrictions actually remain pretty significant as compared to other countries, although the Obama administration did lighten up restrictions a bit in terms of tourism this past February. But no, it's not "like every other country" -- google it. Regardless, you have zero chance of landing a US residency coming from there. That's really all that's relevant here.

 

[spazz911]

You do know that Americans are allowed to travel to Cuba now, right? Like every other country...😕
Your information is way outdated.

But I still wouldn't train there.

Don't want to sound rude, and I apologize, but let's avoid turning this threat into something that may get political. I'm just looking for some advice 🙂 Plus, in my case you're both right in some regards and wrong in others. I'm a Canadian, so I can travel to Cuba without many, if any, restrictions.

 

[Dires]

Don't want to sound rude, and I apologize, but let's avoid turning this threat into something that may get political. I'm just looking for some advice 🙂 Plus, in my case you're both right in some regards and wrong in others. I'm a Canadian, so I can travel to Cuba without many, if any, restrictions.

The 7 is probably killing your application. I think some schools auto screen-out that section score. Why didn't you retake the MCAT?