AUA REVIEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ANTIGUA

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arafatni

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ok guys I promised if I matched .. I do super honest review about the Caribbean Medical Schools specifically AUA

Little About Myself and why attended Caribbean: I had a 3.3 sGPA and 3.4 overall gpa. my MCAT was 20. With that MCAT score , I obviously didn't get into US or DO school. I also had research but no publication. I took 2 year gap just applying and figuring things out. I did MERP for AUC but unfortunately I didn't make the cut. SABA rejected me due to medical condition ( long story not gonna into details about it). So I finally end up at AUA. So clearly, I was not a great super student.

AUA: I barely passed all my classes in Basic sciences and barely passed comp( a exam you take to be eligible to seat for the steps) . We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out) , and maybe 60 more made it after repeating class , and about 5-10 went to other schools and made it out . by "made it out", i mean getting matched. I passed first time. never failed a single class. pretty much if you get out of the island your matching rate is almost same as us grads for primary care specialities. Again for primary care speciality (i.e. family ,IM , Peds, even pathology ). Classes are pure garbage except neurology , biochemistry , Immunology( immunology is amazing not gonna lie). The pathology , physiology , and pharmacy are truly garbage, and they are most important for step 1. for Step 1, I took about a year to study for it and did some research in mean time to build my resume. I published 4 articles. I got 217 in step 1 . I did us clinical experience for 2 years and I did the FIU program they offer. good thing about the program was that everything was in one place , the bad or challenging part was that Spanish is a must . so I refreshed on my Spanish but still i feel like my education was hindered by it.another good thing , most of the doctors were super chill and gave you plenty time for your shelfs exams. another bad thing few of the rotation has residency programs ( actually maybe like 2 out of 50 have ). i studied for step 2 for like 2 month during rotation and took it and got 222. i studied for my cs for like 2 weeks and passed first time but barely.

match : i applied for 530 programs for family and got 17 interviews. ( if you want more on that check family medicine match 2020 i got to super details over there). i matched.

benefits of AUA vs other schools: plenty of time to study for exams and board exams( us schools get like month and a half for step 1 and like 3 weeks for step 2) . Clearly you don't have to be stellar student pass all your exams and get matched in primary care. I did party and have social life in the island . i buckled down for 3 weeks before exam and mange to pull it off. best island out of all Caribbean islands. st. martin is only one that is much better than us. Immunology , biochemistry , neurology truly amazing classes. they have tutoring service by previous students which I highly recommend because they make your life so much easier and you don't have to study that much. this is true for basic sciences , the two years in Antigua .

Downside : pathology , physiology, and pharmacy truly awful . Living on island has challenges like storms. if storm hits, your water is off for like 2 weeks and no electricity ( generators become handy) . Housing is awful expensive ( try to stay at apartment because i lived in the house and the person was shady and the generator never worked ). gym is a joke at school. lots of cheating going on but school got down on it since NBME banned them for 2 years. as far as i know cheating almost became zero my last year in island. anatomy lab is joke. utilities are expensive. ( 200$ per Month US Dollars) . food is expensive . AUA admin is truly don't care and awful . That is important because of loans and scheduling rotation out side of FIU program ( which you do through FIU) done through admin . they say FIU program is super hard to get in . that is a lie almost 80% ppl get in.

neutral: FIU rotations can be too chill but you learn the fundamentals but i can't say i am truly prepared for residency rigor. The ones out of FIU ones are more challenging and no time to study for shelf exams but you be ready for residency . all the programs have residency outside of FIU program. also scheduling electives is super easy with FIU , but other ones outside FIU is truly painful .

also people who failed out either they were out of school for too long , simply they didn't even want to put in the 3 weeks that I did. very few were not smart enough ( maybe like 3 people i know out of that 270 ) , and some had intellectual disability .

FIU : stands for Florida International University

so why i did this review and this forum culture: Unfortunately , some ppl pretend to be US grads or maybe they are and start to bash on Caribbean schools. some others got kicked due to their shortcomings and they bash it as well. Honestly if you want to be a primary care doctor as you can see it is totally doable and don't have to be a super star. yes it has downside but point is it gives you a chance to live your dream and become a doctor. That being said , US schools are far better because you have more options. From AUA, 1 person got neurosurgery, one person got ophthalmology , one person got vascular surgery . But these are not amazing compared to 50% of US schools students get super hard specialities. if you exhausted all your options definitely give AUA shot and don't listen to negativity . you will make it . I promise
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arafatni said:
It was unnecessary for me ... i got my top 6 choice
Click to expand...

That's horrifying that you had to apply to 500 programs to get 17 interviews and matched at #6. Everyone who reads this NEEDS to read it as a cautionary tale and not even close to a success story.

And OP sounds like from their tone they're saying "If I could do it over again I would apply to fewer programs" - what happens if you didn't happen to apply to #6 didn't take you and #7-17 didn't have you on their match lists? Then you'd be writing about being unmatched despite applying to 250 programs.
 
thumbz said:
That's horrifying that you had to apply to 500 programs to get 17 interviews and matched at #6. Everyone who reads this NEEDS to read it as a cautionary tale and not even close to a success story.

And OP sounds like from their tone they're saying "If I could do it over again I would apply to fewer programs" - what happens if you didn't happen to apply to #6 didn't take you and #7-17 didn't have you on their match lists? Then you'd be writing about being unmatched despite applying to 250 programs.
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Well my other colleagues, who made it to Clinical rotation, all matched ! Some colleagues had only 1 iv and matched . Other colleague had 2 ivs and matched . The reason they got low invites because they took their cs and ck late so they applied without those scores. true a us grad needs to apply like not even 60 and get 17 invites . But if you can't get into US school ,then it doesn't mean that it is the end of the road . Point of this was so ppl don't give up if they don't make it to us med schools. I clearly mentioned that if you can get into US schools , then do it by all means. I still say if i had choose between AUA and US school , I pick US school 1000%. Also I wanted to show you don't have to be a stellar student to be successful in Caribbean, a big misconception.
 
OP apparently knew exactly what he/she was doing. OP is the type of individual that can go to the Caribbean and succeed because they have a game plan. However, most premeds who could not get into US school are naive and not diligent.


@arafatni Are you a nontraditional student?
 
Last edited:
Splenda88 said:
OP apparently knew exactly what he/she was doing. OP is the type of individual that can go to the Caribbean and succeed because they have a game plan. However, most premeds who could not get into US school are naive and not diligent.


@arafatni Are you a nontraditional student?
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I am sorry I am not familiar with the terminology. I applied 2 years for US schools after my undergrad , then decided to do Caribbean. Thank you for the positive and kind words. I really appreciate you.
 
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arafatni said:
Well my other colleagues, who made it to Clinical rotation, all matched ! Some colleagues had only 1 iv and matched . Other colleague had 2 ivs and matched . The reason they got low invites because they took their cs and ck late so they applied without those scores. true a us grad needs to apply like not even 60 and get 17 invites . But if you can't get into US school ,then it doesn't mean that it is the end of the road . Point of this was so ppl don't give up if they don't make it to us med schools. I clearly mentioned that if you can get into US schools , then do it by all means. I still say if i had choose between AUA and US school , I pick US school 1000%. Also I wanted to show you don't have to be a stellar student to be successful in Caribbean, a big misconception.
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You were perhaps the lucky one who attended before they changed the curriculum My roommate from Western ended up in AUA and was almost about to commit suicide and ended up with 200000 loan in USD. They do not teach anything, just money grabbing . Most students fail every other semester (a trick that university uses to keep have them pay tuition) and then they dismiss them. My friend works now at Walmart and is depressed on medications.
 
viarail said:
You were perhaps the lucky one who attended before they changed the curriculum My roommate from Western ended up in AUA and was almost about to commit suicide and ended up with 200000 loan in USD. They do not teach anything, just money grabbing . Most students fail every other semester (a trick that university uses to keep have them pay tuition) and then they dismiss them. My friend works now at Walmart and is depressed on medications.
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I mentioned where they lack in teaching in certain important subjects . Also , I mentioned how many failed from my class. Assuming that I was lucky undermines my work ethic. I am sorry for your friend , and I don't know her /his story. But your friend has to see in what category he or she falls. I mentioned type of who normally don't make it and of course there is exception to the rule . BtW from my class most ppl failed first or second semester . Rarely , we had ppl fail third and fourth semester ( but it did happen but not that crazy rate and i agree those students were true exception and super unlucky because of 200k debt ) anyways have your friend private message me , I be glad to help your friend because nobody deserves to go through such hardships. I truly empathize with them. I can guide your friend to get back on her/his feet.
 
arafatni said:
I mentioned where they lack in teaching in certain important subjects . Also , I mentioned how many failed from my class. Assuming that I was lucky undermines my work ethic. I am sorry for your friend , and I don't know her /his story. But your friend has to see in what category he or she falls. I mentioned type of who normally don't make it and of course there is exception to the rule . BtW from my class most ppl failed first or second semester . Rarely , we had ppl fail third and fourth semester ( but it did happen but not that crazy rate and i agree those students were true exception and super unlucky because of 200k debt ) anyways have your friend private message me , I be glad to help your friend because nobody deserves to go through such hardships. I truly empathize with them. I can guide your friend to get back on her/his feet.
Click to expand...

I went to SGU and it's the same thing there. Most people will actually "fail out" during the first term for a variety of reasons. Once you get to the fifth term, you are in good shape. I mean when you think about it, how could you fail out once you are almost done with basic sciences? If you fail out, you fail out right at the beginning.

I think it comes down to hard work. Those that work very hard will finish the program and match.
 
Sexton Hardcastle said:
I went to SGU and it's the same thing there. Most people will actually "fail out" during the first term for a variety of reasons. Once you get to the fifth term, you are in good shape. I mean when you think about it, how could you fail out once you are almost done with basic sciences? If you fail out, you fail out right at the beginning.

I think it comes down to hard work. Those that work very hard will finish the program and match.
Click to expand...
Fifth term? like 2/3 way through 2nd year then you will finally be safe?
 
arafatni said:
ok guys I promised if I matched .. I do super honest review about the Caribbean Medical Schools specifically AUA

Little About Myself and why attended Caribbean: I had a 3.3 sGPA and 3.4 overall gpa. my MCAT was 20. With that MCAT score , I obviously didn't get into US or DO school. I also had research but no publication. I took 2 year gap just applying and figuring things out. I did MERP for AUC but unfortunately I didn't make the cut. SABA rejected me due to medical condition ( long story not gonna into details about it). So I finally end up at AUA. So clearly, I was not a great super student.

AUA: I barely passed all my classes in Basic sciences and barely passed comp( a exam you take to be eligible to seat for the steps) . We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out) , and maybe 60 more made it after repeating class , and about 5-10 went to other schools and made it out . by "made it out", i mean getting matched. I passed first time. never failed a single class. pretty much if you get out of the island your matching rate is almost same as us grads for primary care specialities. Again for primary care speciality (i.e. family ,IM , Peds, even pathology ). Classes are pure garbage except neurology , biochemistry , Immunology( immunology is amazing not gonna lie). The pathology , physiology , and pharmacy are truly garbage, and they are most important for step 1. for Step 1, I took about a year to study for it and did some research in mean time to build my resume. I published 4 articles. I got 217 in step 1 . I did us clinical experience for 2 years and I did the FIU program they offer. good thing about the program was that everything was in one place , the bad or challenging part was that Spanish is a must . so I refreshed on my Spanish but still i feel like my education was hindered by it.another good thing , most of the doctors were super chill and gave you plenty time for your shelfs exams. another bad thing few of the rotation has residency programs ( actually maybe like 2 out of 50 have ). i studied for step 2 for like 2 month during rotation and took it and got 222. i studied for my cs for like 2 weeks and passed first time but barely.

match : i applied for 530 programs for family and got 17 interviews. ( if you want more on that check family medicine match 2020 i got to super details over there). i matched.

benefits of AUA vs other schools: plenty of time to study for exams and board exams( us schools get like month and a half for step 1 and like 3 weeks for step 2) . Clearly you don't have to be stellar student pass all your exams and get matched in primary care. I did party and have social life in the island . i buckled down for 3 weeks before exam and mange to pull it off. best island out of all Caribbean islands. st. martin is only one that is much better than us. Immunology , biochemistry , neurology truly amazing classes. they have tutoring service by previous students which I highly recommend because they make your life so much easier and you don't have to study that much. this is true for basic sciences , the two years in Antigua .

Downside : pathology , physiology, and pharmacy truly awful . Living on island has challenges like storms. if storm hits, your water is off for like 2 weeks and no electricity ( generators become handy) . Housing is awful expensive ( try to stay at apartment because i lived in the house and the person was shady and the generator never worked ). gym is a joke at school. lots of cheating going on but school got down on it since NBME banned them for 2 years. as far as i know cheating almost became zero my last year in island. anatomy lab is joke. utilities are expensive. ( 200$ per Month US Dollars) . food is expensive . AUA admin is truly don't care and awful . That is important because of loans and scheduling rotation out side of FIU program ( which you do through FIU) done through admin . they say FIU program is super hard to get in . that is a lie almost 80% ppl get in.

neutral: FIU rotations can be too chill but you learn the fundamentals but i can't say i am truly prepared for residency rigor. The ones out of FIU ones are more challenging and no time to study for shelf exams but you be ready for residency . all the programs have residency outside of FIU program. also scheduling electives is super easy with FIU , but other ones outside FIU is truly painful .

also people who failed out either they were out of school for too long , simply they didn't even want to put in the 3 weeks that I did. very few were not smart enough ( maybe like 3 people i know out of that 270 ) , and some had intellectual disability .

FIU : stands for Florida International University

so why i did this review and this forum culture: Unfortunately , some ppl pretend to be US grads or maybe they are and start to bash on Caribbean schools. some others got kicked due to their shortcomings and they bash it as well. Honestly if you want to be a primary care doctor as you can see it is totally doable and don't have to be a super star. yes it has downside but point is it gives you a chance to live your dream and become a doctor. That being said , US schools are far better because you have more options. From AUA, 1 person got neurosurgery, one person got ophthalmology , one person got vascular surgery . But these are not amazing compared to 50% of US schools students get super hard specialities. if you exhausted all your options definitely give AUA shot and don't listen to negativity . you will make it . I promise
Click to expand...

*********Please explain this bit*********Thanks
We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out)
 
lalab said:
*********Please explain this bit*********Thanks
We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out)
Click to expand...
There's nothing for him to explain. Out of 270 students, only 60 passed pre-clinical semesters without failing/repeating and another 60 of the 270 made it through after repeating 1 or more semesters for a grand total of 120/270 of his starting class, which would give you about a 65% attrition rate.
 
Gambino. said:
There's nothing for him to explain. Out of 270 students, only 60 passed pre-clinical semesters without failing/repeating and another 60 of the 270 made it through after repeating 1 or more semesters for a grand total of 120/270 of his starting class, which would give you about a 65% attrition rate.
Click to expand...
......ok thanks, thought it was a typo. Less than half the class pass......60 out of 270 threw me-wow!
 
What total cost AUA 2021 for 4yrs? Thanks
 
arafatni said:
ok guys I promised if I matched .. I do super honest review about the Caribbean Medical Schools specifically AUA

Little About Myself and why attended Caribbean: I had a 3.3 sGPA and 3.4 overall gpa. my MCAT was 20. With that MCAT score , I obviously didn't get into US or DO school. I also had research but no publication. I took 2 year gap just applying and figuring things out. I did MERP for AUC but unfortunately I didn't make the cut. SABA rejected me due to medical condition ( long story not gonna into details about it). So I finally end up at AUA. So clearly, I was not a great super student.

AUA: I barely passed all my classes in Basic sciences and barely passed comp( a exam you take to be eligible to seat for the steps) . We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out) , and maybe 60 more made it after repeating class , and about 5-10 went to other schools and made it out . by "made it out", i mean getting matched. I passed first time. never failed a single class. pretty much if you get out of the island your matching rate is almost same as us grads for primary care specialities. Again for primary care speciality (i.e. family ,IM , Peds, even pathology ). Classes are pure garbage except neurology , biochemistry , Immunology( immunology is amazing not gonna lie). The pathology , physiology , and pharmacy are truly garbage, and they are most important for step 1. for Step 1, I took about a year to study for it and did some research in mean time to build my resume. I published 4 articles. I got 217 in step 1 . I did us clinical experience for 2 years and I did the FIU program they offer. good thing about the program was that everything was in one place , the bad or challenging part was that Spanish is a must . so I refreshed on my Spanish but still i feel like my education was hindered by it.another good thing , most of the doctors were super chill and gave you plenty time for your shelfs exams. another bad thing few of the rotation has residency programs ( actually maybe like 2 out of 50 have ). i studied for step 2 for like 2 month during rotation and took it and got 222. i studied for my cs for like 2 weeks and passed first time but barely.

match : i applied for 530 programs for family and got 17 interviews. ( if you want more on that check family medicine match 2020 i got to super details over there). i matched.

benefits of AUA vs other schools: plenty of time to study for exams and board exams( us schools get like month and a half for step 1 and like 3 weeks for step 2) . Clearly you don't have to be stellar student pass all your exams and get matched in primary care. I did party and have social life in the island . i buckled down for 3 weeks before exam and mange to pull it off. best island out of all Caribbean islands. st. martin is only one that is much better than us. Immunology , biochemistry , neurology truly amazing classes. they have tutoring service by previous students which I highly recommend because they make your life so much easier and you don't have to study that much. this is true for basic sciences , the two years in Antigua .

Downside : pathology , physiology, and pharmacy truly awful . Living on island has challenges like storms. if storm hits, your water is off for like 2 weeks and no electricity ( generators become handy) . Housing is awful expensive ( try to stay at apartment because i lived in the house and the person was shady and the generator never worked ). gym is a joke at school. lots of cheating going on but school got down on it since NBME banned them for 2 years. as far as i know cheating almost became zero my last year in island. anatomy lab is joke. utilities are expensive. ( 200$ per Month US Dollars) . food is expensive . AUA admin is truly don't care and awful . That is important because of loans and scheduling rotation out side of FIU program ( which you do through FIU) done through admin . they say FIU program is super hard to get in . that is a lie almost 80% ppl get in.

neutral: FIU rotations can be too chill but you learn the fundamentals but i can't say i am truly prepared for residency rigor. The ones out of FIU ones are more challenging and no time to study for shelf exams but you be ready for residency . all the programs have residency outside of FIU program. also scheduling electives is super easy with FIU , but other ones outside FIU is truly painful .

also people who failed out either they were out of school for too long , simply they didn't even want to put in the 3 weeks that I did. very few were not smart enough ( maybe like 3 people i know out of that 270 ) , and some had intellectual disability .

FIU : stands for Florida International University

so why i did this review and this forum culture: Unfortunately , some ppl pretend to be US grads or maybe they are and start to bash on Caribbean schools. some others got kicked due to their shortcomings and they bash it as well. Honestly if you want to be a primary care doctor as you can see it is totally doable and don't have to be a super star. yes it has downside but point is it gives you a chance to live your dream and become a doctor. That being said , US schools are far better because you have more options. From AUA, 1 person got neurosurgery, one person got ophthalmology , one person got vascular surgery . But these are not amazing compared to 50% of US schools students get super hard specialities. if you exhausted all your options definitely give AUA shot and don't listen to negativity . you will make it . I promise
Click to expand...
Hello, can I personally ask you some questions to gauge if I would do fine at AUA? Because although I have ADD, I am getting medicated right now (my psychiatrist is still adjusting my dose)
 
parasol said:
Hello, can I personally ask you some questions to gauge if I would do fine at AUA? Because although I have ADD, I am getting medicated right now (my psychiatrist is still adjusting my dose)
Click to expand...
i have ADD too and never medicated .. you do fine
 
arafatni said:
ok guys I promised if I matched .. I do super honest review about the Caribbean Medical Schools specifically AUA

Little About Myself and why attended Caribbean: I had a 3.3 sGPA and 3.4 overall gpa. my MCAT was 20. With that MCAT score , I obviously didn't get into US or DO school. I also had research but no publication. I took 2 year gap just applying and figuring things out. I did MERP for AUC but unfortunately I didn't make the cut. SABA rejected me due to medical condition ( long story not gonna into details about it). So I finally end up at AUA. So clearly, I was not a great super student.

AUA: I barely passed all my classes in Basic sciences and barely passed comp( a exam you take to be eligible to seat for the steps) . We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out) , and maybe 60 more made it after repeating class , and about 5-10 went to other schools and made it out . by "made it out", i mean getting matched. I passed first time. never failed a single class. pretty much if you get out of the island your matching rate is almost same as us grads for primary care specialities. Again for primary care speciality (i.e. family ,IM , Peds, even pathology ). Classes are pure garbage except neurology , biochemistry , Immunology( immunology is amazing not gonna lie). The pathology , physiology , and pharmacy are truly garbage, and they are most important for step 1. for Step 1, I took about a year to study for it and did some research in mean time to build my resume. I published 4 articles. I got 217 in step 1 . I did us clinical experience for 2 years and I did the FIU program they offer. good thing about the program was that everything was in one place , the bad or challenging part was that Spanish is a must . so I refreshed on my Spanish but still i feel like my education was hindered by it.another good thing , most of the doctors were super chill and gave you plenty time for your shelfs exams. another bad thing few of the rotation has residency programs ( actually maybe like 2 out of 50 have ). i studied for step 2 for like 2 month during rotation and took it and got 222. i studied for my cs for like 2 weeks and passed first time but barely.

match : i applied for 530 programs for family and got 17 interviews. ( if you want more on that check family medicine match 2020 i got to super details over there). i matched.

benefits of AUA vs other schools: plenty of time to study for exams and board exams( us schools get like month and a half for step 1 and like 3 weeks for step 2) . Clearly you don't have to be stellar student pass all your exams and get matched in primary care. I did party and have social life in the island . i buckled down for 3 weeks before exam and mange to pull it off. best island out of all Caribbean islands. st. martin is only one that is much better than us. Immunology , biochemistry , neurology truly amazing classes. they have tutoring service by previous students which I highly recommend because they make your life so much easier and you don't have to study that much. this is true for basic sciences , the two years in Antigua .

Downside : pathology , physiology, and pharmacy truly awful . Living on island has challenges like storms. if storm hits, your water is off for like 2 weeks and no electricity ( generators become handy) . Housing is awful expensive ( try to stay at apartment because i lived in the house and the person was shady and the generator never worked ). gym is a joke at school. lots of cheating going on but school got down on it since NBME banned them for 2 years. as far as i know cheating almost became zero my last year in island. anatomy lab is joke. utilities are expensive. ( 200$ per Month US Dollars) . food is expensive . AUA admin is truly don't care and awful . That is important because of loans and scheduling rotation out side of FIU program ( which you do through FIU) done through admin . they say FIU program is super hard to get in . that is a lie almost 80% ppl get in.

neutral: FIU rotations can be too chill but you learn the fundamentals but i can't say i am truly prepared for residency rigor. The ones out of FIU ones are more challenging and no time to study for shelf exams but you be ready for residency . all the programs have residency outside of FIU program. also scheduling electives is super easy with FIU , but other ones outside FIU is truly painful .

also people who failed out either they were out of school for too long , simply they didn't even want to put in the 3 weeks that I did. very few were not smart enough ( maybe like 3 people i know out of that 270 ) , and some had intellectual disability .

FIU : stands for Florida International University

so why i did this review and this forum culture: Unfortunately , some ppl pretend to be US grads or maybe they are and start to bash on Caribbean schools. some others got kicked due to their shortcomings and they bash it as well. Honestly if you want to be a primary care doctor as you can see it is totally doable and don't have to be a super star. yes it has downside but point is it gives you a chance to live your dream and become a doctor. That being said , US schools are far better because you have more options. From AUA, 1 person got neurosurgery, one person got ophthalmology , one person got vascular surgery . But these are not amazing compared to 50% of US schools students get super hard specialities. if you exhausted all your options definitely give AUA shot and don't listen to negativity . you will make it . I promise
Click to expand...
Hey, would be okay if we connected?
I am going to go to AUA Spring 2022 but I was wondering what is the best way to navigate med1?
 
FutureDoctor5000 said:
i applied for 530 programs for family and got 17 interviews. ( if you want more on that check family medicine match 2020 i got to super details over there). i matched.

This is why you don't go to the Caribbean folks...... 530 applications for 17 interviews is mind numbing.
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I went to aua, graduated in 2014. Applied to 100 programs. got 40 interviews for medicine and 30 for surgery. Went into medicine. matched at University programs for medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology. 0 research/0 publications.

my 2 best friends from AUA : 1. interventional cardiologist. 2. surgical oncologist. -

Every situation is different. ...surround yourself with good people if you go to aua. you can make it.
 
CardioKid22 said:
I went to aua, graduated in 2014. Applied to 100 programs. got 40 interviews for medicine and 30 for surgery. Went into medicine. matched at University programs for medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology. 0 research/0 publications.

my 2 best friends from AUA : 1. interventional cardiologist. 2. surgical oncologist. -

Every situation is different. ...surround yourself with good people if you go to aua. you can make it.
Click to expand...
No I would never go to Carib I am just stating that you have to apply to that many programs just for FM is ridiculous. You graduated in 2014, it's a whole new ballgame out there. USMD and DO school expansion is making things though. I know many well qualified Carib students struggling to get IM and surgery invites with 150+++ invites...
Also your math makes no sense... 70 invites out of 100 is almost unheard of
 
CardioKid22 said:
I went to aua, graduated in 2014. Applied to 100 programs. got 40 interviews for medicine and 30 for surgery. Went into medicine. matched at University programs for medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology. 0 research/0 publications.

my 2 best friends from AUA : 1. interventional cardiologist. 2. surgical oncologist. -

Every situation is different. ...surround yourself with good people if you go to aua. you can make it.
Click to expand...
2014 is very different from the current situation. Even DOs start feeling the crunch these days.
 
DrStephenStrange said:
2014 is very different from the current situation. Even DOs start feeling the crunch these days.
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Yup Covid and virtual IV's has changed a lot. I know of many USMD and DO's saying how they have less IV's.. I can't even imagine how IMG's are doing
 
DrStephenStrange said:
2014 is very different from the current situation. Even DOs start feeling the crunch these days.
Click to expand...
And your data for this statement comes from where?

Actually you're right, 2014 is very different from the current situation. In 2014, 53% (total number 2722) of US-IMGs matched through the NRMP and a total of 6837 IMGs started residency training that year. In 2021, 59.5% (total number 3152) of US-IMGs matched through the NRMP and in 2020 (most recent year there is data) a total of 7797 IMGs started residency training.

So the current situation is very different that 2014. More US-IMGs (and IMGs in general) are currently matching than ever before.

I'm not sure if it's purposeful misinformation or just basic ignorance, but some of the regular posters on this forum act like the NRMP and ACGME don't release this data.

www.nrmp.org

Match Data

Core to the NRMP’s mission is the development and distribution of data reports and publications that inform national conversations about the transition to residency and advance understanding of the…
www.nrmp.org www.nrmp.org
www.acgme.org

ACGME Data Resource Book

www.acgme.org www.acgme.org
 
FutureDoctor5000 said:
Yup Covid and virtual IV's has changed a lot. I know of many USMD and DO's saying how they have less IV's.. I can't even imagine how IMG's are doing
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Again, the great thing is you actually don't have to imagine how IMGs are doing. You can just look at the data that the NRMP and ACGME freely publish (see above post).

SPOILER ALERT!! IMGs are currently doing better than ever before in the history of US graduate medical education.
 
What is not clear from the AAMC data is the number who began school in the Caribbean compared to the number that tried to Match.
Because the schools have no requirement for transparency, speculating that their graduates are more likely to match is not warranted.
 
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the argus said:
And your data for this statement comes from where?

Actually you're right, 2014 is very different from the current situation. In 2014, 53% (total number 2722) of US-IMGs matched through the NRMP and a total of 6837 IMGs started residency training that year. In 2021, 59.5% (total number 3152) of US-IMGs matched through the NRMP and in 2020 (most recent year there is data) a total of 7797 IMGs started residency training.

So the current situation is very different that 2014. More US-IMGs (and IMGs in general) are currently matching than ever before.

I'm not sure if it's purposeful misinformation or just basic ignorance, but some of the regular posters on this forum act like the NRMP and ACGME don't release this data.

www.nrmp.org

Match Data

Core to the NRMP’s mission is the development and distribution of data reports and publications that inform national conversations about the transition to residency and advance understanding of the…
www.nrmp.org www.nrmp.org
www.acgme.org

ACGME Data Resource Book

www.acgme.org www.acgme.org
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I'm a DO currently applying. I apply to 173 (include 21 prelims) programs and only have 13 interviews. These used to be Caribbean IMG numbers, and that's where my claim comes from.

Edit: I was talking in terms of DOs not IMGs. If DOs start to match at lower rate, you'd better believe IMGs will too. There will be new charting outcome data this year, so I guess we'll see.
 
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DrStephenStrange said:
I'm a DO currently applying. I apply to 173 (include 21 prelims) programs and only have 13 interviews. These used to be Caribbean IMG numbers, and that's where my claim comes from.

Edit: I was talking in terms of DOs not IMGs. If DOs start to match at lower rate, you'd better believe IMGs will too. There will be new charting outcome data this year, so I guess we'll see.
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Yea Covid is def making things though. Those are Carib IMG like numbers...
 
DrStephenStrange said:
I'm a DO currently applying. I apply to 173 (include 21 prelims) programs and only have 13 interviews. These used to be Caribbean IMG numbers, and that's where my claim comes from.

Edit: I was talking in terms of DOs not IMGs. If DOs start to match at lower rate, you'd better believe IMGs will too. There will be new charting outcome data this year, so I guess we'll see.
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I understand this is a stressful time for you, but acting like there are going to be drastic changes in match patterns on a year to year basis is just not realistic.

For instance, the first year enrollment for 2017 (matched 2021) were USMD 21,338 and DO 8113, for a total of 29,451. First year enrollment for 2018 (your year) was USMD 21,622 and DO 8426, for a total of 30,048. That's an increase of only 597 from those who matched last year to your class matching this year. Last year, >7500 IMGs matched into residency positions. And on average, the ACGME has been adding ~1000 new 1st year residency positions on a yearly basis over the last few years.

So as you can clearly see from the actual data, GME expansion is still currently outpacing US undergraduate medical education expansion, hence why more IMGs are matching on a yearly basis then ever before.

I'm sorry you're not getting more interviews, truly. This is an incredibly stressful time in your medical career and I assume even moreso if it's not going as well as you had hoped. But the reason is not because there is some massive shift in GME match profiles going on this year.

www.aamc.org

Medical School Enrollment Survey Report

Results of the AAMC's Annual Medical School Enrollment Survey Report.
www.aamc.org www.aamc.org
www.aacom.org

Student Enrollment

Student Enrollment
www.aacom.org
 
the argus said:
I understand this is a stressful time for you, but acting like there are going to be drastic changes in match patterns on a year to year basis is just not realistic.

For instance, the first year enrollment for 2017 (matched 2021) were USMD 21,338 and DO 8113, for a total of 29,451. First year enrollment for 2018 (your year) was USMD 21,622 and DO 8426, for a total of 30,048. That's an increase of only 597 from those who matched last year to your class matching this year. Last year, >7500 IMGs matched into residency positions. And on average, the ACGME has been adding ~1000 new 1st year residency positions on a yearly basis over the last few years.

So as you can clearly see from the actual data, GME expansion is still currently outpacing US undergraduate medical education expansion, hence why more IMGs are matching on a yearly basis then ever before.

I'm sorry you're not getting more interviews, truly. This is an incredibly stressful time in your medical career and I assume even moreso if it's not going as well as you had hoped. But the reason is not because there is some massive shift in GME match profiles going on this year.

www.aamc.org

Medical School Enrollment Survey Report

Results of the AAMC's Annual Medical School Enrollment Survey Report.
www.aamc.org www.aamc.org
www.aacom.org

Student Enrollment

Student Enrollment
www.aacom.org
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Good luck dude you seem to live in fantasy land... I god I hope you don't advise any carib students.
 
FutureDoctor5000 said:
Good luck dude you seem to live in fantasy land... I god I hope you don't advise any carib students.
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I have provided factual numbers and given you the sources from the AAMC, AACOM, NRMP, and ACGME. All you have done is throw insults and your evidence is "the sky is falling, I have no actual data to back it up, but trust me, I know."

And I don't need luck, I'm finishing fellowship and just signed a contract at my dream job. Maybe I do live in fantasy land...
 
JourniFar said:
Hey, would be okay if we connected?
I am going to go to AUA Spring 2022 but I was wondering what is the best way to navigate med1?
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Hey there. I’m also in for spring 2022. Could we connect? I probably take the study via zoom for spring semester.
 
arafatni said:
ok guys I promised if I matched .. I do super honest review about the Caribbean Medical Schools specifically AUA

Little About Myself and why attended Caribbean: I had a 3.3 sGPA and 3.4 overall gpa. my MCAT was 20. With that MCAT score , I obviously didn't get into US or DO school. I also had research but no publication. I took 2 year gap just applying and figuring things out. I did MERP for AUC but unfortunately I didn't make the cut. SABA rejected me due to medical condition ( long story not gonna into details about it). So I finally end up at AUA. So clearly, I was not a great super student.

AUA: I barely passed all my classes in Basic sciences and barely passed comp( a exam you take to be eligible to seat for the steps) . We had class 270. out of it about 60 ( first time made it out) , and maybe 60 more made it after repeating class , and about 5-10 went to other schools and made it out . by "made it out", i mean getting matched. I passed first time. never failed a single class. pretty much if you get out of the island your matching rate is almost same as us grads for primary care specialities. Again for primary care speciality (i.e. family ,IM , Peds, even pathology ). Classes are pure garbage except neurology , biochemistry , Immunology( immunology is amazing not gonna lie). The pathology , physiology , and pharmacy are truly garbage, and they are most important for step 1. for Step 1, I took about a year to study for it and did some research in mean time to build my resume. I published 4 articles. I got 217 in step 1 . I did us clinical experience for 2 years and I did the FIU program they offer. good thing about the program was that everything was in one place , the bad or challenging part was that Spanish is a must . so I refreshed on my Spanish but still i feel like my education was hindered by it.another good thing , most of the doctors were super chill and gave you plenty time for your shelfs exams. another bad thing few of the rotation has residency programs ( actually maybe like 2 out of 50 have ). i studied for step 2 for like 2 month during rotation and took it and got 222. i studied for my cs for like 2 weeks and passed first time but barely.

match : i applied for 530 programs for family and got 17 interviews. ( if you want more on that check family medicine match 2020 i got to super details over there). i matched.

benefits of AUA vs other schools: plenty of time to study for exams and board exams( us schools get like month and a half for step 1 and like 3 weeks for step 2) . Clearly you don't have to be stellar student pass all your exams and get matched in primary care. I did party and have social life in the island . i buckled down for 3 weeks before exam and mange to pull it off. best island out of all Caribbean islands. st. martin is only one that is much better than us. Immunology , biochemistry , neurology truly amazing classes. they have tutoring service by previous students which I highly recommend because they make your life so much easier and you don't have to study that much. this is true for basic sciences , the two years in Antigua .

Downside : pathology , physiology, and pharmacy truly awful . Living on island has challenges like storms. if storm hits, your water is off for like 2 weeks and no electricity ( generators become handy) . Housing is awful expensive ( try to stay at apartment because i lived in the house and the person was shady and the generator never worked ). gym is a joke at school. lots of cheating going on but school got down on it since NBME banned them for 2 years. as far as i know cheating almost became zero my last year in island. anatomy lab is joke. utilities are expensive. ( 200$ per Month US Dollars) . food is expensive . AUA admin is truly don't care and awful . That is important because of loans and scheduling rotation out side of FIU program ( which you do through FIU) done through admin . they say FIU program is super hard to get in . that is a lie almost 80% ppl get in.

neutral: FIU rotations can be too chill but you learn the fundamentals but i can't say i am truly prepared for residency rigor. The ones out of FIU ones are more challenging and no time to study for shelf exams but you be ready for residency . all the programs have residency outside of FIU program. also scheduling electives is super easy with FIU , but other ones outside FIU is truly painful .

also people who failed out either they were out of school for too long , simply they didn't even want to put in the 3 weeks that I did. very few were not smart enough ( maybe like 3 people i know out of that 270 ) , and some had intellectual disability .

FIU : stands for Florida International University

so why i did this review and this forum culture: Unfortunately , some ppl pretend to be US grads or maybe they are and start to bash on Caribbean schools. some others got kicked due to their shortcomings and they bash it as well. Honestly if you want to be a primary care doctor as you can see it is totally doable and don't have to be a super star. yes it has downside but point is it gives you a chance to live your dream and become a doctor. That being said , US schools are far better because you have more options. From AUA, 1 person got neurosurgery, one person got ophthalmology , one person got vascular surgery . But these are not amazing compared to 50% of US schools students get super hard specialities. if you exhausted all your options definitely give AUA shot and don't listen to negativity . you will make it . I promise
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Thank you so much for the post. So, I’m your opinion, it’s worth to give it a try? I’m still don’t have much knowledge about the med school process thing.
 
Don't go to AUA. There's a lot of sh** that goes on. Exhaust all of your options in the US first, but if you still choose to go to the caribbeans, I would only stay with SGU, Ross or AUC
 
Old thread but I have no idea what went wrong with OP's Application to interview ratio. Most people I know from Caribbean who are applying this year to FM with similar scores sent 100-150 applications , and have the same number of interviews that OP had. But I think 2020-2021 was a weird match year.
 
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