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Sorry. AUC is the American University of the Caribbean on St. Maartens. It is an MD school.
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AUC
- Thread starter slamminmf
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I am an older non-trad student as well. I think in order for most of us to give you our opinions you need to provide us with some of your background. Grades, extracurr's, job experience, etc.
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Okay. Here's the skinny. I am a paramedic. I have five years in a hospital-based outpatient center. We see everything at all ages. Lots of great clinical experience. We do follow-up care for many patients. I have also acquired a great deal of ambulance experience dealing with very sick folks. I have worked at the main hopsital in the ER. I have work experience with MD's and DO's. GPA is 3.42 science, 3.46 overall. MCAT 21 (ouch). I have worked full-time through school (including the medic program), am married, so I don't have a whole lot of time for volunteer work. I do have outside interests. I have spent my free time shadowing physicians as well. Thanks for your reply.
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My honest advice would be to actively pursue admittance in A U.S school before going the carribean route. Your credebtials are very similar to mine, although I am 5 yrs younger. How many years have you applied here ?
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Isomerjohn, This is my first year applying and I only applied to two schools. If I could do it over I would apply to more. The problem is I am getting older, my wife doesn't understand why I would want to put things off if I have already been accepted, and I am ready to move on. I have reached the point of diminishing returns at my work. If I get into AZCOM off the alternate list of course this will all be moot. That depends on my rank (which is not available yet) and if anyone gives up their spot.
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I can completely emphatize with you when you say you've reached the point of diminishing returns at work. Why did you onlt apply to 2 schools ? I don't know your situation but I would have a long talk with her about applying next year here in the U.S. for one, you would be closer to your family.
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I am also an older-non-trad. Age 29 applying for Spring 2003. So, I sympathize. Luckily, I do not have children, yet. But, I am looking at not starting to real make money until I am forty. Pretty scarry.
Sorry about all the questions, but I think that we can help you think this through.
How old are you? Or, more importantly, if you were to apply again for 2003, how old would you be when you finished med school, residency, etc.?
What are you practice goals, specialty interests?
Is the GPA you posted calculated by AAMCAS or AACOMAS?
Did you take a MCAT review class? On average, how many hours a week were you able to study for the 3 months before the exam?
I am assuming that if you were to take the FMG route you would start school in Fall 2002 instead of Fall 2003, correct?
Would your wife and kids accompany you to the Caribbean? Does she work now, could she find employment in the Caribbean? If you were unable to easily secure practice rights in the US, would she feel comfortable living abroad for an undetermined period of time?
If you include all travel costs and phone bills for four years in the Caribbean, will you really be saving money if you start Caribbean school this Fall instead of waiting until Fall 2003?
I think that you would be a strong canidate for DO school if you could raise your MCAT by 4-6 points in August and apply nation-wide for Fall 2003.
Take an MCAT review class at all cost. The Princeton Review has better classes/strategies Kaplan is more flexible. Both cost around $1300, consider loans and credit cards. Study as much as possible;consider drastically reducing your hours the month before the exam.
If there are any class that are pulling your GPA down, consider retaking them in the Fall as AACOMAS only counts your most recent grade.
If possible, try to find some work on a research study; volunteer yoru help if you can not get paid. With all your clinical exerpience, research is more important than most volunteering.
Sorry about all the questions, but I think that we can help you think this through.
How old are you? Or, more importantly, if you were to apply again for 2003, how old would you be when you finished med school, residency, etc.?
What are you practice goals, specialty interests?
Is the GPA you posted calculated by AAMCAS or AACOMAS?
Did you take a MCAT review class? On average, how many hours a week were you able to study for the 3 months before the exam?
I am assuming that if you were to take the FMG route you would start school in Fall 2002 instead of Fall 2003, correct?
Would your wife and kids accompany you to the Caribbean? Does she work now, could she find employment in the Caribbean? If you were unable to easily secure practice rights in the US, would she feel comfortable living abroad for an undetermined period of time?
If you include all travel costs and phone bills for four years in the Caribbean, will you really be saving money if you start Caribbean school this Fall instead of waiting until Fall 2003?
I think that you would be a strong canidate for DO school if you could raise your MCAT by 4-6 points in August and apply nation-wide for Fall 2003.
Take an MCAT review class at all cost. The Princeton Review has better classes/strategies Kaplan is more flexible. Both cost around $1300, consider loans and credit cards. Study as much as possible;consider drastically reducing your hours the month before the exam.
If there are any class that are pulling your GPA down, consider retaking them in the Fall as AACOMAS only counts your most recent grade.
If possible, try to find some work on a research study; volunteer yoru help if you can not get paid. With all your clinical exerpience, research is more important than most volunteering.
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Stillfocused, Okay here is the rest. If I am to reapply I will start at 37 (if I get in), be 41 when I graduate, and be anywhere from 44 to 46 when I am "done" depending of course of the residency. When I first interviewed I really thought I wanted to do ER or maybe surgery but the longer I go the more family practice appeals to me. I have a good deal of ER experience and I don't need the adrenalin rush like I used to. ER can be very exciting but it is very frustrating as well and the burnout rate for ER docs is very high. My ideal would be to do either a family practice or general surgery residency and live in a smaller area where I could practice clinical medicine and have that interaction but also do the appendectomies, deliver babies, etc. You know like we all dreamed about what being a doctor would be? I don't ever want to be a guy who just does the same procedure all day long. I wnat to practice medicine with people. Unfortunately when I interviewed at AZCOM the first thing that came to mind was ER. The gpa is from AACOMAS. I did not take an MCAT review course and in fact was working forty hours a week and carrying 14 units of school while preparing. I think that certainly did not help my score. I don't have any kids (just dogs and cats) and my wife owns her own business. We also own our house so she will be staying home here in Northern CA. to keep things going. Somebody needs to pay the bills while I am gone! Sorry for the long explanation but I hope this helps. I appreciate your interest in my situation.
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Slam,
I think you should do what your heart tells you to do! I am in a similar situation as yours. I am 30 years old, a PA, a paramedic, and I applied to only a few schools this year. I was accepted at one MD and one DO, of which I felt a better liking to the DO. Thus I am starting DO school at TCOM in summer 2002. My MCAT was 23, and my GPA about 3.85. I could have waited until I was done with organic and physics to try and get my MCAT up, but I chose instead to go this year. I don't want to wait any longer. If I had waited and taken the MCAT again after taking organic and physics, I expect I could have scored well enough on the MCAT to get in the scholarship money. If I were you, and since your wife isn't coming with you to any of the places you might go to, I think I would go to the AUC. If you study very hard and blow away the USMLE after your second year, you could probably transfer in to a US school. But by then, you will probably be doing US rotations anyway right? So enjoy the beach, fork out the money, and realize that you will be an MD like every other MD. No one remembers where an MD went to school once you get into a residency, and no one cares once you finish your residency. The country is full of FMG's, but you will not be one of those that is obvious!
Good luck medic.
Matt
I think you should do what your heart tells you to do! I am in a similar situation as yours. I am 30 years old, a PA, a paramedic, and I applied to only a few schools this year. I was accepted at one MD and one DO, of which I felt a better liking to the DO. Thus I am starting DO school at TCOM in summer 2002. My MCAT was 23, and my GPA about 3.85. I could have waited until I was done with organic and physics to try and get my MCAT up, but I chose instead to go this year. I don't want to wait any longer. If I had waited and taken the MCAT again after taking organic and physics, I expect I could have scored well enough on the MCAT to get in the scholarship money. If I were you, and since your wife isn't coming with you to any of the places you might go to, I think I would go to the AUC. If you study very hard and blow away the USMLE after your second year, you could probably transfer in to a US school. But by then, you will probably be doing US rotations anyway right? So enjoy the beach, fork out the money, and realize that you will be an MD like every other MD. No one remembers where an MD went to school once you get into a residency, and no one cares once you finish your residency. The country is full of FMG's, but you will not be one of those that is obvious!
Good luck medic.
Matt
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I would really choose reapply for 2003.
Does it really matter if you begin make real money at 45 or 46?? In the twenty years of practice you would roughly make the equivalent of 2.5 million dollars. In 19 years you would roughly make 2.37 million. So F***ing what?
All that time away from your wife seems like a hardship and a real strain on your marriage. It will be even harder if you start a family. Your travel and phone costs will be huge in the Carribean.
And, more importantly, what if you do not get practice rights in the US immediately. It seems to me that you can not afford to gamble, this is your one chance to be a doctor. At this point you can only afford to bet on a sure thing. If 2003 does not work for you, then consider Carribean schools. They will accept you again.
retake the MCAT in August and start studying now. But, take a review class; I would do Kaplan as all its classes and workshops on videotape.
From July 1st to August 17th ONLY WORK TWENTY HOURS A WEEK AT THE MOST!!! You have worked so hard until now. This is your chance; take it.
If there is any one class that is really pulling your gpa down, retake it this Fall. And, apply everywhere.
In your essays, make sure that you you express the same passion about doctoring that you did in your last post.
If you choose to apply to DO schools make sure that you deeply understand and apprciate osteopathic principles and practice. Read beyond what is available online. Search this site with my screen name and you will find a few posts where I give some references for further reading.
You sound like a great candidate; good luck.
Does it really matter if you begin make real money at 45 or 46?? In the twenty years of practice you would roughly make the equivalent of 2.5 million dollars. In 19 years you would roughly make 2.37 million. So F***ing what?
All that time away from your wife seems like a hardship and a real strain on your marriage. It will be even harder if you start a family. Your travel and phone costs will be huge in the Carribean.
And, more importantly, what if you do not get practice rights in the US immediately. It seems to me that you can not afford to gamble, this is your one chance to be a doctor. At this point you can only afford to bet on a sure thing. If 2003 does not work for you, then consider Carribean schools. They will accept you again.
retake the MCAT in August and start studying now. But, take a review class; I would do Kaplan as all its classes and workshops on videotape.
From July 1st to August 17th ONLY WORK TWENTY HOURS A WEEK AT THE MOST!!! You have worked so hard until now. This is your chance; take it.
If there is any one class that is really pulling your gpa down, retake it this Fall. And, apply everywhere.
In your essays, make sure that you you express the same passion about doctoring that you did in your last post.
If you choose to apply to DO schools make sure that you deeply understand and apprciate osteopathic principles and practice. Read beyond what is available online. Search this site with my screen name and you will find a few posts where I give some references for further reading.
You sound like a great candidate; good luck.
