Can one re-apply to DO school if they have already accepted an acceptance at a Caribbean school?

[johnnytest]

Hey everyone,

Asking for a friend who did not get into a DO school this past cycle (2016-2017) mainly due to application being late (November-ish) because her undergrad did not submit her transcripts in time and she was unaware until November. I believe her stats and extras would have warranted an admission if her file was completed earlier.

She applied to SGU as a backup and got in and has already given in her deposit to SGU but also has thoughts about re-applying to DO schools. I am really unfamiliar with the whole admissions process for DO and Caribbean schools but I'm wondering can she apply while attending SGU? Her application materials are pretty much up to date so she's ready to re-submit and hopefully this time be one of the first people to be complete. Main concern is that if she attends SGU then will that count as her being in med school? Not sure if the application for DO asks for prior med school matriculation and if so does that apply only to US medical schools or foreign medical schools too. Would gladly appreciate any insight/advice on this.

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[radian313]

Hey everyone,

Asking for a friend who did not get into a DO school this past cycle (2016-2017) mainly due to application being late (November-ish) because her undergrad did not submit her transcripts in time and she was unaware until November. I believe her stats and extras would have warranted an admission if her file was completed earlier.

She applied to SGU as a backup and got in and has already given in her deposit to SGU but also has thoughts about re-applying to DO schools. I am really unfamiliar with the whole admissions process for DO and Caribbean schools but I'm wondering can she apply while attending SGU? Her application materials are pretty much up to date so she's ready to re-submit and hopefully this time be one of the first people to be complete. Main concern is that if she attends SGU then will that count as her being in med school? Not sure if the application for DO asks for prior med school matriculation and if so does that apply only to US medical schools or foreign medical schools too. Would gladly appreciate any insight/advice on this.

Her primary applicAtion does ask if she matriculated else where.

She will need to get a degree evaluation if she goes there since its a non US institution.

And seriously I would avoid the Caribbean like the plague. But if she still wants to be naive, I would defer my acceptance to a Jan SGU class and by then she will know if shes accepted into a DO program here.

Again avoid the Caribbean!

 

[DO2015CA]

If she hasn't started classes there then she hasn't matriculated. If she does start then she will have to state she matriculated to a med school, this will also make her DOA for the vast majority of DO schools. I would recommend eating the deposit money to SGU and reapply.

 

[Goro]

Hey everyone,

Asking for a friend who did not get into a DO school this past cycle (2016-2017) mainly due to application being late (November-ish) because her undergrad did not submit her transcripts in time and she was unaware until November. I believe her stats and extras would have warranted an admission if her file was completed earlier.

She applied to SGU as a backup and got in and has already given in her deposit to SGU but also has thoughts about re-applying to DO schools. I am really unfamiliar with the whole admissions process for DO and Caribbean schools but I'm wondering can she apply while attending SGU? Her application materials are pretty much up to date so she's ready to re-submit and hopefully this time be one of the first people to be complete. Main concern is that if she attends SGU then will that count as her being in med school? Not sure if the application for DO asks for prior med school matriculation and if so does that apply only to US medical schools or foreign medical schools too. Would gladly appreciate any insight/advice on this.

We can't see where anyone has been accepted.

 

[SlugMD]

PLEASE BEG HER TO NOT GO!

Even at SGU (which has been called the "Harvard" of the Caribbean), 20%+ don't make it to Step. Of those who apply to match, only about 50% make it. Most match into dead-end prelim positions. Overall, less than 40% of those who start at SGU will be physicians in the US.

Seriously, tell her to reapply DO.

If she still isn't convinced tell her to read this blog: Million $ Mistake

He had turned down Touro-CA to go to SGU. Ended up matching into IM in the midwest with a 260+ on step 1 and 2. If he had gone DO then he probably would have matched into orthopedic surgery which was his goal.

Hey everyone,

Asking for a friend who did not get into a DO school this past cycle (2016-2017) mainly due to application being late (November-ish) because her undergrad did not submit her transcripts in time and she was unaware until November. I believe her stats and extras would have warranted an admission if her file was completed earlier.

She applied to SGU as a backup and got in and has already given in her deposit to SGU but also has thoughts about re-applying to DO schools. I am really unfamiliar with the whole admissions process for DO and Caribbean schools but I'm wondering can she apply while attending SGU? Her application materials are pretty much up to date so she's ready to re-submit and hopefully this time be one of the first people to be complete. Main concern is that if she attends SGU then will that count as her being in med school? Not sure if the application for DO asks for prior med school matriculation and if so does that apply only to US medical schools or foreign medical schools too. Would gladly appreciate any insight/advice on this.

 

[johnnytest]

PLEASE BEG HER TO NOT GO!

Even at SGU (which has been called the "Harvard" of the Caribbean), 20%+ don't make it to Step. Of those who apply to match, only about 50% make it. Most match into dead-end prelim positions. Overall, less than 40% of those who start at SGU will be physicians in the US.

Seriously, tell her to reapply DO.

If she still isn't convinced tell her to read this blog: Million $ Mistake

He had turned down Touro-CA to go to SGU. Ended up matching into IM in the midwest with a 260+ on step 1 and 2. If he had gone DO then he probably would have matched into orthopedic surgery which was his goal.

Regarding her attendance to SGU, what if she only cares about doing primary care and is not interested in anything competitive? Are the numbers regarding matching also bad for primary care? Also, what exactly do you mean by "dead-end" prelim positions? Thanks!

 

[0dee]

Regarding her attendance to SGU, what if she only cares about doing primary care and is not interested in anything competitive? Are the numbers regarding matching also bad for primary care? Also, what exactly do you mean by "dead-end" prelim positions? Thanks!

It is not a matter of "primary care vs. competitive specialties", it is more about the number of students who CANNOT MATCH at all. Let your friend take a look at the NRMP data that gets published every year. It is baffling at this age and time to see students willing to risk $250+K by gambling on the islands despite all the warning signs, horror stories, and data to support it.

 

[zukunft195]

Regarding her attendance to SGU, what if she only cares about doing primary care and is not interested in anything competitive? Are the numbers regarding matching also bad for primary care? Also, what exactly do you mean by "dead-end" prelim positions? Thanks!

She may only want to do primary care right now, but she may very change her mind during medical school (as many medical students do). When you attend a Carribbean medical school, a lot of doors close. Also, it's not guaranteed that she'll get a high enough Step I score to qualify for primary care residencies; the bar is much higher for Carribbean students.

Honestly, even Touro-NY and LUCOM -- arguably the sketchiest DO schools -- are better investments than SGU.

Attending a Carribbean school is, in virtually all cases, a mistake; she should not go. The deposit that she paid is a sunk cost. Advise her to wait a year and then apply again. She can spend it trying to improve her MCAT score, taking some post-bacc courses to boost her GPA, accumulating more clinical experience, etc.

 

[JB50]

Tell her to join SDN herself and use google to search "Caribbean medical school success stories"

LMGTFY

 

[Money4MyHoney]

Avoid the Caribbean please

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

So what ever happens to those people who dont match? I'm curious.

 

[zafonte86]

So what ever happens to those people who dont match? I'm curious.

Normally people who don't match should do a year of research and extracirriculars to boost their application when they reapply. However, every year you go out from medical school it becomes exponentially harder to match the following year. It's an uphill battle but doable.

 

[Goro]

Regarding her attendance to SGU, what if she only cares about doing primary care and is not interested in anything competitive? Are the numbers regarding matching also bad for primary care? Also, what exactly do you mean by "dead-end" prelim positions? Thanks!

A dead end pre-lim is a one year position only, and then the person has to go batch into the match.

The numbers regarding matching are bad across the board.

So what ever happens to those people who dont match? I'm curious.

I suspect then end up working in a research lab, or driving for Uber.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I knew someone in the clinic I volunteer for who went to the carribean. It was her third year out of school trying to match and she finally got an interview at a family medicine residency in Virginia (she wanted psych originally). She was working with me side by side as a medical assistant. I haven't heard from her since, so I'm assuming it worked out for her, but we don't know for sure. This was 5 YEARS ago, I can only imagine what it's like now.

Go to podiatry, optometry, heck even pharmacy school before you go to the carribean. At least with pharm school, you can get a job in rural CVS making 110k/year.