Lately I've jumped on the bandwagon of people saying "Never ever ever go Caribbean." However, I realized my opinion was being formed just by what I was reading on SDN, so I decided to search around a little bit and looked at the websites for "The Big 3." Unless they are providing false information, it seems like the attitude of pre-meds towards Caribbean schools might be a bit exaggerated
SGU claims to match 98% of eligible US graduates into US residencies.
http://www.sgu.edu/media/top-reasons/school-of-medicine/reason2.html
I couldn't find an exact number for Ross or AUC, but each claim to match "the majority" of graduates into US residencies.
I will be attending a school in Texas, so I have no vested interest in the argument. I just wanted to see what you guys think. Where is everyone getting the idea that the chance of landing a residency coming out of the Caribbean is super super low? Are there some statistics or numbers that I haven't seen?
Hi,
I have been considering attending one of the well respected Caribbean med schools despite the fact that I likely would have a good shot at being accepted to a US med school.
I know that the consensus is that one should only consider attending a Carib. school if this is the only option open to an applicant, and that one should not even entertain the idea of a Carib. school until all US med school opportunities have been pursued, and one has been unsuccessful in getting accepted to any US school.
However, there are several reasons that Carib schools are appealing to me (ability to start school much sooner, begin rotations much sooner, the Carib schools can be MUCH cheaper, I really like the idea of studying in the beautiful Caribbean) and there are several other reasons why Carib schools appeal to me so much, despite the fact that I would very likely be a competitive applicant at US schools.
In fact, the only downside I see regarding attending 1 of the respected Carib schools, is the stigma that exists for those that attend these schools, and the relative difficulty Carib students encounter when attempting to land a desirable residency program after graduating from the Carib. If it were not for these unfortunate downsides, I wouldn't hesitate attending a Carib school over a US school.
However, I need to be realistic and practical, and that means accepting that stigma associated with Carib schools, and the difficulties one encounters when applying to residencies.
What Id like to know is, how much of a disadvantage is a Carib student at in terms of landing a good residency, and how much of a liability is a Carib degree when one embarks on their medical career after residency.
Again, Carib schools really appeal to me, but I dont want to go down this path if the fact is that I will likely experience substantial difficulties when trying to land a residency and when trying to find a position at a practice or hospital after my residency.
So can anyone help to answer this? How much difficulty would I encounter in terms of getting a residency/good position at a practice or hospital, compared to if I attended a decent US school (assuming all other things are equal ie grades)? Is it really going to be a big hindrance in achieving my residency and securing a desirable position at a practice/hospital?
Lastly, are there other serious downsides of attending a good Carib school which I have not considered (other then the residency/securing a good job issues)?
It just seems that everyone is very anti-Carib school if it is assumed that an applicant has options at US schools. There must be good reason for this, but I want to get some feedback before making this decision. Thanks-SH
I'm a 4th year allopathic med student. Let me just say that clearly I'm biased, but going through the residency application process right now and having a roommate who went to a carib school, I'll say a few words.
1. I've met a few dozen residents from carib schools - all were universally bad. As a brand new 3rd year med student I knew more than them. It was embarrasing. And I thought this long before I knew where they went to school.
2. Saying that it's hard to get a good residency coming from the carib is the understatement of the century. It's extremely difficult. And if you fall in love with derm, plastics, optho, ENT, etc. while in med school, forget about it. It's out of reach. Often, even if you rock step1/2!!!! Program directors know that many carib schools teach according to the boards, so people get inflated scores, but still turn out to be just the worst doctors ever. So now many don't even consider them, even with 270s. Your application goes in the shredder once they see the word "ross". Plus, it's not just IF they get a spot, it's WHERE. Look where they go. Are they getting in to sweet programs that have great teaching, treat their residents right, etc.? Nope. Even if they get into the US, they go where no american grads want to. Places that over work the housestaff and don't do very much teaching, and where people are generally unhappy. I've seen those programs. Not fun. And as others stated, you may not even get a categorical position, just a prelim. Those don't lead to board certification. I know two guys who are on their thrid year of prelim. The may just endlessly be a intern. That's hell. But sure, they got into a US position, right?
3. You'll have to live on some podunk island and wonder if you even get to do rotations in the US. Now many states are cracking down on carib students, like New York.
4. You'll live with the stigma of having gone there for the rest of your career. Think about it. That's awful.
5. Something you may not have thought of is who is teaching you medicine???? Caribbean doctors? Then you rotate here (hopefully) and you get taught by community docs that don't really want to teach. Compare that to being taught by some of the best academic physicians in the best US hospitals. It's a huge difference.
6. Some of them are very financially unstable. Watch out. And many, if not all, have the reputation of being diploma factories. Sure it's cheap, but you get what you pay for.
I wouldn't recommend it. I'm not trying to be inflammatory, I'm just trying to save people a huge mistake.
