Dismissed from Caribbean, re-starting with masters.

[ItsDOCseason]

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[bedevilled ben]

Glad to hear you've started to get things back in order. Just FYI, most med school applications will require you to disclose any previous medical schools you've matriculated into, and lying on an application is a pretty sure-fire way to get yourself dismissed in the event that that comes to light. So this will probably be an issue that you'll have to continue fighting. I think you could sell this during an interview, that you were dedicated enough to seek treatment despite such a huge setback, and able to overcome it and score well enough to apply to US schools. You might have to apply broadly. Good luck.

 

[DocJanItor]

Thank you so much for the insight. I absolutely fully intend to disclose my academic standing with my former school on all applications. I’ve contacted a few schools to inquire about how the adcom might receive me, I’m going to be as transparent as possible because I struggled for so long unaware of what had been plaguing my success.

I'm completely sympathetic to your struggle and I'm happy that you're properly treated now. However, I'm going to tell you straight up that you have no chance of matriculating to a medical school in the US and if you did manage to go back to a Caribbean school and did well, your academic transcript would still make it almost impossible for you to get a residency in the US. You don't want to put yourself in a position where you've wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars with no way to repay it or discharge it. That would place an incredible strain on your relationship and your finances for the rest of your life. If I were you, I'd take some time to consider this and look into what other things in life you could enjoy doing.

 

[southerndoc24]

Hi friend, I am very sympathetic towards you as I am also in a very similar situation almost identical. Mine was medical that required surgery and this went on for several years. I have spoken to a lot of doctors, professors, adcoms, advisors, business people etc... We are in a slightly unique situation that requires some tough decisions on our part as well as the schools you are applying to. My advice to you as well as to myself would be to make sure that the problem is fixed and that it won't happen again as health comes first. My doctor has documented everything that I have went through as well as the progress that I made. If you can get a letter of medical clearance from your doctor even better. Save all documents as you will need this later. Take a year or two off to work on your application. I would retake the MCAT and crush it. I would go back to the docs that you have shadowed and get your letters updated. Apply to Master's programs that are linked to the medical schools and that offer a guaranteed acceptance if you meet certain benchmarks in that program. You may not get accepted the first year of applying so don't get discouraged and keep trying if it is your goal to becoming a physician. Make sure you explain your situation very well in your personal statement and offer to back it up with documentation. Get a good job until you get into one of these programs and enjoy life again as you have been through a lot. If at anytime you can see yourself doing anything else besides medicine than go along with that. I have thought about all kinds of careers but my heart is in medicine. If you decide to drop down to go to PA school then this Master's degree would also help you out if you do well so that is an option as well. As far as the advice above about finances I will say that is your decision but there are ways out of the debt. The public service loan forgiveness program is still available so you could work for the government, state, or non-profit and get those wiped out in 10 years. That program is getting better this year compared to the last few because people are applying this time with the right types of loans and proper employment so more are getting approved for the forgiveness. If that program fails which I don't see it anytime soon then IBR is a good option that you can still have a normal life financially as you are only required to pay 10-15% of your after tax income. You will owe a tax bill on the amount forgiven but you will have 20-25 years to save up for it and there is also a such thing as insolvency so I wouldn't be concerned about that yet. You will find that most people whether its your doctor, other pre-meds or some adcoms are not going to really understand your situation unless they were sick themselves and don't get discouraged just stay persistent and focus on earning that yes back. People have come back from far worse and don't let these people put you down or discourage you from your goal. You faced something medically that most other people don't have to face so don't look at it as your fault and you are just asking for a chance to earn it back as opposed to applying directly to the schools. Feel free to pm me and good luck to you. I am rooting for both of us.