Drexel IMS vs St. George's

[vampiresoup]

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.Hi guys, .
. .
.I graduated from UCSD with a 3.2 and 25 mcat🙁. I applied to Drexel IMS program and St. george’s in the caribbean. I was wondering what would be a better option provided that I got into both of them. I know about Drexel and the 50% acceptance rate to DUCOM and also about St. George and their percentages of people finding residencies after they graduate. Would it be better for me to do the IMS program at Drexel or to go to the Caribbean and get educated there. Any help is really appreciated. Thanks!.

 

[Squiggy]

Get the acceptances and then decide. Although hypothetically you should give the SMP a shot if you're confident you can do well. SGU will be there.

 

[DrJD]

.Hi guys, .
. .
.I graduated from UCSD with a 3.2 and 25 mcat🙁. I applied to Drexel IMS program and St. george’s in the caribbean. I was wondering what would be a better option provided that I got into both of them. I know about Drexel and the 50% acceptance rate to DUCOM and also about St. George and their percentages of people finding residencies after they graduate. Would it be better for me to do the IMS program at Drexel or to go to the Caribbean and get educated there. Any help is really appreciated. Thanks!.

This is actually a lot simpler decision than you think. The true decision isn't which of the two you should do, the true decision is: Are you willing to attend and graduate from a Caribbean medical school?

Answer that and then make your decision. If you are willing, then go to SGU, work hard and come back and be a doctor. If you aren't willing, go work hard at Drexel, get into a US medical school and be a doctor.

Do you see what I am getting at? So if you are instead asking us: Should I put in more time to stay and get my MD in the US or just go to the Caribbean? That is a different question entirely.

 

[ChuckShaw]

The drexel IMS program has a minimum MCAT requirement of 27. They will probably put you in the MSP program which leads into the IMS program. You would be looking at two years of Drexel Post-bacc work...

 

[peasant05]

I'm not sure where you got the statistic that Drexel has a 50% acceptance to DUCOM, but it's definitely not true. Drexel's policy is that IMS students who perform better than the med school mean (which is very close to the IMS mean) in every class in the first semester AND have a certain MCAT score receive a guaranteed interview. I think it's safe to assume only about half the students (maybe less) get above the mean in every class, and some of them don't have the MCAT score to qualify for the interview. And even if they do, a guaranteed interview is NOT a guaranteed acceptance.

I have no idea what the actual acceptance rate to DUCOM is, especially when it includes people who only apply after the program ends, but I doubt it is 50%.

The person who posted above is right though-with your MCAT Drexel would probably recommend you for the MSP. You can do IMS after MSP, but all the rules are the same.

 

[MasterShakeDO]

I'm not sure where you got the statistic that Drexel has a 50% acceptance to DUCOM, but it's definitely not true.

Your assessment is pretty accurate. I did IMS and about half the class qualified for the guaranteed interview. Only about 10-20% of that actually gained acceptance.
However, I would say >50% eventually gain acceptance to medical schools...Drexel is not the only option.

I also think you should consider Osteopathic school. You'll have a much easier time landing a residency than going Caribbean...and especially if you want to go back to CA. About half of Western and Touro grads stay in California. Something to think about.

 

[TyrKinase]

vampiresoup: I am also a Drexel IMS student and I need to offer a piece of advice about whatever road you decide to take: be sure that whatever earned you a 3.2GPA is fixed before you get to Drexel, assuming you are accepted. The workload is unlike anything you have faced as an undergraduate (I can safely assume, as I'm a product of the UC system as well). With your current MCAT score, you do not qualify for the guaranteed interview (Bs or better in all classes); for that you'll need either a 27 or a 28.

Getting to Drexel isn't in any way considered a guarantee to enter an allopathic school. Every year many students are able to make it, but you should realize before embarking upon a post-bacc course load here that it could be a multi-year process.

My unsolicited two cents: it's better to stay in the US if at all possible, as getting a residency out as an IMG is apparently more and more difficult. Drexel is a good way to boost your application, but be prepared to work your tail off and understand that many of the Drexel graduates end up being successful applicants to osteopathic medical schools.

Best of luck!

 

[Instatewaiter]

While SGU is not a terrible option if you HAVE to go to the carribean, it is best to exhaust all options before venturing to the carribean.

Do the drexel program or another SMP then apply to MD and DO.

 

[BORNagainSTDENT]

While SGU is not a terrible option if you HAVE to go to the carribean, it is best to exhaust all options before venturing to the carribean.

Do the drexel program or another SMP then apply to MD and DO.

Because it's a pain to leave the country? Or because DO will give better residency options in comparison to sgu specifically? Does wanting to practice in ny make sgu any more appealing when comparing to DO. Excuse the messy post, on my iPhone.

 

[BORNagainSTDENT]

While SGU is not a terrible option if you HAVE to go to the carribean, it is best to exhaust all options before venturing to the carribean.

Do the drexel program or another SMP then apply to MD and DO.

Because it's a pain to leave the country? Or because DO will give better residency options in comparison to sgu specifically? Does wanting to practice in ny make sgu any more appealing when comparing to DO. Please excuse the messy post. I am on my iphone

 

[TyrKinase]

Because it's a pain to leave the country? Or because DO will give better residency options in comparison to sgu specifically? Does wanting to practice in ny make sgu any more appealing when comparing to DO. Please excuse the messy post. I am on my iphone

A few reasons to consider DO over the Caribbean (including SGU) are as follows: increased opportunities to get residencies in fields and geographical locations that are appealing, better rates for loans, closer to your support network (unless you have family and friends in Grenada), less expensive tuition, fewer hoops to jump through when applying for a license...

If this most recent match is any indication, getting a residency as a foreign graduate will become increasingly difficult in the next few years. New USMD programs are opening, existing USMD programs are expanding; USDO institutions are following the same general trend. One need to look no further than the 2009 match percentages for osteopathic students versus US citizens graduating from foreign institutions: http://www.nrmp.org/data/advancedatatables2009.pdf -- see Page 3 under the heading "U.S. Citizen Students/Graduates of International Medical Schools" and compare to "Students/Graduates of Osteopathic Medical Schools", keeping in mind that graduates of osteopathic medical schools also have the DO match in which they can participate.

 

[deleted248403]

TyrKinase - great post!

I've never seen the data presented like that before. I always knew the rough ball park, but I didn't realise about 70% of DO applicants for allopathic residencies got it.

 

[drizzt3117]

Keep in mind that:

1) SGU is the best of the Caribbeans, so their data is significantly better than the rest of carib grads.

2) With a 3.2/25 the OP might not get into IMS, if they have to do another year, then do the SMP, which doesn't guarantee them acceptance into med school, they might very well have graduated from SGU by the time they would matriculate into a DO school.

 

[TyrKinase]

Keep in mind that:

1) SGU is the best of the Caribbeans, so their data is significantly better than the rest of carib grads.

2) With a 3.2/25 the OP might not get into IMS, if they have to do another year, then do the SMP, which doesn't guarantee them acceptance into med school, they might very well have graduated from SGU by the time they would matriculate into a DO school.

SGU may well stand out today, but the changing stateside medical school climate (MD/DO) doesn't bode well for future foreign students. Perhaps more residency positions will be created, but that's not something to rely upon.

If the OP did one year of post-bacc work at the undergraduate level, earned high marks and retook the MCAT to earn a ~28, he/she would have a decent shot at a lot of DO schools. That would put the delta between Caribbean MD and USDO graduation dates at two years, not four. Of course, some people get the 'itch' to start ASAP, in which case SGU may be a fine option.

 

[drizzt3117]

SGU may well stand out today, but the changing stateside medical school climate (MD/DO) doesn't bode well for future foreign students. Perhaps more residency positions will be created, but that's not something to rely upon.

If the OP did one year of post-bacc work at the undergraduate level, earned high marks and retook the MCAT to earn a ~28, he/she would have a decent shot at a lot of DO schools. That would put the delta between Caribbean MD and USDO graduation dates at two years, not four. Of course, some people get the 'itch' to start ASAP, in which case SGU may be a fine option.

I mean people say that things are changing, but if you look at the match statistics, there is virtually no difference between accept rates between Carib students last year to this year. Certainly it's within the margin of error.

Take a look at the chart on page 20 of this, and you'll see the graph for US IMGs, which seems to be on the upswing as opposed to the downswing.

http://www.nrmp.org/data/resultsanddata2008.pdf

Yes you might be limiting your options by going to the caribbean in terms of specialty choice, but with 3.2/25 most people would be happy to become a doctor.

 

[doctorhoskinson]

Go to a one year SMP and retake the MCAT during the program. If you do well at the SMP >3.5 and get a good score on the mcat >30, then it is very likely you will get into an American medical school. At the very least, you'll have exposure to the training system and good connections to use in the future should you have to go to SGU.

The Carib big four: Ross, Saba, SGU, and AUC are primarily there for a person seeking primary care. They work well and have enough connects to make it happen, but frankly you will not get into a competitive residency if you are coming out of the Carib. I guess if you score above 240 on the USMLE step 1, then fine, but why not just retake the MCAT and rock a SMP program if you can do that?