I am interested in learning more about the Caribbean Medical Schools so that I can properly advise my students (Just in case you are wondering, I am not going to medical school) so please do not bash me for my questions as I am really just trying to learn.
1.. .I have been reading a lot of the Big 4. What makes the Big 4 the Big 4? I assume they are the most credible ones but who decides that?
2.. .What is an estimated total cost to graduate from one of the big 4?
3.. .How are the living arrangements at most Caribbean schools? I have been told that you rarely stay on campus and instead rent rooms from locals.
4.. .How is the quality of teachers generally speaking? Is it true that most are from India or Europe and/or not MDs?
5.. .It is my understanding that matching for a competitive residency is extremely difficult to do. Is this true?
6.. .I have been told that a lot of students do not match for a residency even after completing school. If so, what do these students end up doing?
7.. .Is it true that students transfer from the big 4 to lesser Caribbean medical schools? And also from not big 4 to another not big 4?
8.. .Is it generally accepted that US MD>US DO>Caribbean MD?
9.. .Finally, is the general impression that the Caribbean medical schools do not care about their students, but instead care about $$$. Maybe that is extreme wording so is it more accurate to say that when it comes to helping students out, the schools look at finances first?
Thanks so much!
Radon222
I think it's great that a premed adviser is actually doing research on Carib schools as opposed to just brushing them off and telling their students not to go there. What undergrad school do you work with?
here are the answers to your q's.
1) big 4 like said above, are big 4 because graduates of those schools can practice in all 50 states of the US without any restrictions. Other carib schools can't. Thus they're considered the most credible
2) cost ranges, the least known of the big 4 is SABA school of medicine and it's least known because it's the youngest and has the smallest classes, it's also the cheapest, to check actual tuition cost i recommend going to their website. The oldest school with the most grad practicing in the US and the best reputation is SGU, that's why it's also the most expensive at about $50K per year. The other 2 ( Ross and AUC) fall somewhere between those in cost and reputation.
3) Not sure about most of these but SGU has enough dorms to live on campus the entire 2 years on the island, the others schools also have a good amount of dorm rooms, however, many students choose to live off campus because they like to get away from school and life a more comfortable life style. So this is all mostly based on student preference. at least at SGU.
4) At SGU the teachers vary, some a great some just read off the power points, but overall they love to teach and it shows. The profs mostly are Canadian, or from the United Kingdom. Some are from India, some from the US, many especially in the second year are SGU grads who practice in the field that they lecture on. There have been some world famous profs teaching at SGU and many have either written chapters or whole books on their subjects. All the profs are either PhD's or MD's, many are visiting profs and spend most of their time teaching at medical schools in the US, Canada and the UK. all the Teacher Assistants, are MD's from either India or Africa or the Middle East who are trying to get a residency in the US. but they mostly act as tutors and not the main educators. Not sure how it is at other big 4 schools.
5) to match into a competitve residency is very difficult no matter if you're an American medical grad or a carib grad, however, it's much more difficult as a carib grad, many top notch residency programs will simply filter out caribbean applications.
6) at SGU about 75% match into a residency, another small percent(10-15%) find a residency outside the match either because they did a rotation at that program and the program director offered them a spot or because they did well on the interview. So most get a residency, however, some might have to settle for a profession that at first didn't interest them but because they couldn't get a residency in their profession of choice had to do this one. I have no clue what the ones that don't match end up doing, i am sure they keep trying or do research and try to make connections anyway they can.
7) Yes students who are dismissed from the big 4 due to failing grades or unprofessional conduct usually transfer to a non-big 4 carib school so that they can continue their education and be able to pay off the huge debt they acquired. for the same reason students transfer from one non-big 4 school to another. Some who transfer also have personal reasons for transferring, but the majority transfer because they have to.
8) yes that's how the hierarchy works.
9) these schools are for profit. however, i don't know about other schools but SGU, deeply cares about the success of their students. There were unsafe conditions at one of the islands where SGU held one semester, and because of that the school shut down their operations on that island mid semester and moved everyone who wanted to move back to Grenada, all at no charge to the students. The school also has many free services set up, the deans of students are always available to talk to the students without an appointment, there are psychiatrists and psychologists on campus so that you can talk to them about anything, there is of course a medical clinic on campus with EMS services, there's student support office which goes over note taking techniques and studying strategies for those students that have a tough time focusing. also there are weekly review sessions held by profs and TA's and of course you can email, or stop by the profs office during their office hours. During the clinical years in the US The hospitals have a student coordinator who schedules rotations for you and gives advice about rotations, she also organizes a lot of the paper work that will be required for residency applications. So there's a lot of support at SGU and the school wants their students to succeed, the hardest part is asking for help, the school will rarely reach out to you but if you reach out to the school you'll get all the help and assistance you need. This is also a main reason why SGU is the most expensive of the schools. I am sure the other schools have some kind of similar system in place but from talking to Ross students it's no where as good as the system at SGU.
Also you should check out
www.valuemd.com for more info about carib schools. and lastly if you contact the schools they'll be more than happy to provide you with as much info about their school as you'd like and some will even offer you a free trip to visit the school and the island.
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