Has anyone heard of SGU?

[Future MD 15]

I'm currently a junior and at first I was thinking about becoming a PA but I have come to my senses and I realized I want to be more then a PA. I recently did a medical internship and it made me open my eyes and realize what I really want to do in life. That being said I'm not sure how high my chances are of getting into a medical school in the US I currently have a 3.5 GPA. I have heard many good things about SGU such as there rotations being in the US and affiliations. Has anyone gone to this school or is currently a student? Are residencies hard to get ? How is student life/ living conditions and how much would tuition be for the four year MD program? I'm not by no means necessary trying to find an easy way out I know medical school is hard and I'm willing to put that hard work into something I love I'm just not sure if I can get into med school in the US plus I hard the cost of Med School in the Caribbean is far much cheaper. Thank you in advance for the responses.

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[Aerus]

I'm not by no means necessary trying to find an easy way out I know medical school is hard and I'm willing to put that hard work into something I love

Then put that hard work into getting into a US medical school.

 

[Stagg737]

I have heard many good things about SGU such as there rotations being in the US and affiliations.

Then you've heard either lies or ignorance. Maybe both.

Are residencies hard to get ?

Depends on the field, but they're a lot harder to get for Carib students than US grads and some fields are essentially impossible to obtain as a Carib grad.

I'm just not sure if I can get into med school in the US

If you've got a 3.5 it's not ideal, but not lethal either. What's do your MCAT and EC's look like? Hard to tell your odds with just a GPA.

I hard the cost of Med School in the Caribbean is far much cheaper.

It's not, at least not for most people. It's also far more expensive if you go there and never match, which is far too common for people dishing out 40k+/yr just to attend.

Whoever is giving you all this advice, you need to ignore it and never ask them for advice on medical school again, because they are clearly misinformed and possibly full of crap.

 

[Donald Juan]

Don't do it. Go to a DO school (please don't believe any lies people tell you that a caribbean MD is better than a US DO....they're lying) if you have to. But a 3.5 certainly does not rule you out of getting into a US school MD or DO.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

US MD > DO >>>>>>>>> Carib

Believe it.

 

[TRPMinus]

I'm currently a junior and at first I was thinking about becoming a PA but I have come to my senses and I realized I want to be more then a PA. I recently did a medical internship and it made me open my eyes and realize what I really want to do in life. That being said I'm not sure how high my chances are of getting into a medical school in the US I currently have a 3.5 GPA. I have heard many good things about SGU such as there rotations being in the US and affiliations. Has anyone gone to this school or is currently a student? Are residencies hard to get ? How is student life/ living conditions and how much would tuition be for the four year MD program? I'm not by no means necessary trying to find an easy way out I know medical school is hard and I'm willing to put that hard work into something I love I'm just not sure if I can get into med school in the US plus I hard the cost of Med School in the Caribbean is far much cheaper. Thank you in advance for the responses.

You'll be fine with a 3.5gpa as long as your science gpa is somewhere near there as well. It will be well worth it to put in the work so that you can go to med school in the U.S.. Better living conditions, better educational opportunities, and I'm assuming you'd be closer to family which can be a huge support when med school gets rough. But most importantly, you'll match into a residency if you go to med school here. People on SDN like to throw a lot of shade at caribbean schools, but unfortunately it is for a good reason. They take on a lot of "questionable" students that otherwise may not have been able to get into medical school, and they don't all come back from the island as doctors. Don't take our word for it though, do some research of your own.

One of my friends took the MCAT several years ago, scored a 25, and promptly went to Saba (another carib school) rather than trying to retake the MCAT. He was just let go from the program a few months ago because he couldn't pass a test (tried multiple times and failed it each time). Now he's 26, has somewhere near ~$100,000 in debt, and has to start over. It's pretty tough to watch people go through that. Do yourself, your family, and your friends a solid and do things the right way. It will have a big payoff later. Good luck and study hard!!

 

[studentdocftw]

Tired of people looking for the easy way out. Put in the work and get into US MD or DO.

 

[Lnsean]

I'm currently a junior and at first I was thinking about becoming a PA but I have come to my senses and I realized I want to be more then a PA. I recently did a medical internship and it made me open my eyes and realize what I really want to do in life. That being said I'm not sure how high my chances are of getting into a medical school in the US I currently have a 3.5 GPA. I have heard many good things about SGU such as there rotations being in the US and affiliations. Has anyone gone to this school or is currently a student? Are residencies hard to get ? How is student life/ living conditions and how much would tuition be for the four year MD program? I'm not by no means necessary trying to find an easy way out I know medical school is hard and I'm willing to put that hard work into something I love I'm just not sure if I can get into med school in the US plus I hard the cost of Med School in the Caribbean is far much cheaper. Thank you in advance for the responses.

Kill the MCAT and no one will even question your gpa. I was in a similar situation. I had a 3.6...your GPA is still competitive for many schools.

 

[DBV]

Don't listen to these haters. Back in the day many failed out our didn't match but nowadays almost everyone matches into derm neurosurg ortho or urology

 

[Oso]

You should really spend a while perusing these forums on all things Caribbean ... there's a ton of stuff ... including several, several threads about people who failed to match. It is possible to make it work, but NOT worth the risk of ending up with zero career and a **** ton of debt.

Please listen to the others on this thread: either apply to MD in the states and/or apply to DO.

 

[whatisthisstuff]

You are not in bad shape if you want to go to med school. My GPA was lower than yours. I would consider the MD vs PA thing much more. Both have pros and cons. PA is a good field, much lower opportunity cost and the ability to change fields in your career. MD will have more money, more responsibility (with the stress that comes with it) but with much longer training (and then you are somewhat locked into that). I remember when I was an undergrad thinking a Caribbean school sounded alright (hey wouldn't hurt to study on the beach) but the more you learn about it the more you'll learn that its a terrible option. So just do some reading.

Bottom line: I would not, under any circumstances consider a Caribbean school. Consider PA vs Doc thing more. If you want to do medicine then look at your options more as there are many. DO school is a wayyyyy better choice. Lots of ways to raise your grades, etc. In fact, an under mentioned option for those struggling with admission is Podiatry school in my opinion. Not always the most glamorous field (none of them are) but you can be a Foot and Ankle surgeon with a much shorter training than any route through medicine. Get to specialize in one area, quick surgeries, can make a really good living, controllable lifestyle, etc.

 

[ortnakas]

I have friends who are residents who are grads of SGU and had a good experience. However, there’s a frightening number of people out there who didn’t have a good experience, and are out there with an enormous amount of debt and no residency or even no degree to show for it. It’s not a safe choice.

Go US MD or US DO.

 

[Womb Raider]

Yep, great show.

 

[Icantplayspades]

Please, heed the advice of everyone here and do not consider ANY Caribbean school. Due to my lackluster app cycle, I almost considered the Carribean but I’m glad people here advised me well.

Your application is probably salvageable and with some hard work, you’ll be all set.

 

[watermelon master]

this post sounds like a paid SGU larping advertisement. they all look like this

 

[getdown]

no

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

Yep, great show.

I was gonna go there. But I was not gonna say it was a great show

 

[21Rush12]

this post sounds like a paid SGU larping advertisement. they all look like this

Vague username...first post...story checks out

 

[lovehate]

If you lose you will have a nice useless framed MD degree and 200k to pay from your full time MCAT tutoring job.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Why did he fail an exam though? Isn't that his fault? Why is failing an exam much more prevalent in the Carribean than in the US?

In theory, classes prepare you for a test.
The other thing is that, in order to have high match rates, some Carib tests have a high fail rate. As in, a certain percentage will fail. This is so the poorest performing students are forced to withdraw. They've already paid a year or two's tuition, they are forced to drop, the remaining students have a "high" (still much lower than US MD or DO) match rate. This means the actual match rate (of the original class) is much lower than advertised.

Add in subpar teachers, literally learning in a third world country, subpar resources, little support network, and the fact Carib draws people who are already doing worse on grades/scores, and it makes sense that Carib students often don't measure up to their US-taught counterparts.

Good to medical school in the country you wish to practice medicine in. It is better to take a break and try again.