help for a friend

[MDbound2013]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi guys,

very long time lurker. I'm wondering if you could help me with something.

I have a friend who I'm very close to and who'll be applying to med school starting this summer. He's very demoralized about his chances in the US and is unwilling to consider DO for some reason (mostly ignorance- I'm trying to make him at least consider it, but we'll see) so he's very much considering the caribbean. A little bit about him: he graduated from a top school with about a 2.9 gpa (this would be my guess, it might be lower), mostly because he had one of the toughest majors at his school (engineer). He's also URM, and his family has lots of money so it shouldn't be hard for him to afford med school. The first time he took the MCAT, he got a 29. He's now taking a really intense prep course and he'll hopefully improve his score. As far as EC's, I believe most of them were research-based (biomedical engineering), although he did do SOME shadowing (not much).

Anyways, I applied and got into US-MD schools this year, so I can advise him pretty well as far as that process is concerned. However, I really don't know much about the caribbean route other than it should be a last resort and there are tons of issues associated with it. I also know that the "big 4" are really the smartest options, although he doesn't want to practice in CA (I think he'd like to end up in NY).

So, my question is: what kind of advice can I give him? Should I push him more toward DO? What's the timing like for caribbean apps (can he apply to them while he's applying to US schools)? Do they require big deposits as soon as you're in? Would he have a decent shot at the big 4? Anything else you think might be relevant?

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[RussianJoo]

Push him for DO's they're a much better option than carib MD in my opinion.

Carib schools have multiple admission dates so you can pretty much apply whenever you want. the 2.9 is really low for SGU but the 29 is higher than the average so who knows about that. the deposit is $1,000 that's due like 4 weeks after the acceptance.
but tell him to go to a DO school he'll have an easier time getting a residency in the end, even an allopathic residency. obviously the older the DO school the better, the philly school being the best choice.

it's really easy and an informal process to get into a carib school. the interviews are very low key and laid back. it's getting haderd to get into SGU last i heard about 9 people apply per seat.

 

[McGillGrad]

Let him go where he wants. The Carib is a fine option for someone who wants MD after their name.

His minority status will not help him in the Carib, though.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

He's gonna need at least a 3.0 for most DO schools.

 

[dtminhthu]

He would need at least 3.0 GPA to be considered competitive for DO schools. He CAN still give it a short, but it's definitely not a likely chance that he gets into DO schools w/ those stats. But if somehow he can get himself into a DO school, go DO instead of carib MD.