How many medical schools did [i]you[/i] apply for when you applied?

[Johnson282]

Hey, I am applying within the next week or shortly thereafter, and have a fairly large number of schools in mind that I am applying to. I am wondering if everyone else applied to a lot of schools too, or risked it all on a couple/few?

If anyone is interested in ranking my choices, in no particular order, or to suggest not to bother applying to one, please feel free to comment. All opinions are valid and welcome:
St. Georges
ROSS
SABA
AUA
AUC
MUA
Spartan
Windsor
St. Eust.
St. Matthews
IAU
UMHS

Thanks,
Andrew

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[RussianJoo]

i applied to 4 really not too many are worth applying to cause going to the others gives you like a 10% chance on average of getting a residency. if i were you i would only apply to SGU, ROSS, AUC, SABA, St. Mathews. AUA. all the other are a huge waste of money. by the way i got into all 4.

 

[Johnson282]

i applied to 4 really not too many are worth applying to cause going to the others gives you like a 10% chance on average of getting a residency. if i were you i would only apply to SGU, ROSS, AUC, SABA, St. Mathews. AUA. all the other are a huge waste of money. by the way i got into all 4.

Thank you for your advice, that seems to be the general consensus around here Only reason I am thinking of applying to tier 3 schools is the possibility of transferring up. I have a low GPA due to my first and second years in undergrad, but a high third and fourth year, so the tier 3 schools are my backups in case I don't get into the big 4.

And I know people say it's unlikely, or harder, to get a residency, but is it seriously around 10%? I've yet to find a true statistical number, in fact I heard that 80% of stats are made up.

 

[PteFabulous]

I think maybe you should look into some of the lower tier schools before just blindly applying to them all. Find the one that you actually wouldn't mind going to before you apply, because some of those schools are not going to be a good choice in the long run.

Ross, SGU, Saba, AUC, AUA are good choices. After that I seriously recommend checking into how long a school has been around for. If it's been around for 20 years, then it's probably okay. If it's only been around less then 10 and only have a handful of students that got a residency, like IAU, then be very weary.

 

[Johnson282]

I think maybe you should look into some of the lower tier schools before just blindly applying to them all. Find the one that you actually wouldn't mind going to before you apply, because some of those schools are not going to be a good choice in the long run.

Ross, SGU, Saba, AUC, AUA are good choices. After that I seriously recommend checking into how long a school has been around for. If it's been around for 20 years, then it's probably okay. If it's only been around less then 10 and only have a handful of students that got a residency, like IAU, then be very weary.

But St. Lucia is so beautiful

No, I am kidding. Yes, IAU is probably last of my choices on that list. I have been talking around a lot, especially on the valuemd forum, and quite a lot of respectable members have nothing bad to say about IAU. Also one of their previous graduates is in residency at Queens Medical School in Ontario, which is in close proximity to where I live (and originally wanted to do my MD). That could ?maybe? set a precedent for future residents, if he performs well?

But yes, thank you, I know some of those schools aren't the best of choices, but are they viable options?

Also, back to the original question! How many schools did you guys apply too when you applied

 

[PteFabulous]

Oh and transferring up doesn't really happen. I think MUA is the only school where you might be able to do that because it's a sister school of Saba.
Choose the best school you get into and a school that you can see yourself going to for the whole time since transferring up is rare. And you don't really want to have to transfer down, however if you start at the top at least you have one more option if things don't work out.

 

[Johnson282]

That is good to know, about MUA/Saba. I know that both of those schools place the highest amount of Canadian residents, which is #1 factor for me, but now I know they are owned by the same people, makes more sense.

That is surprising to hear about transferring up, I always thought that was a common occurrence in the Caribbean, maybe I am just being ignorant. I always see people posting about transferring, I just assumed they were transferring up.

 

[PteFabulous]

But St. Lucia is so beautiful

No, I am kidding. Yes, IAU is probably last of my choices on that list. I have been talking around a lot, especially on the valuemd forum, and quite a lot of respectable members have nothing bad to say about IAU. Also one of their previous graduates is in residency at Queens Medical School in Ontario, which is in close proximity to where I live (and originally wanted to do my MD). That could ?maybe? set a precedent for future residents, if he performs well?

But yes, thank you, I know some of those schools aren't the best of choices, but are they viable options?

Also, back to the original question! How many schools did you guys apply too when you applied

There's TONS of Canadians who go to school in the Caribbean, just because one or two people match in Canada doesn't really mean anything. Getting a residency in Canada is a whole other thing, and you really just need to go to a school that will give you the best chance to match period, and that will most likely be in the states.

Anyway, I applied to 3 - Ross, Saba, and SGU. When I got my acceptance from Ross I cancelled my other applications.

 

[PteFabulous]

That is good to know, about MUA/Saba. I know that both of those schools place the highest amount of Canadian residents, which is #1 factor for me, but now I know they are owned by the same people, makes more sense.

That is surprising to hear about transferring up, I always thought that was a common occurrence in the Caribbean, maybe I am just being ignorant. I always see people posting about transferring, I just assumed they were transferring up.

Most people transfer because they failed out of their original school. People probably don't really make that super clear when they post

 

[RussianJoo]

transferring to a better carib school almost never happens especially not to a school that's approved in all 50 states like SGU, ROSS, SABA and AUC because you would have to restart from day one, because your previous med school classes wouldn't count because your original med school isn't approved in all 50 states. Seriously don't think that you're going to transfer anywhere. The place where you'll be accepted is most likely the place you'll graduate from unless you fail out or some miracle happens. So my advice is try to get into the best school you can and don't waste your time and money on the crappy schools.

Also www.valuemd.com has a lot more students from different medical schools so you can talk to them. also do some research find out how many students get accepted to these schools, how many graduate and how many who graduate actually get a residency and also where and what kind of residency it is. Cause probably the schools that are at the bottom won't have anyone who matches into anything but family medcine, psych peds and maybe internal medicine and almost none of them will be at university programs.

 

[Johnson282]

transferring to a better carib school almost never happens especially not to a school that's approved in all 50 states like SGU, ROSS, SABA and AUC because you would have to restart from day one, because your previous med school classes wouldn't count because your original med school isn't approved in all 50 states. Seriously don't think that you're going to transfer anywhere. The place where you'll be accepted is most likely the place you'll graduate from unless you fail out or some miracle happens. So my advice is try to get into the best school you can and don't waste your time and money on the crappy schools.

Also www.valuemd.com has a lot more students from different medical schools so you can talk to them. also do some research find out how many students get accepted to these schools, how many graduate and how many who graduate actually get a residency and also where and what kind of residency it is. Cause probably the schools that are at the bottom won't have anyone who matches into anything but family medcine, psych peds and maybe internal medicine and almost none of them will be at university programs.

So...how many schools did you apply too?

 

[RussianJoo]

look at my first post.

 

[Johnson282]

look at my first post.

Ahh right. Sorry about that. Didn't catch you already posted, my mistake.

And thanks

 

[coralis]

I applied to 3: SGU, AUC and Ross. Got accepted to all 3 and chose SGU. Transferring up in the Caribbean never happens. As posted above, ppl that transfer usually transfer down, and there are very few schools that will accept the transfers, and even then there is a catch, you would have to start at year 1 all over again. You never told us how low your GPA is, but I wouldn't sell yourself too short. Try to get into the big 4 even though if it means doing an MPH or Foundations year programs or other offers to prove yourself that way, not at another lower tier school were you might get stuck at.

 

[hippocrates1985]

I applied to 3: SGU, AUC and Ross. Got accepted to all 3 and chose SGU. Transferring up in the Caribbean never happens. As posted above, ppl that transfer usually transfer down, and there are very few schools that will accept the transfers, and even then there is a catch, you would have to start at year 1 all over again. You never told us how low your GPA is, but I wouldn't sell yourself too short. Try to get into the big 4 even though if it means doing an MPH or Foundations year programs or other offers to prove yourself that way, not at another lower tier school were you might get stuck at.

Who are the big or best 4 ?

I have really bad GPA and did not take the MCAT yet and trying to see where I should go.

what do u guys think of UMHS ?

Thank you for your help

 

[coralis]

big 4: SGU, Ross, AUC, AUA

 

[Johnson282]

Who are the big or best 4 ?

I have really bad GPA and did not take the MCAT yet and trying to see where I should go.

what do u guys think of UMHS ?

Thank you for your help

I don't know about UMHS...they seem legit, however they are brand new. I believe they only have 1 graduating class so far? So I am not quite sure how to take them. I would also appreciate any information on them if anyone knows.

 

[MedicalMoose]

I applied to only one, AUC. I was very immature at the time in understanding the grand implications of what I was about to get myself into. I was naive and I had only applied to one U.S. medical school and was furious when I didn't get accepted, so I decided maybe I'd go to the Caribbean. My stats were either slightly above or slightly below averages in all categories for US medical schools, so I was pretty certain I could go to any of the Caribbean schools, which turned out to be true. I applied to only AUC because I was taking my wife with me, and it was the only island I wanted to have to live on for well over a year. AUC was by far the best fit for me, but maybe it's not for you. I wouldn't have gone to any other Caribbean school, except SGU.

Let me just be clear about something else while we're on this topic. Make certain that you've exhausted your options on US soil before going Caribbean. This means you should have applied to AT LEAST two AAMC application cycles for US MD school. And you should have put some thought into the DO route. After all of the above are true, then, and only then, should you even consider applying to international medical schools.

Now to specifically answer your question, it entirely depends upon your specific stats. If your stats are all average for the big 4 (AUC, SGU, Ross, Saba), then you should probably apply to all four in order to ensure you the highest chances of getting a spot at one. If your stats are average for US schools, then you should probably be applying to 20-30 of them in the next cycle, even if it's your third attempt. And if you still happen to go Caribbean with average US MD stats, then you could likely get away with applying to only 1-2 schools (AUC & SGU).

Living in the crappiest US city for 4 years and getting a US MD is far wiser than getting any IMG MD and living on a nice tropical island for part of it. The Caribbean route is a risk in and of itself. It *can* work out, but it's ridiculously harder to manage than a US MD or DO school. The fact is, based on USMLE Step scores and Match stats, IMG MD's are inferior to US MD's... UNTIL they successful match into a residency spot. The NRMP match is the great equalizer for IMG MD's. Once you have a residency spot, it's your own fault if you don't finish it and become a fully licensed physician in your respective specialty. And quite frankly, who the hell cares where you went to medical school if you successfully complete a decent residency program and become board certified in something.

Would I do the Caribbean all over again? I don't know yet... ask me in 46 hours & 53 minutes when I find out IF I matched. If I matched, then sure, I'd do it again because it worked out for me. I'm just trying to beat this point into all of you reading this that you need to make sure you've given some honest shots at avoiding the IMG route if possible. IMG MD will make the path much more difficult, but it is doable.

Best of luck!

 

[Johnson282]

Thank you MedicalMoose, I sincerely hope you match.

Unfortunately my options are exhausted for Canadian/US medical schools, and to be honest with myself, I doubt I have a chance of even getting into SGU/AUC, without possibly a foundations or MPH program first.

Thank you for your advice though and good luck with your match. Shoot me a PM if you got it, it'll give me hope

Regards,
Andrew