I don't know what to do!

[medhearter]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I will be reapplying soon and I've thought to apply to MD schools, DO schools, and defer my admissions in the carribean

But I am confused because I'm looking at the SGU match list right now and I have to say that it looks impressive in terms of diversity of matches. There is good mix between FM, IM (most here), EM, peds, Surgery (a surprisingly high proportion here), OB/GYN, Anaesthesiology, and even a few Rads, Ortho Surg, and a couple of primary and non-primary Canadian residencies!

I'd be interested in a US-DO program as well because of its focus on holistic meds, which I can really respect, but in looking at match lists... its seems like there are BARELY any matches in non-primarycare specialties. like 1 to none. And theres nothing wrong with that, this country NEEDS more primary care as it is.

actually now that i think of it, this discrepancy might be because there aren't as many students in DO programs as there are in SGU.

But I really wish to go anywhere where if I work hard enough I can get into anything anywhere :S

I've read on the site here in many places that US-DO > IMG. and that this was based on matching success... all of which now looks blurry to me.

I also discovered that theres a school of Osteopathic medicine in Canada which would cost about 50K at the end of the degree...

So what would you do and why?

SGU MD (Grenada)

vs. any DO school in the states (which I feel I'd be able to make a strong case for given my background and interests, and have good stats for, and could get into)

vs. the canadian DO school (which would also be easy to get into)

vs. a US MD school that I MAY NEVER get into because U of T has destroyed my GPA.

please note that I would like to have the option of a competitive residency available if I perform well enough in med school.

also, with my stats, 3.5cgpa, 3.4scigpa, (from the top research uni in Canada) 10/11/13/Q, honour thesis research, loads of clinical exposure in various hospital departments, meaningful leadership positions throughout undergrad.

which private OOS-accepting US MD school would find me competitive, not just give me a shot, but where can I actually really bank on getting in?? I really don't mind reputational, location differences. I just want the opportunity to GO to med school and find my perfect specialty with the actual HOPE of matching. SGU match lists may be lying.

 

[medhearter]

no replies, huh

 

[funkydrmonkey]

Did you apply to Wayne State? It is extremely expensive, but it is a good school with awesome clinical experience available. They seem to like Canadians, and there are a few more schools. I say reapply, maybe try to do a postbacc, and you will be set. Good luck!

 

[GoSpursGo]

I will be reapplying soon and I've thought to apply to MD schools, DO schools, and defer my admissions in the carribean

But I am confused because I'm looking at the SGU match list right now and I have to say that it looks impressive in terms of diversity of matches. There is good mix between FM, IM (most here), EM, peds, Surgery (a surprisingly high proportion here), OB/GYN, Anaesthesiology, and even a few Rads, Ortho Surg, and a couple of primary and non-primary Canadian residencies!

I'd be interested in a US-DO program as well because of its focus on holistic meds, which I can really respect, but in looking at match lists... its seems like there are BARELY any matches in non-primarycare specialties. like 1 to none. And theres nothing wrong with that, this country NEEDS more primary care as it is.

actually now that i think of it, this discrepancy might be because there aren't as many students in DO programs as there are in SGU.

But I really wish to go anywhere where if I work hard enough I can get into anything anywhere :S

I've read on the site here in many places that US-DO > IMG. and that this was based on matching success... all of which now looks blurry to me.

SGU is by far the best option among the Carrib med schools; generally, if you can get the grades and do well on your steps, you can match alright out of there. The problem is that all Carrib schools have a really high attrition rate- i.e., they take huge numbers of students, many of who can't even pass their classes or the steps. I don't know about SGU specifically, but I've also heard that some Carrib schools won't let you re-take classes, so if you have even one misstep along the way, you're screwed.

So what would you do and why?

SGU MD (Grenada)

vs. any DO school in the states (which I feel I'd be able to make a strong case for given my background and interests, and have good stats for, and could get into)

vs. the canadian DO school (which would also be easy to get into)

vs. a US MD school that I MAY NEVER get into because U of T has destroyed my GPA.

First of all, don't blame U of T for your GPA. The grades you got are the grades you got, and regardless of whether you think they were fair or not, you can't do anything about them now, so focus on what you CAN change.

Second of all, with a 3.5/34, I would think you would stand a decent chance at an allopathic school if you apply broadly. If forced to, I'd still take a US-DO school over SGU just because of the attrition rate, though SGU is definitely the best option if you choose to go there. I don't know anything about the Canadian school.

also, with my stats, 3.5cgpa, 3.4scigpa, (from the top research uni in Canada) 10/11/13/Q, honour thesis research, loads of clinical exposure in various hospital departments, meaningful leadership positions throughout undergrad.

which private OOS-accepting US MD school would find me competitive, not just give me a shot, but where can I actually really bank on getting in?? I really don't mind reputational, location differences. I just want the opportunity to GO to med school and find my perfect specialty with the actual HOPE of matching. SGU match lists may be lying.

With your stats, there are no US MD schools where you can bank on getting in. That's why, as always, it is important to apply early and broadly to give yourself the best chance of success. You can use the SDN School Selection spreadsheet to find some schools where your stats would give you a reasonable shot.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Sorry... I'd forgotten that you were a Canadian applicant. This will make getting into a US-MD school harder (though not impossible- again, applying early and broadly will give you a chance). I would still recommend, in general, US-DO schools over Carrib, but admit that DO vs. SGU is closer than some people make it out to be.

 

[circulus vitios]

Not all DO schools have low non-FP match rates. Check out PCOM's: http://www.pcom.edu/Student_Life/Student_Affairs_Main/Match_List.html

 

[Revilla]

I'm not sure which DO match lists you've been looking at, but many DO schools have impressive match lists, including specialties like neurosurgery, ortho, rads, and anesthesiology.

Also, you might want to look up the allopathic match results from a few weeks ago to get the stats on how many osteopathic students matched vs. how many Caribbean. I think the number was something like 70% of DO students vs. 40% of the Caribbean students.

I think Caribbean schools are a good option, but I would definitely look at DO schools before you attend any med school off-shore. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[sarahg]

Just keep in mind that a lot of people go to DO schools because of their emphasis on primary care. Some even offer the opportunity to graduate in 3 years if you're only interested in primary care residencies. The match lists are going to be skewed towards primary care just because people who aren't interested in primary care probably aren't going to go to those particular schools.

 

[SoCuteMD]

Also keep in mind that if you are looking at the SGU match list, it doesn't list prelim positions vs. categorical. My guess is that many of those surgery spots are prelim, one year training spots whereas most surgery spots listed for US MD and DO grads are categorical.

 

[medhearter]

yea most say "general surgery"
very few say any specific kind of surgery
like i said there was one ortho surg

so the lady at the canadian DO school responded and informed me that the program is 5 years long and the tuition is $5000/yr (CDN)

so for 25K I get to be a DO?
Interesting! Anyone here ever met a Canadian DO?

 

[niranjan162]

yea most say "general surgery"
very few say any specific kind of surgery
like i said there was one ortho surg

so the lady at the canadian DO school responded and informed me that the program is 5 years long and the tuition is $5000/yr (CDN)

so for 25K I get to be a DO?
Interesting! Anyone here ever met a Canadian DO?

.

 

[cleothecat]

1. No D.O. school in Canada, just a chiropractic college. BIG DIFFERENCE.

2. Caribean match list.
50% of grads do not match.
as a FMG, if you graduate you will have atough time matching in US or canada, likely <<<50%.

3. Apply widely in US in allopathic and DO, beware of going caribean as a Canadian.

 

[pietachok]

You have to know what you are looking at when you look at match lists. Don't assume everybody on the match list wanted a difficult-to-match specialty and didn't get it, particularly when you are looking at osteopathic schools. Many of those students do aim for FM and OB/GYN from the very beginning. Different osteopathic schools attract particularly FM-oriented student bodies b/c of their reputation, and will have a particularly FM-heavy match list accordingly, b/c they have outstanding FM, geriatrics, peds, and rural medicine rotations that really catered to those applicants coming into the program.

When considering matching rates, you can actually look at the stats broken down by U.S., vs. non-US Canadian, vs. non-US & non-Canadian placements if you go to NRMP (a Canadian educated in the Caribbean is a non-US FMG). Here's who doesn't match:
Here's who doesn't match:
US-educated MD's: 5.8 % of those applying
Previous graduates of MD programs: 56% of those applying
D.O. graduates: 28.4% of those applying
Canadian medical graduates: 28.8% of those applying
5th pathway applicants: 51% of those applying
US Citizen FMGs: 48.1% of those applying
Non US Citizen FMGs: 57.6% of those applying
***********************************************
Total applicants Unmatched: 27.1% of those applying

Of the nominal 5.8% of the US-educated MD's who don't match, I didn't see a breakdown of what % were Canadian or non-US Citizens. And the Previous graduates of MD programs category is pretty small I believe and includes all sorts of people--some have done residency in another field, for instance or are part of the previous year's rejected 5.8%.

 

[MILK07]

These numbers are just for allopathic residencies, right? I thought there were also DO residencies in everything, including neurosurg, etc. So 30% of DO students who applied to allopathic residencies didn't match, but that doesn't mean they didn't get a DO residency.

Just my understanding, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[binko]

Yeah don't forget DOs can apply for DO residencies AND MD residencies.

 

[virusgirl]

These numbers are just for allopathic residencies, right? I thought there were also DO residencies in everything, including neurosurg, etc. So 30% of DO students who applied to allopathic residencies didn't match, but that doesn't mean they didn't get a DO residency.

Just my understanding, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, there are DO residencies for everything but pathology. So it's important to remember that not all DO grads participate in the allopathic match.

I thought, and I could very well be wrong, that the osteopathic match occurred before the allopathic match. DO grads cannot participate successfully in both matches; if they match into a DO residency during that match, they are removed from the allopathic match. So, if they wait for the allo and don't match, they are out of luck for that cycle. I THINK. Please do chime in, experienced DOs. 😀

 

[virusgirl]

And OP, to reiterate, DO NOT go to an off-shore school unless you have no choice. In my personal opinion, any US DO school trumps any of the Caribbean schools. Residency placement is just way too low for IMGs.