Is it time to apply to Caribbean schools now in my situation?

[galaxmart]

I have just completed my bachelors degree and now trying to figure out what the next step is for me. I have always thought I would be applying to medical school but there have been some setbacks to this journey. I have a 2.6 science gpa and 3.1 overall gpa. I had some extenuating circumstances during my first two years of college, which caused to be do poorly and fail some classes. I have significantly improved and have an upward trend. My gpa still hasn't raised up despite making all A's. I have not taken my MCAT yet because I have been discouraged my GPA. . I reached out to a couple MD/DO schools and was told that my stats are not competitive. They recommended that I enroll in a post-bacc or masters program and score high on the MCAT. If I do this route, it still may not guarantee admission into medical school. I have then considered going to optometry school. I shadowed an optometrist and enjoyed the field. Some optometry schools are willing to review my application with my current stats. If I were to do an additional 4 years of schooling, I would like to have a salary of at least 120k. I have heard that optometrists in the midwest make around 90k. I have worked in the healthcare field since I was 18 and have taken all the pre-reqs. I am choosing a career that will allow me to help people, have financial freedom, be my own boss, and have a great work/life balance. I have to talked to some doctors at the hospital I worked at and they told me to look into carribean medical schools. I did some research on them and it seems like its a major risk. I checked my hospitals residents and a lot of them come from carribean schools. Do you guys recommend playing it safe and applying to optometry schools or take the risk and go to a carribean school? Also with the new residency match system, does this put Caribbean students at a disadvantage? Looking for advice on what to do in my situation.

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[Rogue42]

Doing an SMP or completing 50 hours of post bacc work with all A's would be entirely more beneficial to you if your goal is to go to medical school. You really need that science GPA to be a 3.0, but I know how difficult that can be if you have a bunch of hours; my point remains though.

Next, accelerated nursing school -> NP, PA, Optometry, and Podiatry are all options that you can explore that make really good money, help people, and are in the healthcare field allowing you to be your own boss pretty much. I would not look into Caribbean schools until an absolutely last resort because even the strongest of Caribbean school applicants fail out, and even the strongest of Caribbean school graduates don't match.

 

[Morc]

To answer the thread title: it is never time to apply to Caribbean schools

 

[Faha]

If you wish to apply to DO schools you need to raise your sGPA to 3.0 to avoid being screened out at many schools. You could do a DIY post bacc at a local college at take enough undergraduate level science courses to increase your sGPA to 3.0 This may take 2 years. You also need to score at least 500 on the MCAT so do not take the MCAT until your practice scores are consistently over 500.

 

[gyngyn]

This thread can be followed here: Should I apply to Carribean Medical schools in my current situation?