Left Carribean and Hoping to apply to Carribean

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ramkarimi

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Hello I was hoping someone could answer my questions about applying to DO school after attending a carribean school. I attended St. George's in spring 2013 and left officially for health reasons, however I was only passing 1 of 3 classes. Will the DO schools see this detail and not just left for health reasons, and if they do does that effectively sink my chances?

My gpa is about a 3.7/3.6 from U.C.L.A. and my mcat scores were 28,26,25 but I have to retake it. I have very few EC's but quality. I'm really applying to DO schools just to try because I never tried U.S. schools just went straight to carib. I understand it looks bad to only be passing 1/3 classes but I was close to passing the other 2 and severly underestimated the classes although that is no excuse, I think I have what it takes to make it but thats just my own opinion. Also my health problem did get in the way of my studying but I am not a victim or anything it is quite treatable. I think I can do DO but did I ruin my chances by going to the carib? thanks for your time.

Sorry about the mistake in the title, meant Left Carribean and hoping to apply to DO
 
Why did you go to a Caribbean school in the first place? (Also it's a little weird to me that you went to school there but don't know how to spell the word.)

Your stats seem like you'd have a good shot but it has to be a huge red flag for you to have failed the majority of the classes you were taking. Maybe a SMP program would prove that you could actually pass med school classes?
 
CharmanderMD said:
Why did you go to a Caribbean school in the first place? (Also it's a little weird to me that you went to school there but don't know how to spell the word.)

Your stats seem like you'd have a good shot but it has to be a huge red flag for you to have failed the majority of the classes you were taking. Maybe a SMP program would prove that you could actually pass med school classes?
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Thanks for you response, sorry about the spelling don't mean to offend anyone. I went straight Carib because I did not know about DO schools or I would have applied to them. So do you think I should bother applying? I have a health condition that makes it very hard to study if untreated if that helps me out.
 
ramkarimi said:
Thanks for you response, sorry about the spelling don't mean to offend anyone. I went straight Carib because I did not know about DO schools or I would have applied to them. So do you think I should bother applying? I have a health condition that makes it very hard to study if untreated if that helps me out.
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I'm not offended, I just thought you'd pick up the spelling of "Caribbean" while you were there.

I'm not saying whether you should apply or not. Will your health condition be under control this time around? If not, it just seems as though you'd be wasting tens of thousands of dollars on nothing.

If I had your GPA and MCAT score and were in (what I know of) your situation I'd probably apply to DO schools as well as special masters programs as a back up. That being said, I'd think you'd definitely need a strong personal statement to explain your experience at St. George. I haven't been accepted though and this is my first round applying so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Just my two cents.
 
I went to SGU as well. I withdrew due to health reasons primarily. However, I was in passing standing. PM me. Lets talk.

I am applying to DO school this cycle too.
 
CharmanderMD said:
I'm not offended, I just thought you'd pick up the spelling of "Caribbean" while you were there.

I'm not saying whether you should apply or not. Will your health condition be under control this time around? If not, it just seems as though you'd be wasting tens of thousands of dollars on nothing.

If I had your GPA and MCAT score and were in (what I know of) your situation I'd probably apply to DO schools as well as special masters programs as a back up. That being said, I'd think you'd definitely need a strong personal statement to explain your experience at St. George. I haven't been accepted though and this is my first round applying so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Just my two cents.
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Thank you for your replies and I wish you luck on your journey it sounds to me like you will do very well.
 
You had your chance. The chances of you getting into an Osteopathic program are bleak - especially as someone that was failing two out of three classes and had a downward trend on the MCAT.

Your best bet is to go back to the Caribbean or change career paths.
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
You had your chance. The chances of you getting into an Osteopathic program are bleak - especially as someone that was failing two out of three classes and had a downward trend on the MCAT.

Your best bet is to go back to the Caribbean or change career paths.
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Thank you for your reply, I am retaking the MCAT right now if I improve my score back to a 28 or higher do you still think I should not apply? Should I just forget the MCAT I was just taking it because they expired for DO schools. I definitely had my chance unfortunately I was a different person then who wasn't ready for the challenge, now I am just aching for another opportunity.
 
ramkarimi said:
Thank you for your reply, I am retaking the MCAT right now if I improve my score back to a 28 or higher do you still think I should not apply? Should I just forget the MCAT I was just taking it because they expired for DO schools. I definitely had my chance unfortunately I was a different person then who wasn't ready for the challenge, now I am just aching for another opportunity.
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I can't tell you what to do, but I don't believe you'll be successful. I can empathize with second opportunities and changing as a person, but unfortunately, some things only come once in life.
 
Get your health in line then apply, don't rush to apply if you aren't ready. Spend the summer studying for your retake, get your health situation under control, maybe take some medically related classes at a local college and apply. Taking time off will show you had enough time to go through a maturation process and that you're ready to handle medical school. DO curriculum isn't any easier and you need to prove you can handle the classes so even a SMP could help improve your chances. With that GPA from UCLA I think you have a chance to be successful.
 
You don't need a masters program, you have a decent GPA from UCLA. Please take a prep course or something on MCAT before attempting it again. If you get a 28 again, that would be very good. Did you also have a down trend in your grades? It seems that your medical condition has been interfering with your academics and if anything DO schools should be more understanding of unique circumstances. Do get well before going back to med school.
 
If I'm not mistaken, won't OP's grades from SGU count into his/her GPA as well when OP applies?
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
I can't tell you what to do, but I don't believe you'll be successful. I can empathize with second opportunities and changing as a person, but unfortunately, some things only come once in life.
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allenlchs said:
But it's not even a US institution.
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allenlchs I did have a downward trend in my grade it was bothering me before but I did not know what it was. Fortunately the last class I took at ucla was o chem lab and got an A
 
My guess is that it would really have a lot to do with the condition and someone believing it couldn't be adequately treated in the Caribbean.
 
ramkarimi said:
Hello I was hoping someone could answer my questions about applying to DO school after attending a carribean school. I attended St. George's in spring 2013 and left officially for health reasons, however I was only passing 1 of 3 classes. Will the DO schools see this detail and not just left for health reasons, and if they do does that effectively sink my chances?

My gpa is about a 3.7/3.6 from U.C.L.A. and my mcat scores were 28,26,25 but I have to retake it. I have very few EC's but quality. I'm really applying to DO schools just to try because I never tried U.S. schools just went straight to carib. I understand it looks bad to only be passing 1/3 classes but I was close to passing the other 2 and severly underestimated the classes although that is no excuse, I think I have what it takes to make it but thats just my own opinion. Also my health problem did get in the way of my studying but I am not a victim or anything it is quite treatable. I think I can do DO but did I ruin my chances by going to the carib? thanks for your time.

Sorry about the mistake in the title, meant Left Carribean and hoping to apply to DO
Click to expand...
So are the failing grades on your transcript or do you have W's?
 
user3 said:
So are the failing grades on your transcript or do you have W's?
Click to expand...

All the grades WILL be seen, A, B, C, Ds etc including Ws, however they WILL NOT be counted in the GPA because Medical school like Law school, like Pharm school is professional school, and they are not counted in the GPA. If someone does have failing grades, they will be seen (not factored into the cGPA). These are foreign transcripts and need to be evaluated by a foreign evaluation service like WES (World Education Services).

I am in the same situation, but my health issues were quite extreme, I didnt fail anything, I passed everything, and have a few W's after 2 medical leaves and 1 hospital admission. To overcome all these issues, Ive been told by many DO school deans to get a letter from the Dean showing your good standing, that you were not on any sort of probation.

How much weight one school puts on Fs from a Carib medical school? I am not sure, I would think A LOT because like some have said, if one could not come around in a Carib. med school it would be equally hard at a DO school. That said, if one does medical circumstances, please make sure all documentation is provided, a letter from the dean, adviser, everything in between.Trust me, DO schools know the rigor of SGU, I was there myself, its not easy to keep up with their coursework.

Ive been told for my situation, that it will greatly increase my chances, since I didnt have any failures on record.

Having letters will help a lot, I have letters from the follow for my situation

1. Dean of Students
2. Assistant Dean
3. Academic Adviser
4. Medical Director, doctor who admitted me in Grenada
5. My own primary care doctor

All simply stating the same, of my situation, and how its caused my grades to suffer (though I passed everything).

Hope this helps..
 
I can't fathom a US DO program admitting you after you dropped out of a Caribbean program while failing classes. Nor am I sure what makes you think you would succeed in one.
 
jonnythan said:
I can't fathom a US DO program admitting you after you dropped out of a Caribbean program while failing classes. Nor am I sure what makes you think you would succeed in one.
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It's actually done more often than you can think BUT for legit medical reasons and with documented proof etc. Schools don't go on word of mouth they require extensive documentation etc.

All they ask is you not be in failing standing but passing/good standing.
 
radian313 said:
It's actually done more often than you can think BUT for legit medical reasons and with documented proof etc. Schools don't go on word of mouth they require extensive documentation etc.

All they ask is you not be in failing standing but passing/good standing.
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How are you going to address the question as to why you don't just return to the Caribbean to finish your education? That to me would be one of the most important questions.
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
How are you going to address the question as to why you don't just return to the Caribbean to finish your education? That to me would be one of the most important questions.
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I've exhausted the alloted medical leaves allowed at SGU. My health reasons were present due to me developing asthma and pleurisy of my lungs due to the molding there as a result of the tropical environment. My doctor has not cleared me for that since be believes my symptoms are due to the external environment as I was also admitted there in grenada. Given my past history of open heart surgery for tet. Of fallot at 14 months he thinks it's best if I continue my education here since I have been 100% symptom free in the USA. Lastly my sister passed away in Dec of 2013 and hence why I decided to stay given this entire situation. This has all been well documented in letters from various people across different levels.

I am only applying DO now. If you would like read my PS please let me know, it paints a better picture of why DO and not MD.
 
radian313 said:
I've exhausted the alloted medical leaves allowed at SGU. My health reasons were present due to me developing asthma and pleurisy of my lungs due to the molding there as a result of the tropical environment. My doctor has not cleared me for that since be believes my symptoms are due to the external environment as I was also admitted there in grenada. Given my past history of open heart surgery for tet. Of fallot at 14 months he thinks it's best if I continue my education here since I have been 100% symptom free in the USA. Lastly my sister passed away in Dec of 2013 and hence why I decided to stay given this entire situation. This has all been well documented in letters from various people across different levels.

I am only applying DO now. If you would like read my PS please let me know, it paints a better picture of why DO and not MD.
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That is actually a very good response. It would be a shame if someone didn't give you a shot considering your circumstances were entirely medical and you were passing all your classes.
 
Going to be tough, but I'm optimistic as long as you do 2 things: 1) Get a solid professional letter from your doctor. I don't mean a recommendation letter. I mean a letter that clearly explains your illness and justifies your reason leaving the prior medical school. Send this along with your app.
2) Speak with admissions representatives (maybe even deans) well in advance to tell them of your situation. I'm unsure if you plan on applying this cycle. Regardless, honestly explain to them how your health problems disallowed you to continue going to medical school, and that now you are healthy and ready to re-commit. Also, mention that you will send along a physician letter explaining your health issues as well when you apply.

I feel that you may have a shot if you do these things, and apply very broadly (be okay going to a lower tier DO school -- even be OK with going to LUCOM).

If health problems truly did not allow you to continue on being a student, then I think [some] adcoms may be understanding. The higher tiers? Maybe not so much because they can pick and choose who they want to attend their school (sellers market). @Goro can provide some more accurate insight.
 
You have two big red flags, and I am not sanguine about your chances. They will probably not preclude you from getting IIs, because most DO schools don't pre-screen. However, you will get a lot of skepticism from Adcoms like mine, because you didn't try DO schools in the first place. Then failing out of a school doesn't help.

I know of students who have left other medical schools due to health reasons and made it into DO programs, but you're definitely going to have to explain well why you just didn't try the DO route in the first place, but now it's the thing to do. Secondly, you're going to need to demonstrate that you can handle a medical school curriculum.

You may need to do a SMP.

ramkarimi said:
Hello I was hoping someone could answer my questions about applying to DO school after attending a carribean school. I attended St. George's in spring 2013 and left officially for health reasons, however I was only passing 1 of 3 classes. Will the DO schools see this detail and not just left for health reasons, and if they do does that effectively sink my chances?

My gpa is about a 3.7/3.6 from U.C.L.A. and my mcat scores were 28,26,25 but I have to retake it. I have very few EC's but quality. I'm really applying to DO schools just to try because I never tried U.S. schools just went straight to carib. I understand it looks bad to only be passing 1/3 classes but I was close to passing the other 2 and severly underestimated the classes although that is no excuse, I think I have what it takes to make it but thats just my own opinion. Also my health problem did get in the way of my studying but I am not a victim or anything it is quite treatable. I think I can do DO but did I ruin my chances by going to the carib? thanks for your time.

Sorry about the mistake in the title, meant Left Carribean and hoping to apply to DO
Click to expand...
 
allenlchs said:
But it's not even a US institution.
Click to expand...
It still counts as failed medical school courses. Generally adcoms assume that if you can't make the cut in the Carib, you can't make it on the mainland, or so I've heard. Your odds probably aren't spectacular even with a good retake.
 
radian313 said:
All the grades WILL be seen, A, B, C, Ds etc including Ws, however they WILL NOT be counted in the GPA because Medical school like Law school, like Pharm school is professional school, and they are not counted in the GPA.
Click to expand...

I know of a person who dropped out of one of the professional schools you listed above and the person will have to include their grades from their professional institution's transcript into their cGPA and sGPA when applying for osteopathic schools.
 
GreyF0X said:
I know of a person who dropped out of one of the professional schools you listed above and the person will have to include their grades from their professional institution's transcript into their cGPA and sGPA when applying for osteopathic schools.
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Must have been a combined program like a BS/pharmd program which is the only exception. If it's a standalone professional degree program it wount be counted. I've confirmed this with aacomas. This is what says in the handbook.
 
GreyF0X said:
I know of a person who dropped out of one of the professional schools you listed above and the person will have to include their grades from their professional institution's transcript into their cGPA and sGPA when applying for osteopathic schools.
Click to expand...
Off the handbook

" Professional courses include those taken at a professional school leading toward a certificate or license, or if you have taken course work at an institution which is not regionally accredited. Course work from a regionally accredited institution leading toward an associate, bachelor, master or Ph.D. degree should NOT be listed as professional. If you were enrolled in a professional degree program and were granted an accredited bachelor's degree after part of the program was completed, list courses taken directly toward the bachelor's degree as undergraduate. For example, if you were enrolled in a D.C. program and were granted an accredited bachelor's degree after the second academic year, separate the course work. Courses taken directly toward the bachelor's degree should be listed as undergraduate and will be included in your GPA calculations; the remaining courses taken toward the D.C. degree should be listed as professional and will not be included in your GPA.

Exception: If you earned a doctorate degree in Pharmacy but not a baccalaureate degree, do not list this course work taken toward your Pharmacy degree as professional. If you earned/will earn both a baccalaureate and doctoral degree in Pharmacy, list the baccalaureate courses as undergraduate and list doctoral courses as professional.

Professional school course work listed will be verified against official transcripts, but this course work is not included on the Applicant Profile, and will not be included in your GPA calculations."
 
radian313 said:
Off the handbook

" Professional courses include those taken at a professional school leading toward a certificate or license, or if you have taken course work at an institution which is not regionally accredited. Course work from a regionally accredited institution leading toward an associate, bachelor, master or Ph.D. degree should NOT be listed as professional. If you were enrolled in a professional degree program and were granted an accredited bachelor's degree after part of the program was completed, list courses taken directly toward the bachelor's degree as undergraduate. For example, if you were enrolled in a D.C. program and were granted an accredited bachelor's degree after the second academic year, separate the course work. Courses taken directly toward the bachelor's degree should be listed as undergraduate and will be included in your GPA calculations; the remaining courses taken toward the D.C. degree should be listed as professional and will not be included in your GPA.

Exception: If you earned a doctorate degree in Pharmacy but not a baccalaureate degree, do not list this course work taken toward your Pharmacy degree as professional. If you earned/will earn both a baccalaureate and doctoral degree in Pharmacy, list the baccalaureate courses as undergraduate and list doctoral courses as professional.

Professional school course work listed will be verified against official transcripts, but this course work is not included on the Applicant Profile, and will not be included in your GPA calculations."
Click to expand...


Interesting, thanks for providing the source. I left a message with AACOMAS, will confirm with them and let you know if anything changes.
 
GreyF0X said:
Interesting, thanks for providing the source. I left a message with AACOMAS, will confirm with them and let you know if anything changes.
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Not a problem. It reads a bit confusing at first. But after speaking to them too it all comes down to how the institution codes it on the transcript. Since I had to go through WES due to having foreign transcripts they have labeled it as professional.
 
As someone who was once in a similar situation, except I actually failed out of a big 3 Carib med school, I can tell you that you do, in fact, have a chance. However, it took me years to redeem myself in the eyes of admissions committees, etc. The truth is that if you really want this, then you need to get off SDN and forget about applying to medical school for the time being. Speak to admissions counselors at your nearest medical school and get as many suggestions from them as you can, NOT from folks on SDN. Look at why you were failing those courses, evaluate yourself, and STEP BY STEP start improving your statistics, starting with your MCAT. I had to do everything from retake the MCAT after seriously putting some study time into it, got a master's degree, retook courses, and did a ton of volunteer/research/paid medically related work. All in all, it will be 4 years and 3 months from the day I set foot back on US soil to the day I will be matriculating at my top choice DO school, and even had the luxury of turning down several DO schools and even one MD school. Anything is possible, as cliche as that sounds, but you better be willing to work harder than you ever have before, because not only are you at an initial disadvantage with your statistics being average, but the burden of being an unsuccessful ex-carib student is a huge deterrent to US med programs.

I went to the caribbean because I 'was getting old' and 'wanted to start already' and it was the biggest mistake I ever made. Before you proceed, you need to seriously evaluate if med school is for you; IF you do get in, it won't be anytime soon, and you'll have to prove that you're capable way beyond what most college grads will have to show. DO school is much harder to get into than Carib, so don't assume it's a next in line, lower tier situation. Good luck.
 
jonnythan said:
The thing that sticks out at me is that you were failing 2/3 of your classes when this happened.
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I had the medical condition before I came to the island and I did not know it was going to get in the way, I tried to tough through but once I performed poorly I knew there had to be a change.
 
Also although I was not passing two classes I was not in danger of getting kicked out of school. I still had an extra term where I could retake those classes
 
allenlchs said:
You are right in time

If anyone is interested, OP decided to pursue pharmacy instead.
Click to expand...

I thought this thread was new...Until I saw the OP made the last comment on July 1st...:bang:
 
It is actually good to know there are success stories from the Caribbean that got into a US medical school. I know they are sparse, but this may also be in part because of the stigma created by SDN.
 
I think that not knowing that DO schools exist is a very good reason to not apply DO. That is definitely a possibility for someone not from a medical background, without a focused pre-med major. I didn't learn about DO until my Junior year of college. That is EXACTLY the reason I would give as to why you didn't apply in the first place.

If you could get medical documentation of your medical illness...I think that you have a legit shot.

There are many programs who will shoot you down...but all it takes is one. And what is the worst thing that could happen? You lose money...and a little time. Both are insignificant in the grand scheme of things for you. Apply broadly to DO programs. Your grades won't do you in...and you will likely meet the admission requirements of many DO programs. There is no way to know which DO programs will forgive your Carib transgressions.

Good luck!
 
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