Need advice

[blazercon]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello everyone,

So after having taken the MCAT and failed each time after 3 attempts (<500 each attempt), I figured that my chances of getting into a DO here in the US are pretty much slim to none. My parents have suggested I try going to the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in the Caribbean but am not so sure about it, having read the bad experiences of going to med school down there. I have also considered switching to PA and just going from there.



What would you say I should do in this situation? Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JSReed]

Need more info. What are your stats? Section break downs? Study strategies? Study time frames?

 

[stickgirl390]

The fact that you have struggled multiple times on the MCAT is a sign that medical school might be too difficult for you. (That’s okay!!!) I personally wouldn’t want to risk all that debt with so much evidence showing I might not succeed, especially with the abysmal attrition and match rates from Caribbean schools. PA would 100% be my suggestion here. If you haven’t had the chance to shadow a PA, do it. You’ll be surprised how similar their day-to-day is to many physicians.

 

[SAC 1008]

As a UMHS student I would say do PA school and then of you want to go and become a doctor you can still do it later. I figured this out to late and now I am entering my last semester with debt and I really don't feel as if I have been properly prepared to even be remotely successful. Understand it is what you make it and yes we have students that go off and do very well but those students are so few and far between and the school is truly a for profit school that it is ok with the students barely passing Step 1 and Step 2. Not to mention the students that have slipped through the cracks and how they have manipulated the numbers to make them seem as if there students are very successful. UMHS is not the place!

 

[deleted480308]

Do not go to the carribean

 

[SAC 1008]

I am already here and I am going to have to reapply to another medical school and start over even though I am almost done with UMHS but it's OK I will make it work to make my dream come true because I am not failing my classes I am just not prepared at all and they don't care that we are not prepared its all about the money here!

 

[lalalaaaaaa]

OP, to be blunt, based on what you wrote you should not go to medical school. If you struggle that much on the MCAT, you're really going to struggle on medical school exams and likely fail your board exams (Step 1 and Step 2). This is a HUGE risk and frankly one you shouldn't take when there are great options outside of being a physician. This isn't to mention that the caribbian schools are also a huge gamble so you're just multiplying the risk and going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention years of your life. Consider looking into PA school or nursing school. Not that they are for people who aren't smart enough to get into medical school, but because they are not as academically rigorous and still give you patient care (more patient direct patient care than many physicians end up having!). Good luck!

 

[Magyarzorag]

I would even recommend schools in Europe (Ireland, Poland, UK) over Caribbean. I feel like those countries are nicer to live in (more developed) and many of those schools are ranked in the Top 500 in the World

 

[Goro]

I would even recommend schools in Europe (Ireland, Poland, UK) over Caribbean. I feel like those countries are nicer to live in (more developed) and many of those schools are ranked in the Top 500 in the World

Bad advice. Very few IMGs from these schools ever match. OP is in big risk zone for failing out of med school as it is.