Only options Caribbean or Easter European?

Started by roromush
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roromush

roromush

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So I've graduated with a Management degree and its not looking good, I've only managed a 2.65GPA. That's the bad news, the good news is I have tons of volunteer and community services hours plus shadowing and I've already taken Chem I and Chem II and pulled a 'B' in both. I'm confident that I can get a pretty high sGPA. But I'll be taking them at a community college near me, I'm also planning on taking the MCAT early and hopefully I can get a pretty high score that will overshadow my poor GPA when I apply in Fall '16

What do you guys think? I have a snowballs chance in hell to get into an American medical school, but Caribbean places are easier to get into and they seem to like Canadians (I'm a citizen) plus Poland and Russia seem welcoming.
 
If you want to practice medicine in the US, you need to attend a US med school.

In a few years, it's going to be near impossible for an IMG to get a residency in the US. haven't a clue about Canada.

Here's a more credible way of doing things:

First, retake any F/D/C science coursework.
Take any pre-reqs and get A's, not Bs. That's not going to cut it.

Do well on MCAT.

Apply to any of the 14 DO schools that accept Canadians, like MSU.

Always have Plan B
 
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Thanks for replying Goro, I was under the impression that DO schools look for applicants with atleast a 3.0GPA on top of that international seats are limited
 
roromush said:
So I've graduated with a Management degree and its not looking good, I've only managed a 2.65GPA. That's the bad news, the good news is I have tons of volunteer and community services hours plus shadowing and I've already taken Chem I and Chem II and pulled a 'B' in both. I'm confident that I can get a pretty high sGPA. But I'll be taking them at a community college near me, I'm also planning on taking the MCAT early and hopefully I can get a pretty high score that will overshadow my poor GPA when I apply in Fall '16

What do you guys think? I have a snowballs chance in hell to get into an American medical school, but Caribbean places are easier to get into and they seem to like Canadians (I'm a citizen) plus Poland and Russia seem welcoming.
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I don't think I'd want to be a westerner living in Russia. Not now, probably not for the next decade...

also if you want to know what happens to Americans/westerners living in places that become suddenly hostile towards westerners, google the Iranian hostage crisis
 
md-2020 said:
I'm not sure you should pursue medicine, tbh. A 2.65 is a issue even for the Caribbean; check out their forum if you wish.
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It is very low I agree, but I'm hoping that my sGPA will be significantly higher and alongside a solid MCAT it might push me over the edge
 
allantois said:
As someone who grew up close to Russia: that's not a place you wanna go to 😱

Don't even come close to it!
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Surprised to hear bad things about Russia, I have been told that UK residents travel to Poland and Russian when they are unable to get into UK med schools
 
Goro said:
If you want to practice medicine in the US, you need to attend a US med school.

In a few years, it's going to be near impossible for an IMG to get a residency in the US. haven't a clue about Canada.

Here's a more credible way of doing things:

First, retake any F/D/C science coursework.
Take any pre-reqs and get A's, not Bs. That's not going to cut it.

Do well on MCAT.

Apply to any of the 14 DO schools that accept Canadians, like MSU.

Always have Plan B
Click to expand...

Canada's matching for IMG through CaRMS is even worse, this last year's match was around 20-24% for all IMGs... most Canadians in the Caribbean go to the US and then hope to come back.
 
roromush said:
Surprised to hear bad things about Russia, I have been told that UK residents travel to Poland and Russian when they are unable to get into UK med schools
Click to expand...

The Russian medical degree is essentially useless even when practicing in Russia. Russian doctors don't get paid much, so they quickly emigrate into the US/UK to be licensed and practice there (or at least do cool medical research).

Now regarding your original post:

1. You're Canadian, which makes you international for many US medical schools, although you have a good chance in getting into around 60 of them. Some schools may treat Canadians as American applicants, but I don't know what exactly.

2. Your cGPA is way too low and you need to do essentially a grade overhaul to be remotely competitive.

3. Getting Bs in sciences/prereqs isn't a good thing. You need to ace them.

4. You can't ensure a high MCAT score given your poor academic background. And even a miraculous 40+/523+ score can't compensate a very low GPA.

5. Never consider the Caribbean for medical school. At all. It's terrible and the schools are making money scamming desperate/shut out applicants.

You can get into a US DO school but it requires years long effort to completely reinvent yourself. If you're motivated, you can succeed. Otherwise, you should look for alternative careers.

Goro said:
First, retake any F/D/C science coursework.
Take any pre-reqs and get A's, not Bs. That's not going to cut it.
Click to expand...

If I'm understanding correctly, OP's low GPA is due mostly to bad grades in nonscience courses (she's confident she can have a high sGPA meaning she hasn't taken many science courses yet), which indicates she needs to retake her entire management coursework for the retake policy to work.
 
roromush said:
So I've graduated with a Management degree and its not looking good, I've only managed a 2.65GPA. That's the bad news, the good news is I have tons of volunteer and community services hours plus shadowing and I've already taken Chem I and Chem II and pulled a 'B' in both. I'm confident that I can get a pretty high sGPA. But I'll be taking them at a community college near me, I'm also planning on taking the MCAT early and hopefully I can get a pretty high score that will overshadow my poor GPA when I apply in Fall '16

What do you guys think? I have a snowballs chance in hell to get into an American medical school, but Caribbean places are easier to get into and they seem to like Canadians (I'm a citizen) plus Poland and Russia seem welcoming.
Click to expand...

I'm confused with your logic.... your GPA you know is holding you back... when did you decide on doing medicine? If you did make the decision what was your motivation to stick with management? If you're at a Canadian school the only way to fix your GPA is to just do another undergrad.
 
NewHorizons said:
I'm confused with your logic.... your GPA you know is holding you back... when did you decide on doing medicine? If you did make the decision what was your motivation to stick with management? If you're at a Canadian school the only way to fix your GPA is to just do another undergrad.
Click to expand...

It sounds like he's studying in the US but is also a Canadian citizen. I've never heard of Russia or Poland being good places to go if you want to study internationally, but there's some potential for Ireland being a better option if you want to practice in Canada (maritime connection). I know Ireland is easier to get into, but I don't know how easy, a 2.65 is pretty low. I think it's one of the most popular places for Canadians after the Caribbean with the intention of practicing in the US. But of course, unless you can get decent grades in science courses you probably won't survive med school anywhere.
 
NewHorizons said:
I'm confused with your logic.... your GPA you know is holding you back... when did you decide on doing medicine? If you did make the decision what was your motivation to stick with management? If you're at a Canadian school the only way to fix your GPA is to just do another undergrad.
Click to expand...

Agreed. If OP is really interested about healthcare, she should pursue an MBA/MHA and work in healthcare management. It's an important and lucrative field, and it's something OP may enjoy.
 
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NotASerialKiller said:
It sounds like he's studying in the US but is also a Canadian citizen. I've never heard of Russia or Poland being good places to go if you want to study internationally, but there's some potential for Ireland being a better option if you want to practice in Canada (maritime connection). I know Ireland is easier to get into, but I don't know how easy, a 2.65 is pretty low. I think it's one of the most popular places for Canadians after the Caribbean with the intention of practicing in the US. But of course, unless you can get decent grades in science courses you probably won't survive med school anywhere.
Click to expand...

Some of my public health colleagues came from Russian med schools... none of them had anything good to say. Purely anecdotal but the point is with a 2.65 GPA anywhere you don't look like you can succeed in med school, regardless of where you go.
 
This is exactly what the Carib diploma mills are literally banking on. One year of failing, and boot, out he goes. Then, "next sucker....um, we mean, student!"

NewHorizons said:
Some of my public health colleagues came from Russian med schools... none of them had anything good to say. Purely anecdotal but the point is with a 2.65 GPA anywhere you don't look like you can succeed in med school, regardless of where you go.
Click to expand...
 
NewHorizons said:
Some of my public health colleagues came from Russian med schools... none of them had anything good to say. Purely anecdotal but the point is with a 2.65 GPA anywhere you don't look like you can succeed in med school, regardless of where you go.
Click to expand...

Maybe management really wasn't his thing and he's actually a physiology wiz 🙂
 
Goro said:
This is exactly what the Carib diploma mills are literally banking on. One year of failing, and boot, out he goes. Then, "next sucker....um, we mean, student!"
Click to expand...

Eh as cynical as that sounds, my point was more than even though there is a chance the OP can break the mold, banking on an outlier is never a good strategy.

So many people in the world think they can be the exception... news flash not everyone can.

What I'm interested in is the OP's response. He still has not provided anything substantial and it's becoming more concerning that he's not exactly going into med for appropriate reasons.
 
yup...that's why lotteries exist. A friend of mine once described them as "a fool tax". OP is, alas, displaying signs of wishful thinking, another trait the Carib diploma mills prey upon.

NewHorizons said:
Eh as cynical as that sounds, my point was more than even though there is a chance the OP can break the mold, banking on an outlier is never a good strategy.

So many people in the world think they can be the exception... news flash not everyone can.

What I'm interested in is the OP's response. He still has not provided anything substantial and it's becoming more concerning that he's not exactly going into med for appropriate reasons.
Click to expand...
 
Goro said:
yup...that's why lotteries exist. A friend of mine once described them as "a fool tax". OP is, alas, displaying signs of wishful thinking, another trait the Carib diploma mills prey upon.
Click to expand...

Isn't it more an issue of going in knowing how the system works than one of luck? I imagine the people who make it through are strong students who were kept out of US schools because of IAs or a couple years of failing courses before getting As. The ones who don't are likely the people who go to the Caribbean because they tried their hardest and couldn't get the stats for US schools, not realizing that if you're not capable of a decent GPA and MCAT score you're not capable of making it through med school.
 
I seriously doubt you will be any where near ready to apply next cycle. Do not even consider taking the MCAT until you finish your science prerequisite. You need the best score possible on the first try and attempting the test before you have been exposed to the material would be setting yourself up for failure.
 
Could be. Not everyone is ready for college at age 18.

NotASerialKiller said:
Isn't it more an issue of going in knowing how the system works than one of luck? I imagine the people who make it through are strong students who were kept out of US schools because of IAs or a couple years of failing courses before getting As. The ones who don't are likely the people who go to the Caribbean because they tried their hardest and couldn't get the stats for US schools, not realizing that if you're not capable of a decent GPA and MCAT score you're not capable of making it through med school.
Click to expand...
 
Goro said:
If you want to practice medicine in the US, you need to attend a US med school.

In a few years, it's going to be near impossible for an IMG to get a residency in the US. haven't a clue about Canada.

Here's a more credible way of doing things:

First, retake any F/D/C science coursework.
Take any pre-reqs and get A's, not Bs. That's not going to cut it.

Do well on MCAT.

Apply to any of the 14 DO schools that accept Canadians, like MSU.

Always have Plan B
Click to expand...

Canada is still LCME, so there's that.
 
Poland would at least allow you to theoretically pick up some Polish language skills, which would be insanely useful where I work.

If not for the whole needing a medical education, Poland would be a great idea.
 
gyngyn said:
It's the visa issue for employment, though.
Click to expand...

yeah... though theoretically they'd be the last ones squeezed.

I have a completely totally unrealistic fantasy that one day the graduate medical education and board systems would merge too, but sadly I know that would never happen. I'd kill to live in Vancover and not have to take Canadian MLEs.
 
roromush said:
Surprised to hear bad things about Russia, I have been told that UK residents travel to Poland and Russian when they are unable to get into UK med schools
Click to expand...

Poland yes, because it's part of EU and UK citizens can easily return to UK for foundation years coming from EU schools as of now.
Russia isn't part of EU so i can't imagine why UK residents would bother going there.
 
WingedOx said:
yeah... though theoretically they'd be the last ones squeezed.

I have a completely totally unrealistic fantasy that one day the graduate medical education and board systems would merge too, but sadly I know that would never happen. I'd kill to live in Vancover and not have to take Canadian MLEs.
Click to expand...
In my region, most residencies will not sponsor a visa of any type (Canadian applicant or not). Even when they purport to do so, they hardly ever exercise the opportunity.
 
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NewHorizons said:
LOL 4 months? better than the rest of us Canadians.... I'm still living in an igloo this time of the year =D
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Not cold months, just constantly raining. I live in Ontario, and I much prefer the long cold (but bright and cheerful) winters to Vancouver's depressing mild sun-less ones.
 
gyngyn said:
In my region, most residencies will not sponsor a visa of any type (Canadian applicant or not). Even when they purport to do so, they hardly ever exercise the opportunity.
Click to expand...

We've been bringing in "research track" people, usually MD/PhDs for years, so we're one of the exceptions who has experience doing it.
 
Woah, I didn't realize people were still scared of Russia. I've lived for many years all over Eastern Europe and Russia and it's perfectly safe unless you're trying to stage an uprising or something. There are tons of foreign students there, esp in St Petersburg and Moscow. It's a very conformist society, don't stick out and do stupid things and no one will bother you.

That being said, going to med school there is a terrible idea. It's not a great system and your degree will be essentially worthless here in the US. It's more of a trade-school setup there, with people matriculating right after HS with no quality control whatsoever.
 
Pusheen said:
Woah, I didn't realize people were still scared of Russia. I've lived for many years all over Eastern Europe and Russia and it's perfectly safe unless you're trying to stage an uprising or something. There are tons of foreign students there, esp in St Petersburg and Moscow. It's a very conformist society, don't stick out and do stupid things and no one will bother you.

That being said, going to med school there is a terrible idea. It's not a great system and your degree will be essentially worthless here in the US. It's more of a trade-school setup there, with people matriculating right after HS with no quality control whatsoever.
Click to expand...
I literally LOL'ed when I read that someone compared visiting Russia to the Iran Hostage Crisis.
 
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