Ponce requirements

[medicobilingue]

Does anyone know why Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico requires 12 credits of behavioral and social sciences? Is there any way around this?

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[StritchMD2011]

Try posting this in the international forums. You'll get a better response there. This particular forum is for individuals applying to U.S. allopathic medical schools.

 

[nataly1313]

I applied to Ponce and I am not sure why they require all these classes. I had trouble with these credits and I had to point out in my transcript that certain classes should be under this category. Also there is a 12 credit English requirement that they usually wave for students from the mainland. I had to show them that I took classes that were under a literature requirement. If you have any questions you can pm me.

 

[VaulterGirl]

Try posting this in the international forums. You'll get a better response there. This particular forum is for individuals applying to U.S. allopathic medical schools.

Isn't Ponce in Puerto Rico...and last time I checked Puerto Rico is part of the US.

 

[Green Pirate]

Isn't Ponce in Puerto Rico...and last time I checked Puerto Rico is part of the US.

not entirely sure people consider Puerto Rican med schools U.S. med schools though.

 

[Kfire326]

Isn't Ponce in Puerto Rico...and last time I checked Puerto Rico is part of the US.

UHH??? Last time I checked, no it wasn't... lol. The Puerto Rican people voted (at least twice) on whether or not they wanted to PR to become a US state, and they voted NO both times. PR is a protectorate of the US.

But, I think this thread is just fine in the pre-allo forums, since Ponce is an AAMC accredited school, and appears in the MSAR.

 

[VaulterGirl]

not entirely sure people consider Puerto Rican med schools U.S. med schools though.[/quote
...

 

[VaulterGirl]

UHH??? Last time I checked, no it wasn't... lol. The Puerto Rican people voted (at least twice) on whether or not they wanted to PR to become a US state, and they voted NO both times. PR is a protectorate of the US.

But, I think this thread is just fine in the pre-allo forums, since Ponce is an AAMC accredited school, and appears in the MSAR.

Puerto Rico is part of the US...it may not be a state but it is still part of the US...

 

[ispic]

Yes, the Puerto Rican med schools ARE considered U.S. YES they are LCME accredited. Of the four on the island, only one is not accredited (and Ponce ain't that one). It is something that the students down there have to deal with every year when they apply for rotations/residency. Kinda lame some ppl out there don't have enough sense to pick up a history book or even look at the MSAR

In any case, the behavioral science requirement sucks, but I don't think is is something that we could get around before becoming students. I even had to get some additional English credits (CLEP works wonders with this). You can basically test to get some credits out of it. Its a whole lot cheaper than actually taking the course, and they accept it. I had one mainland class mate that said the hell with it and never took the English classes. He got in fine without any problems. Check with Gladys to see if you can get atound it(I think she is still the coordinator in admissions). They also have some very liberal definitions as to what social and behavioral science classes are. Good luck

 

[baylormed]

Yes, the Puerto Rican med schools ARE considered U.S. YES they are LCME accredited. Of the four on the island, only one is not accredited (and Ponce ain't that one). It is something that the students down there have to deal with every year when they apply for rotations/residency. Kinda lame some ppl out there don't have enough sense to pick up a history book or even look at the MSAR

In any case, the behavioral science requirement sucks, but I don't think is is something that we could get around before becoming students. I even had to get some additional English credits (CLEP works wonders with this). You can basically test to get some credits out of it. Its a whole lot cheaper than actually taking the course, and they accept it. I had one mainland class mate that said the hell with it and never took the English classes. He got in fine without any problems. Check with Gladys to see if you can get atound it(I think she is still the coordinator in admissions). They also have some very liberal definitions as to what social and behavioral science classes are. Good luck

Do they teach in English or Spanish? Or both?

 

[ispic]

Both. There is a whole lot more Spanish in second year though. There is so much teacher turnover however, that it is sometimes hard to say what teachers you'll have from year to year. For the most part, the best educators down there will use both when explaining things if the student is having a hard time understanding. It took me a few weeks to get used to it, even though I am a native Spanish speaker, I had been living in the US for quite some time before going back to the island. It actually helped out a lot on the mainland rotations, since I did not need a translator when seeing Spanish-speaking patients

 

[p9142]

Try posting this in the international forums. You'll get a better response there. This particular forum is for individuals applying to U.S. allopathic medical schools.

Yeah get out of here with your non US medical school. Next thing you know you will be asking about that foreign medical school on the islands of Hawaii.

 

[lsumedgirl]

Puerto Rico is part of the US...it may not be a state but it is still part of the US...

Yep, you are indeed correct.

As far as the 12 hours of social sciences goes, why doesn't the OP just take those classes? Many people have to take some psychology and sociology classes to fulfill their degree requirements. In fact, one of my favorite UG classes was Medical Sociology.

 

[deleted144780]

In any case, the behavioral science requirement sucks, but I don't think is is something that we could get around before becoming students. I even had to get some additional English credits (CLEP works wonders with this). You can basically test to get some credits out of it. Its a whole lot cheaper than actually taking the course, and they accept it. I had one mainland class mate that said the hell with it and never took the English classes. He got in fine without any problems. Check with Gladys to see if you can get atound it(I think she is still the coordinator in admissions). They also have some very liberal definitions as to what social and behavioral science classes are. Good luck

If you have already graduated, or are about to, you may also consider this option.
If you are close with the number of English credits, (9 out of 12, for example) and English is your native language, you can also try having the registrar from your undergraduate institution send a letter to the school of admissions explaining that all of the classes at your college were taught in English and required extensive amounts of advanced reading and writing in English.
Also, for the behavioral science requirements, if you took some liberal arts courses that aren't on their list, but you feel should qualify toward the requirement, you can send a description of the courses from your school's course catalog and ask that it be considered for your behavioral science requirement.

Hope that helps.

 

[Cirrus83]

UHH??? Last time I checked, no it wasn't... lol. The Puerto Rican people voted (at least twice) on whether or not they wanted to PR to become a US state, and they voted NO both times. PR is a protectorate of the US.

But, I think this thread is just fine in the pre-allo forums, since Ponce is an AAMC accredited school, and appears in the MSAR.

Well, it's kind of arguable whether or not a Commonwealth is part of the US...I mean, Peurto Ricans all get US Citizenship and all.
Either way, since the med schools there are fully accredited for the US I think posting it here is fine.

Too bad I don't speak spanish lol.

 

[Mastac741]

You have to have taken classes to get into Puerto Rico? I thought if you show up, they accept you.

 

[R-35]

Try posting this in the international forums. You'll get a better response there. This particular forum is for individuals applying to U.S. allopathic medical schools.

Lol so ignorant : /, Ponce is an US allopathic school applied through AMCAS.

 

[foofish]

Well, it's kind of arguable whether or not a Commonwealth is part of the US...I mean, Peurto Ricans all get US Citizenship and all.
Either way, since the med schools there are fully accredited for the US I think posting it here is fine.

Too bad I don't speak spanish lol.

Well, it depends on the kind of commonwealth, since a few of the traditional "states" like Massachusetts are actually Commonwealths....but in that it's just a technicality. The details are hazy, but I think the difference is PR is considered an "unincorporated territory". Or something.