Apologies in advance if you have read this in the other forum. I would love to gain the perspective of students who have applied to, are currently enrolled in, or have graduated from a Carib school.
Here's the basic info on me: 23, recent graduate with a BS in Psychology with honors/ minor in Bio..... 3.43 GPA, 2.76 BCPM----I'm the typical story of steady incline in GPA (4.0 during my last year). Member of multiple honor societies; published in Journal of Neuroscience; presented posters at Society for Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience Society; 5 years research in 3 very prestigious neuroscience labs; Battelle Foundation, Department of Energy, Duke summer program and NIH/MARC Fellow; 2.5 years as a medical assistant; various campus achievement awards.
Facing the music: I thought I was going to do PhD only, but research jaded me enough to think that I will never be happy with PhD. Realized medicine was for me while volunteering at a clinic. My BCPM and MCAT scores will be too low to be competitive for most US MD or DO programs, so I am not applying for fall '08 admission. However, I am applying for Fall '08 Carib admissions to the big 4 schools (St. George, Ross, SABA, AUC).
Great opportunity: offered a tech position in the department of Neurosurgery at an IVY school that is located in a city that I've always wanted to live in. They want a 2 year commitment, so perhaps that would give me enough time to bone up my MCAT scores.
Issues:
1.) I don't think I need more research experience or any more recommendation letters (I already have 5 lined up for me).
2.) I've read on some other boards that for each year you delay your application, in the long run, it will cost you $. For example, if you end up as a doc whose salary is $ 150K, then each delayed year will cost you $150 K/year. So by taking this job, I could be costing me a few hundred K's.
3.) Do I want to be the guy who turned down a prestigious department to go attend med school outside of the US? Is starting the foreign education worth whatever network benefits I could have attained via contacts at the IVY school? However, I did set up a very nice network at Duke, so perhaps the "prestigious institution contact dream" has been accomplished?
A part of me feels that I should go on and further my education and waste no more time delaying the inevitable; but the other half says I'd be crazy to turn down this opportunity, and that I should try my best and take as much time as reasonably possible to get into a US school.
Thoughts? Different perspectives?
Thanks in advance!
Here's the basic info on me: 23, recent graduate with a BS in Psychology with honors/ minor in Bio..... 3.43 GPA, 2.76 BCPM----I'm the typical story of steady incline in GPA (4.0 during my last year). Member of multiple honor societies; published in Journal of Neuroscience; presented posters at Society for Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience Society; 5 years research in 3 very prestigious neuroscience labs; Battelle Foundation, Department of Energy, Duke summer program and NIH/MARC Fellow; 2.5 years as a medical assistant; various campus achievement awards.
Facing the music: I thought I was going to do PhD only, but research jaded me enough to think that I will never be happy with PhD. Realized medicine was for me while volunteering at a clinic. My BCPM and MCAT scores will be too low to be competitive for most US MD or DO programs, so I am not applying for fall '08 admission. However, I am applying for Fall '08 Carib admissions to the big 4 schools (St. George, Ross, SABA, AUC).
Great opportunity: offered a tech position in the department of Neurosurgery at an IVY school that is located in a city that I've always wanted to live in. They want a 2 year commitment, so perhaps that would give me enough time to bone up my MCAT scores.
Issues:
1.) I don't think I need more research experience or any more recommendation letters (I already have 5 lined up for me).
2.) I've read on some other boards that for each year you delay your application, in the long run, it will cost you $. For example, if you end up as a doc whose salary is $ 150K, then each delayed year will cost you $150 K/year. So by taking this job, I could be costing me a few hundred K's.
3.) Do I want to be the guy who turned down a prestigious department to go attend med school outside of the US? Is starting the foreign education worth whatever network benefits I could have attained via contacts at the IVY school? However, I did set up a very nice network at Duke, so perhaps the "prestigious institution contact dream" has been accomplished?
A part of me feels that I should go on and further my education and waste no more time delaying the inevitable; but the other half says I'd be crazy to turn down this opportunity, and that I should try my best and take as much time as reasonably possible to get into a US school.
Thoughts? Different perspectives?
Thanks in advance!