Puerto Rico Med Schools?

[jmanwaring]

I've very interested in applying to the three medical schools in Puerto Rico--I really want to have some experience with Spanish-speaking patients. Does anyone know what the universities are like there? Family friendly? How much is conducted in Spanish/English? Do they accept many out of state applicants? I'd appreciate any information from alums, students, applicants, facutly,etc.

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[vinsanity]

There are three med schools. Univ. of PR, Ponce, and Univ. Del Caribe. The three of them are accredited by the US.

Univ. of PR: Accepts mostly PR residents. Teaches in spanish and english. Has the highest reputation and is the most competitive school. Located in San Juan.

Ponce: Accepts PR residents and out of state residents. Teaches in spanish and english.

Univ del CAribe: Don't really know much about it. But I think they accept out of state students and PR residents.

I believe all schools require that you know some Spanish. You also must have college credits in Spanish.

 

[jmanwaring]

Thanks...I was wondering if anyone has attended any of the schools, knows someone there, or any additional information. I really need to talk to someone who has gone there or who is going there.

 

[adamant]

Hi there,
I am going to Ponce this summer, unless I come of the waitlist at UCONN that is. I also interviewed at Caribe. I didn't much care for Caribe, it is in a bad area of Bayamon and the facilities are quite primitive. I do think you would learn a ton of medicine down in the trenches there, they told me they see some incredible pathology.
I liked Ponce quite a bit when I went there. Just don't have the idea that it is like a medical school in the U.S. It is very small, only three or four buildings. If you are looking for a super modern state-of-the-art experience don't go there. On the other hand it is a very friendly little school with lots of personal attention. I'm sure that I will be well prepared if I end up going.

If you have any other questions let me know and I will try to answer them.

 

[adamant]

Bump

 

[opel]

Most likely, I will also be going to ponce this year. The students there seem very happy and they do very well on the boards. There only negative point is that they are not known and some people think it is not an American school. Concerning matching you don't have to worry, everybody matches and most tend to match in the mainland and they are even given priority in some Florida and Arizona programs.

 

[jmanwaring]

ADAMANT--

I sent you a personal message. Have you checked it yet?

 

[adamant]

Sorry busy at work today.
I will check it now.

 

[jmanwaring]

Anyone else have any more information on the med schools in PR?

 

[adamant]

-Jmanwaring-

Your PM didn't come through. try again or put it up as a post.

 

[jmanwaring]

ADAMANT:

Thanks for the information--very,very informative. Did you apply to Universidad de Puerto Rico? Why or why not? Are you Puertorican or what interested you in going there? Do you speak Spanish? How was the interview? Did caribe accept you? What are they looking for as far as GPA, MCAT, etc? Boy, I really want to go there. I just think it would be a cool place to live for a few years. I'm married with a baby--I wonder what it would be like for my wife and daughter there? Give me any more information you can about it. THanks alot

jmanwaring
[email protected]

 

[adamant]

Jmanwaring-
Let's see what else I can tell you.
1. I am not Puerto Rican or Latino but I am fluent in Spanish. I lived in S. America for 3 years and loved it, thats why I had an interest in PR.
2. I would have gladly applied to Universidad de Puerto Rico(It is the best med school in PR) but you have to be Puerto Rican or at least have heritage, I have neither.
3. As far as scores and GPA I think they are pretty low for the students from the island(MCAT= 24 GPA = 3.4)for non-residents they are looking for high MCAT scores I think. One of the problems the schools have is that the PR students have low pass rates on the boards. They claim this is due to problems with English, so they try to boost their pass rate by taking mainlanders with high MCAT scores. Take me for example GPA= 3.3 MCAT 37Q
no acceptances from U.S. schools but accepted at both Ponce and Caribe.
4. The interviews were pretty laid back at both schools. At Caribe I had a 45 minute interview with a clinical faculty member, then they give you an 1 page esay to write in Spanish. They give you an article that you have to comment on. I was only at Caribe for about 2 hours total.
At Ponce I had 2 interviews. Both lasted about 30 minutes. One of the interviews was 1/2 Spanish 1/2 english the other was all Spanish. It depends on who interviews you. I don't think you have to be totally fluent, just able to communicate clearly.
5. I'm married too, no kids though. My wife isn't too excited about Ponce, but I think the schedule isn't too bad from what I've seen.

I think I rambled enough let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[adamant]

Bump

 

[jhug]

just curious-- if you fail a class (heaven forbid) is it true you have to retake the entire year??!? I have a friend who applied to all the carribean schools and Ross but decided to go the DO route instead.

 

[none]

The Puerto Rican schools are VERY different from the Carribean schools! The Puerto Rican schools are considered U.S. medical schools and are fully accredited by the Liason Council on Medical Education.

 

[adamant]

It seems that many people are confused as to whether the Puerto Rican medical schools are considered American or Caribbean. They are definitely 100% licensed American Medical Schools.
No IMG's coming from these schools.

 

[jhug]

DISCLAIMER: in my ignorance i put carribean schools implying P.R. schools as well. I know it is terrible to generalize but i just clumped all island schools (but hawaii of course) into a carribean bunch-- my apologies!