Ross Medical school

[womp]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

You also realize that by going to Ross you are only eligible for $20500 of Stafford loans (while US students are eligible for over $40k)? The rest you have to loan through GradPlus at much higher interest rates (8.5%) and pending a credit approval.

Also, educational loans cannot be discharged by bankruptcy.

It's obvious the safer bet would be to improve your application. If you fail to get in again this coming year, you can go to Ross during the winter term entry. Most people hear back from US schools before Christmas now that schools are nearly all on accelerated interview schedules. That way you hedge both outcomes and at worst delay your entry to Ross by one term, but at best attend a US MD school.

 

[rama kandra]

I also should add that after Ronaldo mentioned it - I am elitist and prefer the MD initials because that was what I wanted in the first place. There are no reservations for bs, the DO is just 'as good' and 'does the same' thing, but I am not interested in having to explain myself to people who call my office or want to understand DO vs MD. I don't hide behind the semantics of OMM and other factual stuff. My reason is subjective as it gets, and I have no reason to suspect anyone will ask me about where I went to school vs what my initials mean.


Loans - yes I have also considered that. I am already 'rich' and have no problem paying down a 200k education when I will earn over that with my career. I am lucky but also realistic that another year will not provide me any rate of return over the loan agreement interest.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Huh? Where'd you hear that from?

You see in the carib there is a backdoor, you can transfer to an US MD if your stats are amazing. Its like 100 spots in the whole US for over 5000+ applicants though.

 

[ronaldo23]

You see in the carib there is a backdoor, you can transfer to an US MD if your stats are amazing. Its like 100 spots in the whole US for over 5000+ applicants though.

sure, and of those 100 spots, 99-100 will be from US MDs transfering between schools for personal reasons like illness/family member sick

 

[rama kandra]

Well if transferring is hard, I guess there is no harm in trying it, no? I also have spoken to many SGU students who wound up loving their school and enjoyed the clinical years in the US. I may find myself really happy with the program and not interested in leaving for a pipe dream. I'll have a residency in my specialty regardless.

And after that, I have no interest in keeping up with the academy. I won't work in a hospital or be attending meetings for the AMA and such. I want to run away from this crowd as fast as possible, for political reasons.

 

[womp]

I also should add that after Ronaldo mentioned it - I am elitist and prefer the MD initials because that was what I wanted in the first place. There are no reservations for bs, the DO is just 'as good' and 'does the same' thing, but I am not interested in having to explain myself to people who call my office or want to understand DO vs MD. I don't hide behind the semantics of OMM and other factual stuff. My reason is subjective as it gets, and I have no reason to suspect anyone will ask me about where I went to school vs what my initials mean.

You don't think patients ask you where you went to medical school or Google your profile online? The chances of that happening is about the same as a patient inquiring what a "DO" is. Both low, but present.

Loans - yes I have also considered that. I am already 'rich' and have no problem paying down a 200k education when I will earn over that with my career. I am lucky but also realistic that another year will not provide me any rate of return over the loan agreement interest.

Your choice of specialty can mean the difference between $150k and $400k in salary. Unless you are absolutely set on primary care, another year to gain admission to a US MD school could mean millions of dollars of earning difference in the long run.

And don't underestimate the power of the compounding interest rate. That 2.25% interest rate difference over 10 years is close to $60,000. Add that to an extra year's salary of say $70k (since you say you're "rich") is roughly a year of primary care salary. So no, unless you pay off your loans immediately after medical school, you're not gaining that much by going to Ross a year earlier. If you get into a state school your loan obligation will also be significantly lower than at Ross.

 

[rama kandra]

In closing Ross is a good school. So is St. George's. They are the only two I applied to and looked into considerably before taking them seriously. There is a lot of hype, innuendo and fog surrounding the entire situation. I would trust the opinions of actual students and doctors first and foremost. Be honest with your capabilities and what you want out of the process. You are the driver.

If anyone reads this years from now, I will likely update the forum with what I am doing, so feel free to ask. I believe Ross is not for everyone, like SGU. These are schools that are offering you an opportunity for a sizable cost. They make money on supplying the dream and not everyone has a pleasant one - it can become a nightmare. Please avoid the overly positive such as myself (I am not going to fail, sadly) and avoid the overly negative (they are likely wrong) and follow your own path to the ideal.

I wish everyone luck. See you on the other side!

 

[Hoody]

I work with 2 Ross grads. The girl is a cardiologist and the guy is a pulmonologist. Both mainly work in the ICU. The girl has nothing to say about Ross, or medical school in general. She just wanted to be a doctor and she is. She's very happy. The guy tells me that there are a lot of resitrictions on FMGs, he mentioned something about not being able to work in Cali or something, but he too wanted to be a doctor and is. He said going DO would have probably been a better route for him, but he came from Iran to go to school so he may not have had that choice (Im not sure).

Moral of the story...they are both excellent doctors. I love, love, love working with both (ecspeciall the guy, great sense of humor). They are both very happy. They are both smart, but I know things come easier for the girl than they do the guy...he definitly had to work hard to keep up with US students. They both have astronomical student loans. So pretty much, they are like any medical student/doctor who survived the rat race.

Its really more of what you as an individual than where you go to school.

 

[JonBonesJones]

Good luck on your endeavors RK, it sounds like this wasn't your ideal route to becoming a physician, but you seem to be grinning and bearing it well.

I don't want to add anymore anxiety to your journey, but keep in mind that all of the successful carib grads you've met matched for residency years ago. The current matches have been the most competitive ever, and there is no indication that the coming years won't be even more difficult for FMGs to match.

Also, as far as not wanting to explain the difference between DO/MD, I've experienced patients more interested to know if their physicians are state-side trained or not.

Good luck, and write SDN an update every so often on your carib experience.

 

[Hoody]

I just wanted to add that if you go through the physicians directory at Mayo, you will find at least a handfull of Ross grads. I found one on the very first page under the A's. And Im sure they exsist at other top notch places as well. This furthers the proof that good things do come of Ross if you do your part. 🙂

 

[Food]

Having heavily considered the Ross option myself, I am pretty sure that if you work extremely hard at Ross or SGU, really commit yourself to the field, there should be no reason for you to not get a residency. That means you basically need to be in the top 10% of your class, and have super high step scores. The high attrition rate can be attributed to Ross/SGU accepting A TON of people. What a lot of people don't realize is that these schools are accepting over 500 people per class. Obviously, a good number of those people weren't meant to be doctors in the first place - Ross just gave them a chance to learn it the hard way (which I know is ethically dubious).

I guess my point is do your own research - go to a Ross info session. I went to one and was pretty impressed not just by the quality of the presentation but by how comprehensive it was. They readily admit that going to Ross is not for everybody - a lot of people simply aren't prepared or willing to live in that environment. They also *claim* that you can pre-match to a lot of good residencies - in fact all the current clinical students they brought to the info session had pre-matched into pretty good residencies (Yale affiliated hospitals, etc).

I really hope I don't have to go to Ross, but I guess what I learned from this whole thing is that if you really work your ass off at Ross or SGU, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to land a residency. Now, you may not land the residency you dream about, but you'll have a job. Of course, the 50% or so who never make it probably should never have tried to become doctors in the first place. But if you're someone like me who has applied a couple times and is pretty heavily invested in this career path already, chances are you won't screw up by partying all the time.

 

[Food]

Also, as far as patients wanting to know where you did med-school, I'm pretty skeptical. I've shadowed so many doctors and every time they talk to patients about their training, they refer to their residency training 99% of the time. Nobody trains in their field at med school.

 

[rama kandra]

Food is the voice of reason.

 

[Beren]

Here's more fuel for the fire; since this thread is interesting:

I also should add that after Ronaldo mentioned it - I am elitist and prefer the MD initials because that was what I wanted in the first place. There are no reservations for bs, the DO is just 'as good' and 'does the same' thing, but I am not interested in having to explain myself to people who call my office or want to understand DO vs MD. I don't hide behind the semantics of OMM and other factual stuff. My reason is subjective as it gets, and I have no reason to suspect anyone will ask me about where I went to school vs what my initials mean.

You are only misleading yourself and your patients, if you feel that you are practicing superior medicine than DOs. When you go work with US MD's they will still harbor biases against Carib MD's and DOs as lower tier. Basically, you'll still have a chip on your shoulder when working with almost anyone who's gone through the application process.

I'm not justifying the sentiment, but your elitism doesn't exactly help the fact that you are going straight to the bottom rung (by general academic measures).

 

[rama kandra]

There is a reason I don't care what academics and intellectual elitists think - they would snub me for being a Ross graduate. I would never step foot in a crowd of elitist doctors, I will never fit their ideal and I know it already. I'm going private practice and thats why I chose to do this, and so you are correct. This has no effect on my patients since I will be practicing medicine that is taught to me and trained by me in the US of A.

Bottom rung indeed, I am not suggesting my elitism made me pick the best choice, but its a choice nonetheless. I am no better than a DO, but I am not suggesting I am worse. If it means getting borderline fellatio by SDN maybe I ought to reconsider being a DO but I have a MD acceptance and so I should do what I set out to do. Best of luck.

 

[Beren]

There is a reason I don't care what academics and intellectual elitists think - they would snub me for being a Ross graduate. I would never step foot in a crowd of elitist doctors, I will never fit their ideal and I know it already. I'm going private practice and thats why I chose to do this, and so you are correct. This has no effect on my patients since I will be practicing medicine that is taught to me and trained by me in the US of A.

Bottom rung indeed, I am not suggesting my elitism made me pick the best choice, but its a choice nonetheless. I am no better than a DO, but I am not suggesting I am worse. If it means getting borderline fellatio by SDN maybe I ought to reconsider being a DO but I have a MD acceptance and so I should do what I set out to do. Best of luck.

Good response, couldn't have put it better myself. Just wanted to hear your thoughts on that.

 

[Hifey]

Sorry but I really think that if you cant keep up with school at the undergrad level then medical school level will just burn you up. If you got a crap mcat, do you know what your usmle will be like? I mean the uslme is 100billion times harder then the mcat. At ross if you fail the uslme your done, your told to leave. At a DO/MD school you'll be able to retake it and even upon passing it you'll have guaranteed residency.
I mean your statement is semi-hypocritical, if your so smart then you should have done better on the mcat or had a better gpa.
But at least you understand that this is mostly your fault.

Anyway I'd rather someone hold my hand insure that a 200k+ investment wont just go to waste. Anyway it might not be 100% its 95% better then roughtly 15%.

Sorry but theres no way around it, if you did bad in undergrad. Your probably not fit to become a doctor, that is unless you figured out the problem and are ready to sacrifice all worldly pleasures for studying.

The bolded part on top is absolutely false in my experience. I know people who did not do well in undergrad at first, upped their studying habits and were able to do well in the second part. However, the damage to the GPA was done and they ended up in the Carib. However, they are excellent students in the Carib without "sacrificing all worldly pleasures for studying". Other people I know who opted for the Carib had interviews at US schools and weren't able to get off waitlists. These people are smart.

Honestly, everyone on SDN complains about attrition rates endlessly but the reality is that, no matter where you go, you're going to have to work hard to succeed. Yes, many people do drop out of the Carib but these are the people who decided that either A. medicine wasn't for them or B. they weren't able to handle it. The difference between the Carib and US schools is that the Carib gave these people a chance to succeed and turn over a new leaf.

 

[womp]

Honestly, everyone on SDN complains about attrition rates endlessly but the reality is that, no matter where you go, you're going to have to work hard to succeed. Yes, many people do drop out of the Carib but these are the people who decided that either A. medicine wasn't for them or B. they weren't able to handle it. The difference between the Carib and US schools is that the Carib gave these people a chance to succeed and turn over a new leaf.

The problem with this logic is that I would bet 100% of entering students at Ross thought they would not be one of the 2/3rds who drop out and that medicine was something they were willing to do at all costs.

 

[LawNonTrad]

C'mon now, calm down tiger. There is no need for that crap.

Try not to take it personally, mang.

He's international and still a teenager IIRC(or barely out of his teens). Notice the avatar choice.

The Caribbean MD>DO comment isn't the first patently ridiculous comment that I've seen him make on SDN, and it probably won't be the last. Notice how he went back and edited his post, but people's quotes of it preserved it for posterity.

 

[rama kandra]

A lot of it is societal and cultural pressure. Many students enter HS or college claiming to be pre-med. I read in one place that 30% of all college 4 year students had pre-med as a serious intention in their career. Many are under immense pressure in spite of getting 20 MCAT scores and their family throws Ross and SGU on their face. I know people who really were not cut out for medicine but they were deluded by externalities. After going to medical school they were seriously impaired with the workload and unable to continue.

I doubt 100% of entering Ross students believe they will be okay. Many know they are going to Ross and will make the best of it, many are blindly walking off a cliff due to pressure to perform. If your Indian like myself you would understand how often this can happen where a student is subpar but their family is convinced their child is rama himself and can be a wonderful doctor. No, they cant. Not everyone is cut out for medicine no matter their drive. One girl I know got a 17 on her MCAT but claims she wants medicine more than anything. Do I believe her? Sure, does she have it? Not a chance. I got a 27 MCAT so I feel I am par for the career and will do fine. Many kids at Ross got a sub 20 MCAT and are clueless about what they are entering.

 

[Hifey]

The problem with this logic is that I would bet 100% of entering students at Ross thought they would not be one of the 2/3rds who drop out and that medicine was something they were willing to do at all costs.

Of course. But you wouldn't start a new venture thinking you're going to fail it. Many people start things that they find they don't have the energy/will to finish. Unfortunate that med school would cost this much and be this much to everyone but my emphasis here is on individual effort. If you have the dedication, intellect, adaptation skills, perseverance and money there is no reason why you can't succeed. That is my philosophy for anything in life, not just Carib med schools.

 

[rama kandra]

Budding Ayn Rand I like it! To each his own, and to each only their own. I think we are all on SDN for the same reason - to be great doctors. There are some hurdles for everyone, and we cross them with choices that may be less desirable and I feel slightly terrible that 'I will be one of those kids' who went abroad. But really, should I? Opportunity, silly, not roadblock.

 

[DRMRL]

Try not to take it personally, but go D.O. before Caribbean M.D. Okay, cool.

 

[Hoody]

The whole patient wondering where you went to school thing should really not be taken into consideration. in my years of working side by side with docs and patients in all sorts of settings it never comes up. The fact that you guys think patients care is cute, but in reality, thats really just not true.

Now. Please let someone who shadowed a physician for 20hrs and had it come up three times tell me otherwise.

and same goes for MD/DO. The Patients don't ask the doc what DO is when he merely introduces himself as "doctor." it may come up if you have an office job with time to chit chat, but if you think people coming in the er door have that time or consideration, you'll soon be humbled.

 

[Disinence2]

Rockaction, to say that the prospects for a Ross student is internal medicine alone, isn't true at all.

Where there is a will there is a way. When you put down someone's school, that's when you really fuel someone's desire to succeed. The highest score on Step 1 last year was from Carib

I would love to know how you found that out 😉

Also you are the first and only person I've heard call a preliminary position "Beautiful" An extra year of being a surgery intern looks pretty rough... I wouldn't want to go through it twice!

 

[suckybreakfast]

Dude, no offense but MD or DO or Carib MD all suck sooo much. unless you choose MD/PHD then you're just garbage.

 

[Food]

Dude, no offense but MD or DO or Carib MD all suck sooo much. unless you choose MD/PHD then you're just garbage.

Actually you're garbage unless you're rich or have rich parents. *cough*

 

[IndianVercetti]

I would love to know how you found that out 😉

Also you are the first and only person I've heard call a preliminary position "Beautiful" An extra year of being a surgery intern looks pretty rough... I wouldn't want to go through it twice!

Please read the whole thread before assuming my position on Caribbean medical schools. I never said carib was a good way to go. I was merely telling our friend dr. rama kandra that his medical career isnt dead by any means.

 

[7starmantis]

This thread didn't die?!? Inconceivable!

You don't know my MCAT scores but I will share that I got a 27 on the MCAT with 9's on all sections. I just retook and don't know the outcome but that seems like I am close to the 30 which is what I was after to begin with. Not good enough? Oh well, I have two options, keep retaking/SMP/give more money to the AAMC, or, go to the Carib and start this year.

I know I already addressed some of this, but in the interest of full disclosure, I have a 28 MCAT. I took it once and sort of refused to take it again. So dont think the SDN mantra of 30 or below = fail is true. Its not. Mine was a bit lopsided as well and I had three MD acceptances (you can find my story on one of these threads somewhere😎). Trust me I know the idea of AAMC robbing us of our money, but dont think thats going to go away in the Caribbean, it just changes hands. Again, you know how I feel about it and I wish you luck. Just wanted to point some things out for other readers.

You also realize that by going to Ross you are only eligible for $20500 of Stafford loans (while US students are eligible for over $40k)? The rest you have to loan through GradPlus at much higher interest rates (8.5%) and pending a credit approval.

Also, educational loans cannot be discharged by bankruptcy.

It's obvious the safer bet would be to improve your application. If you fail to get in again this coming year, you can go to Ross during the winter term entry. Most people hear back from US schools before Christmas now that schools are nearly all on accelerated interview schedules. That way you hedge both outcomes and at worst delay your entry to Ross by one term, but at best attend a US MD school.

👍 Best advice in the thread. This is exactly what I did (postponed entering at Caribbean until Jan) and got my acceptances. Its a "no brainer" in my head, if your waiting to go anyway, especially if your "rich", just do the app again and see (even more so if you just retook the MCAT even).

Try not to take it personally, mang.

I didn't take it personally and it wasn't directed at me. I was just stopping the personal attacks. Mang? ?

OP, we talked and I hope my story helped at least somewhat. However, just take the time before heading out to step back and assess your situation. Physicians must have the ability to assess their own actions and ideas. Just look through all the issues objectively. Maybe your decision wont change, but at least you took the time to look at all aspects. Again, good luck keep us informed.

 

[7starmantis]

You got a 28 MCAT and have MD acceptances - consider yourself blessed. I don't know anyone who has a 30/31 right now with a single interview in my neck of the woods. I don't know everyones particular situation but I felt I was a great candidate in most respects but a 27 was not going to cut me through the fat. Congrats and I am impressed by your resolve.

A 28 MCAT still trumps my 27 on the end of the day. You made the right choice for yourself.

Really? I know of several. If I remember correctly the average MCAT score is still below 30. The truth is its about much more than just the MCAT score as well. I applied last year (same MCAT) and got two interviews and one waitlist, this year (same MCAT) 4 interviews and 3 pre-match acceptances. The process is such a crap shoot that you can't really determine how one cycle will differ from the next.

True true (barely) and we all have to make our own choices. Just wanted to throw it out there for others who might still be trying to decide. So any closer on your decision between Ross and SGU? When would you leave for the Caribbean? August? How do you feel you did on the MCAT this time?

 

[7starmantis]

I am still holding out for interviews with US MD schools which are possible - but unlikely. If I chose to go to Ross or SGU it would be this fall, in August. The programs seem nice and I am just glad to be back in New York for clinical rotations after 18 months. I know people who re apply and have success and I endorse it if this is a big enough deal. Maybe I come from a family of FMGs and they are supporters of SGU and don't care whatsoever.

I have a friend at a smaller carib school who just got back to new york and is loving it. Dont buy the family thing though man, its all about your own decision. My family was probably more excited about me going to the Caribbean than staying here 🙂 If a person's family supports them, they will support them in the Caribbean or the US. If I remember correctly, its SGU that has a contract for clinical spots in New York and I think they have like a huge number (well over their class size) at least so the story goes.

When my folks got here in the late 70's they were literally told no FMG's - sorry. They had to wait 5 years for anything, and got put in whatever sucked at the time (psychiatry) and they know today is not going to be as bad as the politically intense 70s when there were surplussed with physicians.

To be honest, I think you are caught up a little in the FMG "legacy" if you will. Its got this following that are sort of anti-establishment and anti-elitist and so they erroneously think choosing the anti-established schools some how holds to their creed. Thats a fallacy in the tenth degree. Just saying. 😀
I have a friend whose parents were political refugees from Cuba and when my friend was considering med school out of the states they were upset. They had a good point, it was that they had worked and sacrificed so much for their children to have better than they did. They sacrificed and worked to make it to the US and to become legal citizens so their children could take part in the US education system, etc. They felt like to choose a foreign school over a US (if given the choice, even waiting like in our cases) was stepping backwards and sort of denying the fruits of all their hard work. There are other ways to identify with our parents, heritage, etc without making conscious decisions that put our future at risk.

Again, just saying.... 😀

PS - I believe the score average for US MD schools has crept up and now settled on just above 30. This year Albany emailed me my rejection but gave me the breakdown of their average class scores thus far. Mind you, Albany is not competitive in the way its other NY peers are - but they have an average approaching 32. The MSAR also shows a 30 average, but with the reality being 32 for most 'comfort' with applicants getting in someplace.

You may be right, I never really got into the whole data and comparing my scores idea. Just know that those stats can be deceiving. I know many who have had multiple acceptances with below 30 MCAT scores.

 

[morning]

PS - I believe the score average for US MD schools has crept up and now settled on just above 30. This year Albany emailed me my rejection but gave me the breakdown of their average class scores thus far. Mind you, Albany is not competitive in the way its other NY peers are - but they have an average approaching 32. The MSAR also shows a 30 average, but with the reality being 32 for most 'comfort' with applicants getting in someplace.

http://www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/downloads/gpamcat.pdf

Some states/regions are tougher than others. I wouldn't want to be an applicant in the west.

I also think the fact that there are new medical colleges opening helps.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I enjoy your username, avatar, status and signature. Very well crafted profile.

With a little bit of luck you'll be a legend as well.



but on a serious note - the West (cali) is hard. I also believe Texas is hard, just because of its inclusion and size, and I believe New York is hard because it has 4 state schools who apparently don't care much for taking 90% of us from NY.

Cali sucks for pre-med. Texas is like winning the lotto, you can get in with a 3.5 gpa + 28 mcat and its only like 15k a year.

 

[Hifey]

You got a 28 MCAT and have MD acceptances - consider yourself blessed. I don't know anyone who has a 30/31 right now with a single interview in my neck of the woods. I don't know everyones particular situation but I felt I was a great candidate in most respects but a 27 was not going to cut me through the fat. Congrats and I am impressed by your resolve.

A 28 MCAT still trumps my 27 on the end of the day. You made the right choice for yourself.

Rama, I got a 27 MCAT ( a bit lopsided though with BS/Vr high/average and the PS in the garbage) as well and have two acceptances. I realize I'm very lucky but I think part of it was the fact that I applied VERY broadly (20+ schools). I know many people who chose to apply only in Cali (i'm a cali resident), and got NOTHING. Even with excellent scores. I can't tell you to reapply cause honestly, I don't know if I would do this whole process over again. My bro attends SGU and I had made up my mind on one cycle and then joining him if it didn't work out. I don't think they're bad choices and if you feel that its the right way for you, then pursue it. As long as you don't just jump into it blindly which unfortunately I think a lot of people do. good luck wherever you choose to go!

 

[Hifey]

I have never been more open eyed than I am currently, in my life. This process has given me a lot of insight into myself and the nature of the profession and what I can accomplish with my own elbow grease. If I got a US acceptance you will never hear from me again. I guess I would prefer being loud and obnoxious 😉

Honestly, I think thats all that matters. I know people who never even tried in the US and just applied straightaway to the Carib, I feel like they didn't give themselves a fair chance. Anyways, I hope you do get a US acceptance! That would be pretty sweet 🙂

 

[womp]

Cali sucks for pre-med. Texas is like winning the lotto, you can get in with a 3.5 gpa + 28 mcat and its only like 15k a year.

Yup, Texas is probably the easiest big state in the country. They're pretty much all state schools, and they take less than 10% OOS. They also have fewer top undergrad schools there (relative to population). The best is Rice followed by UT Austin.

 

[thamsenman]

Just go wherever you're happy. I have some friends in the Caribbean, so I'm sympathetic to some extent to what you have to go through down there.

Bannie, why do you think carib md > do?

Also, what do residency directors think? Isn't that the ultimate test of which one is smarter to do?

I don't know. I'm just asking the question.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Just go wherever you're happy. I have some friends in the Caribbean, so I'm sympathetic to some extent to what you have to go through down there.

Bannie, why do you think carib md > do?

Also, what do residency directors think? Isn't that the ultimate test of which one is smarter to do?

I don't know. I'm just asking the question.

He believes this because he is the guardian of the Anti-DO maple syrup wall of CanadiaLand.
But no he's simply against DO's because in Canada they arent really prominent and some provinces dont accept it. Well really only 1 state legally opposes them.

 

[LawNonTrad]

I didn't take it personally and it wasn't directed at me. I was just stopping the personal attacks. Mang? ?

I'm on your side, dude. Look at the rest of the post. I agree that Bannie was completely out of line, but I was simply asking you to consider that 1) he's a foreign student and 2) he's a teenager. Look at his cute little anime avatar. I choose not to get upset with him, because I pity him and how his attitude will not serve him well in the future (for residency, etc.) Clearly he's below the maturity level of the average premed, let alone the average SDNer. He's also made racist comments in other threads but that's a different story entirely.

Cheers.

 

[Morsetlis]

People tend to settle down later in life...

 

[LawNonTrad]

Really? I know of several. If I remember correctly the average MCAT score is still below 30. The truth is its about much more than just the MCAT score as well. I applied last year (same MCAT) and got two interviews and one waitlist, this year (same MCAT) 4 interviews and 3 pre-match acceptances. The process is such a crap shoot that you can't really determine how one cycle will differ from the next.

Average MCAT for a matriculant at US MD schools last year was 30.8. The average applicant to US MD schools had a 28.

Average GPA for a matriculant was 3.66. The average applicant to US MD schools had a 3.51.

http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/table17-fact2009mcatgpa98-09-web.pdf

You didn't mention your GPA, but suffice it to say that with three MD acceptances and your stats, I'm pretty certain that you brought something special to the table that the ad-comms appreciated. Maybe you had amazing extracurriculars or maybe phenomenal research. Maybe you're a non-traditional applicant who had diverse life experiences since undergrad. Ad-comms appreciate these things from what I hear, and I hear about many non-trad applicants getting in with slightly below average scores in both categories when compared to traditional pre-meds, especially if the applicant has completed a year or so of post-bacc recently that shows the ad-comms that the applicant can succeed in the medical school environment.

Now this isn't to say that the average non-traditional applicant could get into a 3.6/30 average school with a 3.3/26, but a non-trad with a great story would probably still have a decent shot of getting in with a 3.5/29, let's say. Or a 3.4/32. You get where I'm going with this I think. The low numbers(10th percentile) have to come from somewhere, and we know that part of that group consists of the underrepresented minority applicants. My hunch is that a small portion of that group also consists of non-traditional students.

 

[schrizto]

I'm on your side, dude. Look at the rest of the post. I agree that Bannie was completely out of line, but I was simply asking you to consider that 1) he's a foreign student and 2) he's a teenager. Look at his cute little anime avatar. I choose not to get upset with him, because I pity him and how his attitude will not serve him well in the future (for residency, etc.) Clearly he's below the maturity level of the average premed, let alone the average SDNer. He's also made racist comments in other threads but that's a different story entirely.

Cheers.

I don't think bannie's a teenager. IIRC, he applied this cycle and apparently has already been accepted, although he does have some immature posts and has a questionable choice of avatars.

 

[apumic]

I also should add that after Ronaldo mentioned it - I am elitist and prefer the MD initials because that was what I wanted in the first place. There are no reservations for bs, the DO is just 'as good' and 'does the same' thing, but I am not interested in having to explain myself to people who call my office or want to understand DO vs MD. I don't hide behind the semantics of OMM and other factual stuff. My reason is subjective as it gets, and I have no reason to suspect anyone will ask me about where I went to school vs what my initials mean.

There is a reason I don't care what academics and intellectual elitists think - they would snub me for being a Ross graduate. I would never step foot in a crowd of elitist doctors, I will never fit their ideal and I know it already. I'm going private practice and thats why I chose to do this, and so you are correct. This has no effect on my patients since I will be practicing medicine that is taught to me and trained by me in the US of A.

Bottom rung indeed, I am not suggesting my elitism made me pick the best choice, but its a choice nonetheless. I am no better than a DO, but I am not suggesting I am worse. If it means getting borderline fellatio by SDN maybe I ought to reconsider being a DO but I have a MD acceptance and so I should do what I set out to do. Best of luck.

Huh...?!

So are you elitest or not?! lol...

 

[thamsenman]

Huh...?!

So are you elitest or not?! lol...

+1, I am equally confused, ramakandra.

You want the MD because you are an elitest, but you are willing to go to Ross because you are NOT an elitest?

Better make up your mind first 😕

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I'm an elitist because I like having the initials MD, being socioeconomically advantaged in having people (non doctors, women, etc) know I am a doctor right away. I will likely earn more money as a result of being an MD but that is not my focus in this thread. I don't care about what academics and namely, the intellectual opinions of pre-meds/future MDPHD folks are. No offense to them but I am not interested in being a hotshot academic champion or being referred to as 'smart' by folks, I'd just rather be private and wealthy and not care to jib-jab with doctors over conferences. I've discovered that nerds will dislike me for being the antithesis of what they imagine are suitable physicians. If you read my first quote that you have chosen to nitpick it says 'because that is what I wanted in the first place,' - my elitism is a result of setting a goal and going for it regardless of what I have to do. If I were more humble I would go get a DO or something otherwise. Get over it, you won't to find any holes in my argument(s).

Have a good one.

False
Rama MD; Psychiatrist v.s Serenade DO; Neurologist.
I'll have a pretty good shot a Neuro in DO. It'll be very unlikely to land any residency beyond PCP as a carib.

Reality is that Ross is a way to get a MD. If you dont care about the title and are happy being a doctor and practicing medicine. Well DO or MD it doesn't matter.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Lets join practices and take over, straight up. We may be able to help Tom Cruise as a result.

Lol... Yes... We will cure Tom .

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

After Cruise went on national TV to disparage the psychiatric profession I thought it was over for us - but interestingly the appointments jumped in popularity which was funny. People suddenly wanted to know more, and I'm sure its in vogue to have a therapist and a psychiatrist. They did a documentary about Frank Gehry's 20 year therapist and it was fascinating.

There is a massive anti-psychiatric ideology in Hollywood. Its been that way for almost 30 years + add the over diagnosis of ADD/ADHD and you've got a lot of public dislike towards psychiatrists.

 

[thamsenman]

ramakandra, I know tons of shrinks who are DOs. Nobody cares that you're a DO over an MD.

 

[b-real]

Shrinks are psychologists, not psychiatrists. Define 'ton' and 'nobody' and I will be more inclined to understand this. If I open a private practice and patients look me up in a phone book or call my office, they will relate to me being an MD and not a DO. Maybe in 25 years I will take back this comment but until that time, I don't see why I would become a DO over an MD.

Second to the above - my anecdotal evidence is my entire family is in the field, my cousins, friends, uncles, they all are practicing MD psychiatrists and I guess their experiences tell me I would be fine whether I came from abroad or not.

Wrong, both psychiatrists and psychologists are referred to as shrinks (it's usually in reference to psychiatrists, though).

 

[thamsenman]

If you go to DO school, you WILL match into psychiatry. I'm not so sure as an FMG.

DO -----> you match -----------------> psychiatrist!! yay!

Then you'll be doing this:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eidpOdDX8Qg[/YOUTUBE]