SGU c/o 2025 Introductions

[FarmerToDoctor]

I have been admitted to SGU for Fall 2021 and wanted to create a thread for others like me. We all have our reasons for deciding to go to the Caribbean to obtain our medical education. Whether it be low GPA, low MCAT, or you're a non-trad and tired of waiting to be admitted by a program in the States, we are all in the same boat now.

If you want to interact with this thread please include
Why SGU
What are your concerns about going to SGU
What field you want to complete your residency in

Why SGU: I am from California. I completed undergrad in 2016 with a GPA far below a 3.0. Truth of the matter is I did not know how to study and my focus was on other things. Since then I have been in graduate school pursuing a dual MS/MBA, which I will be completing May 2021. Over the years I have been able to interact with, work with, and befriend many SGU alum who have told me the good, the bad, and the ugly about SGU. I am in my mid/late-20s and was aware that my chances of getting into a US program were slim. I did not want to complete another masters or post-bacc and hope that then I would finally be admitted.

Concerns: I am concerned about the impact Step 1 changing to P/F will have on my chances of obtaining a residency spot.

Residency of Interest: As of right now I am interested in completing a residency in pediatrics or IM, followed by a CVD fellowship

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[Goro]

 

[Gambino.]

If your intent is to interact with your classmates, than this type of post would be better served in your cohort's Facebook, GroupMe, or WhatsApp chat instead of on here. You won't find too many classmates on SDN.

Your reasons for coming to the Carib are your own, but in all honesty I'd probably keep the reasons to yourself on a public forum.

As a fellow Carib, I'd also advise you to not get too into thoughts of fellowship prior to matching in general. Just focus on doing well and surviving the 1st semester culling of students.

 

[SicilianDragon]

Hi! I also got accepted to SGU at the beginning of this week. To be completely honest with you, I'm still waiting on responses from U.S. MD and DO schools and plan on attending SGU as a last resort (if even, might consider taking a third gap year). I've been reading a LOT about SGU, and I've become wary of a lot of the... concerns (to say the least) of attending a Caribbean school. I'm actually in the dilemma of deciding whether or not to submit the deposit to reserve my seat, as I really believe I may have a shot at a DO school at least (500 MCAT, 3.4 cGPA, 3.1 sGPA, extensive clinical/research experiences). It's my third time reapplying, and I can't stress enough how drained and exhausted I have been from filling out these applications - and the waiting sucks...but at the same time, I really do want the best for my future. So, all this to say, not sure where I stand with SGU, but it is definitely a last resort option.

*I'm also kinda new to SDN, so maybe more informed members can provide some good feedback on what they think about this route.

 

[Goro]

Hi! I also got accepted to SGU at the beginning of this week. To be completely honest with you, I'm still waiting on responses from U.S. MD and DO schools and plan on attending SGU as a last resort (if even, might consider taking a third gap year). I've been reading a LOT about SGU, and I've become wary of a lot of the... concerns (to say the least) of attending a Caribbean school. I'm actually in the dilemma of deciding whether or not to submit the deposit to reserve my seat, as I really believe I may have a shot at a DO school at least (500 MCAT, 3.4 cGPA, 3.1 sGPA, extensive clinical/research experiences). It's my third time reapplying, and I can't stress enough how drained and exhausted I have been from filling out these applications - and the waiting sucks...but at the same time, I really do want the best for my future. So, all this to say, not sure where I stand with SGU, but it is definitely a last resort option.

*I'm also kinda new to SDN, so maybe more informed members can provide some good feedback on what they think about this route.

Since you asked....

The point here isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score.

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half or two thirds of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really. If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NRMP-2018-Program-Director-Survey-for-WWW.pdf



Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools | Pamela Wible MD

 

[SicilianDragon]

Since you asked....

The point here isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score.

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half or two thirds of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really. If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NRMP-2018-Program-Director-Survey-for-WWW.pdf



Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools | Pamela Wible MD

Thanks @Goro -

"Bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification" - sheesh, quite a spot-on list there, almost felt like a personal attack lol. But I do appreciate the much-needed honesty with all this info, especially as I fall in their target audience. Part of me really wants to believe that I can succeed and become a unique exception to their statistics, but sadly I'm not that optimistic lol.

On a random positive note though, SGU's application process has been extremely quick, efficient, and easy. I love the idea of having a personal admissions counselor assisting throughout every step and serving as a liaison between you and the adcom. Also, I had the interview via FaceTime, so that was...different I guess.

 

[Goro]

"Bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification" - sheesh, quite a spot-on list there, almost felt like a personal attack lol. But I do appreciate the much-needed honesty with all this info, especially as I fall in their target audience. Part of me really wants to believe that I can succeed and become a unique exception to their statistics, but sadly I'm not that optimistic lol.

If you look at some of the reactions SDNers bound for the Carib give over the years, you can see that they don't merely fail to live down these expectations, they actually live up to them!

On a random positive note though, SGU's application process has been extremely quick, efficient, and easy. I love the idea of having a personal admissions counselor assisting throughout every step and serving as a liaison between you and the adcom. Also, I had the interview via FaceTime, so that was...different I guess.
See how badly they want your money?

 

[FarmerToDoctor]

Since you asked....

The point here isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score.

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half or two thirds of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really. If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NRMP-2018-Program-Director-Survey-for-WWW.pdf



Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools | Pamela Wible MD

What's your opinion on the outcome for students that attend programs like SGU that have primary care fields (IM, FM, Peds) as their end goal?

 

[Goro]

What's your opinion on the outcome for students that attend programs like SGU that have primary care fields (IM, FM, Peds) as their end goal?

Odds are better for DOs.

 

[FrustratedFamDoc]

What's your opinion on the outcome for students that attend programs like SGU that have primary care fields (IM, FM, Peds) as their end goal?

Certainly achievable, and much more likely than a more competitive specialty but still no guarantee. MANY will go unmatched every year with no support from the school.

 

[Groove]

Congrats! Best of luck to you. This thread reminded me of how I felt when I started my first term at SGU way back in 2005. It seems like so long ago, yet I can still remember the details as if it was yesterday. All that anxiety, stress, fear and excitement. I'm sure things have changed since I came along and this post isn't mean to lecture you on the evils or merits of a Caribbean school but rather to wish you the very best of luck. It's a tough road, but doable!

 

[shouldigomd]

What's your opinion on the outcome for students that attend programs like SGU that have primary care fields (IM, FM, Peds) as their end goal?

Good odds. Many of my peers that did average (B/Cs) with average step got into a IM/FM/Peds programs.

 

[Gambino.]

Obviously my stats are not impressive and that is the main reason I applied to SGU, but I would not have considered Ross/AUA or other Caribbean medical schools because SGU is the more reputable in California, where I would like to practice once I’m done.

If you are going carib you need to throw out these notions that you will plan on matching a competitive residency in a certain location. The average carib student will send in 150-200+ applications per applied speciality all over the country to match. Also, read up on SGU's accreditation changes as there's a possibility you not only won't match in Cali, but also won't be eligible to match into any US program. Both Ross and AUC have rotation sites at Kern in Bakersfield and they have about the same % match into CA as SGU when accounting for class size differences so SGU doesn't have some magical pull over the other big 2. AUA is trash and isn't considered big 3.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about matching for residency, but I’ve seen the match list and I know I am a competitive applicant right off the bat, so no worries there.

You aren't a competitive applicant off the bat, like what? You have spent zero days as a medical student and how no board score results that would show you are competitive for a certain residency at this point. We are in the negatives as far as competitiveness goes as carib students and we build up from there with boards and clinicals.


I would spend some time making sure you have seen all aspects of carib/SGU because rn you're setting yourself up for disappointment. It isn't as bad as some make it out to be but your aspirations of becoming a Californian non-PCP resident is not something that happens to most of us that make it through the school.

 

[Goro]

Hey guys,
I got accepted into the Fall 2021 class a few months ago and I am thankful that a school would give me a chance to become a physician.

Why SGU-
I work with a lot of SGU grads that are EM/FM/IM physicians. I had no idea they were from SGU and didn’t think they would be because they were just as skilled/knowledgeable, if not better than the US MDs and DOs. Obviously my stats are not impressive and that is the main reason I applied to SGU, but I would not have considered Ross/AUA or other Caribbean medical schools because SGU is the more reputable in California, where I would like to practice once I’m done.

What are your concerns about going to SGU-
Since I’m married with 2 young ones, I am worried that my family would struggle and hate their 2 years on the island.

I’ve done the research and know where I want to be during my clinical rotation, which is in California. This is the main reason why I didn’t want to go to other Caribbean schools. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about matching for residency, but I’ve seen the match list and I know I am a competitive applicant right off the bat, so no worries there.


What field you want to complete your residency in-
I want to go into emergency medicine (90%) or anesthesiology (10%). FM/IM/PEDS/OBGYN/SURGERY is not my cup of tea.

That smacking sound you hear off in the distance is SGU thinking of yet another mark.

The point isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

Quoting the wise gyngyn: The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score.

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really). If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey-1.pdf



Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools | Pamela Wible MD
h-caribbean-medical-schools/

 

[the argus]

Since you asked....

The point here isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score.

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half or two thirds of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really. If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NRMP-2018-Program-Director-Survey-for-WWW.pdf



Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools | Pamela Wible MD

That smacking sound you hear off in the distance is SGU thinking of yet another mark.

The point isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

Quoting the wise gyngyn: The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score.

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really). If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey-1.pdf



Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools | Pamela Wible MD
h-caribbean-medical-schools/

There are real reasons to think very carefully before deciding to go to a Caribbean medical school, and people should always do their best to get into a US based school before considering the Caribbean route.

That being said, much of what is stated in the above post is pure opinion at best and just factually wrong as worst.

1. The idea that performing well in the Caribbean is somehow looked down upon by residency PDs is ludicrous.
2. The data clearly shows that Caribbean grads are not in fact "the last choice" of residency PDs. Caribbean grads are favored over the majority of foreign-IMGs at the majority of programs.

The Caribbean medical schools are only able to exist because of the deficits of the US undergraduate medical education system. The US graduate medical education system (i.e. residency programs) require >7000 more physicians on yearly basis than the US undergraduate medical education system produces. Every year literally thousands of US citizens are forced to go abroad for medical school and then come back to the US, match for residency, and go on to become fully licensed practicing physicians. The vast majority of these future physicians go to the Caribbean. The refusal of the US undergraduate medical education system to train these willing and capable people is the true travesty of this story.

 

[Confundo]

With SGU losing their accreditation, what would be the reason to attend? Anyone starting now (graduating after 2024) would not be eligible for ECFMG Certification and therefore wouldn't be able to apply for US Residency.

 

[eppu]

With SGU losing their accreditation, what would be the reason to attend? Anyone starting now (graduating after 2024) would not be eligible for ECFMG Certification and therefore wouldn't be able to apply for US Residency.

Would you mind explaining the above.
Does that applied to US Citizens also.

 

[Gambino.]

Would you mind explaining the above.
Does that applied to US Citizens also.

I don't see how a citizenship would allow you to forgo a school's accreditation, so yes.

 

[Confundo]

Would you mind explaining the above.
Does that applied to US Citizens also.

If you are applying then you just have to assume that because they are for profit, they will be reaccredited to allow their students to place into US residencies. But as of right now, in 2024 students will no longer be allowed to place in US residency. regardless of citizenship.

 

[lostpremed_1]

Any current SGU students have more any updated information? Any guess to when it will be reaccredited? I'm about to apply to SGU, is that risk as of now? What the next best school?

 

[Gambino.]

Any current SGU students have more any updated information? Any guess to when it will be reaccredited? I'm about to apply to SGU, is that risk as of now? What the next best school?

It is a risk until they get the accreditation by ECFMG as you won't apply to residency before 2024 if starting now. Next "best" would be Ross or AUC if not contemplating US MD/DO schools, which are obviously the superior choice.