MD & DO SGU or gap year?

[BigBaller2]

Hello all,

I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois and I'm majoring in economics. My cGPA and sGPA are each around 3.0. I'm graduating in a few weeks and these GPA's will likely be the the same.

I think that I underestimated the amount of information on the MCAT and scored a 491. I studied inconsistently for about 12 weeks and used a Kaplan live, online course. I did not find their exams to be representative of the actual MCAT. I also used the official AAMC exams with the course and scored a 495 on both of them, I felt these were similar but slightly easier than my exam. I took the actual exam because I was hoping that if I scored around a 497 then I would have a chance at DO schools.

I currently work as an ED scribe in a hospital and have a good amount of clinical, volunteer, research, and leadership experience.

I have been accepted to Saint George's University SOM for the January 2018 start term and am seeking advice of whether I should go or not. The deposit is due in a few weeks so I need to make a decision very soon. I have have spoken to people who have recently dropped out and others who are in residency or are practicing now. Ultimately, they say that I would have to work several times harder than the average US medical student but if I can do this, then getting most residency's will not be a problem. I would need to maintain about an 80% average in these classes to pass based on what I've been told. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[seren1051]

Friend, don't go to SGU. What makes you think that you can work several times harder than the average medical student (when literally everyone going to SGU's thinking the same thing)? I think a better course of action would be retaking the MCAT & 2+years of DIY postbacc (with strong grade to show you can handle med school) or SMP.

Also, search up on SDN - you'll find near-annual happenings of IMGs (SGU included) scrambling to find residencies during SOAP.

 

[studpremed]

Take the gap year or years. You'll thank yourself in the future.

 

[candbgirl]

What makes you think you can work several times harder than the average US medical student? You haven’t done it yet and a 491 MCAT is just awful. You need to retake but not until you are consistently scoring at your target goal. You also need several semesters of upper level science courses with a GPA of 3.7+. Don’t go to the Caribbean. You are just the kind of student they prey on. The accept you, take your money, fail you after a bit and leave you thousands of dollars in debt. If you want to be a doctor take your time and do it right.

 

[Kingsmen2018]

Gap Year>> Reapplicant Double Gap Year> Another career if rejected again>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Janitor>>>>>>>SGU or any other carrib med school.

With a Janitorial Position you won't be hundreds of thousands in debt.

 

[rg2o3]

Also, with those GPAs, you should be shooting for 500+ on the MCAT for DO schools.

 

[Beniacker08]

Hello all,

I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois and I'm majoring in economics. My cGPA and sGPA are each around 3.0. I'm graduating in a few weeks and these GPA's will likely be the the same.

I think that I underestimated the amount of information on the MCAT and scored a 491. I studied inconsistently for about 12 weeks and used a Kaplan live, online course. I did not find their exams to be representative of the actual MCAT. I also used the official AAMC exams with the course and scored a 495 on both of them, I felt these were similar but slightly easier than my exam. I took the actual exam because I was hoping that if I scored around a 497 then I would have a chance at DO schools.

I currently work as an ED scribe in a hospital and have a good amount of clinical, volunteer, research, and leadership experience.

I have been accepted to Saint George's University SOM for the January 2018 start term and am seeking advice of whether I should go or not. The deposit is due in a few weeks so I need to make a decision very soon. I have have spoken to people who have recently dropped out and others who are in residency or are practicing now. Ultimately, they say that I would have to work several times harder than the average US medical student but if I can do this, then getting most residency's will not be a problem. I would need to maintain about an 80% average in these classes to pass based on what I've been told. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I majored in Economics and Sociology, had a lowwww gpa and after reapplying I’ve had 4 II since July so far and was accepted at my top choice DO School with a 498 MCAT. I can offer you more details via inbox but I concur 100% don’t do Caribbean. Prove to yourself your capable of a US medical school by addressing your limitations and overcoming them. Best thing I ever did

 

[EarthOneFlash]

Don't go Caribbean. As enticing as it sounds, that path to MD is filled with uncertainty. I've known plenty of people who've graduated from the Caribbean and didn't match for residency/decided to go another career direction. As much as Caribbean med schools have been working to improve, going the U.S. MD/DO route is still the better option. Take the gap year, or two, or however many you need to become the strongest applicant you can be. One or more gap years is a drop in the time bucket filled with an entire lifetime of working in medicine.

 

[de Ribas]

Hello all,

I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois and I'm majoring in economics. My cGPA and sGPA are each around 3.0. I'm graduating in a few weeks and these GPA's will likely be the the same.

I think that I underestimated the amount of information on the MCAT and scored a 491. I studied inconsistently for about 12 weeks and used a Kaplan live, online course. I did not find their exams to be representative of the actual MCAT. I also used the official AAMC exams with the course and scored a 495 on both of them, I felt these were similar but slightly easier than my exam. I took the actual exam because I was hoping that if I scored around a 497 then I would have a chance at DO schools.

I currently work as an ED scribe in a hospital and have a good amount of clinical, volunteer, research, and leadership experience.

I have been accepted to Saint George's University SOM for the January 2018 start term and am seeking advice of whether I should go or not. The deposit is due in a few weeks so I need to make a decision very soon. I have have spoken to people who have recently dropped out and others who are in residency or are practicing now. Ultimately, they say that I would have to work several times harder than the average US medical student but if I can do this, then getting most residency's will not be a problem. I would need to maintain about an 80% average in these classes to pass based on what I've been told. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

please no

 

[LebronManning]

Respectfully, you should certainly not go to SGU with a MCAT below 500. This is coming from someone who might have to actually go to SGU this coming fall, but I'd only go if I get MCAT above 510. Generally SDN is not the best place to get advice for going to SGU because people will trash it left and right no matter what. IMO, Carib schools (SGU/Ross/AUC/SABA) generally should be reserved for low GPA, high MCAT because these students have proved they can do well on standardized testing which is what your entire medical career will depend on (USMLE) if you enroll at SGU. Many people are poor test takers for whatever reason and if this is the case you are much better off attending even the worst DO school after some post-bacc work because you can still get a residency with a below average USMLE score. With that said, there are students who do much better on USMLE than their MCAT would have led you to believe but that's a huge gamble. I believe if one can score above 510 on MCAT then they can certainly study and get a good enough Step 1 score to match, but if one cannot get above a 503 on their MCAT it is usually due to some test taking anxiety or lack in multiple choice skills that will somewhat translate to USMLE performance.