SGU or University of Limerick Medical School

[chahal]

Hello,

I am really split between SGU (Caribbeans) and Limerick (Ireland) medical school. Limerick has a better reputation and prestige compared to SGU. However, SGU offers 2 years of clinical rotations in the States, which may make it easier to collect reference letters. The match back rate to Canada for SGU is ~50% and for Limerick, it ranges between 40-60%. Limericks USMLE pass rate is above 90%, whereas SGU is ~99%. I also heard from some people that SGU doesn't let students move forward to clinicals before completing the USMLE, however, in Ireland IMGs have to make their own initiative to complete and prepare for the exam. On one end I think Limerick has a better reputation, but I'm trying to figure out what will get me back to Canada at the end of the day.

I would appreciate any advice from students that went to SGU or Limerick and what they think about the curriculum and how they matched back to Canada.

Thank you! 🙂

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Hello,

I am really split between SGU (Caribbeans) and Limerick (Ireland) medical school. Limerick has a better reputation and prestige compared to SGU. However, SGU offers 2 years of clinical rotations in the States, which may make it easier to collect reference letters. The match back rate to Canada for SGU is ~50% and for Limerick, it ranges between 40-60%. Limericks USMLE pass rate is above 90%, whereas SGU is ~99%. I also heard from some people that SGU doesn't let students move forward to clinicals before completing the USMLE, however, in Ireland IMGs have to make their own initiative to complete and prepare for the exam. On one end I think Limerick has a better reputation, but I'm trying to figure out what will get me back to Canada at the end of the day.

I would appreciate any advice from students that went to SGU or Limerick and what they think about the curriculum and how they matched back to Canada.

Thank you! 🙂

The match rate to Canada is nowhere near 50% from any IMG school. To match in Canada you need to destroy 2 exams, which everyone thinks they will do but of course most do not.
You're looking more at 20-25% odds of matching in Canada, and legislation changes continue to decrease those odds. Same for Ireland, maybe 25%.

The pass rate for SGU for USMLE is definitely not 99%, not 90% either or anywhere even near that. Don't just believe what you're told dude. The odds of even making it to the end of med school as an IMG is not high, maybe 60% tops if you go to the caribbean. The odds of matching to the US as a non-American IMG are very poor, even if you do reasonably well on USMLE.


Have a read through this:




Don't just throw 4-5 years of your life and 300k away. It's fine to dream big, but would you gamble that much time and money for 20-40% chance of success?

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Hello,

I am really split between SGU (Caribbeans) and Limerick (Ireland) medical school. Limerick has a better reputation and prestige compared to SGU. However, SGU offers 2 years of clinical rotations in the States, which may make it easier to collect reference letters. The match back rate to Canada for SGU is ~50% and for Limerick, it ranges between 40-60%. Limericks USMLE pass rate is above 90%, whereas SGU is ~99%. I also heard from some people that SGU doesn't let students move forward to clinicals before completing the USMLE, however, in Ireland IMGs have to make their own initiative to complete and prepare for the exam. On one end I think Limerick has a better reputation, but I'm trying to figure out what will get me back to Canada at the end of the day.

I would appreciate any advice from students that went to SGU or Limerick and what they think about the curriculum and how they matched back to Canada.

Thank you! 🙂

Please stop giving these schools your money. Are your GPA and MCAT scored so incomprehensible that you couldn’t give the traditional route a shot? Remember in the US, we have both MD and DO schools....which actually do have over a 90% of matching their students with very low attrition rates

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Please stop giving these schools your money. Are your GPA and MCAT scored so incomprehensible that you couldn’t give the traditional route a shot? Remember in the US, we have both MD and DO schools....which actually do have over a 90% of matching their students with very low attrition rates

These schools give really nice presentations to undergrads and play a good sales game overall. It takes critical thinking and research to find out whats actually up.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Exactly. I applied to SGU, got in, but ultimately decided to wait. It took three years after my SGU acceptance to get into a US school, but it was well worth the wait. I just wish more people had the patience smh

 

[markygtm]

I wrote another message but accidentally deleted it when editing.

Both have their risks and if you do decide to go, you have to be very diligent to make sure that you meet all the requirements as you go along to maximize your chances of matching (High scores on USMLE and/or Canadian boards, research experience, US/CAN clinical exposure, references). You also have to be realistic in the field that you are aiming to match into and need to be flexible with location. Family medicine and psychiatry are very do-able to match into for instance, internal medicine would be an example of medium difficulty, most other fields will be difficult to impossible to match into.

My opinion is that Limerick is the better option than SGU for Canadians right now (better for Canadian match, ~30%+ cheaper, reasonable class sizes, developed country/respected institution, high educational standards, most students get through the 4 years). SGU is over $100,000 CAD per year right now and that is to be put into an auditorium with 600+ other students and an environment where they want to filter out 50% of the class by the USMLE step 1.

What are your application stats?

 

[markygtm]

Please stop giving these schools your money. Are your GPA and MCAT scored so incomprehensible that you couldn’t give the traditional route a shot? Remember in the US, we have both MD and DO schools....which actually do have over a 90% of matching their students with very low attrition rates

Medical school admissions in Canada tend to be fairly unforgiving. If a student can't get into the one or two schools where they have an in-province advantage for whatever reason, then they basically need a consistent 3.85+ GPA and 90th percentile+ balanced MCAT to even have a shot at getting an interview. I know several people who had only 1-2 semesters of mediocre grades in their entire academic history and it makes it nearly impossible for them to ever get into Canadian medical school. Some of these students do second undergraduate degrees, master's degrees, etc and spend years improving their applications and even then it is really hit or miss if they end up getting in.

Also, for Canadians applying to US MD schools , they need higher stats and are assessed at a higher standard than American applicants as most schools accept only a few internationals at most (if any at all). US MD is definitely the best option for Canadians than the other options if they can get in for multiple reasons.

DO is definitely a reasonable option for Canadians, but not necessarily much better than Ireland for all goals. DOs are treated as CSA/IMG on the Canadian match and only a handful of DOs have ever matched into Canadian residencies. If you are 100% set on family medicine for instance and want to practice in Canada at the end, somewhere like University of Limerick might be as good of an option as DO schools for Canadians.

 

[MedicineN'Jazz]

Medical school admissions in Canada tend to be fairly unforgiving. If a student can't get into the one or two schools where they have an in-province advantage for whatever reason, then they basically need a consistent 3.85+ GPA and 90th percentile+ balanced MCAT to even have a shot at getting an interview. I know several people who had only 1-2 semesters of mediocre grades in their entire academic history and it makes it nearly impossible for them to ever get into Canadian medical school. Some of these students do second undergraduate degrees, master's degrees, etc and spend years improving their applications and even then it is really hit or miss if they end up getting in.

Also, for Canadians applying to US MD schools , they need higher stats and are assessed at a higher standard than American applicants as most schools accept only a few internationals at most (if any at all). US MD is definitely the best option for Canadians than the other options if they can get in for multiple reasons.

DO is definitely a reasonable option for Canadians, but not necessarily much better than Ireland for all goals. DOs are treated as CSA/IMG on the Canadian match and only a handful of DOs have ever matched into Canadian residencies. If you are 100% set on family medicine for instance and want to practice in Canada at the end, somewhere like University of Limerick might be as good of an option as DO schools for Canadians.

I mean...it’s not like OP has to match in Canada in order to be able to practice in Canada. If you can get into a US school, any US school, that’ll be infinitely better than going to Ireland or the Carib. To advise otherwise, would be giving misleading information.

And honestly, advising otherwise indicates that you have definitely not gone through the match process

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Medical school admissions in Canada tend to be fairly unforgiving. If a student can't get into the one or two schools where they have an in-province advantage for whatever reason, then they basically need a consistent 3.85+ GPA and 90th percentile+ balanced MCAT to even have a shot at getting an interview. I know several people who had only 1-2 semesters of mediocre grades in their entire academic history and it makes it nearly impossible for them to ever get into Canadian medical school. Some of these students do second undergraduate degrees, master's degrees, etc and spend years improving their applications and even then it is really hit or miss if they end up getting in.

Also, for Canadians applying to US MD schools , they need higher stats and are assessed at a higher standard than American applicants as most schools accept only a few internationals at most (if any at all). US MD is definitely the best option for Canadians than the other options if they can get in for multiple reasons.

DO is definitely a reasonable option for Canadians, but not necessarily much better than Ireland for all goals. DOs are treated as CSA/IMG on the Canadian match and only a handful of DOs have ever matched into Canadian residencies. If you are 100% set on family medicine for instance and want to practice in Canada at the end, somewhere like University of Limerick might be as good of an option as DO schools for Canadians.

Awful advice. DOs are virtually guaranteed to match in USA and afterwards you get your license to practice in Canada. That means it gives you a path to success, with a very high probability. Yes DOs are IMGs, but it's ridiculous to even go out of Canada assuming you'll do residency there. The only real path is to do a US residency and go back. And Ireland/Carib/wherever gives you very low odds of matching in USA in comparison to DOs who have a 98% chance or whatever.

Once again, leaving north america is the equivalent of throwing away 400k and 4-5 years of your prime life.

 

[markygtm]

Awful advice. DOs are virtually guaranteed to match in USA and afterwards you get your license to practice in Canada. That means it gives you a path to success, with a very high probability. Yes DOs are IMGs, but it's ridiculous to even go out of Canada assuming you'll do residency there. The only real path is to do a US residency and go back. And Ireland/Carib/wherever gives you very low odds of matching in USA in comparison to DOs who have a 98% chance or whatever.

Once again, leaving north america is the equivalent of throwing away 400k and 4-5 years of your prime life.

No, going to Ireland isn't "the equivalent of throwing away 400k and 4-5 years of your prime life" and to say that as a blanket statement is ignorant. People have to understand the risks and limitations before going (and it isn't for everyone), but it isn't universally a terrible option (just a difficult one). Speaking to Canadian students who have gone through the Irish system, it is closer to around 75-80% of the Canadians that finish the 4 years and match somewhere in Canada or the US on the first attempt, and over 100 CSAs studying in Ireland matched to Canadian residencies last year. Although it has gotten harder to get a spot, there is the back up for remaining students of getting an internship year in Ireland or getting accepted into UK Foundation years afterwards and some students do that too. This is a far cry from the 35-40% that make it through the 4 years and match from the "best" Caribbean medical schools (ie. SGU), but still far from ideal of course.

I agree with you that DO is the better option for Canadians but there are some nuances to that.

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

No, going to Ireland isn't "the equivalent of throwing away 400k and 4-5 years of your prime life" and to say that as a blanket statement is ignorant. People have to understand the risks and limitations before going (and it isn't for everyone), but it isn't universally a terrible option (just a difficult one). Speaking to Canadian students who have gone through the Irish system, it is closer to around 75-80% of the Canadians that finish the 4 years and match somewhere in Canada or the US on the first attempt, and over 100 CSAs studying in Ireland matched to Canadian residencies last year. Although it has gotten harder to get a spot, there is the back up for remaining students of getting an internship year in Ireland or getting accepted into UK Foundation years afterwards and some students do that too. This is a far cry from the 35-40% that make it through the 4 years and match from the "best" Caribbean medical schools (ie. SGU), but still far from ideal of course.

I agree with you that DO is the better option for Canadians but there are some nuances to that.

The numbers you threw out go against published statistics. I have no doubt the majority get a residency in North America but I also doubt it's as high as 80%. For CaRMS specifically, it's around 40%.

Why would you choose Ireland over the DO route anyway? Like what upside is there to it?? Your probability of matching in Canada is not any higher from Ireland vs DOs. Your probability of matching in USA is drastically higher as a DO (around 97-98%). You're also not overseas and you're often <1 day from your actual home. And.. you're being trained in a very similar fashion to Canada. Not making a blanket statement, but most (not all) overseas clinical training is shadowing based and very little hands on learning at any point.

The part you also miss is that difficulties increase for IMGs. Whether or not you match in Canada is down to 2 exams and 1 of those 2 exams has a major luck and subjective portion aka gambling. Whether or not you match in USA was also about exams but just as much about program bias against IMGs. Low quality residencies/malignant ones take in plenty of IMGs. Some lesser known rare ones that are decent also take IMGs with good frequency. Everywhere else?? You will be ranked lower than a DO who barely passed boards.

 

[Florentine]

Hello,

I am really split between SGU (Caribbeans) and Limerick (Ireland) medical school. Limerick has a better reputation and prestige compared to SGU. However, SGU offers 2 years of clinical rotations in the States, which may make it easier to collect reference letters. The match back rate to Canada for SGU is ~50% and for Limerick, it ranges between 40-60%. Limericks USMLE pass rate is above 90%, whereas SGU is ~99%. I also heard from some people that SGU doesn't let students move forward to clinicals before completing the USMLE, however, in Ireland IMGs have to make their own initiative to complete and prepare for the exam. On one end I think Limerick has a better reputation, but I'm trying to figure out what will get me back to Canada at the end of the day.

I would appreciate any advice from students that went to SGU or Limerick and what they think about the curriculum and how they matched back to Canada.

Thank you! 🙂

Honestly stay away from the Caribbean. Caribbean schools use deceptive advertising to lure optimistic, eager students into taking on massive debt. They don't tell you about the high attrition rates, often subpar facilities, huge class sizes, the fact that most rotations arranged in the US are in horrible areas, or the living conditions. The USMLE pass rate and match rate are advertised as being high sometimes because such a small number of students actually make it that far, they are the ones that are hard workers. But even then it is not a guarantee of matching. Most who do match do so in the USA. The Caribbean match rate in Canada is so low you should not even begin to consider it. If it is an absolute must between choosing Limerick or SGU, Limerick is an absolute no brainer. If my memory serves me right, Irish match rates to Canada were near 50% according to the latest CaRMS report whereas for Australia it was around 53% (although only about 32 Canadians studying in Australia applied to CaRMS) . The only caveat with Ireland is that unless you are an EU citizen, the likelihood of staying in Ireland as a back up plan is basically non existent. It is for this reason that my personal preference is Australia. The cost is somewhat comparable, and getting an internship position after graduation is possible for internationals. Regardless of where you go though, if you go to an international school, write the USMLE. If you go to a school like Limerick there will be plenty of Americans and Canadians in your class you can probably study with.

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

This is a load of inaccurate hyperbole. While it is good advice to be realistic about prospects of matching as an IMG and know your own capabilities, almost every statistic this guy is spouting are pure exaggerated and made up BS. You can verify directly with CaRMS and NRMP the match rates for IMGs. Canada is harder to match than the US but not fleetingly rare if you play your cards right. Match rates for ALL IMGs including ones from third world countries that have a markedly worse match rate than western schools is over 50% in the US. There are IMG schools that have US residency match rates above 90% (UQ Ochsner and Sackler off the top of my head, probably quite a few more that are near there too) You quote 20-40% chance of success, but you treat it like it's rolling the dice when your chances are very largely self-determined by your abilities and effort. If you go to the right school and are able to do well, choose a realistic specialty, you are overwhelmingly likely to match. The issue is that some people are unable to foresee what their ability to do well will be and they are essentially flushing money down the toilet. But again, your chance at success is not random, it is mostly self-determined.

Your post is categorically incorrect. You also contradict yourself. You say X school has Y% success rate then say it's up to the individual.

First of all, match rates in USA are incredibly inflated by everyone, even US MD schools. Everyone takes the post-SOAP rate and not the pre-SOAP rate which is the actual match rate, not the placement rate. Also, no one takes numbers from first year and compares it to the final pre-soap match rate. That ignores attrition, which is a hidden statistic everywhere and fluctuates. Caribbean schools have extreme attrition for example, yet claim ridiculous graduation and match rates.

And yes, IMGs in Canada have a 20-40% chance. Certain Ireland schools have rates in the 40s and Caribbean schools in the 20s. Where did I say that's exceedingly rare? It's not. It's a success rate of 20-45%.

NRMP, you have no clue how brutally IMGs are categorized in almost all decent residencies. They're very low priority. Always low on the rank list, and this is for FM/IM ! Yes some places pre-match and yes a small % of them are okayish residencies. That doesn't mean you aren't most likely screwed when it comes to getting a decent residency in a okay location.

For NRMP, you can absolutely suffer even with good scores. You aren't a US graduate, plain and simple. That hurts you for getting invites, for being even remotely high on the rank list and so on. For CaRMS, sure you can do well on MCCEE/MCCQE1... but the NAC is a random exam and it's easy to not score overly high even if you are very competent. Your little 20 minute ontario FM interview is also heavily luck based given the short time span. It is definitely not entirely within your control.


I think your problem is that you don't see the lack of a safety net (NRMP as a DO/US MD) being a problem when you take on 300-400k in expenses and spend 4-5 years of your prime life.
As a DO, you truly control your own destiny. It's not hard to do average on boards and very comfortable match in the US then come back to Canada to practice. As an IMG, you have to rely on everything going well for you.

 

[Florentine]

Not at all... I can quote match rate statistics to demonstrate the numbers you are throwing out there are inaccurate while simultaneously saying thate match statistics don't really give a meaningful picture of a person's actual chance at matching anyways because they do not consider any individualized factors.



Match rate is different then graduation rate. Match rate considers the percentage of people who apply to the match who actually match. You may find something like graduation rate more useful for what you are using the statistic for, but match rate isnt "inflated" the definition just doesn't mean what you want it to mean.



Generalizing. Overall they do, but again this ignores all individual factors that have a large impact. If you go to an Australian medical school for example, the match rate is above 50% as stated factually by the CaRMs statistical report in all recent years. This doesn't even consider other important factors if you go to an Australian school with MCCQE scores in the top 10th percentile, or if you've published, or if you have done rotations in Canada or not; these all affect your likelihood of matching substantially and are all within your control. It's not random luck.



I actually do "have a clue" because I went through NRMP and matched pretty easily as an FMG. I didn't have any pubs, I didn't do research, I had good USMLE scores but nothing phenomenal. I had decent LoRs and I had a couple US clinical electives but did most of my rotations in Australia. There was really nothing super exceptional about my application. I was literally turning down residency interviews because I had too many to attend. Matched my #2 rank which was a solid mid tier program in a good location. I never felt at risk of not matching at any point. In fact, if you want to talk statistics: based off of 2018 charting outcomes NRMP official report my chance of matching in my specialty as an FMG with my CV was above 95%. It wasn't really a long shot and it wasn't risky because I went to an international school that is well regarded, I did well on exams, I did well on rotations... that's all stuff that is largely within my control. Again, matching as an IMG is not just random luck. Not all IMG schools are the same or yield the same prospects in terms of match chances either.




I'm not disagreeing that DO is way safer if you want to practice in North America, completely agreed there. But matching from an IMG program isnt necessarily as much of a risky long shot as you are making it out to be by generalizing all schools/programs in the same category of IMG with regards to match chances, which is not at all the case in real life.

A bit off topic but may I ask what Australian schools you would recommend I stick to? I am looking at Aussie medical schools as a back up plan in case I don't get into any in my home country. So far the ones that have perked my interest mainly are the University of Sydney, University of Western Australia, University of Wollongong, Queensland, and Griffith. Unfortunately I do not have the prerequisites required for Melbourne and some of the other schools listed on the OzTREKK website.

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Not at all... I can quote match rate statistics to demonstrate the numbers you are throwing out there are inaccurate while simultaneously saying thate match statistics don't really give a meaningful picture of a person's actual chance at matching anyways because they do not consider any individualized factors.

Not sure what you're arguing here? For a pre-med, it's best to look at the lower end of the percentages because things get harder annually. They're looking half a decade ahead and won't be applying in upcoming year. This is just reality 101.

Match rate is different then graduation rate. Match rate considers the percentage of people who apply to the match who actually match. You may find something like graduation rate more useful for what you are using the statistic for, but match rate isnt "inflated" the definition just doesn't mean what you want it to mean.

Yes but you ignored the key part - placement rate vs match rate. The SOAP does not count in the true match rate but schools will use it for inflation.

Generalizing and not really putting the statistics in context. Again this ignores all individual factors that have a large impact. If you go to an Australian medical school for example, the match rate is above 50% as stated factually by the CaRMs statistical report (linked below) in all recent years. The 20-40% chance also includes a cumulation of hundreds of failed applicants from all previous years and artificially bring down the actual match rate of new grads applying as seniors by being included in the "match rate" each time they reapply and of course continue to fail to match every year. This doesn't even consider other important factors if you go to an Australian school with MCCQE scores in the top 10th percentile, or if you've published, or if you have done rotations in Canada or not; these all affect your likelihood of matching substantially and are all within your control. It's not random luck.

https://www.carms.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/r1_tbl50e_2018-1.pdf

I can't wrap my head around why you think "above 50%" is sufficient for spending 400k and 4-5 years of your prime life. If you don't have a 95% success rate, move on. People get loans with their parents cosigning their house onto it. It's not some small risk with no consequences.

And dude no one cares about pubs outside of academic research intensive specialties (in Canada or USA). Canadian rotations don't matter in Ontario. This is coming from literal inside sources.
2/3 of the battle of matching FM in canada is the NAC. That exam is not entirely within your control, a lot of it is luck and location.

I actually do "have a clue" because I went through NRMP and matched pretty easily as an FMG. I didn't have any pubs, I didn't do research, I had good USMLE scores but nothing phenomenal. I had decent LoRs and I had a couple US clinical electives but did most of my rotations in Australia. There was really nothing super exceptional about my application. I was literally turning down residency interviews because I had too many to attend. Matched my #2 rank which was a mid tier program in a good location. I never felt at risk of not matching at any point. In fact, if you want to talk statistics: based off of the 2018 NRMP charting outcomes detailed statistical match report (linked below) my chance of matching in my specialty as an FMG with my CV was above 95%. It wasn't really a long shot and it wasn't risky because I went to an international school that is well regarded, I did well on exams, I did well on rotations... that's all stuff that is largely within my control.

Again, matching as an IMG is not just random luck. Not all IMG schools are the same or yield the same prospects in terms of match chances either, and your chances vary wildly depending where you attend and depending on countless other personal factors that can be carefully considered. Quoting an overall match rate that ignores every single confounding variable except the IMG label and claiming it is applicable to every IMG is either ignorant or disingenuous.

https://mk0nrmpcikgb8jxyd19h.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-IMGs.pdf

If you had a 95% chance, you probably crushed boards. That's a difficult task for anyone. On the other hand, tons of DOs barely hit the average on the comlex, don't even take the usmle and also drown in interview invites. You tell me what's more ideal.

I'm not disagreeing that DO is safer if you want to practice in North America, completely agreed there. But matching from an IMG program isnt necessarily as much of a risky long shot as you are making it out to be by generalizing all schools/programs as being a homogenous group of IMGs with regards to match chances, which is not at all the case in real life.

So for what reason exactly would you tell anyone to go IMG > DO? The title? In a generation where midlevels are roaming freely that's the last thing you should even remotely think about. Not to mention how laughable the worry of a title is for someone who isn't going into an academic subspecialty (which btw, has very few jobs nationwide in Canada).

There are now a lot of IMGs pursuing other fields because they did not match numerous years in a row. They did average ish on boards and have okay CVs with no red flags. On the other hand, never once heard of a US grad with that type of history.

A bit off topic but may I ask what Australian schools you would recommend I stick to? I am looking at Aussie medical schools as a back up plan in case I don't get into any in my home country. So far the ones that have perked my interest mainly are the University of Sydney, University of Western Australia, University of Wollongong, Queensland, and Griffith. Unfortunately I do not have the prerequisites required for Melbourne and some of the other schools listed on the OzTREKK website.

One question, why??

 

[Florentine]

Deleted*

 

[Florentine]

The quality of Aussie schools are all quite high and are well regarded by North American program directors in general; you would be in a good position to match coming from any of them (assuming you can check all the other important boxes like USMLE scores, completing US/Canadian clinical rotations with good LoRs etc.). If you want to come back to North America UQ is probably your best option because as a result of the Ochsner Clinical school affiliation they have an entire department of administrators dedicated solely to helping students arrange NA rotations and apply for North American residency spots (even if you are not in the Ochsner campus cohort); you won't get that kind of administrative support at any other Australian school and will be pretty much on your own when it comes to preparing for a US/Can residency match application.

Thank you!

 

[Methodnike]

I still think going SGU is a better choice than Ireland. You establish a network during your clinical years in the USA, which you don’t if you go to Ireland.

 

[Gos81238ia]

Hello,

I am really split between SGU (Caribbeans) and Limerick (Ireland) medical school. Limerick has a better reputation and prestige compared to SGU. However, SGU offers 2 years of clinical rotations in the States, which may make it easier to collect reference letters. The match back rate to Canada for SGU is ~50% and for Limerick, it ranges between 40-60%. Limericks USMLE pass rate is above 90%, whereas SGU is ~99%. I also heard from some people that SGU doesn't let students move forward to clinicals before completing the USMLE, however, in Ireland IMGs have to make their own initiative to complete and prepare for the exam. On one end I think Limerick has a better reputation, but I'm trying to figure out what will get me back to Canada at the end of the day.

I would appreciate any advice from students that went to SGU or Limerick and what they think about the curriculum and how they matched back to Canada.

Thank you! 🙂

Few thoughts to add as someone who applied to med school in Canada, US, Caribbean, Ireland and ultimately finished med school in Ireland and did residency in the US:
- Don't count on the US for getting into med school, you are treated like a total foreigner. So although its a great idea to try and would be an easy path, you still may never get in even though you may be totally qualified. Going abroad is a totally legitimate option and at some point you just need to move your life along!
- Irish schools in general are there to help you get through, which is the opposite attitude of the Caribbean schools (having first hand knowledge from friends who trained in the Caribbean). The Step 1 stats are manipulated, Caribbean schools will either not provide the Dean's approval or kick you out before they let a student try step 1 if they think they are at risk of failing. Yes, you definitely get more prep for Step 1 specifically in the Caribbean, but there is nothing stopping you in Ireland from using Step 1 resources such as Najeeb, Pathoma etc to learn your course material and do well both on your school exams and the USMLE.
- Make sure wherever you go, you will be able to succeed as an IMG. Necessary qualities at any school include an ability to pass lots of exams and do well to keep doors open, willingness to go to residency wherever it will take and generally it helps if you want a less competitive speciality
- In terms of connections to the US, all you need at the end of the day are three reference letters, only one from the speciality you apply to. I got three letters from doctors during my very first North American rotation even though I was only able to a few electives in North America split between Canada and the US
- Don't trust match stats at face value. Again, in the Caribbean you are not seeing the students who were dismissed or not allowed to advance. The stats are definitely affected by the personal decisions people make, ie. not writing USMLEs, applying only for competitive specialities in urban areas etc. In my match year, in my class, 100% of Canadians that applied to BOTH the US and Canada matched. That is reflective of if you work hard and do all the exams you can, make good decisions to keep your options open you will do well. This could be done from any school, but in the Caribbean you run the risk of your school working against you.
- Ireland had an incredible network of North American students - NIMSA, chapters exist at every school. I attended talks regularly at both RCSI and UCD the whole way through and was walked through every single step of what I had to do from the Step 1 to how to get letters to how to apply and do well on interviews. No competitive spirit within this group, just a lot of advice on how to do well. Not sure if you will get this same unbiased from the school support in the Caribbean.