Thoughts on Carribean school? Also, retakes in udergrad?

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karelesss

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Hi guys,

I just found out about SDN and this is my first post here 🙂 Great to meet you all! Still learning the ropes, so please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong!

I had a couple questions for the experts here! I am currently a Junior in undergrad double majoring in business and biology, and I was just wondering what you guys think about attending one of the big four Caribbean schools.

I didn't find out I wanted to be a doctor until well into my college career, and sadly my GPA is definitely not as competitive as a lot of people applying to MD schools in Texas, so attending med school abroad has always been a consideration for me. I think I remember reading that the residency match rate drops to around 40% (I believe that information was for 2004 though) which seems pretty scary and is the main thing that makes me hesitant about it.

Also, what are yalls opinions on retaking classes in undergrad to boost your GPA?

Thanks everyone!!
 
Hi guys,

I just found out about SDN and this is my first post here 🙂 Great to meet you all! Still learning the ropes, so please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong!

I had a couple questions for the experts here! I am currently a Junior in undergrad double majoring in business and biology, and I was just wondering what you guys think about attending one of the big four Caribbean schools.

I didn't find out I wanted to be a doctor until well into my college career, and sadly my GPA is definitely not as competitive as a lot of people applying to MD schools in Texas, so attending med school abroad has always been a consideration for me. I think I remember reading that the residency match rate drops to around 40% (I believe that information was for 2004 though) which seems pretty scary and is the main thing that makes me hesitant about it.

Also, what are yalls opinions on retaking classes in undergrad to boost your GPA?

Thanks everyone!!

So, let me tell you a story about my own personal experience in this vein. I went to one of those undergrads people associated with grade deflation and so my grades weren't the most competitive when applying. Granted I didn't know about SDN at that time. Anyway, I went through 1 cycle and never got off the waitlist. Obviously, it was a confusing time for me and I heard about these Caribbean schools. I applied to SGU, got accepted. The thing was that their Grenada class was so full that they placed me in their international England branch/program which I thought was really odd. Anyway, I decided to go ahead and pay the 3000 dollar seat hold, asked for a deferral, applied to and did a postbacc/SMP which I was successful at and ultimately was accepted to 2 MD schools. The thing that got me was when I called SGU back up and told them I was no longer interested in their program a spot magically appeared in their Grenada class. Now fast forward 4 years and as an MS4 applying to Anesthesia programs I also went on interviews for prelim IM programs. I remember at one program almost every other interviewee was an IMG and listening to their stories about how incredibly difficult their interview cycle has been by virtue of them being an IMG was quite eye opening. One person sent out at least a hundred apps for low level IM programs and was excited about the fact that he got this one interview at a program which to me, as a US grad, was a throw away program I could list at the very unlikely chance I did not match into Anesthesia. I also remember my interview with that program's PD and that he was generally surprised that I was even there as a US grad. This experience kind of brought the entire journey full circle and how lucky I was that I didn't end up going to the Caribbean and becoming an IMG. The hoops that they have to jump through just to get a chance at a residency training program which we as US med grads take for granted is astounding. For your sake I'm glad you found this site a lot sooner than I did. It would be a huge mistake for you to go IMG without at least trying your luck with grade repair, SMP programs and at least 1 cycle. The Caribbean will always be there and will be more than happy to take your money. They should be your very last resort if everything else fails. I hope my story helped illustrate to you the perils of going IMG/Caribbean.
 
So, let me tell you a story about my own personal experience in this vein. I went to one of those undergrads people associated with grade deflation and so my grades weren't the most competitive when applying. Granted I didn't know about SDN at that time. Anyway, I went through 1 cycle and never got off the waitlist. Obviously, it was a confusing time for me and I heard about these Caribbean schools. I applied to SGU, got accepted. The thing was that their Grenada class was so full that they placed me in their international England branch/program which I thought was really odd. Anyway, I decided to go ahead and pay the 3000 dollar seat hold, asked for a deferral, applied to and did a postbacc/SMP which I was successful at and ultimately was accepted to 2 MD schools. The thing that got me was when I called SGU back up and told them I was no longer interested in their program a spot magically appeared in their Grenada class. Now fast forward 4 years and as an MS4 applying to Anesthesia programs I also went on interviews for prelim IM programs. I remember at one program almost every other interviewee was an IMG and listening to their stories about how incredibly difficult their interview cycle has been by virtue of them being an IMG was quite eye opening. One person sent out at least a hundred apps for low level IM programs and was excited about the fact that he got this one interview at a program which to me, as a US grad, was a throw away program I could list at the very unlikely chance I did not match into Anesthesia. I also remember my interview with that program's PD and that he was generally surprised that I was even there as a US grad. This experience kind of brought the entire journey full circle and how lucky I was that I didn't end up going to the Caribbean and becoming an IMG. The hoops that they have to jump through just to get a chance at a residency training program which we as US med grads take for granted is astounding. For your sake I'm glad you found this site a lot sooner than I did. It would be a huge mistake for you to go IMG without at least trying your luck with grade repair, SMP programs and at least 1 cycle. The Caribbean will always be there and will be more than happy to take your money. They should be your very last resort if everything else fails. I hope my story helped illustrate to you the perils of going IMG/Caribbean.

Wow, that is extremely eye opening. Thank you for sharing your story with me!! I'm so glad you got into those MD schools, great job!

I would agree, it seems very last-resortish. I've always had my doubts about it but hearing from actual medical students is very reassuring. Even though medicine is definitely a dream of mine I would probably reconsider medicine rather than go abroad from what I've been hearing..🙁
 
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Wow, that is extremely eye opening. Thank you for sharing your story with me!! I'm so glad you got into those MD schools, great job!

I would agree, it seems very last-resortish. I've always had my doubts about it but hearing from actual medical students is very reassuring. Even though medicine is definitely a dream of mine I would probably reconsider medicine rather than go abroad from what I've been hearing..🙁
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your GPA looking like? There are some really great post baccs for low stats or disadvantaged students, both MD and DO. But, I think there’s always a minimum. The lowest GPA i’ve seen taken was a 2.5
 
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your GPA looking like? There are some really great post baccs for low stats or disadvantaged students, both MD and DO. But, I think there’s always a minimum. The lowest GPA i’ve seen taken was a 2.5

Sooo I'm pretty sure it's around 3.4 CUMULATIVE...now I was planning on retaking a few business classes I took at community college (sadly, I wasn't pre-med at the time :/) I got a few C's and I could easily retake them and get A's..putting my GPA at up around a 3.7. That's why I was wondering what you would think of retaking..does it look bad or would it be worth the boost on an app?

One thing to consider also, is that I definitely haven't taken the more difficult classes of undergrad..I have most of my biology degree left to take so it wont be nearly as easy to keep my GPA up.
 
Sooo I'm pretty sure it's around 3.4 CUMULATIVE...now I was planning on retaking a few business classes I took at community college (sadly, I wasn't pre-med at the time :/) I got a few C's and I could easily retake them and get A's..putting my GPA at up around a 3.7. That's why I was wondering what you would think of retaking..does it look bad or would it be worth the boost on an app?

One thing to consider also, is that I definitely haven't taken the more difficult classes of undergrad..I have most of my biology degree left to take so it wont be nearly as easy to keep my GPA up.

3.4 is within striking distance of MD range. Kick ass on your remaining bio classes, crush the MCAT, and I think you'll be in good shape.

You'll be at least very competitive for DO programs, and in the real world (not neurotic pre-med world), DOs are just as respected as MDs.
 
Sooo I'm pretty sure it's around 3.4 CUMULATIVE...now I was planning on retaking a few business classes I took at community college (sadly, I wasn't pre-med at the time :/) I got a few C's and I could easily retake them and get A's..putting my GPA at up around a 3.7. That's why I was wondering what you would think of retaking..does it look bad or would it be worth the boost on an app?

One thing to consider also, is that I definitely haven't taken the more difficult classes of undergrad..I have most of my biology degree left to take so it wont be nearly as easy to keep my GPA up.
Man, you’re fine! Don’t retake, it just wastes time. If you can ace your bio courses and the MCAT, you’ll be a great candidate for mid tier schools (although every school to me is either mid tier or top tier lol)
 
3.4 is within striking distance of MD range. Kick ass on your remaining bio classes, crush the MCAT, and I think you'll be in good shape.

You'll be at least very competitive for DO programs, and in the real world (not neurotic pre-med world), DOs are just as respected as MDs.

Haha, thanks a lot for the encouragement!! I really hope so..stressing about GPA sucks ;P
 
Man, you’re fine! Don’t retake, it just wastes time. If you can ace your bio courses and the MCAT, you’ll be a great candidate for mid tier schools (although every school to me is either mid tier or top tier lol)

Thanks for the advice! I'd love to get into any US school to be honest...what do you think about applying out-of-state?
 
Man, you’re fine! Don’t retake, it just wastes time. If you can ace your bio courses and the MCAT, you’ll be a great candidate for mid tier schools (although every school to me is either mid tier or top tier lol)

applying OOS as a Texan for MD-only is thorny business. I have my suspicions that it's tougher for Texans since OOS schools know that Texans have a pretty sweet deal at any of their in-state schools (low app fees, low tuition costs, low cost of living, lots of options, a good number of fairly well-ranked schools, a law that says most med students must be state residents, etc). But that's just it: it's only a suspicion. The Texans I've seen go OOS are typically superstars.

If you do want to apply OOS, invest in the MSAR and make sure to apply to schools that are "high-yield" for OOS applicants. That means that they matriculate more than 10-20% of their class from OOS and have median stats close to yours.

Echoing above, do well in your remaining courses and score above a 510 on the MCAT and you have a good shot for TX MD.

Here's the data to back that up:

https://www.tmdsas.com/Forms/EY17FinalMedStats.pdf

15% of IS matriculants had a GPA between 3.4-3.59 and about 50% of matriculants had an MCAT score between 507 and 516. The higher your MCAT, the better your chances of being one of those 3.5 people who lands an IS acceptance. Make sure to apply to *every* school in TX, including TCOM (the DO) since it costs you 0 extra $ to do so.
 
applying OOS as a Texan for MD-only is thorny business. I have my suspicions that it's tougher for Texans since OOS schools know that Texans have a pretty sweet deal at any of their in-state schools (low app fees, low tuition costs, low cost of living, lots of options, a good number of fairly well-ranked schools, a law that says most med students must be state residents, etc). But that's just it: it's only a suspicion. The Texans I've seen go OOS are typically superstars.

If you do want to apply OOS, invest in the MSAR and make sure to apply to schools that are "high-yield" for OOS applicants. That means that they matriculate more than 10-20% of their class from OOS and have median stats close to yours.

Echoing above, do well in your remaining courses and score above a 510 on the MCAT and you have a good shot for TX MD.

Here's the data to back that up:

15% of IS matriculants had a GPA between 3.4-3.59 and about 50% of matriculants had an MCAT score between 507 and 516. The higher your MCAT, the better your chances of being one of those 3.5 people who lands an IS acceptance. Make sure to apply to *every* school in TX, including TCOM (the DO) since it costs you 0 extra $ to do so.

Ahh great point. Yeah, quite a bit of pressure to do well on the MCAT if I do apply OOS, thank you for the statistics!

I definitely agree with the OOS median stats..I don't think it would benefit me at all trying to apply to certain schools not in state since I'm already a below average applicant. Thank you for taking the time to reply!!
 
Ahh great point. Yeah, quite a bit of pressure to do well on the MCAT if I do apply OOS, thank you for the statistics!

I definitely agree with the OOS median stats..I don't think it would benefit me at all trying to apply to certain schools not in state since I'm already a below average applicant. Thank you for taking the time to reply!!
Trying not to out myself, but certain MidWest schools love folks from Texas 😉 As long as you have great volunteering or teaching experience, you’ll do well in mission-heavy schools out of state.
 
Thanks for the advice! I'd love to get into any US school to be honest...what do you think about applying out-of-state?


You are way ahead of yourself. Don’t worry about applying. Worry about your grades, the MCAT , your ECs etc.. in a couple of years you’ll have a better idea of what schools you are competitive for. And don’t retake your business courses. Your new grades will not replace your old grades so if you get an A it will just be included in your GPA with the original C. Do well as you complete your bio major.
Have you started on your ECs? Since you are new, spend time reading the WAMC forums and see what other applicants have in the way of clinical and nonclinical activities. Find some doctors to shadow too.( including a primary care doc).
 
what are yalls opinions on retaking classes in undergrad to boost your GPA?
You should retake any med school prerequisites where you earned below a C grade. You may retake any prerequisite where you didn't learn the material well enough to do OK on the MCAT, if you can't learn it on your own through self-study. If you retake and don't do extremely well, it would be interpreted in a way that would not be in your favor.

As candbgirl mentions, a retaken grade will not take the place of a previous poor grade. Even if your school no longer regards the first grade, you are required to include it on your application. And it will be factored into the calculation of your application GPAs by the rules of the application service (TMDSAS, AMCAS, or AACOMAS).

For TMDSAS from: TMDSAS Medical: Section Overview

"Request an official transcript from each college/university you have attended to use as a reference for completing the [College Coursework] section.
You will list all coursework ever enrolled in at every US, US Territorial, or Canadian college. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Courses that have been repeated
  • Courses that you failed, regardless of whether they have been repeated
  • Courses you took in high school for college credit that appear on a college transcript
  • Courses taken at American colleges overseas
It is helpful if you enter courses in the same order in which they are listed on your official transcript."
 
Sooo I'm pretty sure it's around 3.4 CUMULATIVE...now I was planning on retaking a few business classes I took at community college (sadly, I wasn't pre-med at the time :/) I got a few C's and I could easily retake them and get A's..putting my GPA at up around a 3.7. That's why I was wondering what you would think of retaking..does it look bad or would it be worth the boost on an app?

One thing to consider also, is that I definitely haven't taken the more difficult classes of undergrad..I have most of my biology degree left to take so it wont be nearly as easy to keep my GPA up.
You're fine right now for any DO school, including mine.
 
Anyway, I decided to go ahead and pay the 3000 dollar seat hold, asked for a deferral, applied to and did a postbacc/SMP...

That was only their first down payment. I wouldn't be surprised if they charged their students for breathing.
 
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