I know this might sound really stupid......but does having a undergrad degree(bio/life sciences) cut down any years in the Caribbean? I am considering on going to Caribbean for med school and am going to be graduating in may...on the other hand...my friend was supposed to graduate as well BUT he got suspended from school so decided to go straight to Caribbean without a bs degree....so basically my question is for Caribbean med school does it make a difference or not whether you have a bs undergrad degree?
-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
undergrad useful?
Started by iheartperfume
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
The better carribean schools might require a Bachelors degree. If you dont have one, and go to a 2nd or 3rd tier Carib school, you are setting yourself up for problems in the future. But it may not make a difference in the school itself.
It will not "cut down" any time in the Carribean. You'll have to complete the medical school curriculum. Besides, its a graduate degree, undergrad classes dont count for anything.
Do you need the BS/BA to do well? Maybe, maybe not. You'd need the 8-10 required premed classes to get accepted to med school. Completing a bachelors, and all the additional classes just might teach you how to study better. But that depends on how you learn. As far as the classes themselves - premeds don't really prepare you all that much for the med school classes. If you take biochem as an undergrad, that may give you a heads up.
One big issue is, when you eventually graduate, and get a residency, and then have to apply for your license to practice medicine - they are going to pull up every bit of education you've had since high school. Aside from the issue of being suspended/dismissed from college... The state licensing board will have their own requirements for how much Undergraduate school you must have sucessfully completed. Some states require 90 credits, some require a Bachelors. So, that can be an issue when you eventually are in 300grand in debt and need a job.
It will not "cut down" any time in the Carribean. You'll have to complete the medical school curriculum. Besides, its a graduate degree, undergrad classes dont count for anything.
Do you need the BS/BA to do well? Maybe, maybe not. You'd need the 8-10 required premed classes to get accepted to med school. Completing a bachelors, and all the additional classes just might teach you how to study better. But that depends on how you learn. As far as the classes themselves - premeds don't really prepare you all that much for the med school classes. If you take biochem as an undergrad, that may give you a heads up.
One big issue is, when you eventually graduate, and get a residency, and then have to apply for your license to practice medicine - they are going to pull up every bit of education you've had since high school. Aside from the issue of being suspended/dismissed from college... The state licensing board will have their own requirements for how much Undergraduate school you must have sucessfully completed. Some states require 90 credits, some require a Bachelors. So, that can be an issue when you eventually are in 300grand in debt and need a job.
It also might make a difference when you apply for residency. Your friend will have to answer to the residency committee regarding the circumstances about why he/she didn't complete his/her undergraduate degree. Otherwise howelljolly's answer is spot-on.
You already have a "leg down" going to a Carib school. You don't want to have too many other question-marks in your past.
-Skip Intro
Ross Univ 2005 Graduate
