University College Dublin/ Wait to apply DO

[sheD]

I got an acceptance from UCD but am still waiting to hear back from DO schools I applied to in the US. Not looking great right now since I applied late. Is it worth it to wait a year and try to apply to DO schools again? Is it much more difficult to get a residency program as an IMG from UCD?
Stats: GPA: 3.54
MCAT: 303

Thank you so much in advance.

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[texhess]

I got an acceptance from UCD but am still waiting to hear back from DO schools I applied to in the US. Not looking great right now since I applied late. Is it worth it to wait a year and try to apply to DO schools again? Is it much more difficult to get a residency program as an IMG from UCD?
Stats: GPA: 3.54
MCAT: 303

Thank you so much in advance.

If you have an acceptance from UCD and nothing else, I'd say go with UCD. There could be people who will overreact about going abroad, however they probably don't have good information on the case-by-case school. I applied to the Irish programs, got into UCD, however decided RCSI was for me (based on size of student body). UCD is a wonderful school, it has a 90%+ match rate back to the US which is what you likely should pay attention to in these circumstances.

Additionally, if you could get info on what hospitals you can do sub-internships back in the states w UCD, that would be helpful too. Being an IMG is certainly not easy, because I am just now embarking on the journey of it too, I cannot comment whether it is harder than the DO route (from the perspective of Ireland); however, the difficult aspect of this journey is just the nature of medical school: it is supposed to be hard.

Also, you should likely consider what specialty you'd consider going into: it is ok if you are uncertain currently, it is definitely possible to match back into more competitive specialties from Ireland (check out their match data, it was quite good this year) but from my understanding, it is very difficult to do so. If you're looking to match back into some not as competitive programs like IM, family practice, or EM, then your prospects look pretty good.

Lastly, be sure to consider the distance of Ireland, as well as the cost of the program; becoming a physician is definitely worth it, but you certainly do not want to set yourself up for unnecessary hardship, make sure the distance and logistics would be healthy for you from a mental and financial perspective!

Hope this helped, congratulations on your acceptance! Although Ireland is far away, there are some amazing trips which you'd be able to go on. I think the program will be a wonderful experience but all of it is certainly case-by-case. Personally, I am excitedly looking forward to studying in Dublin!

 

[FutureFemaleDoc777]

I got an acceptance from UCD but am still waiting to hear back from DO schools I applied to in the US. Not looking great right now since I applied late. Is it worth it to wait a year and try to apply to DO schools again? Is it much more difficult to get a residency program as an IMG from UCD?
Stats: GPA: 3.54
MCAT: 303

Thank you so much in advance.

Hey, I'm about to start my fourth year at one of the Irish medical schools, and just wanted to share my insight. Regardless of which foreign medical school you attend, it is going to be an uphill battle to get into US residencies. I want to tell you something that I wished someone has told me before attending a foreign medical school: Some of the numbers regarding Match details are not entirely true when referring to these medical schools. For example, even some of the Caribbean Schools manipulate their USMLE Step 1 pass rate numbers up to 94% which is absolutely not true, which proves numbers can be manipulated.

The cold hard truth is that a lot of people from Irish schools do not match, including some of my friends. Unfortunately, it's about to get worse because of the fact that the USMLE is now pass/fail. This makes it detrimental to us IMG students because we relied on obtaining a high USMLE score to make us stand out, and have our foot in the door.

I wish I would've had someone tell me what I'm telling you now. I would wait for that DO offer, take the year to add to your resume, or take additional classes. In the long run, one year is nothing, and it is better to wait that one year versus losing a year or more attempting to match into a residency program. And each year that you don't match your chances of matching dwindles.

Hope this helped give you some insight and if you do decide on attending school in Ireland you can message me for advice.