What about the UAG?

[Guyloup]

Does any one have any info or insight about the UAG, Mexico. Any personally related experience of the life after. How was it like to go back to the US and how does it compare to the carribean schools and others?
Also if someone were to transfer from there any advices?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Which program in Guadalajara are you in now?

 

[Guyloup]

I'm presently in the International Program of Medicine and would appreciate any personal insight anyone cares to share with me. Thank you.

 

[Atlas]

Why didn't you check this stuff out BEFORE you went off to Mexico for medical school?

 

[jrg00]

I am a student at UAG and this is what I know to be true:

1. 100% of students that go through fifth pathway at New York Medical College are accepted into residency(provided that they pass step 2).

2. 98% of the students here that pass step 1 are accepted into the fifth pathway program. The ones that are rejected are the students that attended a U.S. medical school prior to coming to UAG.

3. If you look at New York Medical College fifth pathway web site you will find out that they accept about 100 students per year. We have had big classes in the past that have had over 100 students pass step 1. New York Medical College expanded to accommodate all of them. Many prospective students are worried that there might not be enough spots for everyone. I also used to think that. I have no doubt that if you come to UAG and pass step 1 you will be accepted into the fifth pathway program.

4. Students are able to get competitive residencies such as emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, radiology, etc. I attribute this to the fact we get one year at New York Medical College.

5. I personally believe that the year at New York Medical College puts us in the same league as a DO. We are definitely above other foreign medical schools when it comes to getting a residency. Please do not come back and say what about the schools in England, etc. Well if you can get accepted into one of those schools you should have been able to get into a U.S. school.

6. This school now allows students to take electives the entire fourth year in the United States.

7. Usmle pass rate. Sorry I do not have that percentage. Most of my friends passed step 1. Most take step 2 in New York.

8. Negatives? Teaching is from excellent to horrible. I have had probably 15 visiting professors from U.S. medical schools teach at various times. Many were excellent. A big negative is a mandatory 85% attendance of lectures. Many students would have preferred to not attend lectures and study at home. There is a dress code at the school. They are fairly strict about it. The practices of the school are fair for the most part but this is a foreign country and they do things differently. If little things bother you this might not be the school for you. I really had no major issues with the school. At times I got angry about certain things but I would talk to my friends that were in residency or fifth pathway and I would realize how insignificant they were. The goal after all is residency at least for me. Five years instead of four is a negative along with the cost of the fifth pathway program.

9. Positives? Residency, New York Medical College, learning Spanish.

10. Transfer? In my opinion it is a bad idea unless you can transfer into a US medical school. Several students in my class transferred to US schools. Choose a school and stick with it. Transferring from one foreign school to another does not look good on a resume. If I was a residency director I would already be taking a cautious approach to a foreign graduate. One that is switching schools might raise a red flag. For a difficult to get residency they might not want to take a chance on you when they have so many other applicants who did not transfer. Obviously those that already transferred would disagree. They tend to make up elaborate excuses of why they would not hurt their chances of getting a residency. That's fine if you get that chance to explain why you transferred to a residency director. You will most certainly have to.

 

[Atlas]

How many students from each class actually make it around to take Step 1?

 

[dvdrv31]

Originally posted by Atlas:
•How many students from each class actually make it around to take Step 1?•••

yeah, that is a good question.

also, can you explain a little more about Fifth Pathway. What is the exact process and the benefits of doing Fifth Pathway. Is this an alternative to ECFMG certication? Thanks.

 

[G-Man]

This is another student from UAG.

The average yearly class is about 200 (150 in august class and about 50 in January class) give or take a few. By the end of the fourth semester, the average drops to 150 because of tranferring, flunking, etc...

The international class consists of half americans, 45% purto ricans and 5% (canadian, british, spanish, mexican, etc... It boggles me how the tiny island of puerto rico can can contribute so many students.

From talking to upper-classmen and breaking it down to ONLY American students, 80% pass the USMLE the first time and the other twenty pass the second time with an exception of two or three. Puerto ricans have a harder time because of the poor english, but they take some other exam called "Revalida" administered in spanish by the puerto rican government so they can do internish and practice in Puerto rico. Two of my next door neighbors (both from California) took the Step 1 this past summer. Both passed with good scores, one a 234 and the other a 236.

USMLE pass rates are probably going to go up due to the new school rule that all international students must pass the USMLE step1 (Revalida for Puerto ricans) in order to be granted passage into 6th semester.

I am currently second semester and the Medical Science classes are very challenging. Professors rank from great to poor like the last post stated. I now have a poor professor (in my opinion) from the University of Tennessee for epidemiology and preventive medicine but a great prof from University of Oklahoma teaching Nutrition. No matter what, I still take my books home and learn the material myself.

To answer atlas' question, the attrition rate is about 25% for the whole international class and about 10% for americans.

 

[G-Man]

Visit <a href="http://www.fifthpathway.com" target="_blank">www.fifthpathway.com</a>

Check out the 5th path match results coming published by New York Medical College

Also visit <a href="http://www.uagmd.com" target="_blank">www.uagmd.com</a> for some good pics from some of the students in the international class

 

[Atlas]

Ok..so I have a quite a few questions for ya:
Can you discount the rumor that only ~ 35% of first year students actually survive to take the USMLE? I've heard that from a vairety of sources and I thought it seemed pretty accurate. What do you think? Also, I heard that not all Americans get accepted by the 5th pathway because there aren't enough slots, so some are stuck doing that internado. What's your view on this? Is there a match list for UAG that is accessible to outsiders, like myself? I'm skeptical of the school because I've heard alot of negative things about it. What are the admission requirements like? Is it true that you can POTENTIALLY spend 6 years in Mexico, if you don't get accepted into the 5th pathway? I'm sure I have plenty more questions, but I gotta get going. We'll be in touch.

c ya

 

[jrg00]

If you came to UAG and did not transfer or drop out your chances of not being able to take the usmle are about 2%. The school is very generous to students that do not do well in their classes. I know of students that failed many classes and eventually took the usmle. You need to worry about passing the test and not taking the test here. Almost the entire fourth semester is a review course from kaplan for step 1. The review course is excellent and taught mostly by US medical professors.

 

[G-Man]

The USMLE pass rate is about 80% for the students coming from the U.S. who are first time takers. If you include the whole class (plus puerto rican and etc...), then the % goes down. This is due to the fact that for some of these students, english is their second language. Puerto Ricans usually take the "Revalida" to practice in PR. Most take a crack at the USMLE and about 30 to 40% actually pass it the first time.

As for 5th path, 95% to 100% of UAGers will get in to NYMC. Some do not get in because of certain circumstances (no step 1 or step 2, bad record of conduct, etc..). I will not lie to you, this is a 6 year program. 5th path allows us to finish in 5 years.

The rumors you have heard about my school are just that, RUMORS. This school has it pros and cons just like any other school. Remember that you are also studying in another country.

I like it down here and if I had to do it again, I would come back here without looking at other schools. Some schools are for some. This one is for me for many different reasons.

-University atmosphere
-International program in english geared toward the boards
-Kaplan step 1 review integrated into 4th semester
-Will be an IMG in the future, but will not be labeled just another caribbean student
-UAG is 12 hour driving distance or 15 hour bus trip from home
-Lovely city, friendly locals and pretty women
-All the comforts of home (Wal-mart, Cosco, Sam's , office depot, office max, dominos pizza, pizza hut, Kuntucky fried chicken, sub-way, burger king, whataburger, mcdonald's, etc..) this will not help me on the bourds, but sure is convenient.
-Many UAG alumi (over 9,000) licenced and practicing in the U.S.
-Really tough to flunk out of here and if you make it out, you will definitly get residency.


I could go on and on but I got to go. My best advice is to research your schools and pick the best one that will prepare you to be a doctor and one that has at least has proved itself to come through(produce U.S. licensed doctors).

 

[Guyloup]

To all who reply, I want to thank you for taking the time to share this info with me. It's much apreciated. I guess in the end UAG is like anything else in life. You get out of it as much as you've put in. Again, Thank you.