What are my chances at St. George's and Ross?

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ms2693

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Hi Everyone,
I have a 3.33 cgpa and 497 mcat. I have excellent LOR's, tons of clinical/non-clinical/work/volunteer experiences. I was wondering what my chances look like for St. Georges and Ross? Please no negative posts about Caribbean, I know the cons. Just simply looking for my chances. Thanks!

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If you have a heartbeat you’re in. I forbid you from going to the carribean at this point in time
 
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Hi Everyone,
I have a 3.33 cgpa and 497 mcat. I have excellent LOR's, tons of clinical/non-clinical/work/volunteer experiences. I was wondering what my chances look like for St. Georges and Ross? Please no negative posts about Caribbean, I know the cons. Just simply looking for my chances. Thanks!
As long as you're breathing and can write a tuition check, you're in.
Actually becoming a doctor? That will be a lot harder. LOTS harder. That sound you hear off in the distance is them drooling over your weak MCAT score.
 
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Hi Everyone,
I have a 3.33 cgpa and 497 mcat. I have excellent LOR's, tons of clinical/non-clinical/work/volunteer experiences. I was wondering what my chances look like for St. Georges and Ross? Please no negative posts about Caribbean, I know the cons. Just simply looking for my chances. Thanks!

Seems like another premed who is a viable candidate for the newer, "lower-tier" DO schools yet chooses the Caribbean for that coveted "MD"

You're exactly the kind of student Ross and SGU targets. Shoo-in
 
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Why have you not considered some of the newer DO schools, which would be a much better option?
Where is your state of residence?
 
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:beat::beat::beat:

Please don’t go to the Caribbean. Your chances of becoming a doctor in the United States will significantly decrease. The Program Director Surveys state that almost no program director for a residency program wants to interview a International Medical School Graduate, which is what you will be (maybe) if you go to the Caribbean.

Try to get in a DO school. In that case, you will at least be able to practice medicine in the United States.

If you really want the MD letters next to your name then retake the MCAT. As Goro says “medical schools aren’t going anywhere” so why rush?
 
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Assuming that this was posted on another sub-forum and moved here...

Hi Everyone,
I have a 3.33 cgpa and 497 mcat. I have excellent LOR's, tons of clinical/non-clinical/work/volunteer experiences. I was wondering what my chances look like for St. Georges and Ross? Please no negative posts about Caribbean, I know the cons. Just simply looking for my chances. Thanks!

There are plenty of "what are my chances" threads on this forum. Do a search. Chances are that your questions have already been answered. Short of that, none of us here knows exactly what decision processes are involved in the Admissions Offices of the particular Carib schools. But, as has been intimated, a large part of their decision is most likely predicated on your ability to secure financial aid and/or fund a large portion of the tuition by other means.

That said...

The Program Director Surveys state that almost no program director for a residency program wants to interview a International Medical School Graduate, which is what you will be (maybe) if you go to the Caribbean.

The latest survey data available (2016) represented a less than 40% overall response rate from PDs. So, if 2-out-of-5 responses is a "representative sample"... okay.

Nonetheless, the five most cited factors overall for applicants to be invited for an interview, in order, were:
  1. USMLE/COMLEX score
  2. letters of recommendation in the specialty
  3. MSPE/Dean's Letter
  4. Step II score,
  5. grades in required clerkships

For IMGs, visa status was ranked low but important. NRMP violations was ranked lower, but received the highest impact score.

With regards to being ranked, the five most cited factors overall for applicants were:
  1. interactions during interview
  2. interpersonal skills
  3. interactions with house staff during visit
  4. feedback from current residents
  5. USMLE Step 1 score
I've mentioned this before on this forum, but once you're invited to the interview the playing field is leveled. It's up to you. I trained in a University-based residency program that was a mix of U.S. MD graduates, some D.O.s, and a few IMGs (a couple Caribbean). I got my spot because of how I comported myself during the interview, not in spite of it.

That said, in no place does this survey indicate that "almost no program director for a residency program wants to interview a International Medical School Graduate". So, I don't know where you got this from (or if you're just making that up), but I and everyone else would be happy to review it if you can provide a link.

SOURCE: http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NRMP-2016-Program-Director-Survey.pdf

If you really want the MD letters next to your name then retake the MCAT. As Goro says “medical schools aren’t going anywhere” so why rush?

True that "medical schools aren't going anywhere". And, all of us here (myself included) would say exhaust all options in the U.S. first. But, it is not justifiable to assert that (1) just because someone (you happen to agree with) on this forum says something (you agree with) that it makes them an automatic authority on the subject, and (2) that there aren't mitigating circumstances in someone's life that would necessitate an applicant pursuing an alternate pathway (e.g., age, finances, etc.) that you think is inadvisable, it would therefore be unwise to apply a blanket "one size fits all" approach when giving guidance such as you've done.

Please don’t go to the Caribbean.

Please work harder at justifying your advice. TYIA.

-Skip
 
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Why have you not considered some of the newer DO schools, which would be a much better option?
Where is your state of residence?
I live in NJ, what newer DO schools should I try. I was waitlisted at Rowan SOM :/
 
I suggest applying to all these DO schools where you could receive interviews with your stats:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
LUCOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
UIWSOM
NYIT-Arkansas
RVU-Utah
ICOM
PCOM-Moultrie
LECOM
any new schools that may open for 2019 (there will be several)
Most of these schools have MCAT medians in the 498 to 502 range so you are just below the median.
Apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July.
 
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I feel like the "pulse and checkbook" answer is given way too much here. I was never asked about my finances during the interview with Ross, nor did anyone check my pulse. People do get rejected from SGU and Ross.

With your stats, you are competitive for both SGU and Ross. You'll probably get into both. BUT, I suggest an mcat retake and application to DO schools if you havent already. I think if the mcat is the only thing holding you back, there's no reason to go to the caribbean.
 
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interviewed at SGU at a information session and a guy who was turned down pre-interview was there looking for feedback. So contrary to the comments repeated way to often about SGU, yes they reject people
 
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I honestly didnt know people got rejected :dead: I thought they just got the foundations program
 
I honestly didnt know people got rejected :dead: I thought they just got the foundations program
I thought that too, based on what people said on sdn. However, I applied to SGU and a week later I got a rejection letter in the mail. Not even foundations. I did get into Ross though.

I think SGU is the only Caribbean school with some standards for admission, which is why they have a lower attrition than other schools. Ross merps people with 2.2 gpas. SGU wouldn’t touch someone with those grades.
 
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I thought that too, based on what people said on sdn. However, I applied to SGU and a week later I got a rejection letter in the mail. Not even foundations. I did get into Ross though.

I think SGU is the only Caribbean school with some standards for admission, which is why they have a lower attrition than other schools. Ross merps people with 2.2 gpas. SGU wouldn’t touch someone with those grades.


For whats semester did you apply? And what was your MCAT score and gpa if you dont mind me asking? Im currently in the midst of applying and my stats are a bit similar to you
 
I suggest applying to all these DO schools where you could receive interviews with your stats:
ACOM
ARCOM
BCOM
WCU-COM
LMU-DCOM
UP-KYCOM
WVSOM
LUCOM
VCOM (all 3 schools)
UIWSOM
NYIT-Arkansas
RVU-Utah
ICOM
PCOM-Moultrie
LECOM
any new schools that may open for 2019 (there will be several)
Most of these schools have MCAT medians in the 498 to 502 range so you are just below the median.
Apply in June and submit all your secondaries by July.
Thank you so much for all of your help!
 
For whats semester did you apply? And what was your MCAT score and gpa if you dont mind me asking? Im currently in the midst of applying and my stats are a bit similar to you
2.8 gpa/501 mcat. I applied to SGU for january 2019, and january is apparently the easier semester to get into. I think if you can get into SGU you would be competitive at some DO schools.
 
2.8 gpa/501 mcat. I applied to SGU for january 2019, and january is apparently the easiest semester to get into. I think if you can get into SGU you would be competitive at some DO schools.
Ahh i see, thank you for replying back. I have a 3.27 gpa and 505 mcat. I'm in the process of figuring out my list of schools to apply to at this point. Currently, my list is Ross, American university of carribean, american university of antigua, st george, st george university of london, university of queensland, and the ireland atlantic bridge program. Did you happen to apply to any of these? Or did you choose some over others. If so, why? Sorry for the bombardment of questions in advance
 
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Ahh i see, thank you for replying back. I have a 3.27 gpa and 505 mcat. I'm in the process of figuring out my list of schools to apply to at this point. Currently, my list is Ross, American university of carribean, american university of antigua, st george, st george university of london, university of queensland, and the ireland atlantic bridge program. Did you happen to apply to any of these? Or did you choose some over others. If so, why? Sorry for the bombardment of questions in advance
I applied to Ross and SGU.
Your stats really arent that bad. I bet if you applied broadly to DO schools this summer you would get a couple of interviews.
I say this because IMO theres no reason to go abroad unless you're in an unrecoverable position like I am. Ive been doing postbacc (3.7 gpa) for about a year and im still at a 2.8 overall gpa. It would take 3 more semesters for me to get that over a 3.0. At that point I could be studying for Step. That, coupled with a few other reasons (like getting out of school to support my elderly parents) is the reason I am applying to caribbean.
 
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2.8 gpa/501 mcat. I applied to SGU for january 2019, and january is apparently the easier semester to get into. I think if you can get into SGU you would be competitive at some DO schools.

I am actually shocked you got rejected from SGU. Are you LORs bad? Do you have some sort of criminal conviction? Did you totally bomb the interview?
 
I am actually shocked you got rejected from SGU. Are you LORs bad? Do you have some sort of criminal conviction? Did you totally bomb the interview?
I didn’t even get an interview. My science gpa was 2.6 though so I’m not really surprised. No criminal convictions/IAs.
 
Ahh i see, thank you for replying back. I have a 3.27 gpa and 505 mcat. I'm in the process of figuring out my list of schools to apply to at this point. Currently, my list is Ross, American university of carribean, american university of antigua, st george, st george university of london, university of queensland, and the ireland atlantic bridge program. Did you happen to apply to any of these? Or did you choose some over others. If so, why? Sorry for the bombardment of questions in advance
Your stats are great for most DO programs. I've seen people get accepted with even lower stats. I would advise you to please reconsider becoming an IMG when you can go DO. Your chances would be much better.

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Hi Everyone,
I have a 3.33 cgpa and 497 mcat. I have excellent LOR's, tons of clinical/non-clinical/work/volunteer experiences. I was wondering what my chances look like for St. Georges and Ross? Please no negative posts about Caribbean, I know the cons. Just simply looking for my chances. Thanks!
OP, a friend of mine got accepted to ARCOM with a 497, and I got accepted with a 499. I would suggest you to work on getting a DO LOR and apply broadly this coming cycle. Out of 25 DO schools I applied to, I got a whopping 12 Interview invites, I only went to 5, and I got 2 acceptances. You should also know that I am a URM which may or may not have helped a little, but my friend with the 497 MCAT wasn't. Also, I turned down my SGU acceptance once I knew I could stay in the US.

Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
 
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I concur with the posts above. If you have the opportunity to stay in the states, I would take it.
 
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Ahh i see, thank you for replying back. I have a 3.27 gpa and 505 mcat. I'm in the process of figuring out my list of schools to apply to at this point. Currently, my list is Ross, American university of carribean, american university of antigua, st george, st george university of london, university of queensland, and the ireland atlantic bridge program. Did you happen to apply to any of these? Or did you choose some over others. If so, why? Sorry for the bombardment of questions in advance

I applied through the atlantic bridge program to Ireland. Its fairly competitive. Not sure you would get much traction with your stats, that being said your stats are still good and you would have a great shot at Queensland, and some of the other Australian med schools. UQ-O is now interviewing people with 502 and above so you would be fine there (where I'm at currently which I chose over Caribbean). Don't do St. George University of London, they don't have enough of a track record yet.
 
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I am actually shocked you got rejected from SGU. Are you LORs bad? Do you have some sort of criminal conviction? Did you totally bomb the interview?

For being a "Caribpro" you don't seem to know much about Caribbean schools. SGU rejects tons of people every year. There are thousands of people from all over the world willing to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a chance to practice medicine in the US. We have no idea how good we have it here.
 
Regardig chances you will get in both schools. However, as mentioned above, if you're state citizen go for d.o instead. You have solid chance + it costs way less.
 
Either retake your MCAT and score above a 500 and reapply to DO schools or get comfortable with the idea of the foot and ankle and apply to Podiatry schools as is (you will get in no problem. Still stops available). Dont go to the Caribbean.

Hi Everyone,
I have a 3.33 cgpa and 497 mcat. I have excellent LOR's, tons of clinical/non-clinical/work/volunteer experiences. I was wondering what my chances look like for St. Georges and Ross? Please no negative posts about Caribbean, I know the cons. Just simply looking for my chances. Thanks!
 
Dude, do an SMP, you are the type of student it was designed for. Or look into Podiatry.

2.8 gpa/501 mcat. I applied to SGU for january 2019, and january is apparently the easier semester to get into. I think if you can get into SGU you would be competitive at some DO schools.
 
Dude, do an SMP, you are the type of student it was designed for. Or look into Podiatry.
I would definitely do an SMP if I was competitive enough for one. My science gpa is 2.6. I am applying podiatry too. If I get into a podiatry school, I will do podiatry.
 
Smart.

The good news is, applications for pod schools are down this year, so you might get lucky at one of the Larger schools like Kent or Temple (temple likes higher MCATs, and 501 is pretty solid for pod). I would ask yourself though, are you ready for medical school? 2.6 in the sciences tells me that you either were 1) a late bloomer and have fixed those deficits or 2) Just can handle a heavy science curriculum. If its the 2nd, then SMP and a DPM program will chew you up and spit you back out. DPM is the same intensity as Medical school for the first two years, but boards are a bit easier (if less clear) than the USMLE.

I would definitely do an SMP if I was competitive enough for one. My science gpa is 2.6. I am applying podiatry too. If I get into a podiatry school, I will do podiatry.
 
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Smart.

The good news is, applications for pod schools are down this year, so you might get lucky at one of the Larger schools like Kent or Temple (temple likes higher MCATs, and 501 is pretty solid for pod). I would ask yourself though, are you ready for medical school? 2.6 in the sciences tells me that you either were 1) a late bloomer and have fixed those deficits or 2) Just can handle a heavy science curriculum. If its the 2nd, then SMP and a DPM program will chew you up and spit you back out. DPM is the same intensity as Medical school for the first two years, but boards are a bit easier (if less clear) than the USMLE.
I’ve been doing postbacc for about a year and I’ve done fairly well (3.7). The truth is I was facing crippling depression and anxiety in my undergrad years and because I didn’t do anything to fix it, I screwed up my grades quite a bit.

Truth be told I obviously don’t want to go to the Caribbean but if it’s my only chance at becoming a physician (podiatry doesn’t come through) I’ll take it.
 
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how many credit hours has the postbacc been and has it been in the heavy sciences?

If so, I could deff see a Pod school taking a chance on you. 3.7 is very good and like a mentioned before, 501 is above average for most pod schools. The lowest cGPA ive ever heard of getting into a podiatry school was a 2.3, and that was at Barry two years ago (per the Pod manual, deff check it out, floating around the prepod forum somewhere).

I’ve been doing postbacc for about a year and I’ve done fairly well (3.7). The truth is I was facing crippling depression and anxiety in my undergrad years and because I didn’t do anything to fix it, I screwed up my grades quite a bit.

Truth be told I obviously don’t want to go to the Caribbean but if it’s my only chance at becoming a physician (podiatry doesn’t come through) I’ll take it.
 
how many credit hours has the postbacc been and has it been in the heavy sciences?

If so, I could deff see a Pod school taking a chance on you. 3.7 is very good and like a mentioned before, 501 is above average for most pod schools. The lowest cGPA ive ever heard of getting into a podiatry school was a 2.3, and that was at Barry two years ago (per the Pod manual, deff check it out, floating around the prepod forum somewhere).
Microbial genomics: A
Human Anatomy: A
Human Physiology: A
Physics (waves and optics): C (physics really isn’t my subject. In fact, chemistry and physics is the reason my sgpa is so low)
A few other As in sorta soft science classes (kinesiology, earth science, environmental science). Basically straight As other than physics.

These classes were all DIY at my local college, not an official postbacc. Total of about 31 credit hours.

I like how we’re talking podiatry in a Caribbean thread:laugh:
 
That C is gonna stick out, but everything else looks pretty good. I was grilled on my academic performance during my interviews.


Microbial genomics: A
Human Anatomy: A
Human Physiology: A
Physics (waves and optics): C (physics really isn’t my subject. In fact, chemistry and physics is the reason my sgpa is so low)
A few other As in sorta soft science classes (kinesiology, earth science, environmental science). Basically straight As other than physics.

These classes were all DIY at my local college, not an official postbacc. Total of about 31 credit hours.
 
Smart.

The good news is, applications for pod schools are down this year, so you might get lucky at one of the Larger schools like Kent or Temple (temple likes higher MCATs, and 501 is pretty solid for pod). I would ask yourself though, are you ready for medical school? 2.6 in the sciences tells me that you either were 1) a late bloomer and have fixed those deficits or 2) Just can handle a heavy science curriculum. If its the 2nd, then SMP and a DPM program will chew you up and spit you back out. DPM is the same intensity as Medical school for the first two years, but boards are a bit easier (if less clear) than the USMLE.



What do you mean applications for pod are down this year! did they start taking applications?
 
What do you mean applications for pod are down this year! did they start taking applications?
By apps being down it means not lots are applying... the application service itself is not down...
And yeah they started taking apps in August
 
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They started taking apps in August. Number of applicants are way down, close to I believe 500 for the 2017-2018 year, where it was 1200 for 2016-2017, across the country. My money is on the recent Grade Replacement change fueling the rapid expansion of SMPs and Post Baccs for people who couldnt get into DO school, where these people would have eventually settled on Podiatry. Also, the recent expansion of DO schools allowing more boarder line candidates in. If you were a boarderline candidate or failed out of a Caribbean program, now would be the time to jump on the Pod bandwagon.

Idk how the big schools are going to fill their class. AZPOD and DMU might be fine since they are much more selective.

What do you mean applications for pod are down this year! did they start taking applications?
 
They started taking apps in August. Number of applicants are way down, close to I believe 500 for the 2017-2018 year, where it was 1200 for 2016-2017, across the country. My money is on the recent Grade Replacement change fueling the rapid expansion of SMPs and Post Baccs for people who couldnt get into DO school, where these people would have eventually settled on Podiatry. Also, the recent expansion of DO schools allowing more boarder line candidates in. If you were a boarderline candidate or failed out of a Caribbean program, now would be the time to jump on the Pod bandwagon.

Idk how the big schools are going to fill their class. AZPOD and DMU might be fine since they are much more selective.
Where are you getting these numbers from?
 
My professional contacts within the power structure. That and it’s public info via the podiatry application site

Where are you getting these numbers from?
 
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I applied to Ross and SGU.
Your stats really arent that bad. I bet if you applied broadly to DO schools this summer you would get a couple of interviews.
I say this because IMO theres no reason to go abroad unless you're in an unrecoverable position like I am. Ive been doing postbacc (3.7 gpa) for about a year and im still at a 2.8 overall gpa. It would take 3 more semesters for me to get that over a 3.0. At that point I could be studying for Step. That, coupled with a few other reasons (like getting out of school to support my elderly parents) is the reason I am applying to caribbean.
did u get into carribeans school? I have a cgpa of 2.7 and science gpa of 2.3 and mcat of 507. do u think i stand a chance in carribeans?
 
did u get into carribeans school? I have a cgpa of 2.7 and science gpa of 2.3 and mcat of 507. do u think i stand a chance in carribeans?

your GPA is pretty low, but you will get in based off your MCAT.
 
your GPA is pretty low, but you will get in based off your MCAT.
which carribeans school do u think i should apply too? My gpa is low because i had to work and pay for my tuition. i took 3 months off work n on first try got 507 in mcat.
 
which carribeans school do u think i should apply too? My gpa is low because i had to work and pay for my tuition. i took 3 months off work n on first try got 507 in mcat.

All of the accredited ones.
 
Why not do an SMP and get into DO school? Your MCAT is pretty good for most DO schools.

Or do Podiatry.

did u get into carribeans school? I have a cgpa of 2.7 and science gpa of 2.3 and mcat of 507. do u think i stand a chance in carribeans?
 
Why not do an SMP and get into DO school? Your MCAT is pretty good for most DO schools.

Or do Podiatry.
Bro even with a trash GPA like that (which is close to what I have) theres like no chance of getting into a DO program..even if you had like a 520 lets be real
 
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