What are my chances at the big 4?!?

[Heliochrome85]

Hi
This is my first post so hopefully, i wont incite any flame wars. I'm trying to decide what is my next step in this process. I graduated from Indiana University last year with B.S. Biology, B.A. History. I also recieved 3 minors. In addition I am completing a M.S. of Biology at the end of the month. Due to health issues, my undergrad gpa was not nearly what it should have been and has kept me from being accepted until this point. Stats:
U-GPA: 3.2
U-Sci Gpa: 2.9
Grad GPA: 3.3
MCAT: 33-S

Ideally, I want to get in to a US school, but that seems highly unlikely due to my gpa. I have done some reading into the big 4 and if i were to go to the caribbean, those would be of the most interst to me. What are my chances? Any thoughts otherwise?

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[oldpro]

Hi, (Russian JOO do not get into a fit)

SGU is thought to be by many as the best but the best comes at a high, too high of cost it seems, right now for 4 years you will have to borrow about 190,000 to just pay tuition, for Living add in another 20k a year and you are looking at 270k for SGU and now they are looking to increase the tuition!
(I'm totally shocked that SGU would raise the cost of tuition when they charge over 19,000 a semester now)

The other schools are at least 1/3 to 1/2 the cost.

I would look to AUC, ROSS and SABA you will get accepted with those stats. If you apply by the end of the week you could be going in Sept 2008

 

[dtwalrus]

Helio:
Considering you've already done a Masters and the GPA there wasn't so amazing as to "make up" for the low undergrad GPA, it's probably time to give up on a U.S. Allo school. Start deciding between DO and the Caribbean. There's a lot of arguments for both sides and it comes down to a personal preference issue. With that being said it's a lock that you would at least get interviewed for the "Big 4" (yes, maybe even AUC which ordinarilly never interviews). Do well at the interviews and you're competitive.

OldPro:
1) SGU is expensive, but not "totally shocked," , or even exclamation point expensive. It's roughy the same cost as attending a private U.S. school. Tufts is more than $50,000/year, after all. And roughly 2/3 of all private U.S. schools are more than $40,000/year. Including cost of living expenses (yes, they apply to U.S. medical schools as well), SGU is in the same ballpark. Let's face it, if you want to go to medical school it's either go to your state school, be (in)dependently wealthy, or deal with $200,000+ in loans.

2) Yes, SGU is raising tuition for 3rd and 4th semesters, but the new figures released include fees. In total, it doesn't amount to a drastic increase in tuition. And tuitions rise everywhere, again, no "totally shocked" necessary.

3) Totally wrong on the price comparisons with AUC and Ross. 1/3 or 1/2? No. Both are around $50,000 less than SGU. With AUC that amount is likely significantly less since the cost of living on St. Maartin is like Manhattan expensive, and thus much greater than Grenada. Ross is cheaper, and the cheapest Island to live on. With both Ross and AUC there's significant moving around during clinicals, which has an associated cost of a few thousand $ as well. Again, each of these schools will leave you around $200,000 in debt, give or take $20,000 or so depending on how often you want to go diving or fly back to the states. In the end, all three are probably worth the cost if you end up where you want.

SABA is an exception. Very cheap and great value. But no gov't loans which is an issue for people, especially given the difficulty of the loan market right now.


Respectfully.