Premed and Med??

[Maddy156]

Im thinking going to PUCMM in Dominican republic on January 2008. I just got out of high school and im going to do ALL 6 years there (premed and med). Do you recommend it?

[eastern2western]

Im thinking going to PUCMM in Dominican republic on January 2008. I just got out of high school and im going to do ALL 6 years there (premed and med). Do you recommend it?
The smartest thing to do is check your state requirements. Personally, I would take my premed courses in the local community college first because of lower cost. Another great thing about the local cc is that it gives you a chance to tread the water first and see if you can tough through med school. If u can not make it through a two year school around where u live, what do think of your chances of making through a medical school in a foreign country? The greatest thing about cc is that if u screw up, the cost is much lower than failing at a foreign medical collge.
Another thing is that a lot of states require 60-90 under grad units from an accepted college within their own region and any premed units from a foreign college gets an automatic rejection.

[Maddy156]

Thank You eastern2western

So if I do both premed and med in a foreign country, my premed wont be worth anyhting in the US? Will that effect me seeking residency afterwards?

[eastern2western]

One thing for sure is that most states require 60-90 units of undergrad for licensing. What it means is that the applicants are not going to receive their license unless they have 60-90 units of undergrad from an approved institution (anything from 2 year and up). I always recommend that people should not jump on the gun too fast coming right out of high school. The smartest thing to do is always finish all of science courses in the cheapest possible way (2 year college) because you will get plenty of chances to accumulate debt. By doing the 2 year college, you are going to get a good preparation for medical school, save a ton of money and fulfill the necessary licensing requirement. If u do not believe me, you should do a search about the horror stories people who went through because they took their pre-med courses in a caribbean school. There is one horror story in the aua forum where the kid wasted 7 months and a ton money in aua's pre-med courses and ended up getting nothing but rejections when he tried to transfer his units back into states. Remeber one thing, cc is cheap and it is a good place for you to experiment. When you are in a foreign country, everything will be expensive and any screw up may cost you a lot of money and hassle. You should also check the saint james forum because some one made a sticky thread that warned high school grads who wanted to jump into the pre-med programs before any college.

[eastern2western]

Here is the story I pasted:
BEWARE!!!! My son attended All Saints in Aruba for 7 months, was a good vacation, he had all A's in his studies but the directors could not provide him with a residency program in the states that we could call and confirm their acceptance of All Saints program. The talk was pretty good and even fooled us for 7 months but when the school moved into the new building to have classes with no doors, air conditioning, lights, water or desk & chairs we became concerned and he moved back to the states and enrolled at University Of South Alabama where none of his classes were accepted but he did have a nice vacation and we guess it was a learning experience. They did at that time (this was 1 year ago) have some teachers that were very good at teaching and had foreign degrees that seemed to be real but I think they to were scamed and promised if they came there to teach they could end up in the U.S. as medical doctors but that did not happen either. Just beware and get some back up confirmation of where the studies at All Saints will take you!!

The question you should ask your self is you are entitle to the low cost benefits of your local community colleges because you are a resident of your state. Then you should take advantage of it before you dive yourself into a foreign country. The final question you should ask yourself is can you make it in a foreign medical school if you can not even get a decent grade from your local community college?

[dsy1216]

I know this is kind of off topic so my apologies. I just needed some insight on admissions for premed...specifically at MUA. What types of volunteer work and hours are they looking at as far as requirements for admissions goes? I have many many hours in hospital work, but are they looking for certain specialties if I am going in for a Physician? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. :)

[eastern2western]

Do not do your premed at a caribbean medical school if you want to save money!!!!

[jameslynton]

Im thinking going to PUCMM in Dominican republic on January 2008. I just got out of high school and im going to do ALL 6 years there (premed and med). Do you recommend it?Six year programs have a very limiting effect on your career. The best value for your money is a regular US University at a state school and then a state medical school. Your undergrad at PUCMM - will not count as the 60-90 hours of US undergrad. So heads up on this school.

[jameslynton]

I know this is kind of off topic so my apologies. I just needed some insight on admissions for premed...specifically at MUA. What types of volunteer work and hours are they looking at as far as requirements for admissions goes? I have many many hours in hospital work, but are they looking for certain specialties if I am going in for a Physician? Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. :)If you are young - don't do it! You have many better options in the US at a much lower cost. If you just want to take premed courses and you have done a regular undergrad - look at US post Bac programs.

[Maddy156]

jameslynton: How is a 6 year program have limiting effect in my career?

[jameslynton]

jameslynton: How is a 6 year program have limiting effect in my career?That is a good question! About 99% go into Family Practice and and Peds. I considerer these to be very limiting careers. How many ear aches, case of the flu and sore throats do you want to treat for the rest of your life! I have friends in these areas and they are bored by the work and the hassle of dealing with the insurance companies. Where as my friends in other areas have pretty exciting careers. You really want to go to a school that will help you get into a better residency if you work hard and score well on USMLE's.

This is very true if you are coming from an island and foreign school with the six year program. You really want to check into the schools like Ross, AUC, SGU, SMU, Saba and AUA where they post placements of students vs the school where you thinking about going. There is a difference!

[Maddy156]

What if I DO want to be a pediatric and that is my goal?

[eastern2western]

What if I DO want to be a pediatric and that is my goal?
please read my old post. Another thing is pediatric is the wrong word to be use in your sentence and the correct word is pediatrician.

[jameslynton]

What if I DO want to be a pediatric and that is my goal?Maddy, If it is your goal - great! Best wishes!