About GPA's and MCAT's

[DonnieMD2B]

Ok, I have a few things to say about the MCAT and GPA scores. Based on friends of mine. 1. GPA of 3.6 and MCAT unknown...however must be very well because he teaches MCAT prep course for KAPLAN has been rejected to every US medical school that he has applied to for 2 years now. 2. GPA of 3.9 MCAT 31 has been rejected to every medical school she has applied to except one in which she was placed on the waiting list. 3. GPA of 2.6 MCAT 24 accepted to a medical school in California.

MY POINT: Don't stress of the scores, some get in and some do not and nobody knows the exact reasons as to why the ones with great scores do not and lower scores does. Also, with that being said I have a competitive GPA and have done very well on the practice mcats upper 20's however don't have the money to throw away applying to 15-20 US schools in order to be rejected by all. I chose to just apply to SABA. Plus its either the same price or cheaper than most US schools.

[BTH]

Hey DonnieMD2B:

Wow, those are some very random selection processes by the U.S. medical schools. It is just bizarre how certain applicants are able to matriculate whereas others who are more competitive do not. However, I myself have also known people who have gotten in to U.S. medical schools with less than stellar stats. Oh well, in either case, perhaps you may want to consider appying to several U.S. medical schools. Who knows, you may get accepted to one of them. In either case, good luck with your decision and the MCAT. Ciao. :D

[wolfvgang22]

No American should ever apply to a caribbean school unless he or she has either been already rejected by an American med school, or is very sure that he/she will not be accepted by an American med school anywhere.

[Siddman]

No American should ever apply to a caribbean school unless he or she has either been already rejected by an American med school, or is very sure that he/she will not be accepted by an American med school anywhere.

I totally agree....


Siddman

[Bob2k]

sorry, but that's just dumb and implausible. you say your gpa is competitive and your practice mcat scores are good, but you don't have a thousand bucks to spend on apps? but you apparently do have 100 times that amount to spend on a carib med education? have some perspective here.

and as far as 2.6/24 getting admission, that is only with the help of affirmative action if anything.

[clean_press]

I think you got a point, i pulled a 38 mcat had 2.84 gpa , applied to like 72 schools in the US, lol, so far I've been rejected 50, had two wait lists , which both fell through, and like 20 schools still haven't gotten back to me, but I'm sure its just rejections. I think you are doin the right thing by just goin to saba,

Some of the schools that rejected me actually recruited me initially, lol. Like Washington University, MUSC, illinois, columbia. All of the schools told me go back and do a masters, get your grad GPA up, and we'll gaurantee your acceptance. I was like f-that. I'm not gonna drop 90 grand to get into med school, So I think Saba is a compromise but a good compromise.

Ultimately an MD is an MD, you are gonna be responsible for your success not the name of your school. My pops is a cardiologist and he came from a small med school in bangladesh and he's easily and successfully competing with harvard grads, etc. etc. And english obviously wasn't his first language.

I guess what I am trying to say, is " we need to be making black films by any means necessary" spike lee!

Of course your circumstance could be quite different, My application was empty other than my MCAT score, so I really don't know.

But I am pissed that my parents blew 7000 dollars applying to all those schools for me!

[clean_press]

yeah I would still encourage you to apply at least one year, I didn't choose saba until I was applying for my second time,

[pitstar]

Hey DonnieMD2B:

Wow, those are some very random selection processes by the U.S. medical schools. It is just bizarre how certain applicants are able to matriculate whereas others who are more competitive do not. However, I myself have also known people who have gotten in to U.S. medical schools with less than stellar stats. Oh well, in either case, perhaps you may want to consider appying to several U.S. medical schools. Who knows, you may get accepted to one of them. In either case, good luck with your decision and the MCAT. Ciao. :D

"less than steller" = still beats Caribs, eh ?

[Knight007]

38 MCAT deserves recognition...If I was a Med school director I would take a 38 MCAT and 2.84 gpa over any other student ...cuz it takes a LOT of knowledge and brains to pull a 38 MCAT...
Congrats to you and Good Luck in SABA :)
You will make a fine doc !

..but you might just get into one of those 20 schools yet to reply!

[bigguy]

Hey Don,
It doesn't sound like you're seeking advice, but here's some anyway. The hoops you're going to have to jump through as an IMG make foreign schools a last resort.

Why not get accepted to Saba and continue to apply to U.S. schools? You can apply for the January class, which will postpone your entry as long as possible, while still be able to make the match in the fourth year (assuming you're really motivated). You can still apply to U.S. schools and try to get in, or get wait listed.

Even if you start Saba, it wouldn't hurt to keep applying to U.S. schools. The U.S. school won't accept the Saba credits, but repeating a semester or two in a U.S. school is probably worth the cost relative to the uncertainties inherent in attending and graduating from a foreign school.

Good luck.

Bigguy

[dreamdoc]

Im a bit confused as to all the negative posts about going to a foreign medical school. i work with residents from st. georges and ross and saba everyday and they are just as good of doctors as the us graduates. in some cases, they are better. most of them will tell you that they loved going to offshore schools and they have no complaints. so i dont undrstand the "jumping thru hoops" statement that I see alot. can someone pls explain? i know its true that you dont get the best residency matches when compared to the us graduates. what else dont i know???

[wolfvgang22]

You have to have a higher USMLE step 1 score than a US grad to get the same residency spot, some residency program directors say "caribbean grads need not even apply", and states require additional things from IMGs like doing 3 years of residency to obtain permanent licensure instead of just one or two, thus limiting the ability of IMGs to moonlight. Some states, like Texas, require that IMGs be able to show documentation that their off-shore school is "equivalent" to a Texas med school, and the definition of what is "equivalent" can change every 6 months or so.
In short, we are kinda treated like black people in the south during the early 1960's, and still today in many places....okay, maybe that's a big stretch, but you get what I mean.

That said, I'm tickled pink to have the opportunity to be any sort of physician in the USA.