hey guys

which schools in the carribean are good besides sgu, ross and auc?? what are the advantages/disadvantages of the carribean over the philippines and vice versa?

Stick with the Philippines if you can. Real universities under gov't control, inspection and mandate. Lots of filipino medical graduates in the U.S., not to mention nurses and other medical field specialties. Lots of hands on experience in clerkships. Little or no licensure issues like with many carib. schools. English widely spoken.

On the flip side. It is measurably tougher in the Philippines, you need to be more independent, resourceful, and a self starter type. Good luck.

This topic has been thoroughly discussed here in previous threads. There appears to be a consensus here that the best option by far is US medical schools. Think carefully before getting involved with offshore education - everything from then on will be a little harder, a little more uncertain, and you'll get a lot less appreciation for the same accomplishments.

The most important thing to remember about foreign schools is that NOTHING will be streamlined or easy, no matter what they say at the interview. Filipino schools may offer US-based rotations, but they may not be all green book, and many will forget to mention that these rotations are elective, not core. Similarly, a carribean school will offer US-based rotations, yet many times students have been left behind an extra semester for lack of spots (while still paying tuition!). Also, they are often given the "choice" of doing these rotations in other countries.

Filipino schools will not make any claims as to US board preparations. You'll need to get prep books BEFORE YOUR FIRST DAY OF CLASS and correlate all classroom learning with the USMLE prep on the same topic, if you are to score well. Self-motivation is a big part of being a successful IMG. Carribean schools will make wild claims about being BETTER than US schools in preparing you for the USMLE, but its a lie. They do not approve their students for Step 1 until they pass their own shelf exams - in short they "select" the students who will actually take it and pass.

Finally, all carribean, and many Filipino schools will follow a weeding out process. They will offer little help, but give high expectations, so that only the best survive, and the worst drop out. The drop out rates in Filipino schools (the ones I spoke with) range between 15 - 20%, and are higher in the Carribean.

Personally, as a non-filipino American, I prefer the Philippines to the Carribean. If you make a mistake, at least its not such an expensive mistake. Aside from Fatima (which most people on this board have warned against), most filipino schools are 1/10th of the cost of the Carribean, and living expenses are even less. You also get to live in a city (manila, cebu, baguio, davao), not on Gilligan's Island. Finally you attend a medical school that has a HOSPITAL that belongs to it, and you get patient exposure early on (Carribean schools are just teaching facilities). Thats my word!

I taught in one of the Caribbean schools. The only ones that I usually recommend are the ones approved in 50 states (sgu,ross,auc, and don't forget saba). I'm not recommending other schools as much as they have problems with many states and finding loans for some schools are getting to be difficult (even for saba) due to the credit crisis.
The best is still going to a US MD or DO schools but if you can't get in, Caribbean schools that I mention or Philippines are not bad alternatives.
Sure, Caribbean schools have USMLE review and lots of US clinical rotations BUT if you are not one of the top students with high USMLE scores, you cannot get into a competitive (like surgical) fields even if you came from a Caribbean school. I usually recommend Caribbean schools for gunners (very ambitious, competitive students) who wants to get into competitive fields and who felt that they could have gone to an American school. But if you are contented with going into primary care like Internal Medicine, Pediatrics or Family Practice, I cannot justify getting loans for 250K or 300K (like a mortgage). Those are the kinds of loans that are difficult to pay on a primary care income.
The only warning if you study in the Philippines is that you have to study independently (parallel review) for USMLE especially if you want to take your Step 1 after your 2nd year.

thanks u guys :P

btw i am from the philippines...just not a filipino so i guess it is more practical to study here

Hey where in Phils are you? We are in the same boat - I study there but Im not filipino...

hey im in Makati City, Manila, what about you? and where do you study?

Cebu City - home of the sweetest Mango, stinkiest Buwad, and cheap Lanzones!!