Thread: High school student going directly to medical school, skipping undergrad? PLEASE HELP

These are the schools that are accredited by the Medical Board of California.


University of the West Indies


American University of the Caribbean


Saba University School of Medicine


St. George's University


Ross University School of Medicine


American University of Antigua College of Medicine



Of all these, which ones will accept high school students straight out of high school? I am extremely motivated in becoming a doctor, so I really want to go to a direct medical program. Also, I was looking into CMU and Avalon University School of Medicine.. any info on those?


So in short:

Please, if you can, let me know which Caribbean medical schools accept students straight out of high school. Thanks in advance!

Straight to Carib out of high school is a bad idea for a load of reasons already elucidated in the VMD forum. I don't frankly know which Carib schools offer this sort of short-cut, but I would not recommend it to anyone I cared about.

If you are absolutely bound and determined to complete a 6-year program out of high school, please do yourself a favor and consider going to a country where that form of medical education is the norm, and do it that way. It will be cheaper (in some cases) and there will be far less of a chance of future problems with licensing, etc.

I happen to think that Ireland offers some of the best options for this, and wish that I had known about them when I was coming out of HS, but there are 6-year programs all over Europe, Asia, and South America.

(And better yet... if you eventually want to practice in the States, your best option is to go to college/university in the States, kick butt, and go to a US medical school.)

Thank you devildoc, I will definitely look into other direct med programs. The only problem is that I'm not sure if I can succeed in college at a 4 year program, so if I get into a 6 year program, at least I know for sure that I'm in med school. I'm good at science and math but am not so well in English and History, which is the main reason I want to go to a 6 year program- utilize my best qualities, and become a great doctor at the end of it! But I will look into other direct med programs, do you have any in mind that you would recommend? Thank you for helping me on this, I really REALLY appreciate it!

I was looking, and found this school: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. How competitive are these schools? I know that Carib. med schools aren't very competitive, but what about ones from other countries?

The best 6-year options I know of are to be found in:

Republic of Ireland (Atlantic Bridge: US and Canadian students studying medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine in Ireland), UK or other Western Europe (if you speak the language)
Eastern European programs on the California Medical Board-approved list (Jagiellonian in Warsaw, Charles First Faculty in Prague, Semmelweis in Budapest, etc.)

Note that there are plenty of NON-CMB-approved 6-year programs in E-Eu, but from my experience, you don't really want to look at those unless every other option poops the bed.

There are some others in Asia and South America, but I don't know much about them. (Plus, I do like Europe a lot.)

RCSI is very good. It is one of the schools in Ireland that accepts North American applications through Atlantic Bridge.

It is possibly not as good (reputation-wise) as Trinity-Dublin or a few of the others, but honestly, none of the schools in Ireland suck... admission is competitive overall, but not cut-throat, from what I have seen. Atlantic Bridge can give you more detailed information on that.

Originally Posted by gotmd?

I was looking, and found this school: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. How competitive are these schools? I know that Carib. med schools aren't very competitive, but what about ones from other countries?

Great thank you so much! I just looked into Atlantic Bridge- seems awesome! 3 med schools that will accept high school applicants, time for me to do research! Now, I must say something that might not seem very good. My high school GPA (unweighted) is 2.91. I know its very low, but this year, my grades are all A's. Plus, I have taken the hardest classes my school has to offer. I am the President of a club at my school that is of Science and academic value, and am in many clubs and activities related to science, volunteer at the hospital, and am enrolled in 4 medical classes this year. If I have really good teacher recs, do you think I have a shot at any 6 year program? I know you're not an interviewer or Dean, but do you think I could compete for a spot at a 6 year program?

I'm not studying in Ireland, so I'd have no idea. I would say contact them and apply. Also look at some other options for backup in the EU.

Good luck, it sounds like you are on the right track.

I did just note that you listed UWI above, which is a legit post-HS program... but I don't think that they accept a lot of foreign students there who are not from the West Indies.

Aright will do! I saw that some Carib. med schools say they are accredited, but when I looked on the Medical Board of California website, they aren't there? Examples include Caribbean Medical University at Caracao, and Avalon at Caracao as well. Are they just frauds? CMU just opened in 2007 so I don't know if that makes a difference or not. Thanks for your help!