POLAND vs. AUC

[xsbb]

I have secured admission in the three universities under the hope medical institute in Poland as well as AUC and St. Matthews. I am thinking of applying to the Israelli med schools. Ihave a 4.0/4.0 GPA in undergrad (BSc Biology) and a 27 on the MCAT and a same GPA in MPH (public health) that I am currently doing. My dilemna is as follows. I can't decide if I should go to Poland or AUC or St. Matthews r wait for a year and go to Australia for example or shoud I go to a DO school in the US (on waiting list on two DO schools in the US). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Oh and I fuly intend to return to the US to practice medicine.

Thanks

[NervNellie]

I wish I had the same dilemma as you did I would love just to be accepted at a place like AUC and have a 4.0 GPA like you do..I am looking into med schools, so I am not in one yet..but this much I can say, for what its worth. A coworker I know went to med school in Poland and he said that while the schools there are good, they are not good enough compared to US med schools, in terms of quality of classes, clinical exposure and USMLE prep and so on..he got disillusioned because of this and got out of his Polish Med school. Maybe it was just that one med school that was bad, But he made it sound like most EE med schools are not worth it, maybe it was him not being able to hack it, I dunno...This is what he said, its not my opinion as I havent been to any med school yet..altho my friend did say that he has friends that go to SGU and Saba and that those are stellar schools..I am sure AUC would come in that bracket too...

Australian med schools are great to go to, but you have to give the GAMSAT and they are friggin expensive..One of them I looked into was >$30000 a yr

The good thing about Israeli med schools is that they are recognized by most US states and that the curriculum is like that of US med schools ditto. no prob getting a residency and license... Maybe thats because a lotta Israeli citizens tend to be US citizens too, so the Israeli med schools have to adjust sccordingly..the only drawback is that u have to know Hebrew, which if you do is a great plus..

Here is one thing about DO: I have another friend is a DO and she said this: DO's are sometimes looked down upon or are not as popular as MD's. So while they are no different than MD's, most people dont know what DO's and what they do, which for Do's can be frustrating. Also, she said that there is a stigma attached to DO's as failed aspiring MD's, ie folks who couldnt get into US med schools for an MD...I know all this sounds childish, but its very true and real even if its not talked about..so if you are respect conscious and dont like this kind of nonsense stigma u might wanna think twice about doing DO

St. Matthews: personally I am not sure how good of a school it is..u r better off going to AUC..they seem more well established

Hope this helps

[gellerf]

I would think that with a 4.0 gpa you would have a good shot at US MD schools

[NervNellie]

I agree with gellerfc..why not try US med schools, with the GPA u have?

[xsbb]

Thanks man, problem is that I don;t know Hebrew at all, and know enough arabic to understand if someone is cursing at me. I was already in a med school (got in w/o BSc) in the US and actually quit (stupid stupid me I know - now I just want another shot at it). Oh and I am on waiting list on two DO schools in the US. My main thing I guess is the fact that the after having an MD I want to be able to practice in ANY of the 50 states. The Polish Med school grads are unable to practice in CA, and I don;t know about AUC and others. Poland seems to be lower living costs and all compare to carribbean schools in general. Real dilemna I am facing here!

[dr_dre]

Seems like AUC will be your best bet (again I am not promoting AUC, nor affliated with it in any way).

Good luck!

[xsbb]

Thanks, but please tell me what you would base your suggestion on (because I am also myself leaning more towards AUC)

[neilc]

AUC for these reasons:

1. all states approved (this is good enough to be the only reason, IMHO)
2. longer/better track record with residency placement
3. USMLE based curriculum. (no eastern european school has this, at least not to the degree of the carib schools)
4. back in the states years 3 and 4, or even a year in england if you want to do it. (you can still live in europe, if you want to!)
5. AUC has hospital affiliations, at ACGME hospitals. no need to set up your own rotations, or worry about formal affiliation agreements, which may be important for licensure later.


i love my school in eastern europe, but it is certainly not the easiest way back home. i have personal issues with the 4 year programs in poland based on my observations, the observations of transfers students, and several of my classmates that went to check them out when they were considering transfering.

eastern europe is a great option if you already speak the language, or have family here. it is a great option if you really want to live here, and are aware that you will be getting a european education, and not a USMLE based education. lots of folks get back to the states every year from these programs. but, it is certainly not the most direct path. it is also a very different method of education (not very clinically based, lots of oral exams, very few MCQ exams (and they are not usually very well written) all of which are not great for USMLE prep).

my experience is based on my general knowledge of the eastern european programs, not specifically polish programs. but , i do think i have had enough exposure to those programs to at least have the above information correct.

finally, i think the most important advice you can get is STAY AWAY FROM AGENCIES!!!! there is nothing that they can offer you that is worth even a fraction of their cost. i believe it is poznan in poland that offers a 4 year progam and does not work through an agent...go there first! agents are bad, bad news....in my 4 years here (and my 1 year of applying) i have NEVER heard a single good experience from someone dealing with an agent. at best, they feel ripped off for spending all that extra money. at worst, they were lied to and mislead by the agency, and wound up wasting money, transfering, dropping out or whatever. you do not need HMI to attend a legit medical school.

best of luck with your decision

[Miklos]

I think that Neil covered it very well.

As above.

Good luck.

[AUCMD2006]

its not just the GPA that is looked at it's also the school and percentage of students that matriculate in a medical school so that a 4.0 from a community college in rural ohio is not weighed the same as a 4.0 from say Michigan...just comparison and what i was told by admin com at the med school i was wait listed at. it sucks being wait listed but almost everyone would go DO before going this IMG route unless they are ignorant about it that is. DO's not only compete for the same competitive residencies and do them with allopaths but they have their own friggin hospitals that you can apply for. DO all the way then australia/israel, then caribbean, then eastern europe...just my 2cents