So, you COULD do a post bacc, retake the MCAT, and apply to US allo for the next academic year ... or two. The thing I hated the most about applying to US schools was AMCAS, and the fact you needed to submit everything like 10 months in advance. AMCAS needs to die a very slow, painful death. Sorry, getting sidetracked.

So, if you're a risk taker (unless you kill the MCAT) - go for it. It's always a good idea to try and get into a US school before going the carib. route. BUT, if you're anything like me and want to start your MD journey, apply now and start this coming September. Because, by the time you'll have started in the US, you'll have completed more than a year's worth of your medical education. To me, that made all the difference.

So, it all depends on where you are in your life, and whether or not you REALLY want to attend a US school no matter the cost.

Oh, and your stats are a-okay. As long as your upperlevel bio course grades are decent, they won't MERP you. You won't lose anything by trying though, right? Good luck!

Thanks JCU . I think I might just try the post bacc for a year or so before trying again. I don't really mind taking a year off to cool down a bit before throwing myself into med school

suesue,

I think a post-bacc program is a great way to go for some people. I went to Drexel's post-bacc program and now I wish I would've gone to Ross first. Post-bacc wasn't worth it for me. I have a few friends that I went to Drexel with that really benefitted from the program also. They have a few different programs available based on your needs as a med-school applicant (improve grades, improve MCAT, more basic science experience, etc. . . ). I was in the "improve my grades" category and I wasn't able to make a large enough change in my GPA to really gain much. Everyone I know who fell in the "improve my MCAT" category did very well in the program, improved their test score and is a much stronger applicant (or currently enrolled in US allopathic schools).

Post-bacc wasn't worth it for ME in money, time and results, but it can be very helpful. If you do decide to go that route, be prepared to work very hard and not have "a year off to cool down". My schedule was exactly the same as 1st year of med school (minus gross anatomy and genetics; plus immunology and medical nutrition). Having gone through those classes already makes me feel very prepared for med school, but I wish I would've started 2 years ago.

Good luck figuring things out.

Are MCATs required for Ross? I'm a former pre-dent, with a GPA of close to 3.5. I did take the DAT, but no MCAT.

DAT is for dental school. MCAT is for medical school. So I think it's safe to assume that you'll need to take the MCAT :P
And yup - Ross requires the MCAT.

Hey there folks!

I am currently a post-bac at Towson University and am starting my last semester with A&P2, OChem2, and Phys2. I am also taking the MCAT on May27, and am currently taking the Kaplan Course (a ton of hw! ). I wanted to know if I should apply to Ross now or after I finish my classes and take the MCAT. I had a 3.0 undergrad in Business, and so far in my post-bac I have a 3.87 (B+ in phys1, RAWRR! )

I also have 140 hours so far of ER volunteering and have shadowed several doctors and observed a couple surgeries.

Another question I have -- and this may be off topic -- but what are the chances of being able to do surgery after going to a Caribbean school? A fellow post-baccer says chances are slim to none. Any insight? Thanks.

Anyways, thanks for your help!

I think you should wait until you take the MCAT because your application will not be complete or evaluated until your scores are submitted! I guess it really want hurt if you really wanted to apply now and just submit your scores once you get them! And as for as doing surgery after a caribbean school, you should do a search! I searched the caribbean medical schools in which I wanted to or did apply residents.............e.g., "Ross University School of Medicine Residents" and this will bring up the hospitals and resident programs alot of students are getting! I hoped this helped!

*And I can tell you now that alot of caribbean medical school students do get surgery residencies (definitely the BIG 3: SGU, Ross, and AUC)! I wanted to know the same thing at first! I think you just have to make exceptionally high scores on USMLE, good GPA, and it's not bad to know a few people if you catch my drift!!!!

FYI - They told me that they would not look at anything unless all prerequisites were complete and all scores in. I was wanting to apply for fall but I will not finish classes until end of July so I guess I will have to wait for Jan 09.

From my research it is possible to get a residency in surgery. You have to work hard and get high scores on step 1 & 2. My neighbor is a surgery resident at UTMB (US grad) and he suggested if I needed to make my stats better and get some LORs to do a transitional year before applying for a surgical residency.

thanks for the info guys!

Can you all give me your thoughts on my chances?
cGPA: 3.022
sGPA: 2.82
mCAT: 25O

Soso letters of recommendation
Work experience in biotech company, pathology lab (2 summers worth)
President of a premed association (4 years/50 hours of comm service per year)
Chamber Ensemble (2 years)

Thank you