September 2012

[Dustin]

I have been accepted for the Class of 2016 beginning September 2012. Anyone else who has been accepted post here so that we can begin to get to know each other before we transition to life in Dominica.

[PDo]

CONGRATS MAN! When did u interview?

I interviewed April 20th. My interviewer called me when she found out.

[t-rex]

Good morning everyone!

I just accepted my offer to Ross University to start next term! I can't wait! My cousin is at Ross University!

I had a 3.0 GPA and 26 MCAT.

What are the best and worst things about Dominica?

Anybody looking for a roommate?
I'm from the United States and I did my undergraduate in biology at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth).

Congrats!

There is a lot of info about Dominica , as well as in this forum (sticky).

I wouldn't necessarily live with a roomate if you are looking to save money. There are a lot of places around for decent prices. Just wait until the housing database opens (you will recieve an email from Ross housing department closer to your Sem. start date).

[duhon21]

Dude thats awesome! I interviewed few weeks ago still waiting to hear back. Do u mind sharing yours stats so i can get a feel of what the direct admissions are ? Thanks

[SpursDoc]

First off congrats to all that have been accepted, but I'm curious about something. I assume everyone has done some research and at least knows a little about the impending 2016 match fallout issue, so what is you guys mindset about taking on 200K+debt plus 4 yrs of your lives with such uncertainty. Is it simple wishful thinking and hope or is there something more too it?

[kidkudi]

First off congrats to all that have been accepted, but I'm curious about something. I assume everyone has done some research and at least knows a little about the impending 2016 match fallout issue, so what is you guys mindset about taking on 200K+debt plus 4 yrs of your lives with such uncertainty. Is it simple wishful thinking and hope or is there something more too it?

Hey All, I was accepted to the Sept 2012 class. I interviewed on May 2nd and found out this week that I was accepted.

SpursDoc, could you elaborate more about the impeding 2016 match fallout issue. I have some information but am not all that well versed in it.

[PDo]

Dude thats awesome! I interviewed few weeks ago still waiting to hear back. Do u mind sharing yours stats so i can get a feel of what the direct admissions are ? Thanks

Sure, my undergraduate gpa was a 3.75 with a 3.5 science gpa. I got a 28 on the mcats after taking it SEVEN times. Never got over a 6 on the verbal. Did research over the past few years with 4 publications. I had a good bit of clinical volunteer experience. The us med schools couldn't get over the fact that I took the mcats that many times, so all rejected me. I decided to give Ross and st George's a try and got in.

Edit: I have a friend who also got accepted with 3.3 gpa and a 25 mcat. He also took it about 5 times

[medic300107]

merged more into this thread

[Xorthos]

First off congrats to all that have been accepted, but I'm curious about something. I assume everyone has done some research and at least knows a little about the impending 2016 match fallout issue, so what is you guys mindset about taking on 200K+debt plus 4 yrs of your lives with such uncertainty. Is it simple wishful thinking and hope or is there something more too it?

I love all of the passive aggressive posts like this that are meant only to discourage people...they really get my spirits up.

There's a way to make people aware of the situation, or educate people, without adding such a negative overtone to the post...just saying.

Yes, it's going to be tougher for Carribean students to match than it will be for US students in 2016...just like it was tougher for 2012 Carribean graduates to match than US students. And yes, slots are going to be even more limited as time progresses.

But honestly, Ross has one of the better Match rates out of the Carribean schools...if you really bust your butt, do well on your boards, and really try to stand out, rather than scraping by...you'll still have a decent chance of matching somewhere. The key to matching, in my opinion, is to always have a few backups.

I would love to match in Emergency Medicine, however, if I don't then Family Practice would be just fine. It's much easier to match in Family Practice, and Family Practice physicians can work in many ER's as well..just not the higher acuity trauma centers.

From talking to the residency director at the hospital that I currently work at, he gave me a bit of insight. He said that many residency programs, including theirs, base acceptance off two primary criteria first. The board scores, and the applicant's original location to their program. He said that they will take a Carribean student who is well known in the community, and local, over a US student with the same scores who lives in another state.

[SpursDoc]

I love all of the passive aggressive posts like this that are meant only to discourage people...they really get my spirits up.

There's a way to make people aware of the situation, or educate people, without adding such a negative overtone to the post...just saying.

Yes, it's going to be tougher for Carribean students to match than it will be for US students in 2016...just like it was tougher for 2012 Carribean graduates to match than US students. And yes, slots are going to be even more limited as time progresses.

But honestly, Ross has one of the better Match rates out of the Carribean schools...if you really bust your butt, do well on your boards, and really try to stand out, rather than scraping by...you'll still have a decent chance of matching somewhere. The key to matching, in my opinion, is to always have a few backups.

I would love to match in Emergency Medicine, however, if I don't then Family Practice would be just fine. It's much easier to match in Family Practice, and Family Practice physicians can work in many ER's as well..just not the higher acuity trauma centers.

From talking to the residency director at the hospital that I currently work at, he gave me a bit of insight. He said that many residency programs, including theirs, base acceptance off two primary criteria first. The board scores, and the applicant's original location to their program. He said that they will take a Carribean student who is well known in the community, and local, over a US student with the same scores who lives in another state.

Contrary to what you think my motives were for this posts, I honestly am curious what the thought process is for those facing these odds. Specifically did Ross address this at all or did anyone come across some specific article or research that gave them some insight. This isn't meant to discourage, and I have don't know what I would get out of discouraging people, it's not as if I'm in competition with them. Plus, your post speaks to my point, there are distinct differences between increased competitiveness in the 2012 match versus what is projected for the 2016 match. Specifically over 2000 new US grads to add to the matching class along with the phased in $60 billion cut to medicare, which means a slashing of Med Ed funding. In 2011 there was a total of 1031 unfilled spots, which over 1/2 were from either surgery or medicine prelim. I have also talked to many program directors from a wide range of programs i.e. family med, surgery, medicine, ob/gyn, and the general consensus is that by 2016 it's going to be a blood bath when it comes to IMG's matching. Programs like FM, psych or Peds that used to be considered fairly safe backup plans will becoming increasingly difficult because the reality is there will be hardly any unfilled spots, especially in categorical positions. So this bust your butt and do well on the boards attitude that everyone seems to think will magically make the realities of the match by 2016 doesn't make a lick of sense to me. Sure if you score in the high 250-260 range you'll always have a shot, but only minuscule amount of IMGs will do so. Is it the belief that that'll be you as long as you "bust your butt" the real motivating factor? I have had several people, including friends and Doc's asking about options for there kids about the options of caribb schools and with the realities being what they are I tell them do everything they can to get into a US MD or DO or even PA school, or else continuing their education to strengthen their stats. So excuse me if I seemed negative in my questioning, but I am honestly curious to other people's thought processes about all of this and if Ross every addresses this issue specifically when they are selling you on Ross.

[kidkudi]

Contrary to what you think my motives were for this posts, I honestly am curious what the thought process is for those facing these odds. Specifically did Ross address this at all or did anyone come across some specific article or research that gave them some insight. This isn't meant to discourage, and I have don't know what I would get out of discouraging people, it's not as if I'm in competition with them. Plus, your post speaks to my point, there are distinct differences between increased competitiveness in the 2012 match versus what is projected for the 2016 match. Specifically over 2000 new US grads to add to the matching class along with the phased in $60 billion cut to medicare, which means a slashing of Med Ed funding. In 2011 there was a total of 1031 unfilled spots, which over 1/2 were from either surgery or medicine prelim. I have also talked to many program directors from a wide range of programs i.e. family med, surgery, medicine, ob/gyn, and the general consensus is that by 2016 it's going to be a blood bath when it comes to IMG's matching. Programs like FM, psych or Peds that used to be considered fairly safe backup plans will becoming increasingly difficult because the reality is there will be hardly any unfilled spots, especially in categorical positions. So this bust your butt and do well on the boards attitude that everyone seems to think will magically make the realities of the match by 2016 doesn't make a lick of sense to me. Sure if you score in the high 250-260 range you'll always have a shot, but only minuscule amount of IMGs will do so. Is it the belief that that'll be you as long as you "bust your butt" the real motivating factor? I have had several people, including friends and Doc's asking about options for there kids about the options of caribb schools and with the realities being what they are I tell them do everything they can to get into a US MD or DO or even PA school, or else continuing their education to strengthen their stats. So excuse me if I seemed negative in my questioning, but I am honestly curious to other people's thought processes about all of this and if Ross every addresses this issue specifically when they are selling you on Ross.

Honestly they didnt tell me anything about the 2016 match and from the research that I have done and articles that have been posted, it seems that the it is going to become more of a numbers game than it already is, if there are 2000 new US grads and less residency spots then they will give those spots to US grads..is that the basic premise? Definitely a lot to think about..Thank you for the info. Spursdoc and Xorthos