Thread: What are my chances for admission to Saba University School

This is certainly not meant to provide the definitive answer to the question:

"Can I get in with these stats?"


I know from experience though that the question weighs heavily on some folks' minds, so I thought it might be good to place this thread at the top.

I always encourage potential applicants to give the folks at Gardner a call for the best advice about admissions, but I also encourage current students and potential students to chime in with their own stories and their own information about applying and being admitted to Saba.

Give it a shot 8)


Best of Luck to Us All!

Originally Posted by domo

thank you for the response, unfortunately my scigpa is roughly the same as well. I have a B.S. in Biochemistry if that helps at all.

I would still urge you to consider D.O. programs FIRST and if all else fails then only consider the Caribbean route. This route seems very easy at first (relatively easy admissions) but the road you have to follow over the years is very tough. And residency placement for foreign graduates is projected to keep getting tougher over the next several years. So, retake some undergraduate science courses in which you did not do well and raise that undergraduate science GPA (if financially feasible). Secondly, go ahead with your M.S. if this is part of a medical school program that allows you a direct track into their medical school after successful completion of the M.S. program. There are medical schools that have such an arrangement (maybe you have already looked into it). I know Loyola University Chicago has such a program. It is a money maker for the schools, but it also allows you an inside track to their medical school if you do well in the M.S. track. I would still apply to D.O. programs after you get the M.S. and only IF after all that you still cannot get into a North American D.O. program, then go ahead with the Caribbean schools. There is plenty of information on these forums about Caribbean programs (pros and cons) and the difficulty level of residency placement in upcoming years...make sure you have all this knowledge before you take out a huge loan and come down to the islands.

I forget what my gpas are but my cumulative average is about 75 with about 80% coursework in science. mcat score was 28.

My first 2 years of university were horrible and my average is way down due to them (all Fs and 50s), but over my final few years my average was well over 80. I'm also doing 3 3rd/4th year science courses now which should be done by early february with 85-90s.

I know my mcat is decent except for the writing response (K). The breakdown was 10(VR), 7(PS) and 11(**) so Im taking it again at the end of january to raise the obvious 2 sections.

With marks all over the map like these and having marks sent in so late (they wont all be in until late feb) would I most likely be in canada or the carribean in may?

Ok, here are my stats;

1998 Bachelor in Economics from Univ. of Maryland 2.25 GPA
2001 Juris Doctor from New York Law School 2.2 GPA
Post Bac GPA: 2.7
MCAT 23 P (11 verbal, 6 physical sciences, 6 biological sciences)

Any shot?

Why are you giving up on Law?

What Post bac makes up the gpa? Law degree of 2.2(numerous credits) would pull down post bac numbers significantly, but you still have a relatively high post bac. Or are those undergrad courses and not your grad/professional courses?
When did you take prereq courses? How did you do on those? When did you take the MCAT?
You obviously are a non-traditional student with a completely non-traditional background. I think there is more info to consider besides numbers....

I am not any expert at all about numbers and admissions, but the schools want people passing usmle the first time and matching the first time. Your GPAs are scary, and your MCAT scores indicate you will be challenged in sciences. Of course that doesnt mean you wont be a fine physician... but you have to get through the island and testing in order to reach your goal.

As a piece of advice.... if you really want to go to med school and you don't get in.... a month before classes start, call around and see if there are any open spots. They might take you because they have an empty seat. I called in the beginning of DECEMBER to AUC and I was slightly pressured to apply for JANUARY.

Ashsproperty, to answer your questions in the above post, I am giving up on the law, as I never really liked it and have had the idea of becoming a physician for a rather long time now. My post bac GPA is only counting the premedical prerequisites which I just finished this past December. I foolishly took the MCAT last May, prior to having completed my prerequisite coursework. I am planning on retaking it this February. Thanks for the advice, especially about calling the schools a month or so prior to the start of the semester.

I don't understand how anyone can be an attorney. I am a firm believer of that "Oh come on man!" should be sufficient to dispute anything. I could never deal with losing a case for a victim based off of some stupid technicality. Nor could I defend someone adequately if I knew they were guilty.

Just make sure you are well prepared this time. Did you take a course? If not, get the books from Kaplan or Examkrackers.... The course means nothing, its all about practice.

Good luck on your endeavours and maybe I will see you in May somewhere....

Has anybody been accepted to SABA RECENTLY with no bachelors degree, and gotten their ** while earning credits for MD?. All pre-requisites met. Average and science GPA: 3.33, MCAT:27.
Thank You

Hi,
I just wanted to know what my chances are at SABA.
cGPA: 2.75
sGPA: 2.8
MCAT: 21M
Graduating from Canadian Uni B.Sc in April 2012
I have a lot of volunteer work and amazing reference letters
I know its low, I had some serious health issues (fine now) during the last 5 years that have affected my marks.
Please let me know
Thanks

Hey everybody,

I was just wondering what you think of my chances of getting into saba.
cGPA: 3.56
sGPA: 3.4
no mcat
graduating from a Canadian university with B.Sc (hons) in April 2012
lots of volunteer work and good reference letters
what do you think?
thanks

Originally Posted by dalhousiemd

Hey everybody,

I was just wondering what you think of my chances of getting into saba.
cGPA: 3.56
sGPA: 3.4
no mcat
graduating from a Canadian university with B.Sc (hons) in April 2012
lots of volunteer work and good reference letters
what do you think?
thanks

You're chances are great- needless to say an MCAT- even a low MCAT score- would improve them as schools tend to be hesitant on accepting students without an MCAT. Additionally considering you're coming from Canada you have pretty good odds at American schools if you wrote your MCAT and score a solid 30+. They tend to add 0.1 to a Canadian students GPA in order to equalize them amongst american applications. Of course you would have to wait a year, but that year is ultimately worth it if you're considering any form of competitive residency.
In either case best of luck!