Thanks to all who contributed to the thread with advice and encouragement...

By the way psychMajor, I think all of of us on this thread are aware that these people do not work for admissions. However, they are being helpful to us as they were in our shoes one day and remember how nerve racking this process is. From what I can see, you were recently accepted and will start in Jan 07. Therefore, you should remember the feeling. We understand the only way to know is after we apply. However, it's reassuring to hear the typical GPA and experiences people had when they were recently accepted. This helps us gaze where we need to be or improve upon from other upperclassmen. That is all this thread is attempting to do!

Thanks again to those who gave good advice and suggestions to improve your chances....Happy Holidays!

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Honey Gold, If you are truly curious you can do a search on your question. It has been asked MANY MANY times.. It is hard to say what criteria the admissions board looks for.. having said that: an ok gpa would help (usually above a 3.0 especially in science), a couple of STRONG letters of recommendations (LORs) will help your application esp a strong one from a doc!!, volunteer work at a hospital (nothing crazy, maybe just 3 hours a week or so. I had about 80-100 hours over 4 yrs of undergrad), RESEARCH!!( don't be shy, just ask any of your science profs, they usually have something going on), usually an MCAT above 20 looks good for Saba, lastly JUST APPLY!!! The very worst they can say is no and in that case you have many options to pick from (MUA, AUC, ross etc

Have a fantastic holiday

Gina

remember "if you don't ask, you will never find the answer"
never become discourged: medicine is an art, a lifestyle, a joy... to most that have the opportunity to practice.. never give up, your dreams

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Third year [x]
Fourth year [ ] Trauma [ ], Hem onc [ ], ID [ ] , ICU [ ], IM subI [ ], FP [ ]
Step II CS [pass]
Step II CK [ ]
ERAS [ ]

thanks Gina, your suggestions helped tremendously and reaffirmed what we need to get done...You mentioned the quintessential things necessary to do in undergrad. I've covered all grounds except one so I'll try to work on that...Thanks again and enjoy your clinicalsin NY. I'm from there and you'll enjoy your time there...People are amazing and interesting...

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Thanks I'm a little nervous about NYC to be quite honest, but we'll see how it goes

__________________
Third year [x]
Fourth year [ ] Trauma [ ], Hem onc [ ], ID [ ] , ICU [ ], IM subI [ ], FP [ ]
Step II CS [pass]
Step II CK [ ]
ERAS [ ]

hey everyone.. need help/advice. i am applying to a few med schools in the caribbean, saba being my top choice. with my stats, do u think its possible to get in???

GPA overall: 3.17
GPA sciences: 3.51
No Mcats

thanks!

nadia

this was a post by candaguy previously. i felt it warranted mention in this thread. the website is a MUST read for those serious about applying

i have always recieved excellent feedback from people on these forums, however, the only people who can give you a well informed answer are the folks at gardner. they are extremely helpful and even gave me tips on what to include in my personal statement and how to be a competetive applicant. can't ask for much more than that.

good luck applying!



CANADAGUY:

I'm not sure how many people have seen this... it is a report submitted by Saba to the International Association of Medical Colleges. It is available at: http://www.iaomc.org/saba.pdf. It contains a ton of information on the GPA and MCAT scores of admitted students for 2005, attrition numbers, number of applications received by the school, etc.

Several interesting points emerge from the data:

1. The acceptance rate:

Saba received 1009 applicants for 2005 and offered 280 acceptances. Therefore, 27.8% of applicants were offered a spot. Definitely doesn't fit the profile of Caribbean schools "accepting anyone with a pulse and money for tuition."

2. Pre-med GPA of entering students:

GPA : % of incoming students
3.5-4.0 : 24.3%
3.0-3.49 : 55.8%
2.6-2.99 : 16.0%

This helps to provide an answer to the "will I get in with these stats" question. However, those that got in with a 2.6-2.99 might have had a good MCAT score or great extracurriculars? I'm just talking out of my *** here, I have no idea...

3. Average MCAT of entering students:

About 23... see report for subject scores and other information

4. Average first year enrollment:

This is "average" because the numbers change during the year as students move from their third semester of first year into second year.

Average number was 169 in first year. This calculates to about 56 students per semester.

5. Attrition rate:

Total number of people who dropped out or were dismissed from first year: 34. If the average number of students in first year was 169, then the attrition rate was about 20%. This is a little bit higher then the 10% I have heard from many people. The report offers a list of reasons offered for withdrawal from the program. Ten percent of attrition was due to poor academic performance, while the other 10% was for a variety of reasons, including "personal reasons."

6. Percentage of graduates that report obtaining a residency in 2005:

88%

I have no idea what the other 12% did to be excluded from getting a residency? Applied to competitive specialties? Didn't apply to enough places? Had low test scores? I'm totally guessing here. I've looked at the match results for the past couple years and noticed that there are always a bunch of family practice spots that are not filled. Not sure why these people couldn't have scrambled into one of these spots.

7. My conclusions (feel free to skip this part):

I spent the time to write this post because I desperately wanted this data when I was choosing a school. I was able to find most of it already on ValueMD, but I couldn't get the exact figures. I think it is excellent that Saba has provided this information for public consumption. It speaks volumes about the transparency of the school's administration. Of course, there is no way for me to independently verify the content of the report. Speaking from memory, because I don't feel like going back to read it right now, I think most of the data is similar to that found in the state of California's report on the school. Therefore, I am reasonably confident that the report offers an accurate representation of what's going on at Saba. All of the statistics, except the attrition rate, impress me... however, I hear anecdotal reports that this is improving (no one lost in the Sept 2006 class yet: see a post under May 2007 student info exchange). I'm glad I chose Saba (May 07 baby!)... I just hope I don't make up part of the attrition statistics for 2007...

Hi
My gpa isnt stellar,so ppl advised me to write the MCAT and send it alongwith my application for may.Im supposed to write it on jan29th. I just watned to know,if i dont do too great,if i write it again in the summer(assuming i get rejected) then does the earlier mcat give me problems later on.This is all hypothetical at this stage ofcourse.

So basically, can the earlier and lower of two MCAT scores hurt u when u apply?

Hi all, I need some help. I'm in the process of deciding which school (SABA or MUA) offers the best chance of licencing and resident matching. It's almost too confusing to check out all the web pages of all the schools and most forums end up with a lot of flaming and retards saying dumb things. I need to send my application based on the best chances of finally being an MD that actually practices medicine!

I am Canadian. ( BTW, any news of Canadians actually practicing as MD's after caribbean schools?)

My CGPA is 3.44

I am also a DC (chiropractor): evidence based from Palmer West.

Mature: 44 years and married to a great wife that is willing to move with me and give up her job so I can fufill my dreams of being an MD.
So, with those odds against me, (based on you young uns with many years ahead to make some mistakes and be ok with it), what would be my better options when choosing between SABA and MUA? I hear they are sister schools.

Thanks in advance for any help out there!
Cheers,

The short answer is Saba. Here's a thread on the same topic:

http://www.valuemd.com/saba-universi...mua-nevis.html

In case you are wondering there are many DC's in Saba's program. When I started in Jan. '05, we had 5 in our class alone. I'm not sure what the thread attached above has to say, but Saba has been open longer. This means more clinical sites, Cali approval, and a longer track record. I have rotated with MUA students, and I found them to be equally prepared... If you go to the SABA University - www.saba.edu - international medical university college site you may be able to locate past graduates that are working in Canada.. Hope this helps.
Take care,
JS