I think that she is giving good honest, non-biased advice, especially with a GPA of 3.85 he/she should give US schools a shot. If I thought I had a shot at a Canadian school, I would give that a second try before going to SGU.

Rokshana has always told posters that Carib schools should be the last option for students...after all other possibilities have been exhausted. I think I read somewhere that she applied to US schools twice before coming to SGU....but only Rok can tell us that for sure!!

Definitely consider her advice....it's good and has helped me out a lot.

__________________
Cornell University '08
moving on down to NOLA in the fall

Mr. Garrison: No, that's wrong, Cartman. But don't worry. There are no stupid answers, just stupid people.

thanks swimchick...its always nice to hear!

and ameyer...i have always consistant with this advice-- yes sgu (as well as the other well established off shore schools) are very good options - you will get a good education- equal to a US school (and since i did a masters where my classes were the 1st 2 years of med school i CAN compare), you are well prepared for the steps, and you will get invites to good solid residency programs (and even get great residency spots- look at our list!)- but i can guarantee those that got those spots would have been outstanding candidiates as US students and would have not had to work nearly as hard to get where they got. I ot interview at some programs that are not traditionally IMG friendly- but rest assured I know i was turned away from places soley because I was an IMG. There are so many things, during med school, during residency, and after that you have to deal with as an IMG- is it worth it? yes, but if you can avoid it by being a AMG- then you should at least TRY...

and yes i went through the US cycle 2x- waitlisted both time and knew, KNEW that i would not be able to do anything to improve my app in the US- SGU was my chance - no shoulda, coulda, woulda..i think its important to know this...

as to DO vs off shore- its a personal decesion the ads and disads are pretty equal- I was accepted DO, but for me, going to sgu was the right choice- for others DO is the way they may go...

I am no cheerleader, believe me, yes sgu is a great option, but its not always the only or even better one.

__________________
GI Elective [x]....Wards []
Wards [] ............Night Float []
MICU [] .............Wards []
Wards [] ............CCU []
Elective!![]......... PGY 1 1/2 []
VACATION!!!! [] .Move Complete[]

thanks for the advice rokshana, Here is my plan, regardless of me getting into SGU or not--I will definitely write my MCATs again...sometimes in early or late july--scores come out in a month and if i do end up doing well, which i m hoping i will, then i ll stay back another year. i have applied to a masters in biomedical science here at wayne state SOM.

However, if i dont end up doing well and i get into SGU then I will go to SGU.

this way, i ll have the satisfaction that i did everything i could.

thanks everyone else for your kind advice.

Saskypride,

You may want to think about the US before jumping to go to SGU. Your 87% would convert to a 4.0 gpa.

The AMCAS conversion guide can be found on their website if you click on AMCAS 2008 Resources. There's a link there on for 'Grade Conversion Guide'. Sorry, I don't have enough posts to include a link in my message...

Scroll to the bottom of Page 4 to get the conversions for various Canadian grading schemes. Canadian grades are scaled up due to a very different marking scheme than the US.

Hey everyone, I interviewed on March 19th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it has been about two weeks. I'm still waiting for a reply about any decisions that have been made.

These are my stats:
3.92 GPA
26Q Mcat
Extensive Doctor Shadowing
Vice President of AMSA at Barry University
Vice President of Habitat For Humanity at Barry University
Awesome Letters of Recommendation
Many Awards
Lots of Research
Over 1000 hours of Volunteer service

Did anyone else interview on March 19th and hear any news ? The interview went wonderfully and I felt very confident. In fact, my interviewers had me cracking up and even went to the same undergrad school as me, so we were able to relate a lot. At the end of the interview they told me that they would definitely recommend me to the committee for acceptance, but I still have not heard anything!

I've read on these forums that some people have heard news within a week.. so I'm wondering what's going on.

Don't worry Brown eyes.. sometimes it takes time due to the backlog. You should hear from them any day now.

A person who interviewed on March 1st hasn't heard back either. He was told to expect an answer the first week of April.

__________________

i interviewed march 9th and got my acceptance march 26th. i faxed the committee a letter of acceptance from AUC to expedite the process. you should be hearing from them soon!

__________________
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

SGU Class of 2012

I have a pretty terrible MCAT score otherwise I would have applied for US schools. I guess I could retake it...for the 3rd time... but I think it is harder to get in because I am Canadian. SGU was a pretty good option to study abroad.