Thread: Dominican Graduation Fees & Associated Fees

Something that Foreigners should be aware of, as an added cost, upon your termination of the medical program, and considering the trend of things, it is likely to increase over time as well.

I am a student graduating in November 2009 from UNIBE and this is what the fee breakdown is looking like....just to get your paperwork and get out of here:

The process is in two parts

Part 1

The Legalization of the transcripts you used @ Admission - USD$250 per document (If you have several transfers transcripts contributing to one program, it will be $250 per transcript) This is done by SEESCyT (Secretaría de Estado de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología ) which is the Department of Higher Education in the Dominican Republic.


There is no set working period for this to be done, but step 2 cannot be started until this step is completed, and the verification/legalization of your transcripts can take months.

Part 2

Begins after Part 1 has been completed and you have been awarded your Diploma and the school prepares the other relevant documentation.

The following documents also have to be legalized by SEESCyT
1. Diploma
2. Transcript
3. Certificate of Grades
4. Certificate of Internship

SEESCyT has also added the following to the list but its necessity is debatable:
5. Clinical Rotation Grades

each of the above documents costs USD$250

There will also be whatever applicable fees for translation, and notarization of the translated documents and courier fees & power of attorney fees unless you intend to stay around after your graduation.

Separate and apart from these fees you also need to pay a Graduation Fee, @ UNIBE it is currently USD$450. (This fee is payable whether or not you walk for graduation)

Unibe also charges for the Completion Letter USD$25, which is only valid between the dates you finish your clinical rotations and the date of graduation and Transcripts are $50 each plus an additional $80 for translation to English.

If you are married to a Dominican National or are of Dominican parentage your fees will be assessed as a Dominican...which from SEESCyT basically means replacing the USD$ notation in this post to RD$.

So where Foreigners pay USD$250, Dominican Nationals and others assessed as such pay RD$250.

Expect to pay about USD$1550 thereabouts in fees. (not including graduation)

Hope this post was helpful!

Thanks for the information.

were you able to get a residency in the states??

@acrystala13, i just finished in September, and i hadn't sat the steps during the program (which i definitely advise) start studying from day one, and do Step 1 @ the end of basic sciences and then Step 2 when you finish.

I won't be eligible to apply for residencies until November of next year, provided i'm able to sit and pass the steps during the course of the coming year.

As an update to this post, I'm also now finding out that the $450 we pay for graduation is not actually related to the graduation ceremony, it is simply a fee you pay "for finishing" your career at UNIBE. It only includes the copy of your transcript and diploma.

Hi, I just like to know how long does it take to get an acceptance letter or denial, I'm looking to start Jan 2010, my applications have been filed a month ago. How long before the semester starts do they start to inform ?

When i applied, i never heard anything from them, if i hadn't called, i wouldn't have known i got in, by the time i got to the DR, orientation was done.

This is defenitely ridiculous, this country keeps getting smarter and smarter at how to get massive amounts of money from foreign students, it simply is a move of desperation, and UNIBE itself isn't helping, The semester is almost done and then UNIBE decides that all highschool students must pass through the secretary of Education as well and go through this process of validating the diploma and issuing an equivalent Dominican Highschool Bachillerato which was never a requirement before,

@ A. Bush, thank you for the kind wishes and support. I am SO overwhelmed. I am glad it is over, but i don't think i'd do it over.

I wish the same for you. Study hard. Get your boards done early and get the hell out of here!.