Thread: Xavier accepting students without any pre-med requirements

Xavier has accepted, and continues to accept students who do not even have the pre-med requirements of passing General Chem 1 and 2, Orgo 1 and 2, Bio and Physics.

Another clue that Xavier continues to not care about the caliber of students, but only about students tuition.

Consider all the other lower tier med schools before going here, such as AUA, SMU, etc.

where are you getting this information from?

From 2 students, 1 in MD1 and the other student currently in MD2 (although he failed anatomy 1 and physio 1 so he's retaking). One student failed GenChem 2 and the other failed Orgo 2, and they were still accepted by Xavier.

Total disregard of the pre-med requirements and what someone needs to do to get accepted into medical school. Now do you think those 2 students who failed the pre-med requirements are going to do well in the basic sciences and be able to pass Step 1?

This school has been around a long time; no effort to improve to apply for NY, CA or FL approval and no loans. I agree, there are many better
choices for qualified students. Yossarrian

Just to correct some misinformation here:

Anyone who doesn't have pre-med requirements is put into the pre-med program. Anyone who wants to skip some pre-med requirements has to sign a waiver that Xavier accepts no responsibility if they have issues later on in their career. Basically Xavier tells these students to NOT do this, and tells them they will not be held accountable if the student does this, but some students don't listen and think it won't be an issue. 99% of students do not go down this dangerous route.

Also, Xavier has made attempts to get accreditation. They brought the ACCM in for a visit to help with their NY accreditation. It's all in the works, but you have to keep in mind that Xavier's new ownership has only been at it for a few years, and things don't happen overnight. The main person in charge was also replaced recently by a new highly qualified doctor from Vermont, so we have to see what he'll be able to do.

Loans are tough/impossible to get for all schools outside the Big 4, anyone with knowledge of Caribbean medical schools knows that.

Also Xavier has a new policy that if students do not pass the NBME Shelf Exam at the end of MD5, they will be allowed one chance to re-take it. If they still don't pass then they cannot take the Step 1.

Originally Posted by hollboy

Anyone who doesn't have pre-med requirements is put into the pre-med program. Anyone who wants to skip some pre-med requirements has to sign a waiver that Xavier accepts no responsibility if they have issues later on in their career. Basically Xavier tells these students to NOT do this, and tells them they will not be held accountable if the student does this, but some students don't listen and think it won't be an issue. 99% of students do not go down this dangerous route.

The 2 students I know mentioned in my original post, did not get any pre-med offers. It's good that they offer the pre-med program to them, but it should be REQUIRED, not just leave the decision up to them.

What makes you think the majority of these students would take them? Though with atrocious GPAs, these 2 students have 4 year undergrad degrees, so they would never think about doing the pre-med option.

I do not know whether it is true or not that Xavier is accepting students without pre-med qualifications (by "accept", I assume acceptance to med, not pre-med, is intended), but students who attend without the prerequisites are making a terrible mistake, IMO. Another post in this thread states that Xavier requires such students to sign a waiver of responsibility to the effect that the school is not liable for any adverse consequences. And for very good reason. A few years ago there was an incident involving an Xavier graduate and a mid-western state -- I believe it was Tennessee, but I'm not sure -- in which the licensing board examined the undergraduate record of the applicant and discovered that s/he failed an organic chemistry course and never took it over, and on that basis denied the license. Although it may not make any sense that a person has completed med school, passed the Steps, and completed a residency, only to be denied a license over such a seemingly irrelevant matter, it did happen and should serve as a lesson to those contemplating taking shortcuts.

I advise that students take their prerequisites at a college in the U.S., not Xavier, for the simple reason that if things don't work out and the student decides to leave medicine, courses taken in Aruba are not transferrable to any accredited college in the U.S. (unless this has changed recently; has it?), and most of the other Carib schools will not accept them, either. The temptation to take the courses in Aruba is based on the belief that admission to the school may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the only chance the student may ever have of getting into med school. Given the liberal admissions policies of all the Carib schools, this is a false belief, IMO. The situation may be different for students who come from other countries and are unable to attend a U.S. college, in which case non-transferability to U.S. colleges is moot.