Hi
Im a soon to be student at Xavier Bonaire and was wondering what everybody thought of a college student, 2 years in, going to the island and finishing up their requirements for the 90 hours in one semester and then starting their medical program. The reason for me skipping out on college is because i have the opportunity to speed up my medical career. I also have no chance in hell of getting into an american medical program. I know the owners of this school and they are all accomplished doctors in the united states, and their curriculum is based on the NEOUCOM program. I know that the professors have all taught in the US as well. My biggest concern is not getting my **. Is that going to have any barring on residency chances or will that work to my advantage in seeing that i am ambitious.

Honestly, my choices are stick out another 2-3 years in the states to finish my ** and then apply to medical schools, or go here for 4 years and cut of 3 years of schooling and be able to start my career sooner than most.

Opinions please...

PS Im not indian or pakistani and my parents have never harbored my dream of becoming a physician they have shunned it.

very good questions?

Futuremd
I think if you are very passionate about becoming a DR. then you should perhaps attend Xavier...i know im in the same boat as you that i have no chance in hell gettin in with all the competition there is in the US. Plus, you have a better chance of workin your butt off in xavier and shinning then goin to a undergrad that has over 100 in you same major who are also tryin to apply for med skul. If your a US citizen and you do well on ur USMILE's and shine in your class. i doubt that u wud have a residency prob. but i dunno, my opinion.

dr.diva

I think it is a bad idea - I hope you are not betting the farm on it. As the pre-med moderator I get PM's from people about different schools. Xavier is a franchised mom and pop operation. Since many of the profs will be heavily accented being an Indian or Pakistani would most like be an advantage. It is best to get a Bach of Sci or BA from a US school and apply to US medical schools. They are the true value in medicine at a US state medical school.

__________________
PreMed Forum Moderator

In Grad school in Biology

That sounds like a school official posing as a poster. This school was shut down and then reappeared on back on Bonaire. While the school admin's appear well meaning this is an unproven school.

__________________
PreMed Forum Moderator

In Grad school in Biology

Although I can't speak for the actual island curriculum, I can attest that their clinical program is solid. I've finished all of my core rotations through them after transferring from another foreign school and have absolutely no complaints about the school's clinical years....

As for the OP askin about getting his **, I'm not too sure but I don't think it'll be a problem in the long run...well, I HOPE it won't be a problem...

the smartest thing you could do is to ask students are are currently there and see what they have to say about it, rather than value md where you will NOT get the correct info.

My take on it is that canadian and american schools take students on the basis of race and gender first and academics second. With this being the rule, rather than the exception, I think your GPA had better be pretty high if you hope to be one of the hundreds out of the thousands that they decide to take. As to premed, (and no I'm not some representative of Xavier Medical here), it will cost you $50,000 and 2-3 years in the u.s. This makes Xavier an attractive option for older students like myself (@$16,000!!), who lack the science background, but already have the degree.

Since canada effectively shut down all of it's premedical programs, except for one or two like the one in Red Deer Alberta, I'd have to cherry pick courses here. Not only would that be a much more expensive option, but also very time consuming as well. Plus when you add in the fact that you apply this year for the following year, you're looking at a long tortuous road of heartache and despair pursuing the north american option to medical school. (The continent no longer capitalized because it no longer deserves this level of respect.)

Maybe Xavier isn't your best option for medical school - I honestly don't know, (perhaps some other Caribbean schools or european schools might be better or worse), but I do think it is a better option to what's available here. Affirmative action? Equity? In choosing DOCTORS!!?? Enough with the discrimination already - I'm a firm believer in equality, but this bloody well ain't it. I didn't so much choose Xavier as I was booted out of canada on my male, white ***.

Sounds like you might be in the same boat.

Some source for or evidence of this, please?

Any sources or references?