Thread: What are my chances?

Most people fail because they choose not to study. The reason for the high fail ratio is because admissions standards are far lower than academic standards.

You'll get in. But you should prepare to study once you're there.

just like any other decent medical school. However, !!! their clinicals have a LOT of issues. What I mean is, recently they have had issues placing students into rotations!

Dear Shree Cheruku,

Just a few questions.

How different is the first two years (**) in AUA/KMC compared to the regular medical schools in the US?

Also, once i finish my 5 semesters of clinical rotations, what are my chances in the National Residence Matching Program? and further specializations.

Thanks
Ravi

Regular US medical schools obviously have better facilities, research opportunities, etc. There is no comparison between Caribbean medical schools and American medical schools. However, we've somehow managed to attract an exceptional faculty from US schools, other Caribbean schools and India, who will train you well for your board exams and clinical rotations. Though there is no conceivable reason why anyone would choose AUA over a US medical school, I guess it is advantageous that our faculty members are full time teachers and are engaged in no other activity like research. They are, therefore, always available.

After 5 semesters at AUA, you get to participate in the Residency Match. Your chances depend on your scores and overall application.

Thanks for the reply!

What do you mean by "overall application"
So, it does not matter if i came out from KMC-AUA based program or from a regular US med school, i'd still be counted only based on my scores or overall application.

Do you forsee any problems for AUA-students when it comes to clinical rotations in the future?

How are the hospitals being used for clinical rotations for AUA-students, compared to the regular US medical schools?

How significant is the difference, when appearing for USMLE 2 and Residency match?

Thanks a lot for your time!

Ravi

Yes, it absolutely matters if you graduated from AUA or from an American medical school. Foreign medical graduates are always at a disadvantage. You can remedy your situation somewhat with stellar board exam scores, but you should accept that fact that some doors will never open for you if you choose the Caribbean route.

Many of our hospitals are community hospitals rather than university hospitals that are utilized by American medical schools.

Your performance on Step 2 depends on your efforts but the fact that you are an FMG will significantly impact your ability to obtain a competetive residency in the United States.

so, how different is it to do ** in AUA and ** in KMC?

Your performance on Step 2 depends on your efforts but the fact that you are an FMG will significantly impact your ability to obtain a competetive residency in the United States.

So, does it matter if i graduated from AUA-KMC, or from any other school outside US?
I mean, are all FMG's are treated as the same, or do they discriminate between different med schools?

Originally Posted by ravigoteti

I mean, are all FMG's are treated as the same, or do they discriminate between different med schools?

Hi Ravi,

Many residency directors will not look at you if you come from a program unfamiliar to them---unless you have board scores and rotation LORs to transcend that. My aunt is an Asst Prof, Neuroradiologist, in Boston. She has clinical, teaching med students, research, training interns, training residents, various committee responsibilities, and interviewing potential PGY1 folk. How much time is she really going to spend to find out about Acme Foreign School of Medicine if she has little to no experience with their academic product in the past? To varying degrees that scenario repeats itself daily.

Those receptive to FMGs will likely place more emphasis on candidates from schools with which they are familiar? New schools, be it the two new US DO schools or newer foreign schools do not have much of a track record. Why take a chance when they can just play the odds and go with candidates from established programs?

How they are viewed is not unlike statistics---the individual may be outside the statistic predictor...but by definition that exception is just that....the exception.

jackb

I want to know whats the update on the clinical rotations at AUA? Are people getting them or is AUA having problem getting rotations in US. Thats my main concern before i apply. Residency is all up to your performance. At least thats what i was told by a chief residency committee doctor..."it all depends on how well you do on your usmles, for internal medicine or family practice." If you want to do a specialty then i think you might have to do some extra work...But then again thats my personal opinion i could be wrong. But after doing some research i do know that if you have good usmle score then you should be good as far as applying for internal medicine or family practice. Anyways i would greatly appreciate it if someone can give me update on the clinical rotations. Please reply back as soon as possible as i am ready to submit my application.
Thank You