Thread: AUA or wait another year?

I would advise waiting, assuming you can pop a competitive MCAT. Read the position papers and publications by AAMC and ACGME about the FMG Match opportunities post-2016, (which is obviously when you would be graduating), and make your decision based on whether or not you think they know what they are talking about.

Good luck.

I think some part of me is just searching for hope albeit false to save some time...but sadly that very idea might bite in the Caribbean route.

Everybody wants to save time... take it from someone who graduated WAY later than you probably will. The question here is this: If getting that medical degree earlier should mean that you are subsequently unable to match, or unable to match into the specialty that strikes your professional fancy (and I am NOT saying that would be the case, necessarily, but the possibility is certainly there)... then how much good did that "early" degree do you?

If you want to work and train in the US and have a legit shot at a US medical school, whether MD or DO, in the current environment I personally think it would be silly to look at the islands or at most overseas programs. Others may disagree, but I think the argument is pretty sound.

Don't even bother with AUA. They provide high attrition rate, poor education, rampant cheating, and the AUA 4th years that rotate through my hospital have no clinical skills at all; I'm not quite sure what they have been doing the previous 3 years of medical school...

Also, never will you come across a student, resident, or physician that is "proud" of AUA

Just in case you want to pursue something competitive (and you cannot know that yet), I would advise waiting. I know too many carib grads who are "stuck" in IM or FM wishing they could have matched to one of the specialties

I appreciate everyone's honest feedback. Almost all of it echoes the silent nagging I had within me. My main reason for interest in AUA started because I have a few friends that currently go there. According to them, it's decent and not that bad, which quite honestly and unsurprisingly wasn't uplifting or optimistic.

Just out of curiosity, did any of you go to a Carib school? If so, mind sharing your experiences?

I just completed my basic sciences and took step 1. My class started off with 350 back in Med 1 August 2011. And only 30-40 people managed to pass comprehensive shelf exam. only 2 people so far passed step 1. The rest are transferring to Windsor or elsewhere or playing the waiting game. This is a huge failure and the HARD TRUTH that no one at AUA will tell you. The school lost NBME privileges completely due to rampant cheating and when I mean "rampant" I really mean cheating to the point where the Provost of the school threatened to quit and threatened to fire MOST of the faculty who are involved in cheating scandals. During my time there, I've seen numerous professors leave the school because they were disgruntled.

My opinion - wait it out! There are numerous options for medical schools. Ireland, Australia, Newzealand and even the top tier Caribbean schools. AUA and the lower tiered caribbean schools should be the LAST resort.