Thread: AUA a questions

Originally Posted by alara

Hi guys. I am planning to apply to AUA for spring 18.
I have 2.5 gpa and i have 100 credits so far. what is the acceptance Gpa for AUA.
also if i get accepted i dont want to live in campus, what kind of excuse should i use to get permission to live outside of the camp?

Hi there, while there's no minimum GPA required for consideration, grades are important. The committee views success in a rigorous academic program as an indicator of strong study habits, time management skill as well as a strong science foundation necessary to build on in medical school. With a 2.5 GPA it will be tough to demonstrate to the admissions committee that our program can lead you to success, however, it's not out of the realm of possibilities especially if you have recent academic success, a good reason for the lower academic performance and possibly a willingness to participate in remediation options before starting.

As far as student housing: all new students are required to live in AUA housing. It can be challenging for new students to find their way to a reputable landlord and housing in Antigua that will set them up for success. Too often students are lured by landlords offering too-good-to-be true prices on properties with beautifully photographed images only to find the property lacked the promised amenities, included an undisclosed roommate or didn't exist at all, leaving the student to scramble to try to secure new accommodations. As you can imagine, it's not a great way to start off your medical school career. AUA has a variety of housing options that are safe, clean, close to campus and serviced by the AUA bus. Yes, the prices are slightly higher than what you might find independently, however, the additional cost is more than worth the piece of mind that comes with using student housing. After one semester, you'll have a good idea about how to find your own property and how to navigate to and from campus on your own and can secure your own housing if you wish.

Your GPA is too low for them to consider you as a direct entry to MD Program. So my guess is that when you interview, they will try to put you either through the online-based BTMD Program or their on-campus programs such as BSEP or AICASA. If you are from US and are applying to AUA just because it's your only option (considering you know you are not great enough to get into SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba) as you plan on taking Federal Aid, then you should consider these other aforementioned "remediation options". However let me tell you this, the success rate of these remediation options is only between 30-40% (Don't ask the school officials about this, they will obviously lie to you and throw random numbers such as in range of 70-90% pass rate). I do want to mention though that the pass rate isn't low because they want to fail you, it's low because students taking these options either don't study enough or just don't give these a priority in their life. If you think you still want to give it a try and this is your only shot then go ahead and do whichever remediation option they offer you and hope for the best.

As for living on campus, trust me it's not really "living on campus" lol. There's a third-party guy who owns a few residential buildings and has contracted certain (mosly all) units to the school for students to stay. If you were to get a room privately from that guy versus take it through school, it'll almost be half the price. If the school charges 1200 for one room for example, he will charge you about 700ish. Obviously though you will not be able to do that your first semester because AUA wants your money and they want it from possibly wherever they can get it from, that's why its mandatory to live on campus in first semester. I would like to mention however that there does exist a housing waiver form (ask your aua rep. to mail you one) that you can fill out and submit for consideration but you have to have a good enough reason for e.g. you're moving there with family, you're a much older student in comparison to your peers, or if you are going to be living with a friend who also goes to AUA etc.

In short, if you are going to pay all of the fee yourself and not depending on Federal Aid then don't come here and waste your money, go to St. James, MUA, or SMU. Yes, those schools are not 50 states and are not approved for Federal Aid but in the long run, they get you the same thing that you will end up getting here, i.e. a MD.

Originally Posted by med950041

Your GPA is too low for them to consider you as a direct entry to MD Program. So my guess is that when you interview, they will try to put you either through the online-based BTMD Program or their on-campus programs such as BSEP or AICASA. If you are from US and are applying to AUA just because it's your only option (considering you know you are not great enough to get into SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba) as you plan on taking Federal Aid, then you should consider these other aforementioned "remediation options". However let me tell you this, the success rate of these remediation options is only between 30-40% (Don't ask the school officials about this, they will obviously lie to you and throw random numbers such as in range of 70-90% pass rate). I do want to mention though that the pass rate isn't low because they want to fail you, it's low because students taking these options either don't study enough or just don't give these a priority in their life. If you think you still want to give it a try and this is your only shot then go ahead and do whichever remediation option they offer you and hope for the best.

As for living on campus, trust me it's not really "living on campus" lol. There's a third-party guy who owns a few residential buildings and has contracted certain (mosly all) units to the school for students to stay. If you were to get a room privately from that guy versus take it through school, it'll almost be half the price. If the school charges 1200 for one room for example, he will charge you about 700ish. Obviously though you will not be able to do that your first semester because AUA wants your money and they want it from possibly wherever they can get it from, that's why its mandatory to live on campus in first semester. I would like to mention however that there does exist a housing waiver form (ask your aua rep. to mail you one) that you can fill out and submit for consideration but you have to have a good enough reason for e.g. you're moving there with family, you're a much older student in comparison to your peers, or if you are going to be living with a friend who also goes to AUA etc.

In short, if you are going to pay all of the fee yourself and not depending on Federal Aid then don't come here and waste your money, go to St. James, MUA, or SMU. Yes, those schools are not 50 states and are not approved for Federal Aid but in the long run, they get you the same thing that you will end up getting here, i.e. a MD.

It's nice to see participation on this board. I know many of our current students and graduates no longer frequent VMD. However, let me correct some of the above.
The committee evaluates candidates holistically. 2.5 is lower than the average accepted candidate but not too low for consideration. The best way to find out is to review the requirements to apply and submit an application.
AICASA offers undergraduate level associates degrees as well as pre-requisite classes in Antigua. There are no longer remediation options in Antigua. Candidates with successful completion of the pre-requisite coursework are invited to apply directly to AUA College of Medicine and the committee will determine acceptance or denial and will recommend a remediation program where appropriate. Currently, all remediation options are online. One is 8 weeks long and offered tuition free, the other is 13 weeks long and is about $13,000 USD. The committee will recommend either program where appropriate, there's no application for either. The programs are challenging, most students pass, but not all. The post here is correct in that it is not our intent to fail students in these programs, however, it is the LAST chance a student has to prove that they are a fit for AUA COM, it does require serious study and a reorganization of priorities to make sure there's adequate time dedicated to the program.

Housing is not a money grab. If it were students would be required to stay in student housing for five semesters. We're just trying to give the most students an opportunity for a successful transition to Antigua. That involves staff to review properties, resident assistants to help coordinate student experiences on properties, maintaining and assuring a baseline of amenities is provided and managing student issues. I review housing waivers of incoming students. Approvals are rare. "Living with friends" is not a valid reason. Age, health, moving with children, previous residence in the Caribbean are reasons that will be considered.

Finding an international medical school can be a daunting process. Only consider schools like AUA that will allow you residency and licensure in all 50 states and has regional accreditation equivalent to the LCME. At the end of the day, you want to become an MD. How you start, where you live will not be nearly as important as earning a degree that you can actually use in the US. By 2023 the ECFMG will not allow graduates of international medical schools that lack regional accreditation equivalent to the LCME to secure a license in the United States. That's less than 6 years away. That's like finding out during residency you won't be able to sit for Step 3. Don't risk it. Stick with schools that are approved.

Originally Posted by dhermon

It's nice to see participation on this board. I know many of our current students and graduates no longer frequent VMD. However, let me correct some of the above.
The committee evaluates candidates holistically. 2.5 is lower than the average accepted candidate but not too low for consideration. The best way to find out is to review the requirements to apply and submit an application.
AICASA offers undergraduate level associates degrees as well as pre-requisite classes in Antigua. There are no longer remediation options in Antigua. Candidates with successful completion of the pre-requisite coursework are invited to apply directly to AUA College of Medicine and the committee will determine acceptance or denial and will recommend a remediation program where appropriate. Currently, all remediation options are online. One is 8 weeks long and offered tuition free, the other is 13 weeks long and is about $13,000 USD. The committee will recommend either program where appropriate, there's no application for either. The programs are challenging, most students pass, but not all. The post here is correct in that it is not our intent to fail students in these programs, however, it is the LAST chance a student has to prove that they are a fit for AUA COM, it does require serious study and a reorganization of priorities to make sure there's adequate time dedicated to the program.

Housing is not a money grab. If it were students would be required to stay in student housing for five semesters. We're just trying to give the most students an opportunity for a successful transition to Antigua. That involves staff to review properties, resident assistants to help coordinate student experiences on properties, maintaining and assuring a baseline of amenities is provided and managing student issues. I review housing waivers of incoming students. Approvals are rare. "Living with friends" is not a valid reason. Age, health, moving with children, previous residence in the Caribbean are reasons that will be considered.

Finding an international medical school can be a daunting process. Only consider schools like AUA that will allow you residency and licensure in all 50 states and has regional accreditation equivalent to the LCME. At the end of the day, you want to become an MD. How you start, where you live will not be nearly as important as earning a degree that you can actually use in the US. By 2023 the ECFMG will not allow graduates of international medical schools that lack regional accreditation equivalent to the LCME to secure a license in the United States. That's less than 6 years away. That's like finding out during residency you won't be able to sit for Step 3. Don't risk it. Stick with schools that are approved.

Yes, indeed participation has been relatively sparse on this board lately. However, I feel like me giving my personal (not coming from any administration associated with ths school) opinions might help someone make a better informed decision for themselves. When I had started at AUA, there was no one there to give me a raw (from a students perspective) picture of the school and most importantly how the administration runs the school. So in a way, I want to help as many people as I can by giving my non-biased opinion which is not coming from an administrator. I am sure that you are aware that opinions coming from administrators are often seen by potential students as fully bias and always weighing pros more than cons. Hey, it's a business so I guess no harm done while doing exacly that lol.

Allright, so in response to your aforementioned post:

AICASA offers undergraduate level associates degrees? Great! Just out of curosity, are those degrees accredited? As in, say one does not want to pursue a MD after finising AICASA, would their associates degree be of any use to them if say they want to transition into the U.S.? I am guessing no one has ever taken that route because as per my understanding, you do not get anything let alone an associate degree if you fail to pass AICASA. So why should students pay you guys to let's say for e.g. spend 3 semesters of AICASA on the island doing undergraduate level courses and then end up failing in the 4th semester only to be left with nothing in hand?

"The programs are challenging, most students pass, but not all" That's such a business-oriented statement. Most students pass, but not all? Define most for me please. Because for you most might be 50% whereas for someone else it might be 90%. So in my opinion, this is quite deceitful towards the student who is going to pay extravagant amount of fee to do the remediation programs for which they most likely cannot get Federal Aid. As I had mentioned in my previous post, I truly firmly believe that AUA will not fail you if you keep working hard, but I would like to add that all of these remediation programs have more than a minimum 50-60% attrition rate. There you go, that's a figure that people can relate to, they can't do much with MOST and NOT ALL. I understand at the end of the day, this is a business and you being an employee of the business have to promote it no matter what, but maybe for once you should not be vague and be truthful? Sure that might deteriorate the business a little bit, but don't you think that will make you come across as a honest and a trustworthy school and then hence more people would be willing to join? If the kids don't then at least their parents who are opting to maybe take out loans on behalf of their kids or even spend all their life's savings to their education at AUA, deserve to know the truth.

"Housing is not a money grab." Really? Then how come the same room that you rent for let's say 1400USD/mo. is available privately at about 50-60% of that cost through the private owner of those student residences? [Yes, the school does not own the residencies, they are mostly private owned by other people who lease their residencies to the school.] Don't you think you make enough money through each student's tuition as it is? or through the "Technology Fee" etc.?

"Stick with schools that are approved" -> SGU, AUC, SABA, ROSS and AUA (in that exact order)

All in all, I don't have anything against you Ms. Hermon, you are just representing the business that you work for, and must I say doing a commendable job at it. I am just against the Lies and Vagueness that the school constantly puts through. Trust me when I say this, I want AUA to be as great as SGU, AUC, SABA, and ROSS, but for that all of us have to work really hard to get there, lies and vagueness by the administration will only bring potential students, current students and our graduates down in the eye of the public.