As I said in an earlier post, I have done some research to try to find out if Caribbean medical schools represent a good choice for me. I have cruised the three schools’ (SGU, AUC, Ross) websites, emailed and called their admissions offices, and started reading current and past student’s blogs. I have managed to pull some data together that is an objective look at how these schools stack up.
School’s Stats:
| SGU | AUC | Ross | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
USMLE Step 1 |
91% | 94% | 93% |
|
Class Size (Fall) |
400 | 200 | 300 |
|
Clinical Sites (US)* |
48 | 25 | 71 |
| Clinical Sites (UK)* | 7 | 9 | 0 |
|
Avg. GPA |
3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
|
Avg. MCAT |
27 | 26 | 27 |
|
Cost (4 Years) |
$234,644 | $159,650 | $151,087 |
|
Teaching Style |
case-based | discipline-based | system-based |
*All clinical sites for all three schools were ACGME accredited (or the UK equivalent)
Post Game Analysis:
There you have it. I had heard that SGU was more expensive, but damn I didn’t know it was that much more! I think I will cross SGU off the list for now due to sheer insanity of the cost. There are two other equally good schools for a fraction of the cost. I still have some reservations about Caribbean schools and really need to talk, at length, with students that go to said schools. It’s the subjective things like quality of living, support of faculty/student body, and other things that are still holding me back. The other thing I still have reservations about is the chances of matching into residency. Looking at the match lists from the years past, I think that I would have a strong chance to match into a program in my field of choice (primary care).
The question that keeps coming back to haunt me is will I match into a good program from a Caribbean school? I know this will depend on board scores, letters of recommendation, etc, but I haven’t been able to find a good answer to this one yet. This is, in part, because I don’t really know what criteria to use to check the strength of a school’s match list, be it US or Caribbean.
What makes a good residency program? What do you look for in a residency program?
Please let me know what you all think about this. I would be most appreciative. Cheers!
Related Articles
- Re-evaluating Caribbean Medical Schools (flusteredgrad.wordpress.com)
- Decisions Made (flusteredgrad.wordpress.com)
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