You can still become a doctor in the US without an Ultra High GPA and MCAT scores

In my four years of college, I know so many people who simply gave up their hopes for med school because they either didn't think their grades were good enough or the premed advisor convinced them that they weren't good enough. Even my own premed advisor told me there was little chance of me getting in. He never even told me about the real possibilities of Caribbean med schools until I directly asked him on my very last visit with him. I'm not sure if all premed advisors are like mine, but I know if there were a more optimistic and helpful advisor at my school, more kids who sincerely want to be doctors would be inclined to go the Caribbean route.

It's very difficult to get into American medical schools and it's true that you need some pretty great grades to get in. It's important to try to get the best students possible for the medical field, but what about all the other people like me? This is something I have wanted to do my whole life and because I messed up physics (which literally has absolutely nothing to do with medicine) I can't be admitted to a medical school? Sometimes the whole process baffles me. To get into medical school you must take a year of Biology (makes sense), General Chemistry (no sense), Organic Chemistry (okay), Physics (maybe if I was interested in rocket science...), and a semester of calculus (what?) and somehow the grades in these courses determine if you are suited for medicine (along with the MCAT score which tests your knowledge in all these subjects).  I have always done well in biology and organic chemistry, but math and equations.... not a strong suit of mine.  For those who have a real passion to go into medicine, who are good people and really invested in helping others, shouldn't they be allowed to study as well? I realize not all people can cut it with the rigors of med school and the stress of the boards, but there are many people who can do it and just aren't given a chance. And I think it's a bit of a crime to rob people of what they want by simply not telling them all their options.

Food for thought: Getting Rid of the Hard Sciences and the MCAT


Going to a Caribbean medical school is a great and viable option for students who truly want to become good doctors. It's easier to get into Caribbean medical schools--I got in with a 3.2 GPA and at 28O MCAT. And there are usually three start dates: September, January, May with rolling admission. You should apply 4-5 months ahead of the semester you wish to start, but I've heard of people applying two months before and getting in that upcoming semester. I actually applied 6 months before the January 2011 start date and I think I'm one of the first to be admitted for that class. After sending in your application, you normally hear back from the school in 2-6 weeks of your acceptance, denial, or interview. AUC normally does not interview their applicants, unless there are inconsistencies in the application. St. George's, Ross, and Saba all do interviews to determine acceptance. I only had to wait two weeks before I was contacted via email that I had been accepted into AUC and that I was granted an interview at St. George's.

In the Caribbean, it's 4 years of medical school and all the classes/textbooks are in English. You take the USMLE Step 1 after your second year just like in the US. Unlike US students however, Caribbean med students do their clinical rotations (years 3 and 4 of med school) at different hospital sites across the US which are affiliated with the school. So you only actually live on the island for 2 years and you can spend your second 2 years in the US at one or few of these affiliated hospitals. Of the "Big 4" St. George's has the most clinical sites with AUC and Ross closely behind and Saba has the least with 15. Another thing that you need to consider is whether or not your rotations are "greenbook" I'll get more into that in another post because it is important for residency programs.

After completing the 4th year of medical school, students then take step 2 of the USMLE and apply to residency programs in the United States. The USMLE is the great equalizer for medical students everywhere who wish to practice in the United States. It provides a great opportunity for people to show all that they have learned and to measure them against US medical students. So if you work hard in med schools and ace those board exams, it doesn't really matter which med school you're coming from-- you will be able to match and get the residency program you want. However if you are vying for a program in an ultra-competitive field like plastic surgery or neurosurgery, even Harvard grads are fighting amongst themselves to secure residencies of that caliber. Getting very competitive residency programs is hard coming out of the Caribbean, but it has been done before.

If there's a will there's a way.
Nothing truer has ever been said.

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How did I get to this point?

I messed up college. Not really all my classes but certainly enough of my premed classes. I ended up withdrawing from Gen Chem 2 my freshman year, only to retake it a couple summers later scoring a C+. I took both semesters of physics that same summer and managed a C average. In reality, I know I failed those classes, but because the professor was such a sweet old gentleman, he gave me the passing score. My other marks in the premed courses were always around a B, with the occasional A, but nothing ever outstanding.

After avoiding my premed advisor for a couple years, I finally got up the nerve to meet with him at the end of my sophomore year. He looked over my transcript and he sort of sighed as if he was asking himself "why must students like these want or even think they can get into med school?" He had a reputation within premed circles for only concerning himself with the best students. He was not optimistic about my chances, but he said if I started getting A's in the next two years and excellent MCAT scores I may still have a shot.

Renewed with a hopeful and positive attitude, I went home vowing to study my ass off and get excellent grades from here on out. Needless to say, that didn't exactly happen. I continued to get B's in my science courses and although I did finish with A's in Neuroscience and Organic Chem II my last semester, it was hardly enough. I went back to my premed advisor and he told me I would not get in with my current GPA (3.2), which is absolutely true. I had no shot. He suggested a postbach program where I would have to get all A's and then maybe I could apply to med schools with a something of a chance. If I wasn't in such a rush to just start my life, I might have taken him up on his offer. I simply didn't feel like spending another year or two studying courses that I would have to take in medical school anyway.

Then I asked the premed advisor about foreign medical schools. He had never even mentioned the option to me before, but I knew some of my dad's friends who went to Caribbean med schools and were now successful physicians.  After hearing their experiences, I kept the option in the back of my mind.

Upon the mention of foreign schools, my premed advisor simply gave me a handout of which schools were the most well known and legitimate. They included schools in Ireland, Israel, Mexico, and the Caribbean. He told me good luck and "let me know what happens." And that was that. Goodbye Mr. Premed advisor and really thanks for nothing. Here I was, recent grad, clutching a handout in my hand, walking in the general direction of my car, contemplating how I got here. It was at this point when I decided I had to get myself to a computer and figure out what the hell I was doing with my life.

I knew I wanted to go to the Caribbean so I spent the next month or so researching the best schools, the requirements, the life on the islands, the rotations, the residency placements, etc etc.  On all the boards there's always talk of the "Big 4" which include St George's, AUC, Ross, and Saba. I narrowed down my choices to two- AUC and SGU. It seemed like St. George's had the best reputation of all the Caribbean schools and some of my dad's friends had gone to that school as well. But AUC easily became my first choice. I love how much smaller the class size is in comparison to SGU and Ross, it seems much more intimate, and everyone is there for the same reason--to become good doctors. Additionally, there is really no comparison between the islands. St. Maarten is a whole lot better than Grenada, which is still a very beautiful place, but coming from Boston/Providence I need a well developed island.

While I do think Ross and Saba are good schools as well, I personally was not sure about Ross because of the ridiculous drop out rate. This school simply exists to get as many people as they can to enroll. take their money, to only then fail half of them out of the university by third semester. It's a large university and I know I would most certainly get lost in the shuffle there. I suppose I just look for more individual attention at this point in my life and that is also part of the reason why I applied for January instead of September. As for Saba, they are a bit of a newer school, there are no US federal loans, and they did not have as many clinical rotation sites as I hoped for in New York. I've always wanted to live in New York City for a year or two and AUC has many hospital affiliations there, which is another reason why I was sold on the school.

The next step was to get my MCATs in order. I ended up studying for them for three months. I really really worked on physics because I had pretty much failed an entire years worth of the subject. I studied biology and orgo complacently and spent the remainder of my time on chemistry. I hardly did anything with my verbal. And as the results of my MCATs demonstrate, you get what you give: P -11 V-7  B-10 W-O

I got a 28O and I knew there was a chance for me. I applied to the two schools a few weeks later and the rest is now history.

(Note: I took the MCATs twice. Many US schools will take your highest score from each section from each test. Don't sell yourself short if you've taken it twice and trying to apply to the US! First time around I did better in verbal with a 9, so you could say I did get a 30, but in Caribbean schools this is not how they do things.)

I'm going to AUC

After a three week trip to Portugal and Lebanon, I'm back and with good news. I've been accepted to the American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten! yay!

I was also offered an interview at St. George's University in Grenada, however at SGU they wanted me to go into the Charter Program. I considered it for about 4 seconds and respectfully declined their offer. I just sent out my $1600 deposit yesterday to hold a seat for AUC's Jan 2011 class  and I cannot be more excited to begin this long road to becoming a doctor.

Along with the deposit, I sent a housing request form to live on campus. Apparently it is slightly difficult to get a room on campus, but if you apply and get in early, you probably won't have too much trouble securing a room. Another thing to consider is that the January class is much smaller than the September class. Around 200 students begin in September and perhaps 100 or less begin in January and I think it's even less for the May start date. Anyway, I'm hoping I can get a single dorm room to minimize distractions... but if it turns out I do get a double, it will still be nice to have a roommate to go through all the hardships with. Maybe I'll be more inclined to study long hours if I have a roommate who is ready to study her ass off. I'll see what happens in the coming weeks.