Cost of Caribbean medical schools in comparison to American schools

***update: the cost continually rises every year. please note the values on this post have most likely increased****

Relatively speaking, most of these Carib schools are a lot cheaper than American schools and that is one reason why people may choose to go abroad. But is it really worth it? Here are the numbers and you can decide for yourself. (Note: this is for tuition only! Fees and insurance not included in final amounts.)

The total cost of tuition after 4 years,

Saba: $98,500
Ross: $165,150
AUC: $169,550 (AUC just raised tuition 6/26/11)
St. George's: $205,163



Average cost of US public schools:  $174,172
Average cost of US private schools: $175,588


St. George's not looking like a great place to go considering it costs the same as if you were going to a private, Ivy-league, city school. And Saba is so much less expensive because American students are not eligible for federal loans. They have to either pay out of pocket or use private loans with high interest rates, and this brings me to my next point-- I realize federal loans are there to make it easier for students to pay for their education, but I hate how schools drive up the price based on how much the government is willing to dish out for loans. We end up paying A LOT more in the end. All med schools should be priced around Saba. If you've got cash, I'd recommend going here to save a lot of $ and the quality of the education is no different from AUC or St. George's.

"Required" Textbooks

Summer days are slowly drawing to a close, but the impending move to St. Maarten is not exactly looming in my mind. I sometimes even forget that I'm going to medical school all together, let alone in four months, but today I remember and today I decide to look over the required reading material for first semester students. 


The courses I'll be taking in Semester 1 include:
Anatomy/Embryology
Histology
Molecular and Cell Biology I


Total cost of books and other supplies: a whopping $737.73!


Naturally there is no way in hell I'm about to drop that much money for a single semester, so like any other intelligent and conscientious person, I defer to the knowledge and experience of my elders-- the basic science veterans on valuemd. After a quick post on what are the ACTUAL books needed to successfully pass first semester, I receive a number of replies all suggesting I invest in Netter's Atlas of Anatomy and/or BRS Anatomy. And THAT'S IT! Suddenly my ~$750 pricetag (who knows with shipping?) becomes a much more manageable $74 thanks to the used books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com.


Woo la, magic.
~Andrea

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.