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.

Here we go...

And so begins this sad attempt at blogging. Since I was a small child, I don't think I've ever written ANYTHING consistently. From diaries, letters to emails and facebook posts, I have to say... I'm pretty lazy. And what makes me think this stab at blogging will have a better outcome? Nothing in particular. I'm quite bored actually, but that may be because I've been "in limbo" since graduating college one year ago (BC '09 woo!!). I want to go to medical school, but have yet to apply anywhere. I've spent the year working at my father's practice in Rhode Island, studying/taking the MCATs, and finishing my med school prereqs by completing Organic Chemistry II. I actually just finished the class last week and now my application process will finally commence.

I'm aware that the title of by blog is a bit misleading (and I mean completely untrue as of now). I am an American girl, but by no means am I attending medical school anywhere, let alone the Caribbean. But it is the Caribbean I will be going! I'm resolved, it's been decided and I'll be applying to both the American University of the Caribbean and St. George's for the January 2010 start date. I will get into the "whys" and "hows" of my decisions and the process, but for right now, I'm just going to say good night.

goodnight!

~Andrea

p.s.

Celts up 2-0 over Magic.

Sox over Yanks

Glory