My Pre-Health Advisor just told me I wasn't good enough for Med and I should just give up.
- Thread starter AB Ziggy
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way too many dreams are crushed with the advice OP received
way waaaaaaaay too many. shyt there needs to be a 60 mn special on career advice alone.
theworldismine13
God Emperor of SOHH
caribbean schools it is what it is, if you get high usmle scores in a Caribbean school you will do fine, if you dont you will fail, it is what it is, im not exactly recommending Caribbean schools, but if you do not get in that is the only real choice. its really about how badly you want to be a doctor after you get a med school rejection letter
i think DO is fine, and i think taking extra classes is fine, but the reality is that a lot of people fail to get into medical school
im not sure what your point is, what does it prove if thousands of people take the exams without getting help? there are a lot of people that fail, a lot of people that dont do as good as they could have and that dont get into their preferred school because of their "decent" scores or get rejected outright by all the schools they apply to
plus the threadstarter already stated he had a low GPA, so you think you can get into med school with a low gpa and an average mcat score? i suppose anything is possible but i wouldn't count on that, with a low gpa the only statistical evidence you can provide that says you are ready for medical school is your mcat score
not getting professional help is one of the biggest mistakes minority and poor students make in getting into professional school not just medical school
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Man get the fukk out of here. The Carribean is a fine secondary option for those unable to get into a medical school in the US. Granted, there are some huge negatives with attending a carribean medical school (namely much higher costs, lots of traveling for rotations, unfavorable rankings by residency programs), but is is far better to attend a Carribean school than attend no medical school at all. To the OP (@TZiggy ), definitely focus on KILLING the MCAT. Do not fukk around. If your a weak standardized test taker STRONGLY consider taking a test prep course like Princeton Review or Kaplan. These courses have been known to boost people test scores by 10-15 points in some cases.
And be sure to kill every class from here on out. You really cant afford your GPA going any lower.
Above all never give up. I've seen people go into medicine as a 3rd career option. Never allow others to discourage you from you goals friend.
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DO Is cool, but there are some issues with matching into competitive subspecialties with a DO degree. Unless you match into DO programs.
theworldismine13
God Emperor of SOHH
its only poor and minority students that think they can go up against an exam one on one, no upper middle class or rich person would ever do something as silly as letting their kid take a standardized exam without professional help
Dafunkdoc_Unlimited
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So let me just say this as a precursor. When I was a freshmen in HS, I was the laziest student ever....I never did any homework at all and was more focused on girls than school. It was the bad kind of lazy because I didn't find school hard, I just didn't give a fukk which made my mom insane. The only reason I was even in that school was because of test scores being high because I stopped trying at some point in 7th grade....when I spent all my time talking to girls on AIM and playing SOCOM when I wasn't at practice. After my freshmen year, my guidance counselor told me to go to consider joining national guard because I would never get into Brown, etc. (like my mother always envisioned). I later aced nearly everything for the rest of HS and got into Brown (with no intention of going) just to give her the
(the fee waiver was worth it). I went from there to one of the top universities in the country --> to one of the top law programs in the country. Quite frankly, kids where I'm from don't do that, and most people looked at me like 
. I mean, some of my friends never had HW because there weren't enough book for every kid. So I will never tell anyone not to do something. But, you have a lot of work to do. A LOT. You have no room for error. But most people don't get into med school on their first try anyway so that is not a knock. Maybe, you maximize your grades, build up the resume, and then apply after you've graduated. It doesn' t have to be straight through. But if this is who you want to be, you have to be willing to change up your entire way of planning and allocating time to make it happen.Lastly, @theworldismine13 is right, if you have the chance, take a prep course. Take it early too, so that you have a lot of time for self-study after that if you haven't perfected it and if that works better for you. But give yourself every chance.
This isn't even up for debate. There isn't anyone who knows what they're talking about that would not suggest a gap year/retaking courses and/or taking the MCAT, and reapplying to DO/MD. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Caribbean grads to match.
Schools are increasing, but residency slots are not.
Anyone who is serious about practicing medicine should strengthen their application and apply accordingly. Disregarding the attrition rate of IMG's (which is considerably higher than US grads,) 52% of IMG will match in comparison to 75% of DO's. That is not taking into consideration that you will have DOUBLE the debt.
Medical school is a marathon, not a sprint, and taking a year to improve your app will not kill you. Tossing that idea out to the OP is ludicrous considering that, given his stats, he's nowhere near having to jump across the border and take that gamble.
It has already been stated that a 3.4 is not competitive for MD. However, your GPA and MCAT scores, are NOT the only factors that will weight into your admission. If the OP is serious, then his GPA (as is) IS competitive for most DO institutions. The fact that you have no clue as to what makes an applicant competitive for MD vs DO and you're sitting here attempting to debate this is unfathomable. If the OP raises his 3.4 to a 3.5 (and that is not necessary depending on where he chooses to apply) if he can score anywhere within the range of a 25-29, statistically, he WILL be competitive for DO. That is why you goading him into pushing the panic button and jumping to the Caribbean is asinine, especially considering you have no earthly idea about what you're discussing.
http://www.aacom.org/data/applicantsmatriculants/Documents/2013-App-Report.pdf
The AVERAGE GPA for a male matriculates to DO?
3.5
The AVERAGE MCAT for a male matriculates to DO?
25
I'm not going to even address this, and it's becoming more & more evident that you really don't know what you're talking about, which makes this exchange that much more infuriating.
Cute, but the negatives will always outweigh the positive for the average student. You were cat called into the thread as if you were some authority, but let it be known, I don't care what you think you know - the fact that you classify Carib as a "fine SECONDARY option"? Anyone looking to you as guidance will be directly where you're at now ten years from now as it pertains to the subject - on the outside, looking in.
Caribbean is basically a hail Mary last ditch shot to get back on the path to becoming a physician. Your odds are terrible. Attrition is high. The percentage of offshore people who do well on USMLE is low. The rate of residency matching is about 40% for the 50% or so who make it that far. (better at some schools but never comparable to US med school rates).
And that's for the less desirable residency lots. Competitive specialties? Forget about it.
MD ---> DO -----> IMG
That is how graduates are prioritized as it pertains to matching. 52% of IMG's match in comparison to 75% DO's. You want to gamble, go buy a raffle ticket.
If you screwed up college and have no way to rehabilitate your grades, then sure, you can give it a try. But taking a bunch of underachievers and surrounding them with other underachievers in a beach setting is rarely a recipe for academic success. The OP has a 3.4, not a 2.8. Suggesting overseas at this stage and all the potential negatives it brings forth is absolutely ridiculous, and anyone arguing the contrary is an idiot.
theworldismine13
God Emperor of SOHH
what if you take a gap year and take the mcat and you still fail to get into med school? what if you fail to get into a DO school?
i think you are confused, i wasnt arguing for or against caribbean schools, im just stating the fact the caribbean schools are a last resort, of course its harder to get into residency if you come from a foreign schools....and? it is what it is, but if somebody fails to get in the caribbean is the last resort
the GPA and the MCAT score is the only statistical evidence that you can give a school, i didnt say its the only thing they look at, obviously its not the only thing, but if you have to rely on other things besides that you are already in shaky ground and its not something you can rely on to get you in
and hold on, im not goading anybody to go to the caribbean, what i said is that the caribbean is the last resort if you dont get into medical school, i know about caribbean schools because i have family and know people that have done it , and i know it suks and there are a lot of extra hoops to jump to, so i wasn't exactly recommending it, but it can work
im not familiar with DO, that sounds fine, i havent heard anything positive or negative about it so i cant comment on it but generally speaking people people would prefer MD next to their name
i know exactly what im talking about and like i said only poor people and minorities would do something as silly as trying to go up against a standardized exam by themselves, rich people and upper middle class never do that cuz they know better
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Your spouting alot of ignorance friend. I personally know many people in Carribean medical schools, as well as some practicing clinicians that went to Carribean medical schools. One is a radiologist, another is training to be a pulmonary critical care physician. Your correct in that US based MD schools give you the best chance at matching at a top residency spot, but going to a Carribean Medical school is FAR from a "bad idea". Are you familiar with the residency matching program? Do you know how many residents are matched into US residency slots directly from FOREIGN MEDICAL SCHOOLS ( namely from india, mexico, and pakistan?) The fact of the matter is as a carribean graduate you will likely get 2nd and 3rd tier slots, but you can definitely match into a US residency program, especially in primary care. Not everyone that goes into medicine needs to be a Harvard trained Neurosurgeon.
The fact of the matter is your speaking as if you have all the answers when its clear you don't. Learn to listen more than you speak, and you might learn a thing or three friend.
Lastly, its possible that there are people on this very forum that know a whole lot more about this subject than you. Hubris is a disease, and you seem far too wet behind the ears to talk with as much authority as you do on this subject.
Its probably time for you to go study anyways. A med student shouldn't be posting online at all times of the night when there's studying to be done, friend.
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And fukk what Killer instinct is talking about TAKE A fukkING TEST PREP COURSE for the MCAT. I don't care how smart you are, or high well you did in physics and math, that exam is a very unique one and test prep courses teach you great test taking skills to decipher the bullshyt on those tests. If you can't afford them, there are numerous summer programs held for minorities all across america every summer that provide them for free. @TZiggy
Please check out one of these programs. Perhaps you should consider going to one of these programs next summer.
Summer programs for pre-med students are held by numerous medical schools all across the country. These are typcially designed to help Pre-med college students get access to medical facilities, and alot of them provide free princeton review or Kaplan test prep courses. I just did a quick Google search and found this one out of Pearlman School of Medicine out in Pennsylvania:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/pcedher/pre-med.shtml
These programs exist all over the country, and i would highly recommend you search the web for programs being offered by medical schools in your area. By right, your career advisor should have this information for you, but if he is a cac and you attend a PWI, its highly unlikely they'll care enough to enlighten you on the programs available out there for minority pre-med students.
Please check out one of these programs. Perhaps you should consider going to one of these programs next summer.
Summer programs for pre-med students are held by numerous medical schools all across the country. These are typcially designed to help Pre-med college students get access to medical facilities, and alot of them provide free princeton review or Kaplan test prep courses. I just did a quick Google search and found this one out of Pearlman School of Medicine out in Pennsylvania:
http://www.med.upenn.edu/pcedher/pre-med.shtml
These programs exist all over the country, and i would highly recommend you search the web for programs being offered by medical schools in your area. By right, your career advisor should have this information for you, but if he is a cac and you attend a PWI, its highly unlikely they'll care enough to enlighten you on the programs available out there for minority pre-med students.
Many applicants apply up to three times before they're accepted. If you're being rejected from bottom tier DO programs, then perhaps you aren't suitable for the profession and can't cut it. This goes back to the Carib garnering the stigma of being a diploma mill. There is a reason their attrition rate is astronomical. The fact that this bill is even up for debate speaks volumes.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...would-face-u-dot-s-dot-loan-hurdle-under-bill
'and' you're saddled with 200K+ loads of debt and no way to pay it. Only 52% will match. If you're having trouble wrapping your mind around why this is a terrible alternative as opposed to re-applying, then I can't help you.
Again, this is you having no clue as to what you are discussing. It's 2013. No school is taking students solely off numbers anymore, so yes, you DO have to rely on 'other things'. Your life experiences. Where would you like to practice? What specialty? Are you a first generation student? All of this and more goes into selecting applicants. You may be screened out by GPA/MCAT, but schools have 1,200 applications for 175 seats. When the numbers are thrown aside, yes, you DO have to rely on factors that aren't measurable by scan tron.
I gathered that. 'Nuff said.
This is so illogical that it's comical. I know a handful of Caucasian pre-meds who took a prep course. I know more students who didn't. Some scored higher than expected, others lower. The thing that evades you is the fact that kids who come from affluent families will pay hundreds of dollars for test prep - they're AFFORDED that luxury. The first gen AA female who comes from a single parent household doesn't have the cash to afford an MCAT prep course(which is why she's afforded a URM advantage in the first place). What's more, as I've said before, the course can be beneficial, but it's not necessary in order to obtain a satisfactory score. There is nothing silly about not shelling out 550 bucks for a prep course. There is something silly about not dedicating at least 2-3 months to preparing for this exam, but unless you're an abysmal at standardized tests, you will be fine. You're throwing out a ridiculous generalization for the hell of it.