I am very interested in this school. I have been looking at it for years. I’ve seen the advertisements on here.I was wondering, anyone seen or know much about this university? Does anyone know anyone that has been, is or plans to go there for med school?
I suggest you check you check out ValueMD, and look under the drop-down menu that says “Forum” selecting the option “Foreign Medical Schools”
There are actually several medical schools in Guadalaraja or its surrounding suburbs. The 3 of which I am aware are:
Universidad de Guadalajara (UdG): a state medical school located in Guadalajara proper; has a very good reputation
Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (UAG) School of Medicine : the private medical school that advertises a lot on many premedical websites. It is actually not located in Guadalajara but in the suburb of Zapopan to the NW of Guadalajara. This school has an international program geared toward foreigners – the vast majority of them Americans – alongside program for Mexican nationals. The International Program is 5 years, with the first two taught in English, but by the 3rd year, you are required to know enough Spanish to deal with patients. In recent years there has been some controversy about the quality of this International Program.
Tec de Monterey: a renowned Mexican national university with many campuses in Mexico; but only two of them (Monterey and Guadalajara) have a medical school
The general consensus is that the state-run schools are superior to the private, non-profit schools but there are exceptions.
If you do choose a Mexican medical school, make sure it falls onto your U.S. states’s medical board approval list; otherwise, any degree earned from that institution may not be accepted back in the U.S. You should also consider the language situation; if your fluency in Spanish is insufficient, you may have difficulties keeping up.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, datsa, for this good information. I was unaware of the 2 public options and I will for sure look into them (I speak Spanish).
That said, DKClayton, I do know a couple of current doctors who went to UAG 20+ years ago and felt that it got the job done. Not so helpful for present info., but there it is. As for me, I would go to Mexico over the Caribbean any day of the week because you learn Spanish even if you didn’t know it before. (If I ran a med school, I would make a second language a requirement no less than organic chemistry. Geez.)
Please investigate carefully the program formerly known as the Fifth Pathway. In my limited understanding, the standard Mexican med. education is 6 years, including a year or two of work in local clinics. Through some sort of linkage with the New York Medical College, you somehow shave off a year. I’m being vague because I do not know the real details. See the Mexican sites and http://www.nymc.edu/Academics/SchoolOfMed icine/The…
I, too, contemplated going to UAG due to the language issue: From my work with Latinos in the Mexico and the U.S., I also speak Spanish – although not yet fluent, and I thought that going to UAG, my linguistic abilities would improve. UAG’s International Program is geared toward Americans and quality was perhaps good at one time, and at one time their program was apparently good.
It seems that things have changed considerably. Also, there most of the rotations are limited to one teaching hospital. Contrast this to Caribbean medical schools which have a variety of rotations throughout the U.S. giving one a greater exposure to different populations.
There are other medical schools in Mexico that do take foreigners, but like Tec and UdG (not UAG), they have no formal foreign program so end you taking classes alongside Mexican nationals. Among the best are Universidad de San Luis Potosi in the state of the same name, considered the best medical school in Mexico (and it is a public institution as I mentioned above). Other private universities include Universidad LaSalle and Universidad Panamericana, both in Mexico City. While the latter (Universidad Panamericana) is private, the quality of its medical education is such that it routinely sends its medical graduates to Harvard for their residencies. In Baja, I’ve met medical students from the Universidad de Xochicalco, which has campuses in both Tijuana and Ensenada and does take Americans. UABC (Universidad Autonoma de Baja California) also has a medical school in Tijuana, and some of their med students join the clinic that our NGO runs in Tijuana.
For details on the Fifth Pathway – which may be phased out – check out the UAG thread on ValueMD