I moved to the mainland from Hawaii to return to school. There is a quarantine which can last a couple months when moving to a rabies free island. If you are planning a move and know well enough in advance, you can take steps to avoid the quarantine. If its your only option to get into school you might look into it. Hawaii’s requires a series of shots over a 3 month span, blood tests, and a AVID chip.
op, you should seriously do some more research. Caribbean schools, including the big 3 (St George, Ross, AUC) carry some baggage. You are limited in where you can do your 3rd and 4th year rotations, and you will be last in line for residency spots.
Also, the Caribbean schools are notorious for taking in lots of marginal candidates, such as the 19 MCAT mentioned above, and then not providing much support to the students.
These schools have appalling attrition rates, as high as 40% at some places. They don’t want to keep marginal students around after the first two years, because they want to keep their national board pass rates as high as possible.
Medical school can be a grim experience at times and you want to hope that your school provides support services and a degree of flexibility in case you stumble and need assistance.
You also should think about location. You’ll be on some rock that is quaint and pretty for the first few weeks but the isolation and lifestyle will get old fast.
This is based on people I know who have done it. ValueMD.com is focused on Caribbean med schools and you might get some useful information over there as well. There may be people who are happy with their Caribbean experience but you do need to go in with your eyes open. Best of luck,
- ttraub Said:
op, you should seriously do some more research. Caribbean schools, including the big 3 (St George, Ross, AUC) carry some baggage. You are limited in where you can do your 3rd and 4th year rotations, and you will be last in line for residency spots.
Also, the Caribbean schools are notorious for taking in lots of marginal candidates, such as the 19 MCAT mentioned above, and then not providing much support to the students.
These schools have appalling attrition rates, as high as 40% at some places. They don't want to keep marginal students around after the first two years, because they want to keep their national board pass rates as high as possible.
Medical school can be a grim experience at times and you want to hope that your school provides support services and a degree of flexibility in case you stumble and need assistance.
You also should think about location. You'll be on some rock that is quaint and pretty for the first few weeks but the isolation and lifestyle will get old fast.
This is based on people I know who have done it. ValueMD.com is focused on Caribbean med schools and you might get some useful information over there as well. There may be people who are happy with their Caribbean experience but you do need to go in with your eyes open. Best of luck,
Also, the Caribbean schools are notorious for taking in lots of marginal candidates, such as the 19 MCAT mentioned above, and then not providing much support to the students.
These schools have appalling attrition rates, as high as 40% at some places. They don't want to keep marginal students around after the first two years, because they want to keep their national board pass rates as high as possible.
Medical school can be a grim experience at times and you want to hope that your school provides support services and a degree of flexibility in case you stumble and need assistance.
You also should think about location. You'll be on some rock that is quaint and pretty for the first few weeks but the isolation and lifestyle will get old fast.
This is based on people I know who have done it. ValueMD.com is focused on Caribbean med schools and you might get some useful information over there as well. There may be people who are happy with their Caribbean experience but you do need to go in with your eyes open. Best of luck,
I think that this is the one big thing that steers me away from this option. From all I've read, most US medical schools want you to succeed after they accept you. More options are available if you are having difficulty whether academically or otherwise.
Also, in regards to location...I totally agree. It does look quaint and pretty, yet it is deep in hurricane territory. Living in Florida, from June 1st (Monday
) until November 30th we are in hurricane season, and while my area has been pretty much spared, the Caribbean is pretty much a big bullseye to many of these storms. So that is another reason not for me. Personally, if I don't get into LECOM-B, I'm outta here!
My poor dog would be so scared! He’s lived with me his whole life since he was 6 weeks old. He wouldn’t know what to do in a shelter. I would love love love to go to medical school in Hawaii, I mean what I’m picturing of course is that I’d be living in Hawaii and I’d be studying on the beach in my bikini while Javier my cabana boy brings me mai tais and rubs suntan oil on my shoulders while asking if I need anything else…