AUA- now top 5?

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Falcons22

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Considering AUA's Title IV and ability to practice in 50 states, as well as some of their pretty top 2016 residency placements, would you consider AUA in the same category as Ross, SGU, AUC, SABA? I know AUA has changed a bit over the past few years, in addition to the new FIU clinical rotation program. Any thoughts?

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Considering AUA's Title IV and ability to practice in 50 states, as well as some of their pretty top 2016 residency placements, would you consider AUA in the same category as Ross, SGU, AUC, SABA? I know AUA has changed a bit over the past few years, in addition to the new FIU clinical rotation program. Any thoughts?

Well it's a good thing as far as conveinence is concerned. However, it's also a terrible thing since now they have a license to jack up their tuition without a proportionate increase in matching probability.

I would probably group all Caribbean programs into the same boat since sometimes that's how they are looked at by PDs. However, Ross has been around for a long time with 12k+ practicing alumni. If anything makes a difference in residency matching coming from the Caribbean it's connections. If you have lots of alumni to vouch for your education, than you better your odds significantly.
 
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Being a top program comes down to a proven track record. AUA is too new of a school. Go to valuemd and read up on some of the horror stories from AUA. Over time, they will have the opportunity to be a top program.
 
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As a medical graduate from AUA and having recently obtained residency in Massachusetts, I can honestly say that AUA is a very strong medical program. The school's faculty both on the island and in the US help to ensure students' successes through various resources. Talking to friends who have previously attended other medical schools (Ross, SGU, St Kitts, for example) they too were pleased with the resources AUA offers. The school has a very strong success rate, having achieved a 95-99% on the USMLE steps 1 and 2. In addition the school has been accredited in many US programs as well as in the Caribbean. These recognitions have allowed students to not only rotate in various sites but also achieve residencies in their choosing.

You are welcome to private message me if you wish to learn more.
 
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As a medical graduate from AUA and having recently obtained residency in Massachusetts, I can honestly say that AUA is a very strong medical program. The school's faculty both on the island and in the US help to ensure students' successes through various resources. Talking to friends who have previously attended other medical schools (Ross, SGU, St Kitts, for example) they too were pleased with the resources AUA offers. The school has a very strong success rate, having achieved a 95-99% on the USMLE steps 1 and 2. In addition the school has been accredited in many US programs as well as in the Caribbean. These recognitions have allowed students to not only rotate in various sites but also achieve residencies in their choosing.

You are welcome to private message me if you wish to learn more.
How many students were in your incoming class?
 
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As a medical graduate from AUA and having recently obtained residency in Massachusetts, I can honestly say that AUA is a very strong medical program. The school's faculty both on the island and in the US help to ensure students' successes through various resources. Talking to friends who have previously attended other medical schools (Ross, SGU, St Kitts, for example) they too were pleased with the resources AUA offers. The school has a very strong success rate, having achieved a 95-99% on the USMLE steps 1 and 2. In addition the school has been accredited in many US programs as well as in the Caribbean. These recognitions have allowed students to not only rotate in various sites but also achieve residencies in their choosing.

You are welcome to private message me if you wish to learn more.

I don't know man. I think AUA is better than MUA where I went to school but then again tuition is also much higher so I'd expect it to be a better experience. There is a lot of talk that AUA has a problem with third year rotations. SGU doesn't have such a problem.

I interviewed at AUA less than a year ago and my interviewer told me "don't expect to graduate in four years." I kid you not.
 
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How many of those students graduated in four years?

AUA and other Caribbean schools did not guarantee a 4 year medical program, due to the fact that there are 5 semesters during the first two years on the island. Students are taught the basic sciences during the first two years. Near the end of the second year, there is a Kaplan prep course offered by AUA and taught by the faculty members who were also hosts of the Kaplan medical online videos. The fifth semester extends the timeline with an addition 2 months because the school includes a comprehensive exam to ensure students understand all the medical topics prior to sitting for the USMLE step 1. The same implementation was also in effect for preparing for the USMLE step 2, which included the comprehensive exam prior for sitting for the exam.

Now I have spoken to other medical students from other medical programs such as Ross, St Kitts, and Avalon, and based on the general consensus, the five semester implementation was very common as well as the comprehensive exam for the USMLE. In addition, the time it takes for students to study and prepare for the USMLE varies, and that being said this pushed the timeline again to another year of graduation.

Now to answer your main question, yes it did take about 5 years for medical students to graduate.

I did talk to other medical graduates from other countries including those from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and they had to graduate within 6 years for their MD degree.
 
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AUA and other Caribbean schools did not guarantee a 4 year medical program, due to the fact that there are 5 semesters during the first two years on the island. Students are taught the basic sciences during the first two years. Near the end of the second year, there is a Kaplan prep course offered by AUA and taught by the faculty members who were also hosts of the Kaplan medical online videos. The fifth semester extends the timeline with an addition 2 months because the school includes a comprehensive exam to ensure students understand all the medical topics prior to sitting for the USMLE step 1. The same implementation was also in effect for preparing for the USMLE step 2, which included the comprehensive exam prior for sitting for the exam.

Now I have spoken to other medical students from other medical programs such as Ross, St Kitts, and Avalon, and based on the general consensus, the five semester implementation was very common as well as the comprehensive exam for the USMLE. In addition, the time it takes for students to study and prepare for the USMLE varies, and that being said this pushed the timeline again to another year of graduation.

Now to answer your main question, yes it did take about 5 years for medical students to graduate.

I did talk to other medical graduates from other countries including those from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and they had to graduate within 6 years for their MD degree.
Even if homeostasis takes 5 years instead of 4, I don't see numerical outcomes on the website.
Do you know how many US IMG's matched in your year?
 
Even if homeostasis takes 5 years instead of 4, I don't see numerical outcomes on the website.
Do you know how many US IMG's matched in your year?

That information is found on the AUA website which contains the number of students who matched within each specialty and department.
 
That information is found on the AUA website which contains the number of students who matched within each specialty and department.
I counted 296. If accurate, that leaves about a hundred unaccounted for. Does that sound accurate?
 
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That should be correct. The school does receive notification from AAMC of the students were successfully matched for this year.
 
That should be correct. The school does receive notification from AAMC of the students were successfully matched for this year.
They call it a "placement" list so there is the likelihood that some of these were not actually matches...
 
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Can you tell us how many students who enter the match, match?

My sources say for SGU it's mid-80% and then in the 90's for the next year.
 
Those words are interchangeable-- residency placement and matched

No they aren't. The match is a specific process and it is a big deal to know the difference. If you have say over 60-70% of applicants not matching but end up SOAPing or worse, that is messed up.


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Those words are interchangeable-- residency placement and matched
Placement may refer to any job. It probably includes SOAPers and even folks who didn't get a residency position (lab tech, research assistant...).
 
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No they aren't. The match is a specific process and it is a big deal to know the difference. If you have say over 60-70% of applicants not matching but end up SOAPing or worse, that is messed up.
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Indeed. If this were an American school, it would be shut and sued by LCME for numbers so poor.

Also keep in mind that AUA (or any other Carib school) is under no obligation to tell the truth about anything on its website. American laws about truth in advertising don't extend into the Caribbean.
 
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Indeed. If this were an American school, it would be shut and sued by LCME for numbers so poor.

Also keep in mind that AUA (or any other Carib school) is under no obligation to tell the truth about anything on its website. American laws about truth in advertising don't extend into the Caribbean.
Shut down by LCME and sued by its students...

have to fix that copypasta!
This is such a ridiculous benchmark and nonsensical argument.

You know who else would be shut down by the LCME, like 95% of DO schools.

I don't expect much logic from many of the usual suspects when it comes to these topics, but seriously... Using LCME standards for determining where you can get an appropriate medical education would also disqualify just about every graduate from any other country in the world.
 
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I really enjoy reading these caribbean arguments. But always, how these caribbean posts go is like this:

OP posts something good about the caribbean
Random premed/med student comes in and spews artificial data about a 50% match rate at SGU
The adcoms come in to shut the OP down with copypasta proverbs
Skip Intro and The Argus come and defend the caribbean to some extent
Adcoms get into argument with Skip Intro and The Argus


And then we wait for the next premed to post about caribbean.

What I have to say to every premed reading is that you'll never get a conclusive answer about the caribbean on SDN. There is no where you will get an unbiased answer. US adcoms and students will promote going to the United States, and successful caribbean grads will advocate for going to the caribbean if you cant go in the states. What really matters is your sense of judgement and whether you can judge whether you will be successful. If your recent grades are below 3.0, and you think just because a caribbean school accepts you means you're going to kill your classes and steps, that is definitely magic thinking, and Goro is right to say 'you are the mark these diploma mills prey upon'.

In my own life, I dont know anyone who has failed from SGU or Ross. Maybe they didnt want to wait and spend time/money on taking MCAT classes or postbacc/SMP. Maybe they had elderly parents who they need to take care of, so they cant afford to take more time off. There are many more reasons why the people I know chose to go to the caribbean. And these are just normal people, there was nothing special about them, and yet they were able to spend 2 years in a 3rd world country with poor amenities, terrible food, no AC, and thats just the beginning. These people were really motivated, and in the end they did what they thought was best for them. They used their best judgement. If you have the inability to perform well in your classes and you cant get a good MCAT score, yet you still decide to go to the caribbean, then you arent using your best judgement. You need to turn things around BEFORE you decide to go.


On another note, personally, I would probably avoid AUA. I would try my best to get into SGU or Ross if the MD or DO cycle didnt serve me well.
 
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This is such a ridiculous benchmark and nonsensical argument.

You know who else would be shut down by the LCME, like 95% of DO schools.

I don't expect much logic from many of the usual suspects when it comes to these topics, but seriously... Using LCME standards for determining where you can get an appropriate medical education would also disqualify just about every graduate from any other country in the world.
Yes, most D.O schools (maybe except state school like Michigan and Oklahoma) are not comparable to LCME school in term of basic science and rotation. But you have to know D.O. schools were never about being specialist, they focus on primary care and OMM. Btw each D.O. school have their own OMM lab, which none of MD school have; and they do have to pay a lot for OMM instructors and keep that lab running; thus there is not much resource left for the students. Compare D.O. schools to MD are not fair, since MD dont have OMM component
 
Yes, most D.O schools (maybe except state school like Michigan and Oklahoma) are not comparable to LCME school in term of basic science and rotation. But you have to know D.O. schools were never about being specialist, they focus on primary care and OMM. Btw each D.O. school have their own OMM lab, which none of MD school have; and they do have to pay a lot for OMM instructors and keep that lab running; thus there is not much resource left for the students. Compare D.O. schools to MD are not fair, since MD dont have OMM component

:laugh: Don't know if this is supposed to be sarcasm or not, but if you posted this in honesty, it's so wrong it's almost bordering on comical. Particularly the part about paying a lot for OMM instructors and keeping the "lab" running so that there are not much resources left for the students.
 
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Yes, most D.O schools (maybe except state school like Michigan and Oklahoma) are not comparable to LCME school in term of basic science and rotation. But you have to know D.O. schools were never about being specialist, they focus on primary care and OMM. Btw each D.O. school have their own OMM lab, which none of MD school have; and they do have to pay a lot for OMM instructors and keep that lab running; thus there is not much resource left for the students. Compare D.O. schools to MD are not fair, since MD dont have OMM component

They compare just fine with basic science but it is the clinical curriculums of DO schools that can often be questionable. Many are fine and supply solid teaching environments in good hospitals but many students can get subpar teaching when a big portion of their time is spent shadowing doctors in outpatient clinics. Their focus is primary care specialties in their mission but in the end they are a business. They want their students to do well and match into a range of competitive specialties so they can advertise it to future applicants. Many would definitely be put on probation if the LCME took over tomorrow and many should be to make them get their acts together.


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I really enjoy reading these caribbean arguments. But always, how these caribbean posts go is like this:

OP posts something good about the caribbean
Random premed/med student comes in and spews artificial data about a 50% match rate at SGU
The adcoms come in to shut the OP down with copypasta proverbs
Skip Intro and The Argus come and defend the caribbean to some extent
Adcoms get into argument with Skip Intro and The Argus


And then we wait for the next premed to post about caribbean.

What I have to say to every premed reading is that you'll never get a conclusive answer about the caribbean on SDN. There is no where you will get an unbiased answer. US adcoms and students will promote going to the United States, and successful caribbean grads will advocate for going to the caribbean if you cant go in the states. What really matters is your sense of judgement and whether you can judge whether you will be successful. If your recent grades are below 3.0, and you think just because a caribbean school accepts you means you're going to kill your classes and steps, that is definitely magic thinking, and Goro is right to say 'you are the mark these diploma mills prey upon'.

In my own life, I dont know anyone who has failed from SGU or Ross. Maybe they didnt want to wait and spend time/money on taking MCAT classes or postbacc/SMP. Maybe they had elderly parents who they need to take care of, so they cant afford to take more time off. There are many more reasons why the people I know chose to go to the caribbean. And these are just normal people, there was nothing special about them, and yet they were able to spend 2 years in a 3rd world country with poor amenities, terrible food, no AC, and thats just the beginning. These people were really motivated, and in the end they did what they thought was best for them. They used their best judgement. If you have the inability to perform well in your classes and you cant get a good MCAT score, yet you still decide to go to the caribbean, then you arent using your best judgement. You need to turn things around BEFORE you decide to go.


On another note, personally, I would probably avoid AUA. I would try my best to get into SGU or Ross if the MD or DO cycle didnt serve me well.
You forgot the part at the end where the knowledgable premed comes in and gives the definitive final word, because out of everyone they obviously have the experience and expertise to give out advice.

Oh wait, sorry, I just finished reading your post, you didn't forget that part...


and PS, I'm not here to "defend the Caribbean." I'm here to give an as accurate as possible view of the overall situation so people can make an informed decision.
 
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You forgot the part at the end where the knowledgable premed comes in and gives the definitive final word, because out of everyone they obviously have the experience and expertise to give out advice.

Oh wait, sorry, I just finished reading your post, you didn't forget that part...


and PS, I'm not here to "defend the Caribbean." I'm here to give an as accurate as possible view of the overall situation so people can make an informed decision.


Lol whats up with the hostility. Is there anything I said that was untrue? If I did say something inaccurate, please tell me. Telling me my advice doesnt matter just because im a premed doesnt really tell me anything. Thanks :)
 
Lol whats up with the hostility. Is there anything I said that was untrue? If I did say something inaccurate, please tell me. Telling me my advice doesnt matter just because im a premed doesnt really tell me anything. Thanks :)

@the argus is just frustrated with the broader trend on sdn with premeds trying to give advice about medical school and points downstream, presenting it as fact, without ever having experienced any of it. Bedevilledben, theargus, skip intro are some of the most knowledgeable and fair posters in the caribbean forum with a lot of experience between them. I've followed their posting history for years and can vouch for this.

I'm an MS2. Thats like me trying to give advice about residency. I just wouldn't do it. I'm not qualified to.
 
@the argus is just frustrated with the broader trend on sdn with premeds trying to give advice about medical school and points downstream, presenting it as fact, without ever having experienced any of it. Bedevilledben, theargus, skip intro are some of the most knowledgeable and fair posters in the caribbean forum with a lot of experience between them. I've followed their posting history for years and can vouch for this.

I'm an MS2. Thats like me trying to give advice about residency. I just wouldn't do it. I'm not qualified to.

I know, and I respect them as well and agree with what they have to say mostly. I just want to know what I said that they thought was wrong. Everyday is a learning process for me too and I don't claim to know everything, I'm just presenting my own experience and what my Caribbean graduate family/friends have told me, which really, doesn't differ with what The Argus and Skip Intro are saying.

If my advice on this topic doesn't matter because I'm a premed, I'll stick to giving advice in the high school forums lol.


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Friend at AUA just informed me that last term they started with 500, 350 or so sat for the final exam and 80 went to the second term.

Scary odds.
 
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