They are not all anecdotal evidence, there are plenty of factual evidence out there. For example, right of the bat, would you rather 50-60% match rate from the Caribbean vs 98-99% match rate from any MD or DO schools? Or would you be Ok closing the door on majority of specialties besides primary care? These data are published every year by the NRMP as facts. If those are ok with you after paying more than 350K in loans, then you can certainly give the island a chance. But with your stats I think you should be able to land a DO school at the very least with no issues. Just make sure you apply broadly.
I definitely get it. I would imagine most, if not all, people would exhaust all possible US MD/DO programs before ever considering Caribbean schools, and for many it is a last resort.
If the option is to close the door on most specialties except PC, etc vs not becoming a doctor AT ALL I think it makes sense to choose the former for many people.
And I know that a lot of people's counter advice (at least from what I have seen) is go the postbacc route, try to improve your GPA/ retake the MCAT and try to score higher and then apply next cycle, but as someone who needed to do postbacc myself (for career changing reasons so I had no choice) it isnt as simple of a solution as people make it out to be. I had to pay around 90k in tuition fees alone just taking the minimum prereq classes (I did my postbacc at NYU which is expensive and I am sure you can do a cheaper program but its still a considerable amount of money), most of which I had pay through taking out private loans since I wasn't a fulltime student (because I had to work) so couldnt qualify for federal loans, so higher rates. That on top of the fact that you have to factor in living expenses during that time and not everyone has the luxury of living with family or rent free and all that $$$ adds up. That is not even considering the time deficit and that losing a year or two of your life doing postbacc might just not be worth it for some people. Having said that it can definitely be a good option for a lot of people, I just wanted to highlight that it isnt this miracle cure to everyone who has a low GPA that isnt comp in US programs, especially considering how mathematically hard it is to come back from a low GPA
I actually know this girl who after initial rejection took postbacc for GPA improvement, she ended up improving it by maybe 1.5 points in a year and a half, missed two cycles to do so and then when she applied again to US schools she got rejected from every single one. She ended up giving up on medicine completely, but I cant help but wonder if she had gone the Caribbean route if she could have potentially fulfilled her dream of becoming a doctor, without wasting 3 years and $$ attempting to get in the US programs and still failing. Her stats werent horrible either, I think she def stood a chance at US schools, unlucky I suppose. I def get that a lot of people with awful stats that probably arent cut out for medicine try to go to Caribbean schools just because and end up in the attrition statistics and I definitely understand why those students shouldn't just apply to Caribbean.
Final thoughts, I am definitely NOT saying that US MD/DO shouldn't be everyones number 1 choice and that a lot of effort shouldn't be dedicated (including multiple application cycles) to try to get in, just that if it comes down to possibly becoming a doctor vs not, then maybe people shouldn't be so discouraged from considering Caribbean schools. I understand match rates are not great and I suppose that thats a risk a lot of people would have to take but a quick google search showed me that in 2018 the overall acceptance rate of med school applicants into a US medical school was 41%. And yet peoples still spend a lot of time and $$ trying to pursue medicine despite the odds. Of course your stats factor into these odds on an individual basis, but I feel like so should be the case for match rates at Caribbean schools. Just because its 50-60% doesnt mean individual cases shouldnt be considered. Again if your stats are abhorrent and you show a clear inability to meet the demands of medicine then you will probably not make it even if you get into a Caribbean school at first, but some individuals who are borderline with their stats/had a specific reason/context why certain stats were bad and believe they can work their ass off and keep up with the demands of med school then their odds can be much higher than the 50-60%, but thats just in my opinion.
In terms of my case, I do believe I have a decent shot at US schools so hoping it doesnt even come down to this, I was mostly just asking for the discouragement I see on other posts where the poster probably has worse odds.
Sorry for the long reply! Appreciate your perspective!
