MY AUA interview experience.

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DoubleDoctorate

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I just had an AUA interview with an awesome lady from AUA and I just wanted to share the questions that she asked me so students could have an idea of what to expect if they hope to attend here.

The interview was on SKYPE because I was unable to drive to NYC for the time slots that they wanted. They granted me a Skype-interview, apparently those are a case by case basis.

Just for information I have received offers already from other schools but I haven't accepted any as of yet.

These are the questions I was asked, and I tried to put them in order:

1) Tell me about yourself, what's your story, just give me a look at what makes you, you?
2) What are your study habits?
3) How did you prepare for the MCAT exam?
4) What is your favorite course?
5) Talk to me about your clinical experiences?
6) If you don't get accepted to medical school, what are your plans?
7)Talk about any specific courses you had problems with, and why you had problems with it.
8) Do you have any questions for me?

Make sure to ask lots of questions. It was not a tough interview and there were way more laughs than stressful moments. That could be due to the combination of me and the interviewer or just because of the questions asked.

They tell you at the end that there is about a 2-3 week wait for your process.

I asked them several questions:

1) What are you doing about the stigma associated with Caribbean US-IMGs coming back and not matching?
2) What is your current match rate?
3) Does your school offer financial aid at this time or are they in the process of obtaining a Title IV grant.
4) What is the worst thing about island life. (She said this was a great question).


If you have an interview in general you should prepare yourself. Look up the school, and scrutinize your own CV and clinical experiences and find your own holes so that when they do you're prepared to counter.

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If you're a canadian citizen, I would reconsider and apply to US MD /DO schools first before going abroad. Health Canada is making it more and more difficult for those who go abroad (including US schools), to be able to do residency in the US due to visa SON restrictions. A US based school is more preferable over other foreign schools, due to OPTI visa availability.
 
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If you're a canadian citizen, I would reconsider and apply to US MD /DO schools first before going abroad. Health Canada is making it more and more difficult for those who go abroad (including US schools), to be able to do residency in the US due to visa SON restrictions. A US based school is more preferable over other foreign schools, due to OPTI visa availability.

I'm a dual citizen. I think that helps?
 
What did she answer?

Perhaps this speaks to my ignorance as well... but how much truth can interviewers really give applicants for sensitive questions? I have a hard time believing that if I asked a challenging question that it would be met with a satisfactory response, let alone an honest one.
 
Perhaps this speaks to my ignorance as well... but how much truth can interviewers really give applicants for sensitive questions? I have a hard time believing that if I asked a challenging question that it would be met with a satisfactory response, let alone an honest one.
The match rate is a legitimate question that should have an evidence-based answer.
The stigma is so well recognized that it has ceased to be sensitive.
 
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OP didn't ask the right questions, anyways.


What should I ask?
What did she answer?

1) They are weeding out poor students during the admission process so that they aren't failing out during or after the program. They also have a joint program with a school in Florida (I forget which) where you can do all your clinical rotations there and receive a transcript from their institution (an American institution).
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"
 
1) They also have a joint program with a school in Florida (I forget which) where you can do all your clinical rotations there and receive a transcript from their institution (an American institution).
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"

You do realize that if her answer on #2 is exactly as you recall, it is a gross misrepresentation of both American schools and hers.
You really need to find out if an American medical school is "collaborating" in the way described. I'm willing to believe that some institution has a contract for services, but I'd be very interested to learn if it were an accredited medical school!
Was the interview recorded?
 
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What should I ask?


1) They are weeding out poor students during the admission process so that they aren't failing out during or after the program. They also have a joint program with a school in Florida (I forget which) where you can do all your clinical rotations there and receive a transcript from their institution (an American institution).
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"
U.S. medical schools have match rates over 99%.
 
There's lie #1.
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"

These people are paid to lie. I wouldn't trust anything she says.

A US MD or DO school with a 85% match rate would be hit with an immediate probation and they didn't fix that immediately, they'd be closed.

Did you ask her what's their current attrition rate for current students??????
 
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You do realize that if her answer on #2 is exactly as you recall, it is a gross misrepresentation of both American schools and hers.
You really need to find out if an American medical school is "collaborating" in the way described. I'm willing to believe that some institution has a contract for services, but I'd be very interested to learn if it were an accredited medical school!
Was the interview recorded?

I didn't record the interview. But I am 100% certain she said 85% was the match rate. I believe the contract school is FIU. http://www.auamed.org/academics/clinical-sciences/fiu-hwcom/

There's lie #1.
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"

These people are paid to lie. I wouldn't trust anything she says.

A US MD or DO school with a 85% match rate would be hit with an immediate probation and they didn't fix that immediately, they'd be closed.

Did you ask her what's their current attrition rate for current students??????

I agree. I know U.S. rates are much higher. I didn't ask her about the attrition rate. It was essentially implied to be at a high rate when I asked her about the stigma.
 
What should I ask?


1) They are weeding out poor students during the admission process so that they aren't failing out during or after the program. They also have a joint program with a school in Florida (I forget which) where you can do all your clinical rotations there and receive a transcript from their institution (an American institution).
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"

A small list:

Interest rates on the loans?

When are they getting student loans? They've been alluding to getting title IV 2+ years.

First time applicant match rate?

Number of people dismissed academically due to comp 79% requirement?

Number of 4th years in a holding pattern (or on leave) due to comp 79% requirement?

Average step 1 score?

Step 1 pass rate?

How will combining the match affect below average grads?

On-island support for students with learning disabilities or test-taking issues?

Healthcare on the island?

How much extra is the Florida program?

How much time does getting the paperwork approved for clinical rotations usually take?

How is the 85% figure arrived at?
 
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A small list:

Interest rates on the loans?

When are they getting student loans? They've been alluding to getting title IV 2+ years.

First time applicant match rate?

Number of people dismissed academically due to comp 79% requirement?

Number of 4th years in a holding pattern (or on leave) due to comp 79% requirement?

Average step 1 score?

Step 1 pass rate?

How will combining the match affect below average grads?

On-island support for students with learning disabilities or test-taking issues?

Healthcare on the island?

How much extra is the Florida program?

How much time does getting the paperwork approved for clinical rotations usually take?

How is the 85% figure arrived at?


Half of those questions I can find the answers my self on their website.

Healthcare is stated on the website. we talked about loans during the interview, they're a private loan only school at this point (and also see my title IV question). Also for offshore schools to get a title IV in under 10 years is hard apparently.

Your last 3 questions however are good ones.
 
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Half of those questions I can find the answers my self on their website.

Healthcare is stated on the website. we talked about loans during the interview, they're a private loan only school at this point (and also see my title IV question). Also for offshore schools to get a title IV in under 10 years is hard apparently.

Your last 3 questions however are good ones.

The half you can't find answers to are the most troubling.

Did she tell you people need a credit score above 775 to qualify for the best (6.99%) interest rate?

Did she tell you that loan payments are made while in school?

Did she tell you the loan company has an underwriting limit? For example: Someone who already has loans associated with an advanced degree may be left hanging. BTW, their alternate loans are underwritten by the same company.

The Comp issue is troubling many. Did she tell you how it is being addressed?
 
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I currently met an fresh ER attending, whom did his residency in the US, but did his medical school in the UK, and a bit of residency there before immigrating to the U.S. He said that it's still a huge stigma against carribean students, and especially compared to FMGs. He served on the residency selection committee at his mid sized centre, and they wouldn't even bother looking at IMGs, but had no problem with FMGs such as himself with prior training.
 
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Op, you do understand that fiu program doesn't give you a us degree right? You're still an img for the match and your diploma is Carribean. If that works for you, cool but make sure you understand it
 
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I just had an AUA interview with an awesome lady from AUA and I just wanted to share the questions that she asked me so students could have an idea of what to expect if they hope to attend here.

The interview was on SKYPE because I was unable to drive to NYC for the time slots that they wanted. They granted me a Skype-interview, apparently those are a case by case basis.

Just for information I have received offers already from other schools but I haven't accepted any as of yet.

These are the questions I was asked, and I tried to put them in order:

1) Tell me about yourself, what's your story, just give me a look at what makes you, you?
2) What are your study habits?
3) How did you prepare for the MCAT exam?
4) What is your favorite course?
5) Talk to me about your clinical experiences?
6) If you don't get accepted to medical school, what are your plans?
7)Talk about any specific courses you had problems with, and why you had problems with it.
8) Do you have any questions for me?

Make sure to ask lots of questions. It was not a tough interview and there were way more laughs than stressful moments. That could be due to the combination of me and the interviewer or just because of the questions asked.

They tell you at the end that there is about a 2-3 week wait for your process.

I asked them several questions:

1) What are you doing about the stigma associated with Caribbean US-IMGs coming back and not matching?
2) What is your current match rate?
3) Does your school offer financial aid at this time or are they in the process of obtaining a Title IV grant.
4) What is the worst thing about island life. (She said this was a great question).


If you have an interview in general you should prepare yourself. Look up the school, and scrutinize your own CV and clinical experiences and find your own holes so that when they do you're prepared to counter.
 
Did you get accepted? I am awaiting a response. I submitted all my info. I appreciate the information provided.
 
Did you get accepted? I am awaiting a response. I submitted all my info. I appreciate the information provided.
You'll get in.
Addendum: They accepted a guy in the nontrad forum with a 478 MCAT (and a 2.9 gpa). That's the 2nd percentile of people taking the test.
 
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Don't go to AUA. They are constantly changing their curriculum and setting up students to complete failure. I know of people who finished AUA but can't pass the comp, because the school changed their criteria. And Now they are making the med5s take incomparable in-house exams while prepping for step(which they didn't do before). Now students are cramming for amature inhouse exams when they should be utilizing their semester for prepping for step! Its ridiculous how this school hasn't been sued yet. So many people have failed the in house exams. once you fail that, you have to take comp, and if you don't pass comp (which you wont, because you didn't have time to study for it) then you have to repeat the entire semester. If you Pass comp, then you have only 2 months to take step, when prior students had a YEAR! absolute nonsense. They also changed their academics from kaplan to this no-name, becker.
 
You'll get in.
Addendum: They accepted a guy in the nontrad forum with a 478 MCAT (and a 2.9 gpa). That's the 2nd percentile of people taking the test.

I wouldn't jump the gun on that. I applied with much higher stats and got rejected actually.
 
I've actually seen worse applications than that admitted. If they have a screen, it's certainly not stats.

I know people at almost all of these schools and I will tell you that they do screen to some degree. I think I got rejected because I was coming from another school but even then some of my classmates got in and they had much higher grades than I did. SGU, I hear, looks at the last two years of course work and I can tell you they have six applicants for each seat so nobody is a shoe-in.

The school I went to doesn't screen at all so a lot of people get in who are lost and they just can't make it out.

The idea that they take just anybody might have been true maybe a decade ago but if you're applying to the top three maybe four, there are enough applicants that they will screen you out if you don't have reasonable stats. The lesser schools may take more people but I don't know who would be applying to a third-tier or lower school.
 
I know people at almost all of these schools and I will tell you that they do screen to some degree. I think I got rejected because I was coming from another school but even then some of my classmates got in and they had much higher grades than I did. SGU, I hear, looks at the last two years of course work and I can tell you they have six applicants for each seat so nobody is a shoe-in.

The school I went to doesn't screen at all so a lot of people get in who are lost and they just can't make it out.

The idea that they take just anybody might have been true maybe a decade ago but if you're applying to the top three maybe four, there are enough applicants that they will screen you out if you don't have reasonable stats. The lesser schools may take more people but I don't know who would be applying to a third-tier or lower school.
I can tell you with a high degree of scientific certainty that AUA has accepted people in the bottom 2% of people who took the MCAT. If they are using a screen, it would not appear to be a screen for academic prowess or fund of knowledge.
 
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I can tell you with a high degree of scientific certainty that AUA has accepted people in the bottom 2% of people who took the MCAT. If they are using a screen, it would not appear to be a screen for academic prowess or fund of knowledge.

AUA does not use the MCAT for screening purposes. Only SGU, Ross, and maybe AUC are doing that. The school I went to said "just take it."
 
As a recent medical graduate from AUA and having recently obtained residency in Massachusetts, I can honestly say that AUA is a very strong medical program. It is very correct to say that AUA does not discriminate students based on MCAT scores, based on the idea that the school screens students based on interpersonal skills (as seen in the interviews) and analyzing students' academic premed grades as well as any extra curricular activities (research, volunteer).

During my attendance at AUA I have noticed that the curriculum was geared towards preparing students' success for both USMLE steps 1 and 2. In addition, the school offers resources to ensure students are prepared even before starting rotations in various hospitals. The school has been accredited in various states in the US as well as in the Caribbean. These accreditations not only helped the school but also allowed students to rotate in hospitals of their choosing as well as applying in various specialties for residency.

Hope this helps.

You are welcome to private message me for more information.
 
With any Caribbean medical school, the most important piece of information the student needs is the number of clinical spots available. That's where you get cheated with these schools. If the school can say "we are taking 500 students and we guaranteed have 500 third year spots for those students" then it would be a better gamble. From experience some of these schools have like 20 spots per 100 students.
 
As a recent medical graduate from AUA and having recently obtained residency in Massachusetts, I can honestly say that AUA is a very strong medical program. It is very correct to say that AUA does not discriminate students based on MCAT scores, based on the idea that the school screens students based on interpersonal skills (as seen in the interviews) and analyzing students' academic premed grades as well as any extra curricular activities (research, volunteer).

During my attendance at AUA I have noticed that the curriculum was geared towards preparing students' success for both USMLE steps 1 and 2. In addition, the school offers resources to ensure students are prepared even before starting rotations in various hospitals. The school has been accredited in various states in the US as well as in the Caribbean. These accreditations not only helped the school but also allowed students to rotate in hospitals of their choosing as well as applying in various specialties for residency.

Hope this helps.

You are welcome to private message me for more information.
Hello,
Can u please tell me more about AUA
 
Hello, there I just became a member of this site.
I will like to know more about AUA , and since u have attended the school , u can give me more insight on how things work down there at the school
 
What should I ask?


1) They are weeding out poor students during the admission process so that they aren't failing out during or after the program. They also have a joint program with a school in Florida (I forget which) where you can do all your clinical rotations there and receive a transcript from their institution (an American institution).
2) 85% "on par with american medical schools"


HOLY STRAIGHT UP LIES BATMAN! They did not really tell you that you will be getting a transcript from a US school did they?!
 
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