Ross or Saba with family

[AshleyRodgers]

Hi,
I am new to the SDN though I've been reading posts for 4+ years. Anyway, I applied for the 2015 cycle to DO schools relieved 8/8 secondaries, sent back 2 and got no interviews. Fast forward, I now have 3 boys (4,2, and newborn) and at the advice of my Ob and friend I've applied to Ross and Saba. I've been granted an interview with Ross (9/29) and my admissions advisor from Saba said my stats look good and my profile will be given to the admissions committee tomorrow... So really I have a couple of questions.

1) I've read an interview with Ross is basically an acceptance, is this true?

2) anyone with kids, which island is better? More livable?

3) is it really impossible to get a residency? I would ideally prefer a community based Ob program.

4) pros and cons of either? Anyone currently living there-is it worth it?

5) those accepted what are your stats?

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[MarviM]

edit

 

[kcroyals16]

I was accepted to the Fall 2015 semester at Saba and went. I came back to the states a week and a half later. The island did not meet my already low expectations. The living conditions on Saba are really difficult. I suggest if you can be adaptable in that way, then go for it. My mom came to drop me off and said herself it was a depressing island. I had to be honest with myself...I didn't think I would be able to thrive in an environment like that and do as well as I would need to as a Caribbean student. 10 other students on the island returned home before I did, or at least what the taxi drivers told me. Maybe more. It was a really hard decision to make, one I had to make before a few deadlines so my loans wouldn't kick in. Lost 10% of my tuition for being there 10 days..including the weekend. Do your research.

Personally, it wasn't for me. But there are plenty of people who go there and succeed. I liked St. Martin better - as that was more Americanized and probably will be easier to adjust to. I decided to apply to AUC for the January or May semester, and then also take my MCAT again since I am also considering doing another cycle in the US.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Hi,
I am new to the SDN though I've been reading posts for 4+ years. Anyway, I applied for the 2015 cycle to DO schools relieved 8/8 secondaries, sent back 2 and got no interviews. Fast forward, I now have 3 boys (4,2, and newborn) and at the advice of my Ob and friend I've applied to Ross and Saba. I've been granted an interview with Ross (9/29) and my admissions advisor from Saba said my stats look good and my profile will be given to the admissions committee tomorrow... So really I have a couple of questions.

1) I've read an interview with Ross is basically an acceptance, is this true?

2) anyone with kids, which island is better? More livable?

3) is it really impossible to get a residency? I would ideally prefer a community based Ob program.

4) pros and cons of either? Anyone currently living there-is it worth it?

5) those accepted what are your stats?

I have to ask, why did you only send back 2 of 8 secondaries? Did you only apply to 8 schools?

Given that you have three young children, staying in the US would be a far better option for you than the Caribbean. If your grades are not ideal, there is grade replacement. If your MCAT is the problem, that can be worked on as well. You really need to make the best application to US schools that you can do before looking at the Caribbean. Once you go to the Caribbean, you have basically closed the doors on US medical schools. Don't close that door if you don't have to.

 

[Mad Jack]

You only returned two secondaries? Wtf... You also should have applied more broadly. If you want your children to have a high chance of growing up in poverty because you got the best 400k waste of paper money can buy, I'd say Ross.

 

[AshleyRodgers]

I have to ask, why did you only send back 2 of 8 secondaries? Did you only apply to 8 schools?

Given that you have three young children, staying in the US would be a far better option for you than the Caribbean. If your grades are not ideal, there is grade replacement. If your MCAT is the problem, that can be worked on as well. You really need to make the best application to US schools that you can do before looking at the Caribbean. Once you go to the Caribbean, you have basically closed the doors on US medical schools. Don't close that door if you don't have to.

I only applied to 8 schools yes. Mostly because I feel my mcat is not reflective of my GPA- 21 mcat 3.82c GPA ans 3.7 science. Mostly it's physical science that killed me. Anyway, I only sent back the secondaries that seemed the most viable in terms of acceptance and got no where.

If I wait for US schools I will be out until 2017 and then it will take me longer than I would like. If I go to a Caribbean school I can start as early as Januart-though o requested may .

 

[AshleyRodgers]

You only returned two secondaries? Wtf... You also should have applied more broadly. If you want your children to have a high chance of growing up in poverty because you got the best 400k waste of paper money can buy, I'd say Ross.

May I ask why you say 400k? Their tuition doesn't seem that high... Also a waste? I've heard they match relatively well. Is this incorrect?

 

[the argus]

May I ask why you say 400k? Their tuition doesn't seem that high... Also a waste? I've heard they match relatively well. Is this incorrect?

These are the vague scare tactics some people use on this forum instead of just presenting the information as honestly as they can. There are a handfull of people (Goro, MadJack, GynGyn, among others) who comment on this topic all the time, have strong personal bias, spew a lot of nonsense and really have no idea what they are talking about. I'm a recent graduate of Ross currently in my first year of residency. These are the honest facts as I see them, not trying to convince you one way or the other.

1. Ross' tuition right now stands ~200K, and this is without money for housing, travel, food, etc? With a family of 5, and assuming you have no other income, you will definitely be looking at 300-400K in loan debt by the end of 4 years.

2. Ross has a ~20% attrition rate, meaning that 1/5 people who start school will not finish. Basically all of this attrition occurs during the first 2 preclinical years. It is not random or unfair. The people that fail out do so because they can't hack it, and they would have also failed out of a US school.

3. For those that make it to graduation, the first-time match rate is 85-90% (88% this past year). This means that 10-15% of people with diplomas do not match the first year they apply. The vast majority of these people have a major red flag on their application (step failure, semester failure). Some of these people went for more competitive fields and will eventually match in the following years, some of these people will not.

4. The great majority of people from the Caribbean match in primary care specialties, meaning family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry. Some specialties are harder to match into but possible (EM, gen surg, anesthesia), some are basically off limits (ortho, ENT, ophtho). If you wouldn't be happy doing 1 of those primary care specialties, you shouldn't go to the Caribbean.

The moral is, you should definitely maximize your chances of going to a US school before going to the Caribbean. While an extra year or 2 seems like a long time now, it really isn't in the grand scheme of things. Once you have done that, then you can start thinking about the Caribbean. It is not nearly the bottomless pit some people on SDN would have you believe it is, but it does definitely come with some risks. People that pass all their semesters and steps on the first try do very well. People that fail either have a much tougher road. Hope this helps.

 

[FCMike11]

I only applied to 8 schools yes. Mostly because I feel my mcat is not reflective of my GPA- 21 mcat 3.82c GPA ans 3.7 science. Mostly it's physical science that killed me. Anyway, I only sent back the secondaries that seemed the most viable in terms of acceptance and got no where.

If I wait for US schools I will be out until 2017 and then it will take me longer than I would like. If I go to a Caribbean school I can start as early as Januart-though o requested may .

If you feel like it's not a decent representation of you - why not retake? Your GPA is great. 3 months of solid study time you could score a decent MCAT and have a high chance of attending school in the US.

 

[22031 Alum]

I only applied to 8 schools yes. Mostly because I feel my mcat is not reflective of my GPA- 21 mcat 3.82c GPA ans 3.7 science. Mostly it's physical science that killed me. Anyway, I only sent back the secondaries that seemed the most viable in terms of acceptance and got no where.

If I wait for US schools I will be out until 2017 and then it will take me longer than I would like. If I go to a Caribbean school I can start as early as Januart-though o requested may .

I haven't posted this in a while, so here goes- the MCAT is only the first of many standardized tests in medicine. And it's the easiest. Your score of 21 isn't reflective of your GPA- can you say why that's so? Until you work on whatever issue caused your low score, there's a good chance that you'd perform similarly on future standardized tests (if not on regular med school exams as well). And that will really, really hurt your chances of matching from ANY school, but particularly a Caribbean school. And matching into a residency is the only way you will work as a physician. So when you say that US schools will take you longer than you would like, think really hard about it. No school, Caribbean or US, is doing you a favor by accepting you with such an indicator of poor performance. Is taking the time, and putting in the work to improve now, really a waste compared to failing to match?? The cost will be a lot more then. Your children could end up suffering because of your impatience.

 

[AshleyRodgers]

These are the vague scare tactics some people use on this forum instead of just presenting the information as honestly as they can. There are a handfull of people (Goro, MadJack, GynGyn, among others) who comment on this topic all the time, have strong personal bias, spew a lot of nonsense and really have no idea what they are talking about. I'm a recent graduate of Ross currently in my first year of residency. These are the honest facts as I see them, not trying to convince you one way or the other.

1. Ross' tuition right now stands ~200K, and this is without money for housing, travel, food, etc? With a family of 5, and assuming you have no other income, you will definitely be looking at 300-400K in loan debt by the end of 4 years.

2. Ross has a ~20% attrition rate, meaning that 1/5 people who start school will not finish. Basically all of this attrition occurs during the first 2 preclinical years. It is not random or unfair. The people that fail out do so because they can't hack it, and they would have also failed out of a US school.

3. For those that make it to graduation, the first-time match rate is 85-90% (88% this past year). This means that 10-15% of people with diplomas do not match the first year they apply. The vast majority of these people have a major red flag on their application (step failure, semester failure). Some of these people went for more competitive fields and will eventually match in the following years, some of these people will not.

4. The great majority of people from the Caribbean match in primary care specialties, meaning family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry. Some specialties are harder to match into but possible (EM, gen surg, anesthesia), some are basically off limits (ortho, ENT, ophtho). If you wouldn't be happy doing 1 of those primary care specialties, you shouldn't go to the Caribbean.

The moral is, you should definitely maximize your chances of going to a US school before going to the Caribbean. While an extra year or 2 seems like a long time now, it really isn't in the grand scheme of things. Once you have done that, then you can start thinking about the Caribbean. It is not nearly the bottomless pit some people on SDN would have you believe it is, but it does definitely come with some risks. People that pass all their semesters and steps on the first try do very well. People that fail either have a much tougher road. Hope this helps.

Thank you for the way less aggressive and more honest reply. My husband would not work while we're on any island I assume, but he would work once we were stateside. Regarding match I read 53% us-img successfully match. Ob-Gyn is my goal for many personal reasons, is this an out of the question residency? Does it rank closer to anesthesia? I am 29 in a couple of months I would just like to get the ball rolling. Finally, if I may ask- is the island livable?

 

[AshleyRodgers]

If you feel like it's not a decent representation of you - why not retake? Your GPA is great. 3 months of solid study time you could score a decent MCAT and have a high chance of attending school in the US.

Part of it as a fear of failure, part is figuring I will be accepted to Ross and I won't be able to turn it down. What if it's my only chance... It's also the consideration of waiting until 2017

 

[FCMike11]

Part of it as a fear of failure, part is figuring I will be accepted to Ross and I won't be able to turn it down. What if it's my only chance... It's also the consideration of waiting until 2017

I understand that.

Just my perspective (I know you didn't really ask) : I have two children and a wife. I did consider carribbean (basically because of the percieved time I'd lose in the US application cycle- start sooner in the Carribbean). After the meticulous research I've done here, and the somewhat often posts from IMGs (carribbean) having trouble matching the risk is too great. I feel like this is especially true when we have a spouse & children counting on you. I will apply to PA school before I would take the risk of accumulating that amount of debt and not landing a residency spot.

I'm 25 (i saw your post you are 29)and I have looked at high school classmates or posters here that are matriculating at the age of 22 and felt a time crunch. But the flip is I have seen many career changers starting medical school in their mid 30s. Don't let anxiety of having to wait till 2017 stop you from doing the things that will maximize your opportunity to practice in the US.

 

[AshleyRodgers]

I haven't posted this in a while, so here goes- the MCAT is only the first of many standardized tests in medicine. And it's the easiest. Your score of 21 isn't reflective of your GPA- can you say why that's so? Until you work on whatever issue caused your low score, there's a good chance that you'd perform similarly on future standardized tests (if not on regular med school exams as well). And that will really, really hurt your chances of matching from ANY school, but particularly a Caribbean school. And matching into a residency is the only way you will work as a physician. So when you say that US schools will take you longer than you would like, think really hard about it. No school, Caribbean or US, is doing you a favor by accepting you with such an indicator of poor performance. Is taking the time, and putting in the work to improve now, really a waste compared to failing to match?? The cost will be a lot more then. Your children could end up suffering because of your impatience.

I do not feel it's representative of my abilities, my mcat day I found out I was expecting #3 which wasn't planned. In fairness I could try again, I just don't want to wait until 2017. Plus, I was missing Chem II when I took the mcat which probably didn't help.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

I only applied to 8 schools yes. Mostly because I feel my mcat is not reflective of my GPA- 21 mcat 3.82c GPA ans 3.7 science. Mostly it's physical science that killed me. Anyway, I only sent back the secondaries that seemed the most viable in terms of acceptance and got no where.

If I wait for US schools I will be out until 2017 and then it will take me longer than I would like. If I go to a Caribbean school I can start as early as Januart-though o requested may .

I have to echo what many people have said. You owe it to yourself and your family to have the best shot at a US school before going to the Caribbean. If that means taking an extra year or two before you get in, that's ok. You may think you are on the clock to get started, but as @Goro says, this is a marathon, not a sprint. You may save a year or two in the start, but many Caribbean students take longer than 4 years to finish and a significant number don't match. This delays their career on the backend, and you end up not saving any time.

My advice is to study for the MCAT. Take some courses if you need to, whatever it takes to improve that score. A 21 isn't going to cut it. When you do apply, you need to fill out every secondary the moment you get it. As well, you need to apply at the very beginning of the application season. You want to be ready when it opens to apply as schools have rolling admissions.

As you said, you think if you get accepted to Ross, that you won't be able to turn them down. And let's face it, you're likely to get accepted to Ross. But you can get accepted to Ross in 2 or 3 years as well if you try hard for a US school and just can't make it in.

You also have to consider the reality of your clinical rotations. You may have rotations across the country and be moving every month or two,having to find housing, and uprooting your family. How would your kids be able to do schooling like that? You would be left with them having a home in one location and you living elsewhere, at least part of the time. You really need to carefully and honestly think about this decision before you move forward with any Caribbean applications.

 

[22031 Alum]

I do not feel it's representative of my abilities, my mcat day I found out I was expecting #3 which wasn't planned. In fairness I could try again, I just don't want to wait until 2017. Plus, I was missing Chem II when I took the mcat which probably didn't help.

I believe you! But you have to prove that it's not representative of your abilities, by actually doing better. Until you do that, I have no reason to believe you'll get the scores that you'd need on later exams. I do have reason to believe that you'll either uproot your kids or have to be separated from them and end up with no job to show for it. And it makes me really sad to think you're willing to put them through that, but aren't willing to take one more year to give yourself -and them by extension- the best future possible.

 

[Goro]

OP, you're displaying behaviors (inability to delay gratification, poor choice making, poor research skills, and an inability to look before leaping) that the Carib diploma mills prey upon.

Are you comfortable of being deeply in debt and unemployed?

Take the time to repair your app and go to med school in the US. med schools aren't going anywhere.

Cue Argus to come in sputtering "but....but, NRMP!!"

Do NOT take a career deciding, high stakes exam unless you are 100% ready for it.

I do not feel it's representative of my abilities, my mcat day I found out I was expecting #3 which wasn't planned. In fairness I could try again, I just don't want to wait until 2017. Plus, I was missing Chem II when I took the mcat which probably didn't help.

 

[Mad Jack]

May I ask why you say 400k? Their tuition doesn't seem that high... Also a waste? I've heard they match relatively well. Is this incorrect?

$35,502 is their cost of attendance for one semester. Ross has 11 semseters total. Do the math Keep in mind, you are accruing 6.X% (and possibly FAR more, as interest rates will increase much higher in coming years) interest per year on much of your loans, and loans have an origination fee of over 1% charged immediately. As to their match rates- the match is going to get a LOT tighter by the time you are set to match, as roughly 6,000 new US graduates are set to enter the match in the next few years. This will likely squeeze out foreign grads the most, so Ross' match rates will likely drop dramatically.

http://www.rossu.edu/medical-school/admissions/Tuition-and-Fees.cfm
http://www.rossu.edu/medical-school...hool-Financial-Aid-Student-Loan-Estimator.cfm

One semester is at a discount- your fifth foundational semester, which runs $15,435 instead of $20,580. If you do the math (34885*5+35502*6-(20,580-15,435)) you end up with a total cost BEFORE INTEREST of $382,292. Have fun with that undischargeable loan balance and a far less than ideal chance of matching.

 

[the argus]

OP, you're displaying behaviors (inability to delay gratification, poor choice making, poor research skills, and an inability to look before leaping) that the Carib diploma mills prey upon.

Are you comfortable of being deeply in debt and unemployed?

Take the time to repair your app and go to med school in the US. med schools aren't going anywhere.

Cue Argus to come in sputtering "but....but, NRMP!!"

Do NOT take a career deciding, high stakes exam unless you are 100% ready for it.

It's funny your criticism of me is that I use stats and numbers to back up my assertions. Are you sure you're a scientist?

$35,502 is their cost of attendance for one semester. Ross has 11 semseters total. Do the math Keep in mind, you are accruing 6.X% (and possibly FAR more, as interest rates will increase much higher in coming years) interest per year on much of your loans, and loans have an origination fee of over 1% charged immediately. As to their match rates- the match is going to get a LOT tighter by the time you are set to match, as roughly 6,000 new US graduates are set to enter the match in the next few years. This will likely squeeze out foreign grads the most, so Ross' match rates will likely drop dramatically.

http://www.rossu.edu/medical-school/admissions/Tuition-and-Fees.cfm
http://www.rossu.edu/medical-school...hool-Financial-Aid-Student-Loan-Estimator.cfm

One semester is at a discount- your fifth foundational semester, which runs $15,435 instead of $20,580. If you do the math (34885*5+35502*6-(20,580-15,435)) you end up with a total cost BEFORE INTEREST of $382,292. Have fun with that undischargeable loan balance and a far less than ideal chance of matching.

Not sure where you're getting this 6,000 new graduates number. Oh wait, I think you might be sitting on it.

To the OP, these are the exact type of fear mongering, nonsense posts I was talking about. The only part that you should consider is the loan amount.

 

[22031 Alum]

Edit- Posted to quickly.

OP- please don't put yourself at a huge future disadvantage just because you're in a rush.

 

[Mad Jack]

It's funny your criticism of me is that I use stats and numbers to back up my assertions. Are you sure you're a scientist?

Not sure where you're getting this 6,000 new graduates number. Oh wait, I think you might be sitting on it.

To the OP, these are the exact type of fear mongering, nonsense posts I was talking about. The only part that you should consider is the loan amount.

There were 20,343 matriculants of US MD schools in 2014. There were 6,562 osteopathic matriculants in that same year. There were 5,031 osteopathic matriculants in 2010 and 18,665. That's 3209 additional students from the current match we have numbers for until now. Just last year, I believe there were 3 new DO branch campuses and 1 new osteopathic school for 2015. I know of at least one new MD school opening in 2016 (CUNY), but I could have sworn one opened in 2015. And this excludes class expansion. If op gets in next year, they'll have 3,209+whatever expansion happened in 2015+whatever expansion happened in 2016 to compete with. The 6,000 number came from a report some time ago that predicted 6,000 new US MD and DO grads by 2022, so it's a bit much, but still- there's a lot of new US students to compete with, and it's going to hurt the Carib more than anyone.

 

[the argus]

Edit- Posted to quickly.

OP- please don't put yourself at a huge future disadvantage just because you're in a rush.

Deep breath, relax. That was quite a rant you deleted. I was saying the only point they should consider from the posts I quoted was the loan amount.

I wrote a long detailed post already in this thread saying only go Caribbean after exhausting all other options, and also describing all the other pitfalls of the Caribbean.

This is exactly what I mean about you guys on this forum. Anyone who says anything other than "you're throwing your life away in the Caribbean" gets crucified. I don't say anything that controversial, and if you actually read my posts am certainly not a cheerleader for the Caribbean.

 

[DocBlin]

Dear OP (Ashley); I find your thoughts and rational faulty. 1st why only apply to 2 secondary DOs? Makes no sense, if you do not at least send the secondaries in you will/would NEVER know if just maybe you might have received an interview invite. 2nd Retake and restudy for the new MCAT! If you could improve from your 21 to a 28 (515 range) you would be in a DO maybe even low tier US MD school. Staying in US allows whether MD or DO >90% match rates. Once in Caribbean your potential match rates drops to 50% ranges or less. With a family in a 3rd world country (i.e. Ross or Saba) it also weighs in on their happiness and extra stress on 'you'. As med school is not enough of a stress. So your are 29 big deal. There are other ways to gain acceptances to DO/MD schools like a postbacc at a sponsored DO school. Things for Caribbean MD graduates are going to get even tougher in the match to residency. Rethink your options before making this decision. Understand there are great islands, personally I think AUC or SMU are best locations as to island life. Kind of like Miami Beach in concept. Just a few thought from an MD father whose son did it via SMU and succeeded (back in 2006 to 2010).

 

[the argus]

Thank you for the way less aggressive and more honest reply. My husband would not work while we're on any island I assume, but he would work once we were stateside. Regarding match I read 53% us-img successfully match. Ob-Gyn is my goal for many personal reasons, is this an out of the question residency? Does it rank closer to anesthesia? I am 29 in a couple of months I would just like to get the ball rolling. Finally, if I may ask- is the island livable?

1. Short answer, that 53% isn't a real number. The way it is calculated severely oversamples that 10-15% of unmatched people I referred to above. I've previously written a long explanation of where that 53% comes from, I'll post it below if you want to read it.

2. OBGYN falls into the more difficult but possible category. It's a hard specialty to gauge competitiveness because it's so unique and not that many people want to go into it. More so than other specialties, I think showing a genuine interest in the field is more important than where you come from. I would definitely ask yourself this question, would you be happy being a family medicine/internal medicine doc that specializes in women's health? If the answer is no, you should rethink going to the Caribbean.

3. Is it livable? Absolutely. Will you like living there? I have no idea. I loved my time on the island, but I'm probably in the minority with that opinion. It certainly isn't like living in the US. I knew people with families that loved the island, I also knew families that couldn't wait to leave.

I'll give you a perfect example of misinterpreted data used to make half-cocked arguments. This is from earlier in this thread.



This quote was liked by Goro/Lord_Vader/etc, and they're right, that 53% would be ****ing horrifying if it actually represented the chances of matching as a US-IMG, but it doesn't. And it doesn't take much detective work to understand why that number doesn't represent that. But people just throw it out there because it fits their argument, rather than actually understanding where it comes from. I'll put it all here so you don't even have to leave this thread.

If you look at the ECFMG report from 2013,
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uplo...tional-Medical-Graduates-Revised.PDF-File.pdf,
you will see that the average time since graduation for the unmatched cohort of US-IMGs is 5.7 years.

When people say "match rate", they usually mean the chances of a recent graduate who is in the match for the first time. This is exemplified by the fact that the NRMP data reports actually breaks up US allopathic applicants into US seniors vs. US grad.

But when quoting that 53% you are not actually describing US-IMGs in the match for the first time, you are describing all US-IMGs in the match regardless of how many times they have applied. The NRMP data reports don't differentiate US-IMG senior vs US-IMG grad. There is without a doubt a percentage (~10%) of US-IMGs that manage to graduate from school, but are poor applicants (semester failures, step failures, etc) and are not able to ever match. This small yearly cohort continues to apply every year, builds up over time (hence the 5.7 years above), and drastically skews the US-IMG "match rate".

If you want to include those reapplicants when describing true US-IMG "match rates", then you also have to include all the applicants from those previous years that did successfully match. If you don't do this (like the NRMP data reports), you are way oversampling the poor applicant/unmatched cohort. The NRMP does actually recognize this because they split US allopathic applicants into those 2 groups, they just don't do it for IMGs for some reason.

People try to say the US MD vs US-IMG match rates are 94% vs 53%, which is in fact comparing 2 completely different data sets. The yearly match rates for NRMP defined US grads (i.e. non-matched applicants from previous years) are actually 40-50%, showing that poor applicants, regardless of where they come from, do not do very well in the match.

The first-time match rate for the big 3 caribbean medical schools is between 80-90%. Granted this does not take into account students lost to attrition before graduation, which is no doubt substantial.

But when people say caribbean grads have a ~50% chance of matching, they are grossly misinterpreting the data.

 

[Trogghunter]

Hi,
I am new to the SDN though I've been reading posts for 4+ years. Anyway, I applied for the 2015 cycle to DO schools relieved 8/8 secondaries, sent back 2 and got no interviews. Fast forward, I now have 3 boys (4,2, and newborn) and at the advice of my Ob and friend I've applied to Ross and Saba. I've been granted an interview with Ross (9/29) and my admissions advisor from Saba said my stats look good and my profile will be given to the admissions committee tomorrow... So really I have a couple of questions.

1) I've read an interview with Ross is basically an acceptance, is this true?

2) anyone with kids, which island is better? More livable?

3) is it really impossible to get a residency? I would ideally prefer a community based Ob program.

4) pros and cons of either? Anyone currently living there-is it worth it?

5) those accepted what are your stats?

DO NOT go to the Caribbean. Don't even go to med school... your priorities lie in fostering the development of your young kids. Your oldest will barely know you during those crucial development stages in his life and the others will follow suit. You're going to spend 4 years studying and minimum of 3 in residency. I am 5.5 years into that process and I can't even find time to get a dog, let alone water my herb garden regularly.

You're in a different situation and it's just not what's best for your family. My mom is a FMG MD bc we immigrated and she put her career on hold because she had to raise us when we moved here...she couldn't even study for usmle while we were younger, but she made those sacrifices for us and now her kids are doctors. She eventually did take the usmles, passed them all, but didn't match bc she was so far out...she was an attending in peds where we are from. Flip that to another family who did the opposite, who we know... their dad was an attending overseas, moved here, and just trying to support them and study for usmle and then going through residency... that estranged him from his kids and they barely spend time with him now... and they had a good life, monetarily. PA school on the other hand is 2 years and much better for your family.

Don't do this to your boys, they need a mom.

 

[AshleyRodgers]

Dear OP (Ashley); I find your thoughts and rational faulty. 1st why only apply to 2 secondary DOs? Makes no sense, if you do not at least send the secondaries in you will/would NEVER know if just maybe you might have received an interview invite. 2nd Retake and restudy for the new MCAT! If you could improve from your 21 to a 28 (515 range) you would be in a DO maybe even low tier US MD school. Staying in US allows whether MD or DO >90% match rates. Once in Caribbean your potential match rates drops to 50% ranges or less. With a family in a 3rd world country (i.e. Ross or Saba) it also weighs in on their happiness and extra stress on 'you'. As med school is not enough of a stress. So your are 29 big deal. There are other ways to gain acceptances to DO/MD schools like a postbacc at a sponsored DO school. Things for Caribbean MD graduates are going to get even tougher in the match to residency. Rethink your options before making this decision. Understand there are great islands, personally I think AUC or SMU are best locations as to island life. Kind of like Miami Beach in concept. Just a few thought from an MD father whose son did it via SMU and succeeded (back in 2006 to 2010).

Thank you.

 

[ejoelh]

,,,

 

[AshleyRodgers]

As someone who graduated from a Carib school now on my 3rd match my advise is, please reconsider staying in the US. It's really tough and only getting tougher. There's no safety net for us. Also it would help your peace of mind if you focus on what's currently in front of you than thinking about residency.

That's so terrible. I'm sorry. Was it one of the big 4? Best of luck to you!

 

[ejoelh]

,,,

 

[gyngyn]

Ob Gyn completed filled in the Match last year. There were no leftover spots for SOAPers.

 

[jakeislove]

I wouldn't take kids to the Caribbean.

 

[the argus]

There were 20,343 matriculants of US MD schools in 2014. There were 6,562 osteopathic matriculants in that same year. There were 5,031 osteopathic matriculants in 2010 and 18,665. That's 3209 additional students from the current match we have numbers for until now. Just last year, I believe there were 3 new DO branch campuses and 1 new osteopathic school for 2015. I know of at least one new MD school opening in 2016 (CUNY), but I could have sworn one opened in 2015. And this excludes class expansion. If op gets in next year, they'll have 3,209+whatever expansion happened in 2015+whatever expansion happened in 2016 to compete with. The 6,000 number came from a report some time ago that predicted 6,000 new US MD and DO grads by 2022, so it's a bit much, but still- there's a lot of new US students to compete with, and it's going to hurt the Carib more than anyone.

If we are gonna use numbers, lets at least make them appropriate. The numbers you use are worthless. We have more recent data. Why are you using old data? Probably because it makes things seem more dramatic. Who cares if it is accurate, right? Still shocked at the inability of people on this forum to competently interpret simple data.
http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2011-14-matprofilereport.pdf?sfvrsn=4
https://www.aamc.org/download/321494/data/factstable17.pdf

~6300 IMGs matched through the NRMP in 2015. The 2011 (not sure why you are using numbers from 2010) 1st year matriculation numbers were USMD 19,230 and DO 5363. That's a grand total of 24,593 AMGs who potentially applied for the match this year, and 6300 IMGs matched.

The 2014 first year AMG matriculant numbers are USMD 20,343 and DO 6465, for a grand total of 26,808. Thats an increase of 2,215 from 2011 to 2014 over 4 years.

The average yearly increase in PGY1 positions through the NRMP is ~500 (not counting 2012 to 2013 and the institution of the all-in policy). So over 4 years, we can expect ~2000 new positions to be created in the NRMP.

Additional schools opening increase AMG enrollment by hundreds, not thousands. Pre-existing schools are not increasing their class sizes that dramatically, adding only a couple hundred positions a year total. These increases basically just offset the yearly increase in PGY1 positions.

So if you actually look at the data, you will see that AMG enrollment is actually increasing at approximately the same rate as the yearly increase in PGY1 positions through the NRMP. In 2018, ~6000 IMGs will match, just like they did this year. Additional AMG expansion in 2015/2016 is not going to be anywhere near an amount that will significantly change the number of IMGs that match in 2020.

Stop the fear mongering please. Knowledge will set you free.

 

[NewHorizons]

If we are gonna use numbers, lets at least make them appropriate. The numbers you use are worthless. We have more recent data. Why are you using old data? Probably because it makes things seem more dramatic. Who cares if it is accurate, right? Still shocked at the inability of people on this forum to competently interpret simple data.
http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/data-and-trends/2011-14-matprofilereport.pdf?sfvrsn=4
https://www.aamc.org/download/321494/data/factstable17.pdf

~6300 IMGs matched through the NRMP in 2015. The 2011 (not sure why you are using numbers from 2010) 1st year matriculation numbers were USMD 19,230 and DO 5363. That's a grand total of 24,593 AMGs who potentially applied for the match this year, and 6300 IMGs matched.

The 2014 first year AMG matriculant numbers are USMD 20,343 and DO 6465, for a grand total of 26,808. Thats an increase of 2,215 from 2011 to 2014 over 4 years.

The average yearly increase in PGY1 positions through the NRMP is ~500 (not counting 2012 to 2013 and the institution of the all-in policy). So over 4 years, we can expect ~2000 new positions to be created in the NRMP.

Additional schools opening increase AMG enrollment by hundreds, not thousands. Pre-existing schools are not increasing their class sizes that dramatically, adding only a couple hundred positions a year total. These increases basically just offset the yearly increase in PGY1 positions.

So if you actually look at the data, you will see that AMG enrollment is actually increasing at approximately the same rate as the yearly increase in PGY1 positions through the NRMP. In 2018, ~6000 IMGs will match, just like they did this year. Additional AMG expansion in 2015/2016 is not going to be anywhere near an amount that will significantly change the number of IMGs that match in 2020.

Stop the fear mongering please. Knowledge will set you free.

If the trend is that AMG enrollment is increasing at similar rates to the PGY positions available, combined with the potential for more IMG attempting to come back... that's still not very comforting news for future IMGs.

 

[doctorleospaceman]

Dear OP (Ashley); I find your thoughts and rational faulty. 1st why only apply to 2 secondary DOs? Makes no sense, if you do not at least send the secondaries in you will/would NEVER know if just maybe you might have received an interview invite. 2nd Retake and restudy for the new MCAT! If you could improve from your 21 to a 28 (515 range) you would be in a DO maybe even low tier US MD school. Staying in US allows whether MD or DO >90% match rates. Once in Caribbean your potential match rates drops to 50% ranges or less. With a family in a 3rd world country (i.e. Ross or Saba) it also weighs in on their happiness and extra stress on 'you'. As med school is not enough of a stress. So your are 29 big deal. There are other ways to gain acceptances to DO/MD schools like a postbacc at a sponsored DO school. Things for Caribbean MD graduates are going to get even tougher in the match to residency. Rethink your options before making this decision. Understand there are great islands, personally I think AUC or SMU are best locations as to island life. Kind of like Miami Beach in concept. Just a few thought from an MD father whose son did it via SMU and succeeded (back in 2006 to 2010).

Last time I checked, a 515 was not the new 28

You'd need a 505+ on the new MCAT given your solid GPA assuming everything else is in order. Assuming you're serious you should be able to score that well with some work.

 

[Ceusina]

Reading this story made me very, very nervous for you and your family. I don't think you fully grasp the realities of medical school and the challenges you face by going the Caribbean route. Some of your questions (ie. how competitive is Ob/gyn, is the island livable) indicate your lack of research and preparedness. I strongly suggest you do a lot more investigating. I'm all for people pursuing their dreams, but they should be pursued with purpose and proper education, not with such a lackadaisical attitude (especially when your decisions impact your family so significantly).

I'm also a mom (but only to one child), currently applying for residency as a US medical student. I cannot fathom the nearly insurmountable barriers you'd have to overcome to make it out of a Caribbean medical school with your family intact and a residency to show for it. A couple ideas/questions:

1. How would your children receive their education? Your 4 year-old, if in the states, would be enrolled in Pre-K and Kindergarten, possibly 1st grade, during your first two years of medical school. Can the Caribbean provide him with any formal (and acceptable) education? And your current 2 year-old, if still in the states, would probably be enrolled in preschool. While not as important as 1st grade, I still think it's an important start to formal education. Although your newborn wouldn't necessarily be enrolled in formal education, what about basic socialization? Are there going to be other newborns/toddlers for you youngest son to spend time with?

2. Is your husband prepared to be, for all intents and purposes, a single Dad while you're in medical school? Sure, during the first two years you'll have some free time, but you'll also have an enormous amount of studying to do. It's next to impossible to study with kids running around, which I'm sure you're aware of. Your 3rd year schedule, and the beginning of your 4th year, will be even worse. You'll be at the hospital all day and then you'll have to study at night. Trying to squeeze in time to spend with your kids is extraordinarily difficult to do during some clerkships (surgery and ob/gyn especially). Assuming you're back in the states by this point, would your husband be able to handle a full-time job + raising three kids with little assistance from you?

3. How will you handle the potentially monthly moves required during 3rd/4th year rotations, as well as during interview season? It's widely known that Caribbean schools don't have the same clerkship infrastructure/stability proved by US medical schools (MD and DO). It would be physically impossible to uproot your entire family every month. You'd likely be spending a portion of your clinical years away from your family. Can you really imagine doing that? Can your husband?

4. Like others have said, are you really dead-set on Ob/gyn? If you're going the Caribbean route, I think you HAVE to be "ok" with IM/family med. These are your most likely options to ensure a successful match (sure you could apply to ob/gyn too, but a necessarily back-up plan would be IM or family med... maybe peds or psych, not sure about those two). Also, ob/gyn is one of the least "family-friendly" residencies. Are you really going to be able to work 80 hours a week and raise three kids?!

You'd be facing an extremely steep, uphill battle to survive medical school even a US medical student. As a mom to only one child (and a husband that lived 400 miles away for my first two years of medical school), I felt overwhelmed/stressed/not the greatest mother for 90% of medical school. How anyone could do it with three children bewilders me. I also had the "luxury" of several things that you won't have: I had a very stable first two years of medical school and only had to move myself and my son a couple 100 miles (not thousands) away from the farthest family, I had all of my 3rd year and will have all of my 4th year rotations within the same hospital network (and most are even at the same hospital), and most importantly, a 90%+ chance at matching.

I realize I wrote a mini-novel as my response. Your post really struck a nerve and I felt compelled to respond. Ultimately, I wish you and your family the best of luck. I sincerely hope you re-take the MCAT and apply to only US medical schools (and gain an acceptance if that's what you still desire). Your GPA indicates you're capable of succeeding, but you need an MCAT score to substantiate that GPA.

 

[NewHorizons]

Reading this story made me very, very nervous for you and your family. I don't think you fully grasp the realities of medical school and the challenges you face by going the Caribbean route. Some of your questions (ie. how competitive is Ob/gyn, is the island livable) indicate your lack of research and preparedness. I strongly suggest you do a lot more investigating. I'm all for people pursuing their dreams, but they should be pursued with purpose and proper education, not with such a lackadaisical attitude (especially when your decisions impact your family so significantly).

I'm also a mom (but only to one child), currently applying for residency as a US medical student. I cannot fathom the nearly insurmountable barriers you'd have to overcome to make it out of a Caribbean medical school with your family intact and a residency to show for it. A couple ideas/questions:

1. How would your children receive their education? Your 4 year-old, if in the states, would be enrolled in Pre-K and Kindergarten, possibly 1st grade, during your first two years of medical school. Can the Caribbean provide him with any formal (and acceptable) education? And your current 2 year-old, if still in the states, would probably be enrolled in preschool. While not as important as 1st grade, I still think it's an important start to formal education. Although your newborn wouldn't necessarily be enrolled in formal education, what about basic socialization? Are there going to be other newborns/toddlers for you youngest son to spend time with?

2. Is your husband prepared to be, for all intents and purposes, a single Dad while you're in medical school? Sure, during the first two years you'll have some free time, but you'll also have an enormous amount of studying to do. It's next to impossible to study with kids running around, which I'm sure you're aware of. Your 3rd year schedule, and the beginning of your 4th year, will be even worse. You'll be at the hospital all day and then you'll have to study at night. Trying to squeeze in time to spend with your kids is extraordinarily difficult to do during some clerkships (surgery and ob/gyn especially). Assuming you're back in the states by this point, would your husband be able to handle a full-time job + raising three kids with little assistance from you?

3. How will you handle the potentially monthly moves required during 3rd/4th year rotations, as well as during interview season? It's widely known that Caribbean schools don't have the same clerkship infrastructure/stability proved by US medical schools (MD and DO). It would be physically impossible to uproot your entire family every month. You'd likely be spending a portion of your clinical years away from your family. Can you really imagine doing that? Can your husband?

4. Like others have said, are you really dead-set on Ob/gyn? If you're going the Caribbean route, I think you HAVE to be "ok" with IM/family med. These are your most likely options to ensure a successful match (sure you could apply to ob/gyn too, but a necessarily back-up plan would be IM or family med... maybe peds or psych, not sure about those two). Also, ob/gyn is one of the least "family-friendly" residencies. Are you really going to be able to work 80 hours a week and raise three kids?!

You'd be facing an extremely steep, uphill battle to survive medical school even a US medical student. As a mom to only one child (and a husband that lived 400 miles away for my first two years of medical school), I felt overwhelmed/stressed/not the greatest mother for 90% of medical school. How anyone could do it with three children bewilders me. I also had the "luxury" of several things that you won't have: I had a very stable first two years of medical school and only had to move myself and my son a couple 100 miles (not thousands) away from the farthest family, I had all of my 3rd year and will have all of my 4th year rotations within the same hospital network (and most are even at the same hospital), and most importantly, a 90%+ chance at matching.

I realize I wrote a mini-novel as my response. Your post really struck a nerve and I felt compelled to respond. Ultimately, I wish you and your family the best of luck. I sincerely hope you re-take the MCAT and apply to only US medical schools (and gain an acceptance if that's what you still desire). Your GPA indicates you're capable of succeeding, but you need an MCAT score to substantiate that GPA.

This is stellar advice for any would be parent pursuing medicine as a US or Caribbean graduate. At the very least it gave me more to think about.

Thanks for your contributions from the North.

 

[AshleyRodgers]

Ob Gyn completed filled in the Match last year. There were no leftover spots for SOAPers.

I saw OB matched completely, but did notice there was some US-IMG that matched OB. I appreciate your input considering it's obviously your specialty. Thanks

 

[gyngyn]

I saw OB matched completely, but did notice there was some US-IMG that matched OB. I appreciate your input considering it's obviously your specialty. Thanks

It can happen.
I mention this because this is the first year in the history of the match that every Ob position filled, leaving good candidates without a spot. If OBG is what you are interested in, a DO school would be a far better choice.

There is also the possibility of matching in FM at a location in which OB is emphasized or doing an Ob fellowship after FM.

 

[Ms. Medic]

Hello AshleyRodgers,

I was actually just talking today with a RUSM friend about attending Ross with family in tow. He said that students do indeed take their families to Dominica. He mentioned that there are even single moms there as students (4 semester track), so there must be childcare near campus (I'm assuming).

There are videos on youtube that show the campus and the area.This is one from 2011, and a good one to start with:



If you haven't seen the youtube videos already, I would take a few minutes to check them out.

Good luck with your decision and endeavors!

 

[cassis_Cake]

Good luck! If it's your dream and you want to follow that path, go for it! It will be very difficult with husband and kids, especially with 3. Also, more than anything, how do you gauge your ability to do well in rigorous courses of medical school? how about step 1 and step 2? Have you done anything else lately that is even as remotely time consuming as medical school? (I would recommend studying for the mcat and retaking it. It will best answer all of the above questions) However, if you already feel confident about all these things then go for it, I hope you the very best.

 

[fhq691]

Hey Ashley, I am a current RossU student. I recently left the island and I can certainly help answer your questions. I think some people gave great advice regarding retaking the MCAT and applying again in the states. You have a great GPA and I don't see why you would have any trouble getting into DO or even some MD schools if you improved your MCAT score. There are many misconceptions and false information about Ross and Caribbean schools in general. With all due to respect to some of the posters above, but many of their information is very outdated and simply false about Ross right now. For example, You don't have to move during your 3rd year anymore. Ross has 20 different clinical tracks for 3rd year cores and several of those tracks have the option of completing 4th year electives as well. A great example of that is the South florida track where you can complete 3rd and 4th year there. Also, the island is definitely livable and there many families there. There is a school on campus that includes a daycare, pre-k, and an elementary school as well. The school is on campus and run by the school with elementary school being taught and managed by American teachers. Also, Ross is only 10 semesters. 4 in the accelerated track or 5 if you choose to do the curriculum track which is a bit slower. The great majority of people do the accelerated track and don't recommend the curriculum. However if you prefer to do the slower track then you will be given a discount on tuition of the fifth semester. Several of my female classmates had families and some were even pregnant during medical school. The majority of students with families tend to do better on average than single students. I know of students with 4 or 5 kids with them and they excelled during the first two years and ended up doing really well on step 1. Having a family down there is not crazy! I can't speak for Saba or SGU.

I am currently studying for Step 1 so I am fresh off the island and I can provide information and help answer any questions you may have about the island and Ross in general. Good Luck!

 

[AshleyRodgers]

Hello AshleyRodgers,

I was actually just talking today with a RUSM friend about attending Ross with family in tow. He said that students do indeed take their families to Dominica. He mentioned that there are even single moms there as students (4 semester track), so there must be childcare near campus (I'm assuming).

There are videos on youtube that show the campus and the area.This is one from 2011, and a good one to start with:



If you haven't seen the youtube videos already, I would take a few minutes to check them out.

Good luck with your decision and endeavors!

Sorry I am so delayed getting back here to check. Thank you for posting!

 

[psychMDhopefully]

Sorry I am so delayed getting back here to check. Thank you for posting!

What did you end up doing? I'm curious now. Now I see why attendings hangout here, you can actually save more lives here than in the hospital. Stopping a med student from being taken advantage of by Carib schools is saving a life.

 

[AshleyRodgers]

What did you end up doing? I'm curious now. Now I see why attendings hangout here, you can actually save more lives here than in the hospital. Stopping a med student from being taken advantage of by Carib schools is saving a life.

Well, I applied and was accepted to Saba and Ross both (and SGU for that matter).I paid all deposits at Ross and then for fitted my seat. I retook the MCAT on 1/22 and I'm hopeful it will yield the score I need to feel comfortable applying USMD. I decided while Ross could probably provide me the opportunity to live out my dream being employed as a physician is more important than the MD behind my name. I'm still hoping to match OB down the road in 2021 when I'll graduate :/ anyway, I'll be entering the 2017 cycle and plan to apply basically everywhere, I'm confident that if interviewed I'll get a spot... The interview will be my unicorn.

 

[Ericslv]

These are the vague scare tactics some people use on this forum instead of just presenting the information as honestly as they can. There are a handfull of people (Goro, MadJack, GynGyn, among others) who comment on this topic all the time, have strong personal bias, spew a lot of nonsense and really have no idea what they are talking about. I'm a recent graduate of Ross currently in my first year of residency. These are the honest facts as I see them, not trying to convince you one way or the other.

1. Ross' tuition right now stands ~200K, and this is without money for housing, travel, food, etc? With a family of 5, and assuming you have no other income, you will definitely be looking at 300-400K in loan debt by the end of 4 years.

2. Ross has a ~20% attrition rate, meaning that 1/5 people who start school will not finish. Basically all of this attrition occurs during the first 2 preclinical years. It is not random or unfair. The people that fail out do so because they can't hack it, and they would have also failed out of a US school.

3. For those that make it to graduation, the first-time match rate is 85-90% (88% this past year). This means that 10-15% of people with diplomas do not match the first year they apply. The vast majority of these people have a major red flag on their application (step failure, semester failure). Some of these people went for more competitive fields and will eventually match in the following years, some of these people will not.

4. The great majority of people from the Caribbean match in primary care specialties, meaning family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry. Some specialties are harder to match into but possible (EM, gen surg, anesthesia), some are basically off limits (ortho, ENT, ophtho). If you wouldn't be happy doing 1 of those primary care specialties, you shouldn't go to the Caribbean.

The moral is, you should definitely maximize your chances of going to a US school before going to the Caribbean. While an extra year or 2 seems like a long time now, it really isn't in the grand scheme of things. Once you have done that, then you can start thinking about the Caribbean. It is not nearly the bottomless pit some people on SDN would have you believe it is, but it does definitely come with some risks. People that pass all their semesters and steps on the first try do very well. People that fail either have a much tougher road. Hope this helps.

I would like to add some math to this equation.

Lets say you were frugal and you only went into debt for 300K. Lets add some interest to it until you finish residency. Now it's around 350K.

At this point you have to ask yourself if you will be a good enough student and if the stars will line up right so you can get the residency you want. OB/GYN.

If you do you will make anywhere from 250K to 400K for example. Maybe more. After taxes that's around 180 to 280 or so (not exact). A 350K student loan comes with a payment of 2 to 3000 per month. If you bought a house for say 400K that would be another 3 grand and the rest has to go toward saving for retirement and life. It is estimated that you should put about 20 to 25% of earning into retirement before you do anything else.

I guessing you are going to want to save for college for the kids. So figure that into the equation.

If you were not able to get into OB and got into family medicine and did an OB felowship so you could do some ob AND got a job in a rural area so you were ALLOWED to do OB then you may make 250K.

I'm not trying to scare you. But you should know the math.

It can be done. Ross and Saba are on an island. You will be on small island for 2 years. Then you may have to move from state to state to do you clinical rotations.
Some people love the place. It is a beautiful island when you have the time to explore it. Most of the time you will not have that time.

 

[psychMDhopefully]

Well, I applied and was accepted to Saba and Ross both (and SGU for that matter).I paid all deposits at Ross and then for fitted my seat. I retook the MCAT on 1/22 and I'm hopeful it will yield the score I need to feel comfortable applying USMD. I decided while Ross could probably provide me the opportunity to live out my dream being employed as a physician is more important than the MD behind my name. I'm still hoping to match OB down the road in 2021 when I'll graduate :/ anyway, I'll be entering the 2017 cycle and plan to apply basically everywhere, I'm confident that if interviewed I'll get a spot... The interview will be my unicorn.

How long did you study for the MCAT? What resources did you use? Doing well on the MCAT is all a matter of studying the right way. Especially for the PS section, the Berkeley Review books saved my life for PS. Like Goro said a lot of this process is doing independent research on what are the best resources, the best ways to study, the best schools to apply to etc. Never take the word of only one person. You have to be proactive in finding things out. If you get a 24-28 on the MCAT, there are DO schools SOMEWHERE that will accept you. Look at the school averages and apply to places where your MCAT score is around the average MCAT score for that school. If you score 29+ with your GPA you have a good shot at MD schools, apply broadly and return all secondary apps. GPA and MCAT are only two parts of the app though, if your PS is " I wanna save lives and make lots of money" you pretty much just shot yourself; but this place is a good resource for personal statements, LORs, filling out AMCAS AACOMAS with extracurriculars etc,etc.

 

[ThoracicGuy]

Well, I applied and was accepted to Saba and Ross both (and SGU for that matter).I paid all deposits at Ross and then for fitted my seat. I retook the MCAT on 1/22 and I'm hopeful it will yield the score I need to feel comfortable applying USMD. I decided while Ross could probably provide me the opportunity to live out my dream being employed as a physician is more important than the MD behind my name. I'm still hoping to match OB down the road in 2021 when I'll graduate :/ anyway, I'll be entering the 2017 cycle and plan to apply basically everywhere, I'm confident that if interviewed I'll get a spot... The interview will be my unicorn.

I still must warn you about proceeding down this path. Take the time, make you application as good as possible and go for USMD/DO schools. Ross is a huge risk (as are all the other Caribbean schools), especially with three young kids. The process is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time and do it right. You can ALWAYS get into a Caribbean school later if you must.

 

[WonderBoy]

Well, I applied and was accepted to Saba and Ross both (and SGU for that matter).I paid all deposits at Ross and then for fitted my seat. I retook the MCAT on 1/22 and I'm hopeful it will yield the score I need to feel comfortable applying USMD. I decided while Ross could probably provide me the opportunity to live out my dream being employed as a physician is more important than the MD behind my name. I'm still hoping to match OB down the road in 2021 when I'll graduate :/ anyway, I'll be entering the 2017 cycle and plan to apply basically everywhere, I'm confident that if interviewed I'll get a spot... The interview will be my unicorn.

I would seriously advice you to wait and improve your MCAT score. Apply to more DO schools in the next round once you MCAT score comes out on 1/22. There are a lot of more DO schools opening up, I would try for a newer one. These are far better options than going down the path you are current set on. You can get OB via DO schools, I would think seriously and research furiously before you go down to a Caribbean school. The path is much each more tolerable if you are able to get into a DO/US MD school. Good luck!

 

[petyr_baelish]

Sweet baby Jesus do not go to the Caribbean. I worked with a 34 year old unmatched scribe and it was so depressing to hear her talk about the experience. She went through a period of contemplating suicide. Her next move is to leave the country and retrain as a primary school teacher because she can't find decent work in or outside of medicine now. I got the impression she was planning to go AWOL on the federal debt.

 

[W19]

It can happen.
I mention this because this is the first year in the history of the match that every Ob position filled, leaving good candidates without a spot. If OBG is what you are interested in, a DO school would be a far better choice.

There is also the possibility of matching in FM at a location in which OB is emphasized or doing an Ob fellowship after FM.

Can these FM docs with OB fellowship be BC?