Why do you believe you failed? Were you partying too hard, or were the academics just too difficult?
There is a multitude of reasons why students fail. But it can be boiled down to a few
1.
Not being able to adapt to the pace and rigors of medical school &
unable to find which study method works for them. Yes, med school is hard, but you need to be adaptable and flexible. I've seen students who keep trying their "method" and want to make it work. They're too stubborn to change things, and by the time they want to, it's too late. Also, they won't give up their pride or ego to get the help they need.
Finding a study method is critical and a lot of students aren't able to do that fast enough especially in Semester 1. This is why there's such a high attrition rate during the first semester. We've seen numbers of upward of 40-50% of the class failing. A lot of this is trial and error and you need to figure it out fast or else you're done. Sure, you can scrape by if you haven't found it yet but each subsequent semester will just get harder and harder. It truly never gets easier.
2.
Not studying enough/efficiently. This is kinda related to the first one, but I feel like it needs its own category. The saying where med school is like drinking out of a fire hydrant is so true. They throw a lot at you at once. Every exam you take feels like a college final. Imagine how hard the final is. You need to know what will be tested and what won't. You don't have time to go through every single detail on every single slide. After a while, you know how these professors like to ask their questions. For you to be successful, it requires you to already have a studying method that works for you. If you can't, then you'll be left behind. No one is gonna wait for you.
3.
Arrogance/Cocky: So, it's known that many of these Caribbean schools enroll a lot of students, but there's a conditional acceptance where you need to pass this 3 month program of anatomy, biology, etc before you are fully accepted. Most of the time, you have to do this 1 semester before your intended start date. At
Ross/AUC, it's called Medical Education Readiness Program (
MERP) and at
SGU, it's called the Charter Foundation Program (
CFP). I think you also gotta pay for this program too. There are a lot of students who believe these programs have "fully" prepared them to outperform those who didn't do it. It's true that they have a slight head start on how to study, but once students figure it out, you have no real advantage. Plus, the real semester/term is way harder than what is taught in these programs. They pride themselves in it and believe it's an advantage when in reality it's so minuscule. The exams don't care if you were in these programs or not. If you can't perform, you're out.
4.
Culture shock. Medical school is hard but it's harder when you study in a third-world country where you don't know anyone or anything. You're not really studying in a "tropical" land. It's obvious that the beach sides are the more "well off" area but as you move more inland, there's a lot of poverty. Most US and Canadian students are used to a certain lifestyle which is arguably higher than many of these third world countries. Life in the caribbeans isnt equivalent to life in the US or Canada. On top of that, you could lose power, wifi, and water due to any weather related issue at any given point in time. Guess what? These Caribbean schools don't give a shi** if you lost wifi for the past 12 hours and you have an exam tomorrow.
5.
Partying/socializing. Yes, this is part of life, but you need to control it. IMO the party life near the beaches is pretty lit. It can get so fun that many will end up neglecting their studies and end up failing. Don't get me wrong, the island life is fun and the beaches are nice af. But, if you don't have self control, you will fail due to the fast pace of med school.
6.
Medicine isn't what they thought it was. Honestly, i think this is prob the least likely of them all. But there are a handful who will realize this isnt for them. They don't want to study 12+ hours a day on an island, they dont wanna go through the years of training, etc. Most will end up leaving after they fail or midway.
This points on this list aren't the only reasons why students fail out. They are just the big ones. Keep in mind, these schools will allow you to repeat a semester/term more than twice. It's known that you'll be "dismissed" if you fail X amount of times, but that isnt the case. They know if they allow you to continue, it's more $$ for them.
