Trinity Student: Ask Me Anything!

[Zifish]

Hi everyone,

I'm a first year student at Trinity School of Medicine and would love to answer any questions you might have as a prospective applicant!!

I think these AMA's are a great way to learn more about schools you're interested in applying to. I did extensive research on international/caribbean schools, I enjoyed getting current student opinions of their school by reading other AMA's, but there aren't many by Trinity students, so I'm happy to answer questions you might have about Trinity or attending international medical schools in general as well.

Just so we're clear, I'm not endorsed by the school and wasn't asked by Trinity to make these posts, I'm an actual student and have been on SDN for quite some time, so you can expect to get a real perspective on the school with no sugar coating.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to answering your questions as best as I can!

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[Emmet2301]

Thank you for this!

What motivated you to go to Trinity? How is your experience so far?

 

[Zifish]

Thank you for this!

What motivated you to go to Trinity? How is your experience so far?

Thanks for the comment! Initially it was the low tuition costs, small class sizes, the clinical years being in one place instead of needing to bounce around. And so far I've been very impressed with the school and the education I'm receiving, the admin are great and really care about the students and they don't try to weed people out. I also like that the students are very diverse here, we've got people of all ages and ethnicities and quite a few who were accepted to USMD schools but came here instead for some reason. We have quite a few people who transfer in from other Caribbean schools and from DO schools, and they all mention that the instruction is better at Trinity than their previous school. Hope that answers your question!

 

[Gastrapathy]

“Quite a few students who were accepted to USMD schools” seems incredibly unlikely unless they are students who were dismissed from said schools.

What’s plan B if you don’t match?

 

[Zifish]

“Quite a few students who were accepted to USMD schools” seems incredibly unlikely unless they are students who were dismissed from said schools.

What’s plan B if you don’t match?

Thanks for the reply. The DO transfers were dismissed. The Caribbean transfers either didn't like their previous school, or transferred mid-way thru their didactic years for the convenience of clinical years being in Baltimore. And when classes range from 20-50 students per term, having 1 or 2 accepted USMD students (weren't dismissed but chose Trinity over the US school) per term in my opinion is "quite a few", and definitely not the best decision since USMD or DO should always be the top choice. And generally our school does great in the match, and since I'm not interested in a competitive specialty, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to match successfully. But as a plan B, I'd probably get a certification in Aesthetic Medicine and work at or run a cosmetic clinic.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Update on Trinity School of Medicine

What happened to Dr Wollman?

 

[drcardi]

How are the rotations?
Have a lot of people failed out ?
How is the campus ?
Is the curriculum fair ?

 

[Zifish]

Update on Trinity School of Medicine

What happened to Dr Wollman?

That name doesn't sound familiar to me, but it could be someone in admissions?

 

[Zifish]

How are the rotations?
Have a lot of people failed out ?
How is the campus ?
Is the curriculum fair ?

Thanks for the reply! Honestly, people don't fail out here, and the school isn't actively looking to kick people out either. I'd say 90% of the class moves on without issues, the remainder just drop the course they're struggling with and retake it the following term with an adjusted schedule, since the school has "individualized learning plans" called ILP which adds a term (6 terms instead of 5) and shuffles around the classes, so you're on the island for 24 months instead of 20 and still on track to finish in 4yrs. The campus isn't anything special to be honest, definitely not the palaces of SGU or AUC, but it gets the job done and has all the amenities needed, the school provides transportation to housing and to town or grocery shopping, and student housing is basically part of tuition while on the island and includes utilities and wifi/cable. I find the curriculum to be fair, courses are taught by MD-PhD's, passing is 70%, and class average is curved to an 80%. I'm still in my 1st year so I can't vouch for the rotations in Baltimore personally, but we rotate at Hopkins affiliated hospitals in Baltimore County, and I have classmates there and they love it. As far as rotations here on the island, we start rotations in first term at the island's teaching hospital, and we get to assist when specialty medical teams visit the island for medical missions. Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[drcardi]

Thanks for the reply! Honestly, people don't fail out here, and the school isn't actively looking to kick people out either. I'd say 90% of the class moves on without issues, the remainder just drop the course they're struggling with and retake it the following term with an adjusted schedule, since the school has "individualized learning plans" called ILP which adds a term (6 terms instead of 5) and shuffles around the classes, so you're on the island for 24 months instead of 20 and still on track to finish in 4yrs. The campus isn't anything special to be honest, definitely not the palaces of SGU or AUC, but it gets the job done and has all the amenities needed, the school provides transportation to housing and to town or grocery shopping, and student housing is basically part of tuition while on the island and includes utilities and wifi/cable. I find the curriculum to be fair, courses are taught by MD-PhD's, passing is 70%, and class average is curved to an 80%. I'm still in my 1st year so I can't vouch for the rotations in Baltimore personally, but we rotate at Hopkins affiliated hospitals in Baltimore County, and I have classmates there and they love it. As far as rotations here on the island, we start rotations in first term at the island's teaching hospital, and we get to assist when specialty medical teams visit the island for medical missions. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Great ! I’m heavily considering this school but I have some reservations since it is not considered the big 4. Is this school fully accredited are people able to match various places in the US ?

 

[Zifish]

Great ! I’m heavily considering this school but I have some reservations since it is not considered the big 4. Is this school fully accredited are people able to match various places in the US ?

I understand what you're saying, but honestly the "big 4" of 5-10 years ago isn't what it is today, those programs have 50+ percent attrition and are predatory, and I think residencies are picking up on that as PD's see the recent batches of students. Looking at options for international medical schools, I'd be hard pressed to attend anywhere besides Trinity or UQ-Ochsner if the goal is to match and practice in the US. Trinity is accredited thru Caam-HP, the caribbean accrediting body, we are in good standing and have the "top level" of accreditation (I found it interesting to read the accreditation reports of the various carib schools to see what's actually going on: Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions - http://caam-hp.org). I don't think we've had anybody apply to any super competitive specialties like ortho or plastics that I know of, but we do fine and match at great university programs for things like family med, internal med, peds, and general surgery (last year's match results: Trinity School of Medicine 2018 Match Results: New States, New Specialties, New Records). You're welcome to DM me if you have any more questions!

 

[Goro]

“Quite a few students who were accepted to USMD schools” seems incredibly unlikely unless they are students who were dismissed from said schools.

Or were lying about their accepts.

 

[Zifish]

Or were lying about their accepts.

Thanks for the comment! Anything is possible, and going to a US MD school is ideal, and turning down an acceptance to a US school is downright silly. But, it's not unthinkable in a younger generation where "life experiences" and posting pictures at the beach on instragram is heavily valued, and that choosing a caribbean school and living in a place where people vacation is attractive to students who might be weighing their acceptance options. Beyond that, my post is to bring light to a school that doesn't have the predatory aspects of the other caribbean schools, has small class sizes, lower tuition, a place I'm happy to attend, and for prospective students who aren't able to secure a spot in a US school and are wanting to ask a current student about the experience.

 

[RoyallyMedical]

Thanks for being available to answer questions about Trinity School of Medicine. Does the school have any ethnic or diverse student clubs or organizations? And also what is the ethnicity breakdown of students who attend TSOM?

 

[Zifish]

Thanks for being available to answer questions about Trinity School of Medicine. Does the school have any ethnic or diverse student clubs or organizations? And also what is the ethnicity breakdown of students who attend TSOM?

Hi and thanks for the question! I really like the diversity at Trinity, there are students from the US, Canada, Africa, India, and other Caribbean islands. I’d say this school has an even distribution of ethnicities, which is great because we need more minorities in medicine! Most clubs on campus are outreach and skills based, like AMSA club that takes vitals in town or the “society of medicine and surgery” that practices intubation/suturing. There’s also a sign language club, chess club, and an LMSA chapter that is forming. Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[Zifish]

Hi everyone, just wanted to say that I've appreciated all the private messages I've been getting regarding this post, anyone is welcome to message me with questions, and don't hesitate to ask questions on here also so others can see as well!

A few updates! I'm now an MS2, finishing my 4th term out of 5 on the island. We had our biggest class to date start in September, its great to see the quality of students coming in and how they're excelling in the material. Our school's accreditation by CAAM-HP was updated to the top level of accreditation which surpasses SGU and Ross so that's exciting!

And some details I like about the program for anyone interested. We do 5 terms on the island of St Vincent. 4 terms of didactics, and our 5th term is basically an in-house Step prep term. So far this year, we have a 100% Step 1 pass rate and an average score of 250. As a 1st term, you start seeing real patients (that are actially sick or injured or pregnant etc, not standardized patients), at the island's teaching hospital. As a 1st termer, you'll get to perform basic skills such as histories, review of systems, take vitals, and then the preceptor will walk you thru various physical exam skills, and you'll get to do more and more as you go from term to term and learn more skills. I think it really helps make us more seasoned in the hospital and build our confidence in the clinical setting so we don't look like total novices at the start of 3rd year. Great tuition rate, the least amount of time spent outside the US, clinicals in 1 city instead of bouncing all over the US, guaranteed spot in clinicals so there's no lottery system, small class sizes so it's like a family where you know everyone's name and all the admin and professors know you by name and care about your success, great professors that are experts in their field with tons of research/publications/patents.

 

[Gambino.]

So far this year, we have a 100% Step 1 pass rate and an average score of 250.

So either Trinity has a better average Step 1 than Harvard (highest avg step 1 score in US) and Johns Hopkins or this is a flat out lie. I guess the other option is they let so few people sit for the exam that it's only their top few students but a 250 average is quite improbable.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

So either Trinity has a better average Step 1 than Harvard (highest avg step 1 score in US) and Johns Hopkins or this is a flat out lie. I guess the other option is they let so few people sit for the exam that it's only their top few students but a 250 average is quite improbable.

Most likely a lie.

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[gyngyn]

And some details I like about the program for anyone interested. We do 5 terms on the island of St Vincent. 4 terms of didactics, and our 5th term is basically an in-house Step prep term. So far this year, we have a 100% Step 1 pass rate and an average score of 250. As a 1st term, you start seeing real patients (that are actially sick or injured or pregnant etc, not standardized patients), at the island's teaching hospital. As a 1st termer, you'll get to perform basic skills such as histories, review of systems, take vitals, and then the preceptor will walk you thru various physical exam skills, and you'll get to do more and more as you go from term to term and learn more skills. I think it really helps make us more seasoned in the hospital and build our confidence in the clinical setting so we don't look like total novices at the start of 3rd year. Great tuition rate, the least amount of time spent outside the US, clinicals in 1 city instead of bouncing all over the US, guaranteed spot in clinicals so there's no lottery system, small class sizes so it's like a family where you know everyone's name and all the admin and professors know you by name and care about your success, great professors that are experts in their field with tons of research/publications/patents.

Even in the US, students are not made aware of real-time USMLE outcomes for their class. A school with no obligation to be truthful should not be believed. This is especially true when the stats are this unlikely.
The only way this could even possibly be close to true is if but a single extraordinary person had taken the exam at the point that the data was released.

 

[Zifish]

So either Trinity has a better average Step 1 than Harvard (highest avg step 1 score in US) and Johns Hopkins or this is a flat out lie. I guess the other option is they let so few people sit for the exam that it's only their top few students but a 250 average is quite improbable.

Hey, thank you for the comment, I feel honored you created an account just to comment in this thread! Our overall step average is like a 220, we just had a really strong class move on to take Step, a few in the mid 260's and the lower end was in the 230's. But anyway, I'm not admin, I'm a student and just giving info about the school I go to for potential applicants who may be interested in attending Caribbean med school.

 

[Zifish]

Most likely a lie.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile

Thanks for the comment. Remember, I'm not admin, I'm a student, I have no reason to lie on here, I'm just offering my time in case prospective students are interested in not attending a Caribbean school without the usual cutthroat environment and money hungry admin. It's a small school, admin is very open about the Step scores and keeps a roster with the scores in the admin building that I guess they think helps motivate us to score well? Anyway, it's easier to verify these things at such a small school, so I know admin isn't making up the scores

 

[Zifish]

Even in the US, students are not made aware of real-time USMLE outcomes for their class. A school with no obligation to be truthful should not be believed. This is especially true when the stats are this unlikely.
The only way this could even possibly be close to true is if but a single extraordinary person had taken the exam at the point that the data was released.

Hey and thanks for the reply. I totally agree with your comment and the Caribbean med school market breeds a lot of distrust due to not being obligated to be truthful, along with utilizing shady practices to weed out students and collect tuition money, and 50+ percent attrition rates, and honestly I'm the first person to recommend that premeds do whatever they can to attend a US med school. My post is only to give prospective applicants who've exhausted all the US options an opportunity to ask a current student (me) about Trinity (which honestly is a great school). But to summarize, we have small class sizes, so most of the time we have less than 40 people taking Step in any given semester, the student's who have taken it this year tried hard and scored really well, and I'm happy to see classmates and friends who have their eyes on surgery residency score in the 260's, but that is definitely not our average, our average is a 220 overall

 

[Ludwig2000]

Hey and thanks for the reply. I totally agree with your comment and the Caribbean med school market breeds a lot of distrust due to not being obligated to be truthful, along with utilizing shady practices to weed out students and collect tuition money, and 50+ percent attrition rates, and honestly I'm the first person to recommend that premeds do whatever they can to attend a US med school. My post is only to give prospective applicants who've exhausted all the US options an opportunity to ask a current student (me) about Trinity (which honestly is a great school). But to summarize, we have small class sizes, so most of the time we have less than 40 people taking Step in any given semester, the student's who have taken it this year tried hard and scored really well, and I'm happy to see classmates and friends who have their eyes on surgery residency score in the 260's, but that is definitely not our average, our average is a 220 overall

For what group of people (or for what period of time) is the average 250 and for what group of people is the average 220?

 

[Zifish]

For what group of people (or for what period of time) is the average 250 and for what group of people is the average 220?

Hey, thanks for the question! From the start of the school until now for the overall 220's average. The 250 was the average for people taking it in 2019 last time I checked the board in the hallway of the admin building, but I need to stop in there at some point this week so I'll see if there have been any updates and report back.

 

[deleted888443]

Man a 250 step 1 average is amazing! Where do I sign up?!

 

[Zifish]

Man a 250 step 1 average is amazing! Where do I sign up?!

Yeah we've been doing pretty good in 2019 with students taking Step, but we've got bigger classes of students taking the Step in 2020 (I'll be one of them) though so I'm sure it'll even back out with our overall average which is in the 220's. We did end up with a few Ross transfers when the hurricane hit your island, so maybe reach out to admissions if you're considering a transfer (usually transferring looks bad when applying for residency, but it may be worth it if you want to avoid needing to move all over the country for rotations).

 

[deleted888443]

Yeah we've been doing pretty good in 2019 with students taking Step, but we've got bigger classes of students taking the Step in 2020 (I'll be one of them) though so I'm sure it'll even back out with our overall average which is in the 220's. We did end up with a few Ross transfers when the hurricane hit your island, so maybe reach out to admissions if you're considering a transfer (usually transferring looks bad when applying for residency, but it may be worth it if you want to avoid needing to move all over the country for rotations).

I know transferring looks bad, I wasnt being serious. But on a more serious note, what do you think sets the school apart from others when preparing its students for board exams? A big problem at Ross is our exam questions are nothing like what you might find on Rx/Uworld/NBME question sets, and that reflects on our poor cbse first time pass rate. I believe our step 1 average is around 215-220. I think if you're being honest about the 250 step average, your school is doing alot of things right.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

A 250 average is impossible. Even at US schools. I don't believe any US schools (I think NYU has one of the highest average step and its 243) have a 250 average right now let alone a school in the Caribbean.

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[Zifish]

A 250 average is impossible. Even at US schools. I don't believe any US schools (I think NYU has one of the highest average step and its 243) have a 250 average right now let alone a school in the Caribbean.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile

Hi, I think you skimmed my post, saw 250, and got defensive.

I clearly said "so far this year..."

 

[Ludwig2000]

It's December, right? So, it does seem like you are reporting that the 2019 average on Step 1 is going to end up pretty friggin close to 250. Is that not right?

 

[Zifish]

I know transferring looks bad, I wasnt being serious. But on a more serious note, what do you think sets the school apart from others when preparing its students for board exams? A big problem at Ross is our exam questions are nothing like what you might find on Rx/Uworld/NBME question sets, and that reflects on our poor cbse first time pass rate. I believe our step 1 average is around 215-220. I think if you're being honest about the 250 step average, your school is doing alot of things right.

I'd say there a few things that help. Small class sizes really help us work together to learn the material and not be gunners. We take NBME subject exams at the end of each major course, so we can get in the standardized test mindset and see those styled questions from early on. We do 4 terms of didactics, and then we get term 5 where the school basically has visiting professors from US and Canadian med schools come in and put us thru an intensive in-house step prep. The school provides us with 3 Kaplan exams and 2 CBSE exams that we take during that 5th term. We do Term 6 back home where we do self-study and prepare even more for Step and then take the exam during that term.

A big reason for the higher average this year was definitely the small class sizes with high achievers. These people were long time tutors, or had started using board prep material from day 1, and were crushing the Kaplan exams and the CBSE's.

 

[Zifish]

It's December, right? So, it does seem like you are reporting that the 2019 average on Step 1 is going to end up pretty friggin close to 250. Is that not right?

Yes, last time I checked, which was like August, the students who had taken the Step 1 in 2019, the average was 250. I still need to stop in to the admin building and see if it's changed since then! But since I'm taking it around June 2020, I'm hoping we have a similar average!!!

 

[gyngyn]

Yes, last time I checked, which was like August, the students who had taken the Step 1 in 2019, the average was 250. I still need to stop in to the admin building and see if it's changed since then! But since I'm taking it around June 2020, I'm hoping we have a similar average!!!

Again, we cannot believe self-reported scores, whether here or in USNWR.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Hi, I think you skimmed my post, saw 250, and got defensive.

I clearly said "so far this year..."

No, I'm just being realistic. Unless the current average is based only on less than 5 people, there's no way many people (more than 10) are scoring even above a 240.

 

[Zifish]

Again, we cannot believe self-reported scores, whether here or in USNWR.

I'm not asking you to believe anything. I'm just here offering my point of view as a student and sharing info about a school that potential applicants may be interested in, and offering my time to answer questions about the program and way of life as a student here.

 

[Zifish]

No, I'm just being realistic. Unless the current average is based only on less 5 people, there's no way many people (more than 10) are scoring even above a 240.

Thanks for your opinion

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Thanks for your opinion

Could you post a picture of that report here then? I'm not saying you're lying, but maybe just maybe your school is lying.

 

[bedevilled ben]

I think these AMA's are a great way to learn more about schools you're interested in applying to.

I really think I have to disagree strongly. Humans are terrible at recognizing their own biases and blind spots. We are great, however, at post hoc rationalizations, doubling down, and dozens of other well-studied fallacies of reason.

You sound like a motivated student, and assuming you score well, there is a reasonably good chance you will manage to get a residency spot. That does not hold true for a significant proportion of students that go to the Caribbean, however. We have these statistics and we pore over them regularly. Entire papers are written about the stats for IMGs and FMGs. There are clear data that only 2 (questionably, 3) Caribbean schools maximize your chance of obtaining a US residency, which should be the only metric you care about as a prospective Caribbean student. Trinity is not among those schools.

The pro's of student life, class structure, testing resources, cost of attendance, student support, or living accommodations means vanishingly little against the prospect of not matching.

I believe you that you're posting in good faith, but the reality is that you are feeding into the same milieu of misinformation (and disinformation) that already surrounds Caribbean medical education. You're focusing on the journey before arriving at a destination (or even a rest-stop, considering you haven't even taken your Step 1 yet.) The journey is important too, but the details you're emphasizing might not be the most relevant in the long run.

 

[Kiwimd17]

Thanks for the info! Just to clarify, graduates from Trinity can practice in any state in the US or are they limited to select states that accept the accreditation?

 

[Zifish]

I really think I have to disagree strongly. Humans are terrible at recognizing their own biases and blind spots. We are great, however, at post hoc rationalizations, doubling down, and dozens of other well-studied fallacies of reason.

You sound like a motivated student, and assuming you score well, there is a reasonably good chance you will manage to get a residency spot. That does not hold true for a significant proportion of students that go to the Caribbean, however. We have these statistics and we pore over them regularly. Entire papers are written about the stats for IMGs and FMGs. There are clear data that only 2 (questionably, 3) Caribbean schools maximize your chance of obtaining a US residency, which should be the only metric you care about as a prospective Caribbean student. Trinity is not among those schools.

The pro's of student life, class structure, testing resources, cost of attendance, student support, or living accommodations means vanishingly little against the prospect of not matching.

I believe you that you're posting in good faith, but the reality is that you are feeding into the same milieu of misinformation (and disinformation) that already surrounds Caribbean medical education. You're focusing on the journey before arriving at a destination (or even a rest-stop, considering you haven't even taken your Step 1 yet.) The journey is important too, but the details you're emphasizing might not be the most relevant in the long run.

You make some interesting points. It is very true, the Caribbean obviously is made up of students who didn't make it into a US school for one reason or another, but yeah I'd say I'm a motivated student and I'm on a decent trajectory with reasonable goals as a Caribbean student. The Caribbean is tough and adds a whole new level of challenges to an already challenging academic path, and it definitely is something people should consider when applying to the Caribbean, especially if you've struggled academically in the past or don't have the determination to overcome the challenges of med school.

But, to be fair I feel that being in mid-way thru medical school, I have the perspective of seeing the entering classes and also watching students match and graduate, I talk with admin and interact with the professors. This gives me a good perspective of the school as a whole and its a perspective that I hope to share with prospective students.

The market in the Caribbean is shifting, maybe when you attended SGU (I think that's where you went) it was different, and SGU and Ross will always have the reputation of being the old timers in the Caribbean, but recently they're turning into cutthroat diploma mills that actively weed out students. Trinity is a newer school, we have former US med school deans/admin as our deans/admin so we're run a lot like a US school. We have low attrition rates (below 10%, which is nothing like the 50+ percent that SGU and Ross have currently) and we have an 85% match rate overall (this past match was over 90%). This means overall, 77/100 students that begin day one at Trinity will match and graduate, the other Caribbean schools can't touch that.

These are things that prospective students who can't make it into a US school should know and consider, especially if they don't want the flip of a coin being their chance of graduating and matching from Ross or SGU.

 

[Zifish]

Thanks for the info! Just to clarify, graduates from Trinity can practice in any state in the US or are they limited to select states that accept the accreditation?

Hi, currently I think we're in 49 states, but next month with the changes in California legislature we'll be able to say we're 50 states approved. We never applied for California approval previously, but in 2020 they're doing away with that.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[bedevilled ben]

But, to be fair I feel that being in mid-way thru medical school, I have the perspective of seeing the entering classes and also watching students match and graduate, I talk with admin and interact with the professors. This gives me a good perspective of the school as a whole and its a perspective that I hope to share with prospective students.

I'm not interested in a proverbial pissing match over this. If you really think that 22 months of basic sciences at a heretofore laughably-bad and notoriously untrustworthy institution qualifies you to give counsel, then I guess more power to you. This is Dunning-Kruger made manifest. You don't know enough about the process to understand how little you know.

Until there is reputable and replicable data, I'm not buying what your institution is selling.

 

[Zifish]

I'm not interested in a proverbial pissing match over this. If you really think that 22 months of basic sciences at a heretofore laughably-bad and notoriously untrustworthy institution qualifies you to give counsel, then I guess more power to you. This is Dunning-Kruger made manifest. You don't know enough about the process to understand how little you know.

Until there is reputable and replicable data, I'm not buying what your institution is selling.

Laughably bad and untrustworthy? If I would have made a post as a second year and shared how terrible the school was, you would have made no mention of Dunning-Kruger and it would have confirmed the consensus of Caribbean education. Instead, I share about the school being good, which goes against your preconceived notions and bias, and now you try to jump down my throat. I don't think you have anything to offer to this post, and have already graduated medical school, so why are you commenting on a post geard towards prospective applicants?

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Because we have to stop prospective students from making a terrible mistake whenever it’s possible.

 

[bedevilled ben]

Laughably bad and untrustworthy? If I would have made a post as a second year and shared how terrible the school was, you would have made no mention of Dunning-Kruger and it would have confirmed the consensus of Caribbean education. Instead, I share about the school being good, which goes against your preconceived notions and bias, and now you try to jump down my throat.

They're not preconceived notions and bias, they're conclusions. And we both know that I didn't initially "jump down your throat," I was quite complimentary in fact stating you were likely to be successful and clearly trying to help. I only became dismissive when you got defensive. I have no interest in changing your mind at this point, and your post was focused on prospective students anyway, so consider my elaboration below to be for future prospective students who might come across your thread.

Less than 2 years ago, Trinity was laughably bad and untrustworthy. There was an SDN account for the school @TrinityMDMPH. If you look through those old posts, you will see that there are a number of posts made by Dr. Wollman who was the former Dean of Admissions. They are clearly an attempt to clean up the school's image and bring eyeballs of prospective students to their website. If you dig further, you'll find reddit posts, KevinMD interviews, and a host of other examples of their "internet blitz" approach to attracting students around that time. I would especially direct you to his Dec 20 2016 thread, wherein both myself and a number of other experienced folks in this community asked some direct questions about incongruencies in their statistics. There was also a thinly-veiled attempt to associate Trinity with Johns Hopkins. Unfortunately, it appears Dr. Wollman left Trinity shortly thereafter, because all communication from that account stopped in May 2017. As I said in the Dec 2016 thread, I do believe they are trying to improve the school and I appreciate the efforts they're making to be more transparent. But the reality is that there is still very little preventing them from fabricating or fudging statistics. And I don't believe for a second that the average Step 1 score went from 220 in 2016 to 250 in 2019 without some funny math involved. Until the school has a more proven track record, I maintain that prospective students should steer clear.

I don't think you have anything to offer to this post, and have already graduated medical school, so why are you commenting on a post geard towards prospective applicants?

Because unlike you, I have graduated from a Caribbean medical school, remember well the crippling fear and anxiety of Match Week as an IMG, and am still in contact with several close friends from med school that didn't end up Matching. They now have hundreds of thousands of dollars of compounding debt and they're making $60k a year doing research or consulting. One of them ended up getting divorced because of the debt. This is life changing amounts of debt we're talking about. Going to the Caribbean is a big risk because of the extreme consequences of failure, and that is a hard thing to drill into the head of an eager and often naive prospective student who is looking for a "quick" solution to medical school. If I can contribute to 1 person reconsidering Caribbean medical school that otherwise wouldn't Match, I consider my time and effort here well spent. That is why I'm commenting on your post.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

To add to bedevilled ben post above, things are only getting harder from this year forward (post merger) especially with the avalanche of new grads that is gonna come from brand new DO and MD schools opening every year. So if you think the outcome for IMGs is bad now, think about what it will be when 1000s more new grads enter the match in the near future while residency slots aren't really increasing.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile

 

[Motherof20306]

Laughably bad and untrustworthy? If I would have made a post as a second year and shared how terrible the school was, you would have made no mention of Dunning-Kruger and it would have confirmed the consensus of Caribbean education. Instead, I share about the school being good, which goes against your preconceived notions and bias, and now you try to jump down my throat. I don't think you have anything to offer to this post, and have already graduated medical school, so why are you commenting on a post geard towards prospective applicants?

Can you let me know if there is human cadaver dissection for anatomy lab?

 

[member named member_name]

Hi everyone,

I'm a first year student at Trinity School of Medicine and would love to answer any questions you might have as a prospective applicant!!

I think these AMA's are a great way to learn more about schools you're interested in applying to. I did extensive research on international/caribbean schools, I enjoyed getting current student opinions of their school by reading other AMA's, but there aren't many by Trinity students, so I'm happy to answer questions you might have about Trinity or attending international medical schools in general as well.

Just so we're clear, I'm not endorsed by the school and wasn't asked by Trinity to make these posts, I'm an actual student and have been on SDN for quite some time, so you can expect to get a real perspective on the school with no sugar coating.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to answering your questions as best as I can!

trinity student here -

first exhaust all options. in my experience.
objective. observation. facts. events.

not to unduely bash the school

for prospective students' sakes, avoid trinity.

facade. advertising. consider the website as a storefront.

expect durations of uncertainty. absent leadership.

if no choice last resort. expect above.

administration disappears. students answer logistical inquiries independently.

[the majority of trinity] students [are routinely left with no choice but to] learn this after inconveniences arise.

a great opportunity for the last option.

if your last option do not expect clarity from higher ups. do not expect support.

know this going in. expect it. become comfortable with it

best of luck to you my friend

-mnm_n

 

[Zifish]

Can you let me know if there is human cadaver dissection for anatomy lab?

Hello and thanks for the comment, and sorry for the late reply! My term had a cadaver for dissection, along with a human cadaver that had been plasticized (kinda like the "Bodies" show that happens in Vegas) and that was great to touch and learn from. I'm not sure what the plan is going forward, especially with Covid impacting the classroom environment. I will say the anatomy professors are excellent, and that the focus doesn't heavily emphasize gross anatomy as it focuses more on pathological anatomy and how to differentiate healthy anatomy from diseased anatomy. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[Zifish]

trinity student here -

first exhaust all options. in my experience.
objective. observation. facts. events.

not to unduely bash the school

for prospective students' sakes, avoid trinity.

facade. advertising. consider the website as a storefront.

expect durations of uncertainty. absent leadership.

if no choice last resort. expect above.

administration disappears. students answer logistical inquiries independently.

[the majority of trinity] students [are routinely left with no choice but to] learn this after inconveniences arise.

a great opportunity for the last option.

if your last option do not expect clarity from higher ups. do not expect support.

know this going in. expect it. become comfortable with it

best of luck to you my friend

-mnm_n

Hello and thanks for the post. Based on this post, you're either one of the few people who make up the attrition rate at Trinity, or you're a SDN troll. Either way, prospective students can take your post with a grain of salt, and of course the SDN anti-carib's usuals will believe the fake news.

Facts: Trinity is a first choice school for anyone who is from the Caribbean or hopes to practice there. It's also a great choice for people from Europe/India/Asia who want to attend a school with US ties and hopes to practice in the US. If you're from the US or Canada, I'd hope you've exhausted your options by applying to MD and DO programs In the US/Canada for at least 2 cycles (with application improvement between app cycles) before considering any international schools. International schools, carib or otherwise, should never be a rash decision that you jump into because medicine in general isn't something to just jump into. Prospective students who are deciding between giving up on being a physician, or risking it with a post-bacc or SMP, should consider Trinity. If you are from the US/Canada and can't get into a US school, I'd only recommend Trinity or UQ-Ochsner as quality schools for your medical education and to have a great shot at matching into a US/Canadian residency (I don't know enough about the various Atlantic Bridge programs to say which are good or not). I do know the attrition rate at SGU and Ross is not worth the risk, and their reputation amongst PD's is slipping. The admin at Trinity has been great in my opinion, they are all former US medical school admins/deans/etc and know how to do things correctly and how to run this school like a US school.

You're obviously entitled to your opinion. Feel free to PM me or reply to this post if you'd like to share more about your experience and how it compares to mine and others who have successfully navigated medical education at a Caribbean school.