does anyone know, what are the general requirements to get admitted into med school in United States and the Caribbeans??

Also, do they have an admission test like MCAT in US??

Thanks in advance

You definitely have to take the MCAT for the US. : ) They tend to weigh it more in admissions than Canadian schools. Usually you have to take physics, english, bio, chem, biochem, organic chemistry. They also tend to weigh GPA more than Canadian schools.

As for the Caribbean, I haven't looked into that myself, so perhaps someone else can answer that for you : )

You should definitively look at each medical school individually, especially the ones you wish to attend. Even though the courses that jesus said are usually true, the requirements differ between each medical school.

It really depends don the school. You got to take the mcat and other requirements vary from school to school. Going to the Caribbean is last resort... its only an option when desperate... almost anyone who passes MCAT with decent marks gets in. IMO shouldn't even be an option it means you probably arnt cut out for medical studies.

You should research the individual medical schools and see their requirements. You'll basically need MCAT and a bunch of other prereqs depending on the school (ie, full year ORGO, full year english or something along those lines).

Originally Posted by patelp

It really depends don the school. You got to take the mcat and other requirements vary from school to school. Going to the Caribbean is last resort... its only an option when desperate... almost anyone who passes MCAT with decent marks gets in. IMO shouldn't even be an option it means you probably arnt cut out for medical studies.

It is true that going to the Caribbean should be the last resort if you want to come back to Canada to practice, however, to say that going there means you aren't cut out for med studies is rather absurd. How about people going to Australia, or Ireland? the marks cut-off and MCAT for those schools are only slightly higher than the Caribbean ones, but still greatly lower than than schools in Canada. Are they too not cut out to be doctors? Marks and MCAT scores are a great tool to a certain extend, but I don't think anyone have yet to draw a correlation between getting a 3.8 and 14,14,14, T will make you a better doctor than some one with 3.3 and 9, 9, 9, O.

Sorry for the rant, but I just find that the statement of going to Carribbean school means that you are not cut out for medical studies is an unfair generalization.

Okay maybe I overexatrated but based on personal experience the people I know that have went to the caribbian are people that I would never trust as doctors. I wouldn't even compare the caribbian to Australia and Ireland. They actually have good reputation. I also get tired of hearing... if things don't work out I'm off to the Caribbian. Okay so mabye you deserve a second chance.. but does that mean you should take the easy way out?

True Caribbean is probably the last on international schools you want to go to, but it always will be an uphill battle to come back to Canada to practice if you're an IMG. So in a way, its not really an easy way out since they will have to jump through hoops to practice in Canada/US. It is true you can do another undergrad or grad degree, but I guess you just have to decide if that will benefit you in the end (i.e. get you into a Canadian/US school) .

I just asked about the Caribbean for my own background knowledge. It is indeed my last resort! But it never hurts to have some back ups. If not in Canada, I want to apply to U.S. and if not there maybe the Caribbeans.

Anyways, some people who have really high scores are sometimes not that interested in med school...some do it for the money (unfortunately, some of these ppl get in) but there are also some that don't get in Canada b/c of a point below the avg. and stuff (some of these ppl are really into doing good for the society by promoting good health, etc.)

So, if they are really into it, they go to the Caribbeans (this is prbly their last resort too)

I just think, what you said about ppl who go to Caribbeans not being cut out for med school is really an unfair statement.
Making a choice to become a doctor and spent all that time studying is not an easy decision and neither is picking a med school!!!

You can check out my rant on Australian, Caribbean and Irish med schools HERE

As for the US, it's a very different application process than the others. There's a 2-step application and the gpa system is different for each Canadian school. From Mac, 11's as well as 12's are counted as 4.0 gpa. Everything else remains the same: 10=3.7, 9=3.3, 8=3.0. I have a pdf file that lists the recent mcat and gpa average acceptance scores for every single med school in the US. I can post it here if anyone wants. The averages range from around 3.6-3.85 and 30-34 mcat. Canadian students should strive for the higher end of these marks. If you're applying to the US, you'll definitely need full year of g-chem, o-chem, bio, physics, and english. Some schools need other things. When people apply to the US they apply to an average of 15 schools. You need to do your homework and figure out which schools are suitable. Wayne State in Detroit is known for taking in a lot of Canadians, but the tuition there is atrocious. It's also very important to figure out which US schools consider Canadians out of state, and which consider them foreign. It's a big difference. It's a big decision to make when applying, and if you're not sure, I suggest applying absolutely everywhere. You can decide on going to a specific school after you get accepted, but you shouldn't be too picky when applying, or you won't get many interviews.

That's it for now. good luck

Hey Mitch,

Are you taking a year off or will you be attending med. this year?

Originally Posted by chugaucon

Marks and MCAT scores are a great tool to a certain extend, but I don't think anyone have yet to draw a correlation between getting a 3.8 and 14,14,14, T will make you a better doctor than some one with 3.3 and 9, 9, 9, O.

Sorry for the rant, but I just find that the statement of going to Carribbean school means that you are not cut out for medical studies is an unfair generalization.

I agree that the MCAT scores and your GPA doesn't necessarily correlate to skill as a doctor, but if you want any chance at all of getting into a "top tier" school, you're going to definitely want an amazing MCAT score and a 3.9+ GPA.

As far as Caribbean med schools go; my friend graduated from Ross, and now makes $300,000 doing Emergency Room Medicine or whatever his position is officially called, in the U.S., so ultimately Caribbean schools definitely worked out for him.

Yeah, the States can make you rake in lots of money. You wouldn't be able to make anywhere near that amount of cash in a public health care system...

Originally Posted by jhan523

Yeah, the States can make you rake in lots of money. You wouldn't be able to make anywhere near that amount of cash in a public health care system...

Hence why Canada has a lack of doctors. Seems reasonable though; If you go through that much education to become a doctor, it seems acceptable to want to be rewarded for it. Hence you go to the U.S.!

Lol, I wouldn't be able to. As a doctor it is your duty to help those in need. I wouldn't have the heart (or lack of) to work in the States. How can you refuse care to patients knowing that they may well die. It's so saddening.