What MCAT score indicates you can be successful in med school? Yes, I know that it isn't the sole indicator but at least I can gauge myself and just want to hear some opinions - 4th year nursing student with no pre reqs
For anyone starting Caribbean med school in August 2026, January 2027, or anytime soon—especially SGU, but other schools too—how are you guys planning to pay for everything?
What does your financial aid package look like? Is it covering your full tuition and living expenses, or are you still expected to pay a significant amount out of pocket?
For those using private loans, were you able to qualify on your own? If not, how are you handling the cosigner situation, especially if you don’t have family members who can cosign?
Also, what are you doing to keep your expenses as low as possible while in school? Any scholarships, outside funding, or other options you’ve found that actually helped?
I’m trying to get a realistic idea of how incoming students are making the finances work.
I’m very interested in applying and hopefully enrolling in a Caribbean medical school. I have lived my entire life in Europe, including my graduate studies (‘I’m a mature applicant’). However, due to family ties I’m a USA passport holder (dual citizen). I’m very confused on the application process. Does having a USA citizenship trigger a USA application rather than an international application? The pre-reqs of the two different applications streams vary quite a bit, which makes sense since education is different. I’m struggling to understand why the passport itself would trigger a USA application stream – surely it is based on country/education system you apply from.
What do Canadian students normally use to send payments to SGU? For international students there is Northstar or PayMyTuition. I usually send wire payments through my bank but they charge me a fee every time I send. Which method is better? Also, can we still apply for OSAP/Canadian student loan, I heard there were some changes?
Hey guys as the title says. I am a Canadian student preparing for Ross in the fall. Unfortunately reapplying next cycle isn’t an option And I am already aware I will be facing an uphill battle. It is causing me a lot of anxiety but all I can do atp is make it through.
That being said does anyone who has taken this route have any advice.
How did you prepare for exams/ boards? how long should you study? What third party resources are helpful?
Any advice would help a lot
Hey everyone! I recently got accepted to Ross with their Pathfinder Scholarship—which is a huge help. At the same time, I have an interview at MUA, and I’m feeling pretty confident I’ll get accepted there soon too.
Now, I’m weighing my options and would love some advice. Ross obviously has a larger class size, but they also have a big network and a long track record of residency placements. On the other hand, MUA is much smaller and the overall cost is lower around $200k, which means I’d need fewer private loans.
I’m torn—should I go with Ross for the larger network and potentially stronger residency connections, or lean toward MUA for the smaller class and less financial strain? Any firsthand experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Me and 25 other Canadian premeds spent a month at St. Kitts / UMHS to get a different view of med schools outside of Canada. Some of us were offered to come back to enroll full time and the opportunity is very enticing.
Viewing this subreddit a lot of people have good and bad things to say about the school, Im just wondering what I should know about before potentially enrolling. Any advice helps!
Hi everyone, I will be starting medical school this Fall 2026 at SGU. Can anyone tell me how it works to fly home mid semester/weekends? Are all classes mandatory?
I have some religious holidays in September and a family event in October. Also my husband will be staying in the US for now until we figure out my schedule, housing, etc.
I’d really appreciate any information. Thank you!
I’m trying to make a document to share with my classmates about where they can apply for elective rotations.
Does anybody know any programs that accept/welcome Caribbean students for elective rotations?
If you know the specialties they take rotations in and the cost as well that would be amazing!
Feeling depressed and trying to keep it together. PACE’d neuro at RUSM. This is my first time failing a module. Had a lot of setbacks this module and it’s definitely my own fault and the stress and anxiety caught up to me. My biggest worry is how this will affect my timeline going forward and my ability to match in the future. Short term Im worried about passing comp and getting off the island after having to commit to another semester here. Any guidance would helpful!
Does SGU has BS MD program for 6 yrs ?
Planning to apply as plan B
I graduate next year from my school, and I am grateful for the education. With the changes to financial aid, my advice to anyone considering going to a Caribbean school changes alot now because of the bill. You have to REALLY know yourself as this is a big financial gamble now. With Caribbean schools being far more expensive, higher dropout rate, and higher interest rates with private loans, you really have to know yourself if you’re ready. Again, this is not to discourage anyone from going. I loved the education I got. But this bill can make one have serious financial ramifications in their life.
If you do consider going to a Caribbean School, everyone will advise the Big 4. But honestly, compare tuition rates of each school and their curriculum and their CBSE pass score.
The smaller schools don't qualify for Fed loans. I'm thinking of enrolling in SJSM but their Delta loans only cover partial tuition and no room and board. How are you financing your education?
If anyone has experience with private lenders or current SJSM students, I would appreciate your insight.
Just as title says (for INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL SCHOOLS). Apparently, now going to medical school in Australia, Ireland, the Caribbean, USAMD, USADO is not feasible if you are not "well off".
TD has a high net worth policy for their medical line of credit, and RBC, Scotia, CIBC, require an extensive banking relationship and a cosigner income of 200k+ with little debt.
I have tried credit unions, big banks, etc. RBC says I can maybe get 200k, CIBC said I can't apply because I don't bank with them, TD says I need to have 250k in cash to even apply, and other banks look at income, which needs to be pretty high (200k+)
HELOC is not an option as parents have poor credit and income.
What are my options that I am not considering?
Pending acceptance to Aus and the Caribbean, and have a USDO acceptance.
Not here to sell anything or rep any school. Just a current med student who took the Caribbean route when the traditional path didn't work out the way I planned.
I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of this journey. If you're on the fence, already applied, or just curious whether this path leads somewhere, drop your questions below or DM me.
I also host a small free Zoom session every few weeks for people seriously considering this route. No admissions reps, no agenda, just real conversation. DM if you want in on the next one.
With the new federal student loan changes going into effect July 1, 2026, unless you're rich, U.S. students have NO business going to a Caribbean med school. I am a recent Saba grad with $325,000 in student loan debt, and this was AFTER receiving a scholarship.
Federal loans are capped at $200,000 for med school. However, there is also a lifetime federal borrowing limit of $257,000 for all loans (undergrad, grad, med school).
And if you already have previous Grad plus loans, that amount counts toward the $200,000 limit. This is going to affect transfer students the most, so if you're currently enrolled and taking out loans, do not even think of transferring.
I am sure schools are going to offer scholarships to almost everyone who applies to get them in. If you fail a semester and repeat, you're going to be charged full tuition, as scholarships don't apply to repeat semesters. In addition to the loan cap, there is also a new yearly cap of $50,000. So you can't borrow more than $50k per school year.
Even though I've been off the island for a year now, I have friends at different schools, and the cost of living has gone up. Electricity and groceries are very expensive, and for those who rent a car, gas is $6.66/gallon right now!
Why anyone would take out a private loan and have a co-signer for a foreign school, and that too with Sallie Mae, is a very dumb decision.
Do WHATEVER you can to improve your application, and apply DO if your stats aren't good for MD. There are so many new DO schools, and while they're not cheap either, at least you'll be stateside and a U.S. grad.
Total tuition as of June 26, 2026 for some fafsa approved schools. Remember, living costs are separate:
SGU: $377,000
ROSS: $360,462
AUC: $322,000
SABA: $298,750
SMU: $279,860
AUA: $253,050
Hello,
I am a 23 year old (M) nurse in a Level 1 Surgical ICU. I’m currently in a situation where I need advice. I have all the required things to apply to CRNA school which was my intended goal since graduationing Nursing school, but after actually working in the ICU and working with Anesthesiologist I’ve learned that if I truly want to gain knowledge and learn the massive information I want too I feel I would be doing my self a disservice going into CRNA school. I’ve noticed a lot of the higher acuity cases or cases that prompt more learning are usually given to the Anesthesiologist Resident vs CRNA/SRNA. Of course that’s not the situation everywhere but it just began to dawn on me and caused me to reflect a lot on if that was route I truly wanted to persue. Now to mention another reason I’m leaning towards medical school is because of the vastly larger financial assistance. Since the BBB was signed it isn’t really favorable for CRNA school assistance.
The hospital I work for is also affiliated with a medical school so I’ve thought about pursuing the Post Bacc MD program that basically guarantees a seat if you can finish the 2 year program and obtain a 502 MCAT but I just fear I wouldn’t do well on MCAT and the program takes 2 years.
The reason I would be leaning towards carribean medical school is mainly because it would allow me to avoid the MCAT and save me atleast 2-3 years. I’m aware of the main reasons people avoid carribean medical schools and it seems that the general consensus is that.
Now sorta to recap my reasoning for going I believe it being expensive isn’t enough for me to completely exclude it. Now as far as the matching I was curious if my ICU experience as a Nurse would hold any weight. Considering at least at my university hospital I’m familiar with almost all the program directors I would assume that could work in my favor but who knows. I believe my ICU experience should give a little bump with making connections but who knows. Now for the different environment my father is a carribean man and I’ve always wanted to explore my roots so I could benefit from that. Now I can’t speak for the last two but I just need some advice. Thanks in advance and sorry if everything is clustered.
I am 2025 MUA grad and matched this year in IM. I saw a post from about MUA from Ok-Dragonfruit-5035 and I recommend others to check it out. I am not going to repeat what he/she said as it's pretty much all accurate, rather I am going to add my own thoughts.
Of course every Caribbean med school has a list of problems, they're all overpriced, etc... But one thing I will say about bigger schools like SGU is that they have a standardized curriculum that works. The lectures and exams are all standardized and rarely change. At smaller schools like MUA and Saba, faculty have too much leeway and the rules are always changing.
I was at Saba and transferred to MUA for the 4th sem because of the lower cost. Prof's here can decide if they want their slides to be very minimal or comprehensive. Very minimal meaning it's their way to get you to pay attention/watch the recording or comprehensive meaning the slides have what you need to know for the exam.
This was more of a problem at Saba than MUA, but prof's didn't like it if you were self-studying and not paying attention. When there are only 20 students in a classroom, you'll get noticed. You also have to get used to prof's having their favorites. They know your grades and are going to be extra friendly and help out students they like.
Classes ending at 5 PM at MUA even for the first part of sem 5 is ridiculous. The dean has been there for 3 years now and her answer is always the same, "I am working on it."
I had a close friend who had to take an LOA at MUA and they put you on academic probation for 2 sems. Her mom passed away, and the dean told her that it's school policy that if you withdraw from a class, it's an automatic AP. Saba does not do this and it's a shitty policy!
CBSE rules are two scores of 64 or higher, meaning you take it twice OR one 72. For Step 2 CCSE, two consecutive 229s, or one 236. Please correct me if I am wrong in the comments, but no school has this high of a requirement. If you don't get these scores, you have to go to Kansas and do a mandatory prep program.
And lastly for clinicals, they keep on raising the tuition, yet have NOT added any hospitals...SMH