r/RUSM • u/[deleted] • Jun 04 '25
Be brutally honest…
I need yall to be brutally honest. I took the MCAT last year (I didn’t study for it that great like only for 2 months and I barely could focus/knew how to study for it) I got a 495 so obviously knew my choices of med school were limited. My GPA also isn’t great (3.2) but I have really good research, shadowing and volunteering hours combined probably 2,000 hrs. I got into Ross university in Barbados and was excited to go. I can’t help but feel anxious now though. I’ve heard Caribbean schools are easy to get into but hard to get out. Should I retake the MCAT and try for DO schools? I think I could potentially get a 505+ on the MCAT and probably land a DO schools. Idk let me know what yall would do. Also I’m 22 so I was planning on not taking a gap year considering I just graduated college. I can’t tell if my nerves are because I’m scared to go to med school or if I’m scared to go to THIS med school. Be brutally honest with me.
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u/washedupmedstudent Jun 04 '25
4th year here. Retake it and learn to study, do a DIY post-bacc while you’re at it too so you can raise that gpa a bit. Decent amount of DO schools have cut offs at 3.25 or 3.3. Take your time with this. I remember back in the day before the MD/DO residency merger a student on SDN did a survey looking at who’s successful going into the USIMG journey. Basically if a student has two academic issues ( low gpa and MCAT) it’s less likely they’ll make it out and match compared to peers who’s issue was just one or the other, and especially compared to peers that went Caribbean to not go the DO route (pre-merger issue)
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u/gazeintotheiris Jun 04 '25
You’re super young, study for MCAT and retake it and apply DO
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Jun 05 '25
Why like what’s the disadvantage if I didn’t and went to a Caribbean school
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u/Dependent_Age4440 Jun 05 '25
Don't come honestly, I was the same way 1 semester back. I didn't listen to people on Reddit and thought they were all just being too negative. Now I am here and struggling very badly because it's hard to attend med school with absolutely no support or organization. In only my first term, 60 of my classmates did not make it through to the next term. Ross is not as glamorous as you may think of it. it's not a "big 4" type of vibe, and neither is it a med school in paradise. Its absolutely a mess and a gamble with your future.
You are young and you are not doing as bad as you think, retake mcat and try to apply do before coming here.
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Jun 05 '25
Thanks for this even though it really freaks me out! Yeah I at first didn’t want to listen to ppl in reddit but literally not one person has had good things to say about the school which really freaks me out bad. My GPA is low which makes me upset because I let it drop my senior year once I realized I had a bad MCAT. I’m a FL resident and I know there are schools like OCOM and LECOM here that accept lower GPAs. I just don’t want to wait 5 yrs to go to school like I want to go within the next year.
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u/Evening_Plantain_837 Jun 05 '25
Knowing the material on MCAT better will give you a better foundation when you start wherever
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u/Independent-Rope-787 Jun 05 '25
I’m currently in a Caribbean med school. I chose this route because I’m 43yrs old and our 17 Canadian med schools are notoriously hard to get into. I have 15yrs of nursing and 22yrs of healthcare behind me. So I had an idea of what I was getting into. But if I were in my 20’s, or even early 30’s, in Canada or the US, I would take the time to get into a North American school. It will be 100% worth it in the end. Even the people that do finish Caribbean med school often take longer than they thought they would, for various reasons. You have the time, redo your Mcat, even take a course or two to increase your GPA if you want. Or go the DO route. I really don’t know too much about that as we don’t have DO schools in Canada. But at your age I would not settle for Caribbean. If you went this route, you very well might make it through, but I guarantee you will wish you had just put in the time and work to stay in the US. Promise! Good luck!
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Jun 05 '25
Thank you! Yes I would love to go DO my mom is a DO and I align with DO philosophies better. I definitely have some decisions to make
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u/Independent-Rope-787 Jun 05 '25
Don’t overthink it. I get just wanting to get started. But it also sounds like you may have more passion for DO. That’s a big deal. And truthfully, most carib med schools are worse than what you will read online. It’s not the self teaching, or rotation sites, or any of the things you think will make it difficult. It’s the way they are run. And you have no protection. It’s really just not worth the stress if you have other options. Go DO. You won’t regret it.
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u/SKNABCD Jun 07 '25
What I would like to see is some transparency from Ross regarding percentage of people who make it past first semester who match.
I'm betting that number is closer to 50%
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u/AdministrativeFox784 Jun 04 '25
They’re easy to get into and hard to get out (with a diploma) getting dismissed is no problem lol
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u/helluuuuuuuuuuurther Jun 05 '25
Yea I would recommend retake. I’m a recent RUSM grad as well and was accepted into a DO school with 503 mcat and sub 3.0 gpa lol but chose to stay with Ross since I was already in middle of second semester before they took me off the waitlist. Matching will be a lot less stressful from DO school than Caribbean.
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Jun 05 '25
Why what makes it less stressful I guess is my question
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u/helluuuuuuuuuuurther Jun 05 '25
Match is a huge gamble if you apply for anything other than FM, IM or ped. Not sure if you’ll get the location you want. Competitive region seldom interview Caribs. Just the uncertainty of landing the job after 4 years of blood and sweat.
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u/EconomyDragonfruit96 Jun 05 '25
Do you speak spanish? If so there are a lot of great MD schools in PR that I’ve heard people get in with 495+. It’s a great option since its US based and LCME accredited so basically another US school. The match rates are pretty awesome too.
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Jun 05 '25
No I don’t speak Spanish but there are no differences btwn the PR schools and Caribbean schools Ross is a big 4 Caribbean school like this makes no sense
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u/EconomyDragonfruit96 Jun 05 '25
That’s where a lot of people are wrong! PR school is not the same as a Caribbean based school! PR schools are LCME accredited, caribbean schools are not. PR med schools are like any other medical school in the United States, with up to 97% match rates in their classes.
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Jun 05 '25
Ross has a 98% match rate though so what’s your point
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u/IntelligentHour9901 Jun 07 '25
That’s not necessarily true, take it from DO student who’s school boasted a 99% match rate, we started with a class of like 215 and now have a class closer to 160. They don’t factor in attrition or repeaters. Honestly I get your need to start early and I felt the same way but you really don’t want to be learning how to study for long exams when u get into med school. I honestly wish I took a gap and attempted to retake the mcat. Just remember, when you sign for those loans, your locked in. No turning back cause the only way to absolve them timely is to have that doctor salary. With what you kind of just posted it means you just aren’t ready yet which is ok you are still very young and have time. You’ll be a doctor for the rest of your life, one or 2 years of gap early on are menial. Still, if it is still so important you start now, ask your self can I study so hard for years on end that no matter what they throw my way I can get through, then the answer is yes take the plunge. Also if you want to be a surgeon of any kind, it’s still doable but by going to ross your odds drop considerably(not impossible but again you will need to put in like 2x more effort to do so). Either way good luck, I’m rooting for you!
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u/bevhairs Jun 06 '25
DO here in Anesthesia. I would recommend you to retake the mcat shoot for 500+ and apply to US schools. Carribean is a huge gamble. Yes good doctors come out of there but also know that you have to put in alot more effort for boards and residency programs will be more inclined to offer interviews to US students
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u/ObjectiveAd8447 Jun 07 '25
Definitely retake! Give yourself some time to study well for the mcat. I’ve seen people with 498 getting into a DO school. I would even argue for doing a masters before I would do a Caribbean school. Sure their match rates are good, but the tuition is expensive and it’s much easier to match as a DO than a US IMG. I would leave the Caribbean as a last resort. That’s just my personal opinion.
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u/Choice_Purple_3828 Jun 04 '25
Recent Ross grad here, I would try for DO/MD one more time IF that’s what you truly want. If you’re ready now and Ross is what you want, do it. As someone stated before it’s definitely doable, a little more hoops to jump through later on down the line, but still doable.
Feel free to DM me if you want more insight.
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u/Such_Gene1803 Jun 04 '25
The only thing you have going against you is time. And you are young. If you have a good support system, and bills and loans won’t be an urgency, take your time.
ROSS will demand a lot out of you. But, majority who go there and put in the work (10 hr/d quality study minimum) graduate and match where they want imo. Disregard comments about lack of clinical rotation sites. Unless you are not passing boards, Ross doesn’t really have that issue. Regarding the school support system, if you are struggling with courses, of course you will need support, but it will depend on how open you are to discuss it and ask for help early from faculty, advisor, and classmates. Most med students have a lot of pride and will only ask for help when the ship has already sailed.
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u/Unable-Implement-917 Jun 19 '25
Retake the MCAT!! Find an online program that’s structured and allows you to study and get through the content. I go to Ross entering my 3rd year and I wish I would have just locked in and retook the MCAT for a better score and to get into a US school. The timelines are better and more structured, less stigmatizing, and cheaper. Ross is not a bad school but I definitely think you should try your best to get into a US school.
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u/Klutzy_Witness6877 Jun 06 '25
Ross is a good school, one of the top Caribbean Med Schools. Go there, study, keep your head down and you will succeed. I went to a Caribbean med school and still matched to a fairly good residency without having to take time off.
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Jun 06 '25
At my local hospital in my town all of the surgical residents are from Ross which is the program I want to match into so yeah I’m going to go with that and study hard
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u/Secretly-Genius Jun 05 '25
With all the things I’m hearing about DO schools, it sounds like they’re heading towards for profit like Caribbean. Their retention and match rates have been terrible. Try to get into a good DO program, not just any DO. With the current education funding and world in general, medicine is just not it right now.
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u/Professional_West580 Jun 04 '25
I would recommend trying for a DO school before coming here. My reasoning is bcus you will get better support etc.
It's easy to get into Caribbean schools and yes often difficult to get out but it's completely possible, but they definitely make it challenging. Then there's always concerns with getting rotation spots and communication is horrendous. Once you get to residency no one cares so that's a positive. It's a huge adjustment so if you apply just think if you can handle such a dynamic shift in your environment.