This question is asked so many times by so many people on ValueMD and everyone has different answers but they all have a common answers with their different answers. I got an email regarding the question above.
Note: few things are omitted from the original email to respect the sender’s privacy.
I know you went to the Bonaire campus but I'm interested in the Anguilla campus. My advisor, Mr. R, has all of my information (transcripts, letters of rec., etc) and has scheduled my interview for this coming Tuesday. What can I expect to experience in the interview? My undergraduate GPA was 2.8 but I have extensive pre-hospital medical experince. In reading your posts I relate to you very well in that I haven't applied to any other school (I'm from the US) nor did I take the MCAT. Any information regarding the interview process would be greatly appreciated!!
The answer to this is not very complicated. The only pre-condition in getting into SJSM and most of the other Caribbean medical schools is the ability to pay for your tuition; that’s it. There are no loan programs for SJSM and the Delta loan program comes and goes each year, I don’t know why; and when it does come it’s only for Basic Science classes. So you have to be very resourceful in getting the money that’s required for tuition.
Of course there are other things also, like pre-requisite classes but they are lenient regarding it. Usually you have to have all the pre-medicine requirements in order to get into the MD program in SJSM and they are strict about it. However, recently I met someone who did not have the pre-medicine requirements but he had the ability to pay and he got in. Therefore, that issue can be debated. And regarding the GPA, if you have a 2.4 or above and you can pay then you’re in. Somewhere from Bonaire told me that the new MD1 class had over 90 people; that’s crazy unless they are expanding the classroom sizes.
Also note SJSM doesn’t require an MCAT score; not just SJSM, but also IAU and Windsor. Any medical school that doesn’t require MCAT is very lenient on their admissions. However, this could change with time as SJSM is gaining accreditation. I remember in 2003 one of my friend’s brother went to Ross Medical University and he got in without a Bachelor’s degree and without taking the MCAT. Now Ross requires an MCAT because of how big they’ve gotten; and it also plays a role in their accreditation.
So to summarize in your chances of getting into SJSM, ask yourself these questions:
Do you have over 2.4 GPA?
Do you have the pre-medicine pre-requisite class credits?
Can you pay the full tuition and any tuition increase?
If you say yes to all those things then you’re good to go, and don’t be tense about the interview process, because it’s over the phone.
9 comments:
A good blog always comes-up with new and exciting information,I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back from again.
Being there for a while as a student of St James, do you recommend others to come for this Med school rather than the four big unives?
Thanks,
@Vahid: no i don't recommend it. I suggest you do your best to get into a US school.
Hi, I found this blog very useful and hopeful. Please keep posting any info. after you became a fledged MD. I have some questions. You said that the pre-medicine pre-requisites are needed with 2.4 GPA, that's a good news to me. How recent should these courses be? Also, somewhere you said the lifestyle in the tropical island is very bad that you were happy to come back to the U.S. You mean, the sanitation is so bad that we should bring bunches of roach and mice traps or something?
No, the sanitation is fine and clean. But the heat and mosquitos was what I didn't like. Plus I didn't enjoy the food there.
In terms of how recent the courses should be totally depends on the school that you are applying for. However you should try to get a GPA as high as possible.
Wow, I didn't expect the reply because you are so busy. Thanks so much. I am also scared of Chagas' disease. Hope that the situation is better in the new Anguilla compus. /So, bringing mosquito coils and net is a must, which I later learned from another section of your blog. Readers, check the following, this is very useful:
http://www.medicalschoolmemoirs.com/2010/03/things-to-bring-to-bonaire-while.html
My GPA is 2.92 at Columbia, which is all I could do by studying 15 hours/day, more on weekends. Hope that your SJSM won't require us to take MCAT in the future. I am still trying to make as much money as possible and will take two more years to apply for your school of medicine. But I will do my best.
Thanks again.
Try to avoid going to SJSM as much as possible. Since it's going to be more competitive in the coming years to get residencies for IMGs I suggest you to go to an American school. SJSM will most likely start requiring MCAT in the future to gain accreditation but I doubt it will be a big factor in their selection factor.
Hi, what are my chances of getting in with a engineering degree and a 3.4 GPA, I am from Canada.
As long as you take your pre-medicine courses and you can pay your tuition then you are in.
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