Students with lower MCAT scores and GPAs are more likely to be accepted to allopathic schools abroad than in the U.S. Due to Israel’s 2022 announcement that foreign students may no longer matriculate to Israeli medical programs, you'll be looking at the islands. Schools in the Caribbean are especially interested in students from the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada.
While attending a school outside of the U.S. may not be your first choice, it's likely that way more doctors than you think graduated from international schools. From 2010 to 2020, the number of licensed physicians who graduated from international medical schools increased by 24%. "About one-quarter (24.7%) of active physicians in 2020 were international medical graduates (IMGs)," according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. "This includes U.S. citizens who studied abroad."
When to Apply
Off-shore schools have rolling admissions (and have multiple start dates). We think you should start submitting applications to these programs with your U.S.-based allopathic applications in June.
Where to Apply
Of the 80 Caribbean medical schools, we recommend "The Big Four" to clients. All have key international accreditations; they are recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education/Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (WFME/ FAIMER). They are also recognized by stricter state medical boards (like California's). These top Caribbean schools also have competitive residency placement rates and other boast-worthy qualities.
Let's take a closer look at each of The Big Four:
St. George's University / Grenada, West Indies: As of December 2020, the average MCAT score of matriculants was 498. Their average undergraduate GPA was 3.3. St. George's has a strong reputation for students passing the USMLE Step 1 (95%), USMLE Step 2 (91%), and for residency placement. SGU secured more than 990 U.S. residencies in 2022. The Grenada-based program has been the largest provider of doctors into first-year U.S. residencies for the last eight years.
Get ready for a Data Fest! SGU reported that 93% of its eligible 2017 U.S. graduates obtained a PGY-1 (a.k.a. first postgraduate year or internship year) position. (In 2022, the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reported that 92.9% of U.S. allopathic graduates matched into a PGY-1 position.) For even more perspective here, collectively, the 80 Caribbean medical schools had a PGY-1 match rate of 59% in 2019. (We're using different years here because the NRMP doesn't break down data by school, so our data sources are varied.) According to the FSMB, St. George's is the number one source of new primary care doctors in the U.S.
Saba University School of Medicine / Saba: Saba told us that as of April 2022, the average GPA of matriculants was 3.19 and the average MCAT was 497. Saba is smaller than SGU, so it has fewer graduates becoming residents—but their stats are strong. Between 2019 and 2021, 94% of graduates obtained residencies. The average first-time pass rate for the USMLE between 2015 and 2020 was 99%. Another thing the school highlights: The Saba Scholars Grant will pay the full tuition for the first semester of an academically qualified matriculant and can be combined with other scholarships. They also seem to weigh work history and recommendations heavily when offering U.S. students scholarships. Even an American student with a 480 MCAT or an overall GPA of 2.5 can qualify for a Faculty Scholarship of up to $25,000. A student with a 510 or above or a GPA of 3.7 can qualify for a Future Physician Scholarship of up to $110,000.
American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine / St. Maarten: In January 2022, the average GPA for matriculants was 3.27; the average MCAT score was 496. AUC has a 93.2% pass rate for the USMLE Step 1, a 92.8% pass rate for the USMLE Step 2 CK, and 96% of 2021-2022 graduates attained residencies. AUC's clinical rotations take place at Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved hospitals. It has clinical teaching affiliates in the U.S. and the U.K., and students can take global health electives in the Dominican Republic, Russia, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Ross University School of Medicine / Bridgetown, Barbados: RUSM emphasizes remedying systemic bias in healthcare in their curriculum—and on campus. Diversity in the student body and faculty is highly valued. They have rolling admissions; prospective students can apply anytime. Matriculants can start school in January, May, or September. The majority of clinical training takes place in the United States. 2022 graduates had a residency match rate of 96% and the school has consistently had a 91% first-time pass rate for the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2. The school gave $50 million in scholarships and grants in 2020.