Session 4 In today's discussion, Ryan and Rich answer a question related to last week's episode question which has been broken into two parts. To check out last week's episode, go to www.opmpodcast.com/3. OldPreMeds Question of the Week - DO vs Caribbean: A U.S. DO school or a Caribbean MD? Which is a better choice? (More job prospects) Cumulative GPA is not above 3.0 unless over 120 hours of classes are taken; Science GPA 3.5+ Here are the insights from Ryan & Rich: Always, always, always go for a U.S. MD or DO over Caribbean even if it takes you a couple of application cycles to try Squeeze in the residency slots can affect the Caribbean students more. Consider the stats: In U.S. medical schools, About 40% of people get accepted Residency matching rates after 5 years at 94% Residency matching rates after 8 years at 97% Placement rate at 100% (get residency slots outside of the main match) Attrition rate at 3% In short, most people who start med schools in the U.S. are able to finish. Other things to consider: Residency slots for the ACGME - MD and DO will be one credited residency program with one match 1-2% of the U.S. med school graduates who never look for residency go with research or other non-clinical fields What happens if you go offshore schools? They would accept almost everyone but only 50% of people who go to the big 3 or 4 Caribbean schools actually get a degree. If you start a Caribbean med school or any other off shore med school, you may only have 1-2% chance of actually earning a degree. Your chances of getting a residency slot are 40-45%. ( A huge risk in the amount of loans plus you won't be able to practice medicine; most likely, you will end up being an Anatomy teacher in the medical school) For-profit nature Caribbean schools vs. U.S.: For-profit schools in the Caribbean are 100%; in the U.S., only two of all DO and MD schools (out of 175) have a for-profit basis. Major takeaway from this episode: Only consider Caribbean medical schools as your last resort after you've applied twice and done repair to consider all other options. Schools are different. The big schools in the Caribbean may not be as valuable as some of the smaller schools in Australia and in Israel, which have different school setup and histories. In either case, the residency match rates and the numbers for that are just working against anyone who goes offshore. Links and Other Resources If you have questions you want answered here on the OldPremeds Podcast, go to oldpremeds.org and register for an account. Go into the forums and ask a question. Listen to the OPM Podcast Episode 3 to hear the first part of this 2-part question Listen to our first episode at OPMPodcast.com/1 to find out more about who we are. Also check out the Premed Years Podcast at www.medicalschoolhq.net. Find us on iTunes and go to opmpodcast.com/itunes and leave us a rating and review. Check out MedEdMedia.com for all the shows that we produce including the Medical School Headquarters and the OldPreMeds Podcast. We will soon be launching a medical school podcast as well so stay tuned! Email Dr. Ryan Gray at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net or connect with him on Twitter @medicalschoolhq.