Skip to main content
Pre-Health Sciences Programs  >  PMED  >  PMED 300  >  Choosing a Medical School

Which medical schools should I apply to?

Consult the publication Medical School Admissions Requirements, United States and Canada for the admissions criteria for specific allopathic (M.D.) schools. This book is available for use in the Advising Resource Center (Hixson-Lied G06), the Reinert Alumni Library, and in the Creighton Career Center, or may be purchased at the campus bookstore or directly from the Association of American Medical Colleges, phone: 202-828-0416).  Similar information for osteopathic (D.O.) schools is available free of charge from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine , phone: 301- 968-4100). Nationwide the typical premedical student, often unable to predict schools most likely to offer admission, applies to many (average of eleven).  Creighton students often apply to fewer schools because they needn't take a scatter-shot approach. Schools most likely to accept you are Creighton and (depending on the state) your home state-supported public school(s). In some cases an osteopathic school may be more likely to accept than the allopathic schools.  In general, apply only to those schools where you have a good reason to apply; don't apply to a school just because you can't find a reason not to!  There are many good reasons for a particular applicant to apply to particular schools. Curriculum (e.g. problem-based versus traditional), clinical versus research emphases, cost, location, etc. vary among medical schools.   A pre-health advisor can help you choose where to apply.

Additional information on the MSAR can be found on the AAMC's website. 

This book may be purchased or accessed at the Career Center (Harper Center, Suite 2015) or down in the Advising Resource Center (Hixson-Lied Science Building, G06).

Medical Schools Outside of the U.S.

Certain Caribbean for-profit medical schools might be good options to consider for a particular type of student: one who is not accepted by a U.S. allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) medical school but who can reasonably expect to pass the boards (USMLE) if given a chance at medical school, and who can quickly adapt to studying hard for a couple of years while living in a diverse cultural environment on an island that tempts people to live as if on vacation! Lisa Brockhoff-Fitzsimmons of our Career Center visited American University of the Caribbean, so she is a great resource for any students considering that or another private Caribbean medical school. 

I would not recommend attending any Caribbean medical school that does not qualify for participation in the U.S. Dept. of Education William D. Ford Direct Student Loan program.  The U.S. Dept. of Education recently began requiring medical (and other) schools whose students obtain loans through the Dept.  of Education to post disclosure information, which is revealing:

  • The on-time (48-month) completion rate for the better Caribbean medical schools is typically only about 65%. 

  • About 12% of first-year students do not return for a second year. 

  • About 75% who start eventually graduate within six years.  

Such numbers are typical of U.S. undergraduate (bachelors degree) college and university programs, but are far below that of U.S. medical schools.  

Most graduates of the best Caribbean medical schools are able to find residency placements, but a relatively high percentage (70%) of their graduates do residencies in primary care practice specialties.  That helps fill a great need in the our country, but students need to understand that their options for residencies and practice specialties will not be as open as for graduates of U.S. medical schools.  

The Caribbean medical schools pay hospitals in the U.S. and the U.K. to give their students rotation slots for the clinical 3rd and 4th years of medical school. U.S. medical schools, by the way, do not pay hospitals to do that, as far as I know.  As the U.S. medical schools are currently expanding their enrollments and some new U.S. medical schools are opening, there is increasing competition for both clinical rotation slots (3rd and 4th years of medical school) and residency training slots after graduating from medical school.  

The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) was created recently because the U.K. stopped accrediting foreign medical schools (a U.K. body had previously accredited several of the Caribbean schools for many years).  By 2023, international medical school graduates wanting to start practicing medicine in the U.S. will need to have graduated from a medical school accredited by a body recognized by the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME).   CAAM-HP has agreed to be the first accrediting body reviewed for such recognition.  Currently, Ross on Dominca and St. George's on Grenada are the only medical schools fully (but conditionally) accredited by CAAM-HP.  Ross and St. George's are also the only Caribbean island medical schools I know of besides American University of the Caribbean (AUC) whose students qualify for US Dept. of Education loans.   AUC is currently accredited by a different body in Ireland (The Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine, or ACCM) that accredits just four medical schools, all in the Caribbean (AUC, Saba, St. Matthews, and Medical Univ. of the Americas).  To my knowledge, none of the other three Caribbean schools (those other than AUC) accredited by ACCM qualify for their U.S. students to get U.S. Dept. of Education loans. 

The first-time USMLE Step 1 mean scores and pass rates of the top Caribbean medical schools are very good (only slightly below Creighton's, and probably as good as that of some medical schools in the US).  However, it's important to note that at most Caribbean medical schools, the only students who attempt the USMLE are those who have already passed a similar screening test given by the medical school, whereas in U.S. medical schools essentially all students take the test after their first two years of medical school.

Academic Medicine and some other journals have published useful articles about Caribbean medical schools.  The Government Accounting Office also issued a recent report at  http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-412.  Finally, there are also some interesting threads on various blogs and occasional articles in newspapers. Of course, these are subjective and anecdotal, so keep that in mind. 

Here are a few I found of interest:

http://www.caribbeanmedstudent.com 

http://www.caribbeanmedstudent.com/other-blogs/

One reviewer wrote: "On this site there are links to loads of blogs of students at loads of different Caribbean schools. They will give you a good idea about all aspects of the life at each school. Some are better than others. "Welcome to my life" is good for AUC and "What's Jessica up to" is good for Ross."

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/archive/index.php/t-768013.html

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=783047

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=840951

http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/medicine/article1061189.ece

 

Below is some information directly from their recruiting/admissions office.

THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE OCHSNER CLINICAL SCHOOL

Study 2 Years in Brisbane Australia, 2 Years in New Orleans Louisiana

Two world class academic medical institutions, The School of Medicine at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, Louisiana, have joined forces to create a unique medical school option leading to the practice of medicine in the U.S.

Complete Basic Sciences in Brisbane, Australia and Clinical Rotations in New Orleans in the U.S.

Admitted U.S. students will study two years of Basic Sciences at The University of Queensland School of Medicine in Brisbane. Students then complete their core and elective clinical rotations in New Orleans and/or Baton Rouge, Louisiana at Ochsner Health System. Upon satisfactory completion of the four years, students will be eligible for ECFMG certification, to take the USMLEs, for the NRMP match, and to practice medicine in the U.S.  The program culminates in an MBBS degree – recognized in the United States as equivalent to the U.S. M.D. degree.

About UQ and Ochsner

The University of Queensland is one of Australia's finest medical schools. Founded in 1936, it is renowned globally as an award-winning research institution of excellence and rigor. Accreditations for Australian medical schools are recognized by the U.S. government and Department of Education as exacting as those of the U.S. accrediting bodies. The University of Queensland is a member of the prestigious Group of Eight (GO8) and of the international network Universitas 21; the 1996 Nobel Prize winner in medicine is a graduate of the University.

The Ochsner Health System, established in 1942, is one of America’s largest independent graduate medical education programs, and is nationally recognized for its forward-looking clinical delivery system, anticipating the medical needs of the future. Ochsner is highly regarded for the quality of its patient care and clinical services. Students will have the benefit of a well supervised and cohesive clinical experience.

Watch the UQ Ochsner Video
Visit our Website
Download the application

A Long-standing Alliance between U.S. and Australia for Graduate Education

In the realm of academics, the U.S. and Australia have a long history of collaboration. As early as 1949, Australia and the U.S. signed a bi-national treaty that led to the creation of the United States Educational Foundation in Australia (USEFA), today known as the Australian-American Fulbright Commission. The Australian American Education Alliance exists to promote educational opportunities between the two countries in a program under which qualifications gained will have the same recognition in both countries. 

For more information please contact Wendy Monk, Enrollment Director via email or phone at 877.777.0155 ext 103

 

Some applicants might consider the Early Decision Program (EDP).

You can only apply to one school via EDP, and you can’t apply to any others that year unless and until the school to which you’ve applied via EDP decides not to accept you via EDP.  If that school accepts you, you can’t then change your mind and apply elsewhere that year – AMCAS would not allow it.  Only if and when the school declines to accept via EDP and releases you from the EDP process are you able to apply to multiple schools; and yes, the one to which you applied via EDP would probably automatically put your application in their own regular applicant pool - but check with the school to know for sure.

 

So, EDP makes sense only:

 

1) - if you are absolutely sure that you’ve identified the school you would most want to attend even if you had your pick of any school in the country that could possibly accept you.

2) - if that school accepts students like you via EDP.  The standards are higher than for regular admission, so be sure you know.

3) - if acceptance via EDP at that school is compatible with any scholarships from that school that you might be offered.  Some medical schools might offer scholarships primarily to non-EDP matriculants.   If you are not likely to be considered for medical school-sponsored scholarships anyway, this is no issue.  But if you are, check to see if medical students accepted via EDP have been offered scholarships in the past.   Or,  simply ask if you would be given equal consideration for scholarships whether admitted via EDP or via regular cycle.

Additional Resources:

Aspiringdocs.org offers answers to questions such as: There are 126 accredited medical schools in the United States. How do they differ from one another? How do I know which ones might be right for me?

Aspiringdocs.org also offers advice on what you need to get accepted into medical school.

The AAMC has prepared a short piece on What do medical schools look for and how do I decide?.

Back to PMED 300 Homepage.