Nevertheless, for those who have exhausted these options and are still committed to becoming a physician, top Caribbean medical schools can provide a viable route to a career in medicine.
Caribbean Medical Schools: What You Need to Know
These are two separate statements. When standing on their own, they’re both true. When they’re put together, though, does the Caribbean make medical school a vacation?
More importantly, what are your chances to become a successful practicing physician in the U.S. after attending a Caribbean medical school? What are the USMLE pass rates and residency match rates for Caribbean medical schools? And what are the best Caribbean medical schools? We’ll cover all that today.
Caribbean vs U.S. Medical Schools
There are about 60 Caribbean medical schools. One might think that this vastly increases your chance of being a doctor since there are only 137 MD and 26 DO medical schools in the U.S.
You must understand that these Caribbean medical schools are not all up to the standards of U.S. schools. There are some well-known Caribbean medical schools that have been graduating successful physicians for a long time, but others have dismal USMLE pass rates and residency match rates, as we’ll cover below.
Many Caribbean medical schools are for-profit entities that chase the dollar. They have a history of accepting students who might not be the best candidates to enter medical school. As a result, Caribbean medical schools have much higher attrition rates compared to U.S. medical schools.
If you’re self-disciplined and ready to work hard, you can earn great board scores at a Caribbean medical school and end up matching into a great residency program back in the U.S. But if you’re honestly not prepared for medical school, many Caribbean institutions will take your tuition money and let you fail out.
Best Caribbean Medical Schools
Here are the best, most well-known Caribbean medical schools you should consider above any others:
- Ross University School of Medicine
- St. George’s University School of Medicine
- American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
- Saba University School of Medicine
All but Saba have been around since the late 1970s. Saba is relatively new to the game, having been established in 1994.
Requirements for Applying to Caribbean Medical Schools
The accredited Caribbean medical schools have the same basic requirements as U.S. MD and DO medical schools:
- 8 Semester Hours (One Year)
- Inorganic (General) Chemistry
- General Biology or Zoology
- Physics
- Organic Chemistry
- Mathematics
- English
How to Evaluate Caribbean Medical Schools
When evaluating any medical school, you need to find the one that will best suit your needs so you can perform as well as possible on the USMLE Steps or COMLEX Levels exams.
I have found that the atmosphere can play a large roll in how much you submerse yourself into what you are studying. Have you ever sat in a cafeteria and tried to study? I have, and I mostly just people-watched. If you don’t think that you will be disciplined enough to stay away from the beaches while you are in the Caribbean, then maybe a medical school in the Caribbean is not for you.
Likewise, if the lure of the big city is too tempting because you will explore every bar on every corner, maybe a school in a small college town in the midwest might suit you better. In the end, the only variable you can control is yourself. Whatever your surroundings are, you need to be able to excel.
Comparing USMLE Pass Rates at Caribbean Medical Schools
Your USMLE Step 1 score is one of the main determining factors in your residency application. Residency coordinators have a filter when they are accepting applications, and one of the first variables they filter by is your Step 1 score. Check out the following data on pass rates from the USMLE:
-
- U.S. Allopathic Schools 1st Time Takers
- 92%
- 82%
- 70% (OUCH)
The data clearly shows that students at U.S. medical schools, both DO and MD, tend to do better on the USMLE Step 1 than Caribbean medical schools. But again, if you are a dedicated student who is ready to study hard, there is nothing stopping you from doing well at a Caribbean school.
Comparing Residency Match Rates at Caribbean Medical Schools
From the stats on pass rates of the USMLE Step 1 above, you can see that the Caribbean medical schools trail the pack significantly. This is also true for the NRMP residency match rates at these Caribbean medical schools.
According to the NRMP, the Match rate for U.S. Citizens who are graduates of international medical schools is only 50%. This compares to 94.1% for US graduates. Non-U.S. Citizens from international schools don’t fare well either, with a match rate of only 40.9%.
To help evaluate how well each school does in the Match, most of them will post their Match results. Saba University History of Success and Ross University Residency Appointments are just a few resources detailing how well the students do as far as residency match rates at these Caribbean medical schools.
Comparing Clinical Rotations
There are Caribbean medical schools that send their students to the states to complete their clerkships during the 3rd and 4th years of medical school. This may sound great, but when you start looking at numbers, it might actually be detrimental.
Caribbean medical schools are known for large class sizes with multiple semesters starting each year. Because of this, the clerkships tend to be a little overcrowded, with not a lot of quality personal time with attendings or residents.
You’ll want to confirm that the hospital you’re doing your rotation at has a residency program for the rotation you are completing. This will afford you the best experience and the best teaching.
If you’re interviewing at a Caribbean medical school, you need to be prepared to ask questions about clerkship opportunities and away-elective opportunities. Most schools will not mind if you do a little extra work on the side to set up a different elective to help position yourself better for the match.
Do You Need to Know Spanish for Caribbean Medical Schools?
The most well-known Caribbean medical schools listed above are English-speaking medical schools. That is not true for all Caribbean medical schools or other foreign medical schools. So you should be aware of this, and check the specific schools you’re considering applying to.
If you are fluent in a second language, this might not be detrimental to you. If you speak a foreign language on an elementary level and know enough to get into a non-English medical school, you may be far behind the curve of students who are fluent. You will be trying to learn medicine and another language at the same time.
More Quick Questions
What’s wrong with Caribbean med schools? Caribbean med schools have a bad reputation because they accept students who are unprepared for the rigors of medical school. As a result, they tend to have high attrition rates, poor USMLE pass rates, and poor residency match rates.
How hard is it to match into residency from a Caribbean medical school? According to the NRMP, the match rate for U.S. Citizens who are graduates of international medical schools is 50%. Non-U.S. Citizens from international schools have a match rate of 40.9%.
How long is Caribbean medical school? Caribbean medical schools are usually 4 years long, just like U.S. medical schools. Typically, the first two years cover the basic sciences in the classroom, while the last two years focus on clinical rotations.
Caribbean Medical Schools: A Last Resort
In the end, I recommend only going to a Caribbean medical school as a last resort. Try applying to MD and DO schools in the U.S. first. If you fail to get in, then take a year or two to fix the weakest parts of your application, and apply again to U.S. schools. Then if you still aren’t accepted in the U.S., then start looking at Caribbean medical schools.
If you do need to pursue an education at a Caribbean medical school, don’t despair. As long as you go in prepared and dedicated to work hard, you will do just fine. Here are a few success stories of residents and attending physicians I’ve interviewed who were successful Caribbean med school grads: one, two, three.
The one thing you can control throughout medical school is how much effort you put in every day. If you go to Harvard and slack off, your chances of getting into a top residency will be less than a Caribbean medical school graduate who studied hard and took advantage of every opportunity!
Links and Other Resources
The Best Caribbean Medical Schools for Students with Low Stats
The top Caribbean medical schools if you want to practice in the United States
Introduction
Getting into an American medical school is currently harder than ever. According to AAMC data, only 41 percent of candidates who applied to begin medical school in Fall 2022 successfully matriculated. In other words, around 59 percent of medical school applicants in the most recent cycle probably didn’t get in anywhere.
With an increasing number of applicants and limited number of spaces, even students with competitive GPA and MCAT scores are being turned away by admissions committees.
If you’re an aspiring doctor, this might make you feel panicky, particularly if your academic stats are less than ideal. You’re probably carefully researching every available option that will make it easier for you to get into medical school with a low GPA. You might even be wondering, should I apply to Caribbean medical schools?
Who should consider applying to Caribbean medical schools?
Due to their less competitive admissions standards, medical schools in the Caribbean have historically provided an alternative path to students with lower stats who might have otherwise given up on their dreams of practicing medicine. And the benefits are mutual—international medical graduates (IMGs) play an important part in the American healthcare system, comprising 25 percent of the current U.S. physician workforce.
Of these IMGs, 18 percent are graduates of Caribbean medical schools. This means that approximately 4.5 percent of all licensed doctors in the U.S. today earned their MD in the Caribbean.
However, a word of caution: although many graduates of the best Caribbean medical schools go on to have successful careers in the United States, it can still be more difficult to do so than for their U.S.-educated counterparts. Caribbean medical students must achieve a very high GPA, score high on the USMLE exams (especially Step 1), secure prestigious rotations during M3 and M4, and receive strong letters of recommendation from clinical supervisors to give themselves the best odds.
On top of this, graduates of American medical schools are still the most likely to secure a spot in a U.S. residency program. Generally speaking, matching into residencies in highly competitive specialties like anesthesiology or plastic surgery is the exception and not the rule for Caribbean med school grads—most IMGs become primary care physicians.
To illustrate this point, consider that in the 2022 NRMP Main Residency Match, around 69 percent of IMGs who successfully matched into a residency ended up in one of the three primary care specialties: internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics.
And, overall, the odds of matching into any residency are significantly lower for IMGs than for those applying from American medical schools: around 55–60 percent vs. nearly 92 percent.
Therefore, due to the positive impact attending an American medical school can have on your future career prospects, we strongly recommend retaking the MCAT or enrolling in a post-bacc or Special Master’s Program before abandoning all hope of attending an MD or DO program in the U.S.
Nevertheless, for those who have exhausted these options and are still committed to becoming a physician, top Caribbean medical schools can provide a viable route to a career in medicine.
How does attending a Caribbean medical school affect your eligibility to practice in the U.S.?
If your goal is to practice in the United States, one of your first questions might be: which Caribbean medical schools are accredited in all 50 states?Technically, the answer is 0.
Currently, foreign-operated medical schools cannot seek accreditation from U.S. accreditors. Thus, the more appropriate question is: which Caribbean medical schools give graduates eligibility to practice in all 50 states?
To make things easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of six medical schools in the Caribbean whose graduates are eligible to apply for licensure in all 50 states.
What are the best Caribbean medical schools?
Although there are no official Caribbean medical school rankings, the four schools below, collectively known as “The Big 4,” are generally regarded as the best due to relatively high USMLE pass rates and match rates, the ability to receive federal loans, and the ability of graduates to apply for licensure in all 50 states.
Below, we’ve provided statistics related to each of the Big 4 Caribbean med schools.
In reviewing the data, you might notice that we’ve listed residency attainment rates rather than match rates. That’s due to the reality that, when it comes to residency matching, most Caribbean medical schools do not report the percentage of their graduates who matched through the NRMP Match (as is typical), but rather the percentage who attained a residency via any route, including SOAP week and last minute postings for unfilled positions.
For example, St. George’s University reports that around 95% of “eligible graduates” attain a residency by the time of graduation. They also note that, on average, 29% of graduating students find residency placements outside of the NRMP. Therefore, their match rate is likely closer to 66%, although it is not specified how many SGU grads are ineligible to enter the Match each year.
And while other Caribbean medical schools haven’t provided this level of detail regarding how their graduates match, past NRMP data suggests that grads of most Big 4 schools have similar levels of success when it comes to matching (note: the NRMP no longer publishes IMG match rates by country).
The “Big 4” Caribbean medical schools
- Location: Grenada
- Average GPA: 3.3
- Average MCAT: 498
- Attrition rate: Around 16%
- Residency attainment rate: 95%
Beginning in 2024, IMGs must graduate from a medical school approved by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) in order to receive certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), which is needed to apply to U.S. residencies. In 2021, St. George’s University voluntarily withdrew from CAAM-HP, one of its two accrediting bodies, leaving the Grenada Medical and Dental Council (GMDC) as its sole accreditation. On September 3, 2022, the GMDC was awarded Recognition Status by the WFME, enabling SGU graduates to be eligible for ECFMG certification.
- Location: St. Maarten
- Average GPA: 3.27
- Average MCAT: 496
- Attrition rate: Not published but rumored to be 12–20%
- Residency attainment rate: 92%
- Location: Saba Island
- Average GPA and MCAT: Not published
- Attrition rate: Not published
- Residency attainment rate: 94%
- Location: Barbados
- Average GPA: 3.2
- Average MCAT: 493
- Attrition rate: Around 20%
- Residency attainment rate: 92%
Honorable mentions
- Location: Nevis
- Average GPA and MCAT: Not published
- Attrition rate: Not published
- Residency attainment rate: “Since 2001, 88% of MUA graduates seeking residency in the United States and Canada secured positions.”
- Location: Antigua and Barbuda
- Average GPA and MCAT: Not published
- Attrition rate: Not published
- Residency attainment rate: Not published
The application process for Caribbean medical schools
If you are interested in the Caribbean Medical Schools route, the application process is quite similar to American medical schools if you’re a US-based applicant. As in the States, each school may have different requirements so be sure to check with them directly. For example, a few medical schools in the Caribbean don’t require the MCAT for admission.
However, most schools will accept applications through AMCAS or ACOMAS just as an American school would. You may come across private application services such as UMCAS, but the AMCAS route is our preferred, tried and true application method.
What should I complete to apply to Caribbean medical schools?
Just like medical schools in the United States, you’ll need to make sure you have completed your premed requirements, garnered clinical, volunteering, and shadowing experience as well as craft excellent personal statements tailored to the schools to which you are applying.
For example, St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada requires applicants to have completed a minimum of:
- A year of biology
- A year of organic chemistry
- A year of inorganic chemistry
- A semester of physics
- A semester of English
- A semester of Mathematics
That’s similar to the requirements in the USA, however, since all medical schools differ slightly you will likely be planning on taking courses that satisfy the requirements wherever you ultimately apply. To do this, you’ll need to include the classes below to what St. George’s lists.
- A biology lab
- A general chemistry lab
- An organic chemistry lab
- A semester of biochemistry
- A semester of physics with and one lab
- A semester of English
- A semester of Mathematics that could include calculus or statistics
Will I need to show volunteer, clinical and/or shadowing experience?
Most Caribbean medical schools don’t explicitly say that they require volunteer, clinical, or shadowing experience to be considered. However, they do tend to evaluate applicants holistically, similar to their US counterparts.
If you’ve engaged in extracurriculars while a premed student at a US undergraduate institution and you’ve hit our recommended hours for volunteering, shadowing, and patient exposure, you should be in the clear for Caribbean med schools.
What about personal statements and letters of recommendation?
You should plan your time around writing your personal statement for Caribbean medical schools just as you would for American medical schools. While not all Caribbean med schools detail what kind of personal statement they want, The Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados explicitly mentions requiring a 750-word personal statement.
All schools in the Caribbean will require letters of recommendation, but the amounts may vary. Both Ross University and St. George’s require 2 letters. If you’re unsure, we recommend contacting the school you’re interested in directly.
Final Thoughts
Attending a Caribbean medical school is a viable path to a fulfilling career in medicine but is by no means an easy one. While the barriers to entry are lower than in the US, you’ll still have to achieve stellar grades and do extremely well on USMLE exams to have a shot at an American residency program.
However, for students with stats just out of range of acceptance to a US medical school, the dream of wearing a white coat is still possible.
- U.S. Allopathic Schools 1st Time Takers
