Why Caribbean Medical School?

Why Caribbean Medical School?

The first question I get asked when I say that I go to medical school in the caribbean is " Why caribbean medical school?".

I went to undergrad in the US ( I am from the US). After my undergrad degree I realized that my grades from early on in my undergraduate times were not the best and I felt like I really didn't have a great chance at getting into medical schools in the states. I didn't have the money to pay for the Kaplan MCAT review so my score for the Physical Sciences section was low. I probably could have taken a prep course or studied for it more and increased my score high enough to have a chance, but that would have taken another year and I would have been two years off from entry into medical school. I still wasn't sure that I would even get in based on my grades in some of the prerequisite courses.

My other obstacle was the cost of applying. Just the application process alone could have cost me thousands of dollars. So a friend jokingly said in class that he knew of a guy that was going to medical school in the caribbean, and I got to thinking about it.

I love the ocean. I love the beach. I love warm weather. I felt like I would probably love the caribbean even though I had never been out of my country. Ever. I wanted the experience of traveling and learning about a new culture. I love adventure and I am pretty adaptable. It seemed like a good option.

I researched, researched, researched, and researched more. Then I asked my sister to research. I wanted to know how it would affect my chances at a US residency, and what my chances were of passing step 1. My ultimate goal was to become a doctor and taking a different path wasn't a problem for me as long as I was sure that I could get there.

From that research I learned that I could still practice in the U.S. and that I would probably get a residency as long as I kept up with my studies and did my best in my rotations.

I found several caribbean medical schools that I liked. I found St. Georges, Ross, AUC, and St. Matthews and University of Medicine and Health Sciences. I visited Wake Forest medical school in the states for comparison. All of them I felt like had good programs compared to Wake Forest. I wasn't crazy about St. Matthews because they didn't have real cadavers, but I had seen that some programs were going to that method due to the increased focus on the radiographic imaging. It was on a nice island, Grand Cayman. I felt like it would be a good option. The application fee for most of these was anywhere between $75 and $100. So given that it was costing so much less to apply, I applied there.

Then, I went to a Ross informational meeting and felt like Ross was a good University, but they wanted an application that looked similar to the schools in the states.  I didn't have that, so I didn't apply. AUC was similar to Ross, they wanted higher MCAT scores, and they didn't start in May only in August. St. Georges was the best in my opinion of the schools but they also wanted applicants to look very much like a US applicant. There start date was in August as well. So I didn't apply there. For all of the previous schools the class size was anywhere from 200-400 per semester that came in.

I also liked UMHS, I liked the campus and I liked the fact that it was owned by the Ross family who began Ross University, which had a good reputation. Their classes seemed to match up with schools in the states. I liked their facilities. I could start in May 2010. I could interview over the phone. It was cheap to apply. The class sizes were smaller. The island was just nice enough to have the essentials, but not overly touristy. The island had a high petty theft crime rate, but serious crime was pretty limited. I didn't have to worry about my MCAT because at the time it wasn't required. In comparison to Wake Forest they were fantastic!

I applied and it was my first choice.

I interviewed and was offered a place in the ARP class. I had to pass ARP to be accepted into the following semester. I was also offered a spot at St. Matthews. I felt like I could pass the ARP and I would rather be on the island from the very beginning rather than transfer. So I accepted the ARP offer and thus began my journey here.


I had planned on moving my family with me so ARP was a nice way to transition to the island especially given that I was trying to familiarize myself with how the schools worked and where to put my kids in school. It gave me time to see where I would like to live with my family, which parts of the island were the safest. Ultimately, my family never came down, but it was still a good way to find an apartment and get all of that settled before having to deal with the real challenges of medical school.

I love UMHS. I am so glad that I came to the island for medical school. I am sure that there are challenges ahead, but I believe that God has a plan for me to be a doctor. I wouldn't trade my experience on the island for anything. My biggest regret is not forcing my husband to come here or bring my children. I believe I would have done fine with them here and they would have loved it.

The island is gorgeous! There are so many beautiful beaches and places to lay out in the sun. I haven't even seen everything. It is a small island but you don't have time to take island tours and go places because you are studying so much. So even though it is small it is plenty large enough for you to have something to do when you need to go out.

My accommodations have been spectacular, and I know that not everyone has the same experience. My experience has been an unbelievably wonderful ride. I could never have imagined that I would love it so much. I hope that everyone could be so blessed as to have the experience of living in a foreign country and in caribbean once in their lives.

I will truly miss my island life. The weather. The people. Best buy (a grocery store). My taxi driver, Uncle Millie. And everyone that I see here.


Until next time,
Amy Jones
80 something days before I am no longer an islander.