Studying Medicine in the Caribbean is an Excellent Option

Avalon University School of Medicine

1. Affordable Tuition: Caribbean medical schools typically cost less than U.S. medical schools (both public and private). Some schools may approach the costs of U.S. medical schools but they are, overall, still less expensive.

2. Global Medical Training: In today’s global society, students who are able to have a global medical education have an advantage when mentioning this on their residency applications, and even more when they become practicing physicians. Caribbean medical schools are affiliated with numerous teaching hospitals, which provides students the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations throughout the United States or Canada. Some schools even offer clinical rotations throughout the world.

3. Clinical Rotation Opportunities: There are clinical rotation opportunities in the U.S and Canada. In many of the Caribbean medical schools, the first two years of the basic sciences are completed on their campuses overseas, while clinical rotations are completed in U.S. and Canadian hospitals. Though your campus is overseas, an important factor in gaining a residency position in the United States or Canada is having clinical rotation exposure in the United States or Canada. The fact is that residency programs are now factoring in where you have completed your clinical rotations, and if they are completed in the United States or Canada, that is an important criteria in the eyes of residency programs.

4. Reputation: In many countries such as the U.K., U.S. and Canada, the reputation of the medical school matters primarily for your own personal satisfaction, because wherever you go, you will get an equivalent degree and training. It all boils down to how dedicated the student will be, and how hard they will work towards their goal of becoming a practicing physician.

5. Less Competitive: U.S. and Canadian medical schools are very competitive because they can only accept a smaller number of students, and don’t admit enough students to fill the demand of doctors in the U.S. So even if you didn’t have a great GPA during school, or didn’t score well on the MCAT for admission into a competitive U.S. medical school, there’s still a good chance you could into a Caribbean medical school and fulfill your dream of becoming a doctor. It is also important for you to know that 25% of practicing U.S. physicians is from international medical schools.

6. Supportive Environment: Medical school professors in the Caribbean want you to succeed, both for your well-being and for their school’s reputation.