I think it’s an understandable question. Due to the competitive nature of medical school, not everyone gets to be as picky as they like about being the one to select where they get to go. Especially if your scores are mediocre or you are an average candidate (and REALLY want to be a doctor)– then it’s good to have some ‘safety’ schools. I guess it seems a little bit disrespectful to the schools, but from a candidates’ view it’s a bit of a stress reliever to know you can get accepted somewhere!
At this point in my career, I feel a bit of the same way. I don’t want to go to schools in the middle of nowhere… but I certainly wished I had kicked up my academic prowess a notch… so that I could be the one turning away med schools instead of the reverse. By all standards (except medical, of course) having a master’s degree and solid academics should be something to be proud of… but when it come to medical school, you still don’t feel your qualifications are good enough. So I understand the sentiment.
Anyways, to answer the question….
The Caribbean schools are the most easy to get into, but they aren’t always regarded the same as American medical schools. Many of the Caribbean schools also require you to be fluent in Spanish. Check the MSAR booklet for more information on those schools.
Another option is DO school– but I heard in some cases, the DO schools can actually be more competitive. (Although their MCAT/GPA scores are lower than MD schools, they actually may have a higher number of applicants applying!) Also, the DO schools want to know that people are genuinely interested in osteopathy, not just applying because they can’t get into allopathic school.
If you look at the MSAR, you can see the GPA requirements for the schools… so I won’t list some of them here, as I think it would be disrespectful to those schools. While they may be easier to get into, many of them accept lower GPAs because they are looking for other characteristics in candidates– namely a committment to service in primary care or service in underserved areas. So make sure that’s your passion before applying to those schools. Also, apply to your state public medical school, as most state schools give more preference to their own state students first.
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