Dr.Luv Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I really need to clarify some of the things that I've heard regarding American Medical Schools... Is it true that American Medical Schools will still be highly competitive through out the four years of medical education and so only 70% of the initial entering class will graduate? If this is true, American Medical Schools are very different compared to the Canadian ones because 100% of Canadian Medical Students will graduate. In Canada, there is very little competition once you are admitted to medical school. Thanks for anyones's input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuckman Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I've heard this as well. I'm wondering if it's true. It seems unlikely to me but can someone tell me if this is just a myth or not. Zuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippie Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I doubt it, there are information about attrition rates on the amcas website and they are definitely not more than 5%....Maybe Madz or sony have more info about this... I know attrition rates are pretty high in the carribean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Not 100% of Canadian students will graduate either. It's always going to be less than 100%, because some people will be dropping out voluntarily, especially at schools with low tuition (Quebec, anyone?). Then there will be a person or two who will be kicked out for flunking or lying on their application or something. I wouldn't be too surprised that US med schools would have a slightly higher percentage of students dropping out, considering they are a whole lot easier to get into. This means that SOME of the students admitted can be expected to not be able to handle the coursework. Also, since you can get in pretty easily compared to Canada, it can be fair to expect that more students there will not be as motivated. I feel that succeeding in gaining admission in Canada requires a whole lot more commitment and effort than in the US (for a US citizen in the US, that is), and I would argue that simply going through a much tougher selection process alone will make a difference in the student's experience in medical school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylem29 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Lol - are you kidding me man? The attrition percentage for US medical schools is not 30%. It's not too different from the Canadian medical school attrition rate, if it is higher, it's not significantly higher from what I remember. A 30% attrition rate sounds more like the Caribbean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 The attrition rate in US schools may be higher, especially for private schools. I dont know anything about the figures. In Canada, med school tuition is highly subsidized. The government is spending A LOT for each student, each year. That's why in Canada, they WANT you to graduate because you are an investment. That's obviously not the case in US private schools so they may not care as much if you don't pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 The attrition rate in US schools may be higher, especially for private schools. I dont know anything about the figures. In Canada, med school tuition is highly subsidized. The government is spending A LOT for each student, each year. That's why in Canada, they WANT you to graduate because you are an investment. That's obviously not the case in US private schools so they may not care as much if you don't pass. Yeah, the debt's like 3x higher though, so the students may not be as encouraged to quit for financial reasons. It's one thing to drop out with 25 grand in debt (manageable w/o a professional degree) and another with a 100 grand (NOT manageable w/o a professional degree). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylem29 Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 No man - that's totally wrong! They US schools - even the private ones - are no different from the Canadian ones. From my own research into it, these schools have the same measures (like cdn schools) in place to make sure 100% of their students pass. Things like remedial courses in the summer for failed courses, counselling with appropriate people, special prep for those who fail the USMLE, students who for some reason can't handle the course load (such as those who families or other circumstances) can take a decelerated path where they finish in 5 years instead of 4, etc. When I was having lunch with an adcom at WashU, I asked her a question about support for students and she told me of one student who wanted to drop out for personal reasons but the school convinced him to take a year off instead - and during that year off, she would call him once a month to talk to him, shoot the sh*t, and to make sure everything was alright. I don't what you would call that if not going the extra mile to get their students through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted May 8, 2007 Report Share Posted May 8, 2007 MD school don't have a high attrition rate. Usually 2-5% would drop out depending on the school. Normally people realize that they don't want to do medicine.... and that is usually during first year. Because after first year.. you are so bad in dept that you can't afford to leave. Medical school is not HARD CORE THINKING.. just memorizing and learning stuff quickly. If you fail a course they usually have way for you to re-test or re-do course. If you fail too many... you get asked to repeat or you leave. Dept is usually about 200-250k US dept (out of state) depending on school. yap agree with all docbill's points. Very few people drop out. For example: last 4 years 1 student has decided to quit out of UVM (so 1 out of 400). With amount of work one requires to get an acceptance plus the debt you accumulate, its wise to not drop out. Also the school does everything in its power to help you pass. its the interest of the school to pass you. the carb schools are opposite however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quintessence Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Ok different question: how difficult is it to do your residency in Canada/practice in Canada after doing Meds in the US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippie Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Shouldn't be too hard if you chose to do your electives in Canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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