Why a Caribbean Medical School?

I think the first question we get asked when people find out that Jordan is a medical student is, Why did you go to medical school in the Caribbean? 
The short answer: Because he didn't get into a med school in the US :)

The long answer: Everyone knows that medical school is competitive, but what they don't realize is exactly how competitive. There are a ton of factors that go into your medical school applications and one of those is grades, obviously. So Jordan is a non traditional student and had actually gone back to college in 2010 to complete all the pre-med coursework. What we (I) didn't realize at the time was all his grades from his first attempt of college right out of high school were also going to be on his transcript and be calculated into his GPA. Ouch! Jordan had one semester that he just quit going to due to financial aid issues and therefore had straight F's. Now, with MD applications you can retake those classes and get an average score (example: original grade F, retake grade A= C average). Not good enough to bring up a GPA. With DO school applications, they don't take the average grade, they take the newest/highest grade, but it still shows on your transcript as a "retake" so obviously it's going to be a red flag on your application that you've retaken classes. Also, the MCAT is vital. Jordan's first attempt was in the mid 20's, he retook it and scored in the high 20's. Our state school's average MCAT score was 30 so we knew his MCAT was on the lower end. **I know the MCAT has since changed their scoring system so I'm not sure how to compare scores now.** A lot of things stacking against him on getting accepted. I should also mention that Jordan worked full time, on 3rd shift at a hospital, all through undergrad as a nontraditional student.
 After 2 years of applying in the US we both felt a little defeated and weren't sure what our next move was going to be. I started "researching" Caribbean medical schools and at first Jordan was 100% against it, wouldn't even consider it. I saw that American University of the Caribbean (AUC) was having an informational session in Kansas City and I told Jordan that I thought we should drive up there and at least hear what they had to say. He agreed so we went up there on November 1, 2014 to hear about the school. After listening to the presentation and talking with alumni and professors we were starting to feel more comfortable, and realizing that this may be our last ditch effort if medicine was the only thing he wanted to do. I have always seen such a drive and ambition in Jordan that I've always fostered because I know he is extremely capable of becoming an excellent physician. Now, if he was failing classes in undergrad for the second time, not putting in the effort on his applications, etc I would not have been okay with taking the risk of going to an international medical school. Let's face it..it was a huge decision. We had 1 son, and I was pregnant with our second son at the time so a move to the Caribbean was a daunting. 
At the beginning of 2015 Jordan went ahead and applied to AUC and the rest is history, up until present day. Do I recommend a Caribbean medical school? Sure.. if you're 100% dedicated and willing to put in the hard work. Caribbean medical schools are more expensive and there is more adversity you'll be facing in regards to island life, clinical setting choices and eventually matching into a residency. However, there are so many success stories of physicians that have graduated from an off shore med school as testimony. We are grateful to the opportunity AUC presented, but it is really up to the student to determine how successful they will be. 
So there's the long answer :) Thanks for reading!