Why is the Caribbean medical school cost lesser than others?

There’s no denying that medicine is the most expensive qualification globally, with roughly 73 percent of students graduating with debt. According to Education Data Initiative, 76-89 percent of newly licensed physicians have an educational obligation. In fact, the average medical school debt stands at USD 215,900, excluding other educational debt, the report reveals. Unfortunately, an average medical school graduate owes six times than an average university graduate.

So, asserting that medical schools in the Caribbean are cheaper than the US, Canada, or other international study destinations will be deceiving prospective doctors. If truth be told, top-tier Caribbean medical school cost is no less than its US and Canadian counterparts. However, it’s no secret that Caribbean medical schools tend to have lower tuition fees for a high quality of education.

Are Caribbean medical schools good in terms of cost?

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), an average medical student must spend approximately USD 37,556 to attend a public medical school for one year in the US. At the same time, the average cost of attending a private medical school in the United States is USD 60,000 per year.

In contrast, matriculants in the top-tier Caribbean medical schools have to pay approximately USD 17,800 per semester as tuition for the MD program Basic Science and around USD 22,850 per semester for the MD program Clinical Medicine. The island medical schools also charge around USD 690 for part-time tuition per credit hour.

Notably, tuition fees for matriculants enrolled on or before the May semester differ from those registered for the September semester. Medical students who registered themselves for the September semester intake program have to spend an average of USD 19,950 tuition fees per semester for the MD program Basic Science. Similarly, matriculants pursuing the MD program Clinical Medicine have to pay USD 24,350 as the tuition per semester and USD 690 as part-time tuition per credit hour.

Besides educational fees, the island schools also charge some miscellaneous fees from matriculants, such as application fee, bachelor of science application fee, clinical liability insurance (per semester), deferment fee, graduation fee, lab fee, tuition deposit, administrative fee, transcript request fee, and student activity fee.

Although the tuition fees in Caribbean medical schools are lower, especially in comparison to medical universities in the US and Canada, the island medical schools still offer scholarship programs to help students finance their education costs.

That’s not all. Choosing a top-tier medical university on the Caribbean Island over others can equip students with a wealth of advantages, including an easy admission policy, no requirement for ELPs, rolling admissions, globally recognized degrees, the medical curriculum in line with the US curriculum and English as the medium of instruction.

Winding Up

Caribbean medical schools are equally expensive as compared to their counterparts. However, tuition fees per semester in the Caribbean medical schools are relatively lower than colleges offering medicine in the US and Canada. Plus, the quality of education provided in the Caribbean is way higher than in other international study destinations. So, explore the best medical schools in the Caribbean and sign up for the course now!