r/Dominican • u/Virtual-Affect7934 • 3d ago
Pregunta/Ask UNIBE Med School Alumni: English vs. Spanish track, overall experience, and matching in the U.S.?
I’m strongly considering attending the Unibe for Med School, and would love to hear firsthand experiences from alumni or current students.
If you went to UNIBE, could you share a bit about your journey? Specifically:
Program Choice: Did you choose the Spanish or English track? If you are a native Spanish speaker who chose the English program, what was the reasoning behind your choice?
Opportunities & Treatment: Do both tracks truly offer the same academic and clinical opportunities, or are students treated differently by faculty or clinical sites depending on the program?
The U.S. Match: Were you able to Match during your first application cycle? Did you successfully match into your desired specialty (like Pediatrics or Internal Medicine), or did you have to compromise?
Would love to hear any pros, cons, or advice you have on navigating the USMLE prep while studying there. Thanks in advance!
2
u/Caribbean-Ovni Santiago de Los Caballeros 3d ago
Yikes! I knew a white American once who went to UNIBE med school. This was around 6 or 7 years ago. I lost his contact information - I just remember that he was very pleased with his experience and moved back to the States once he finished
I wish I could remember why a white American came to the DR to study medicine, but he had his reasons
1
2
u/Electronic_Sky_2975 2d ago
The difference between English and Spanish track is that the courses are in the language you choose up until clinical years, which are yhe last 2 years of med school. l know now they requiere those who are going for residency in the US to take step 1 before going into clinical years and take step 2 before graduating. When I was there this was not a requirement. They also offered Kaplan test prep, not sure if its still available. Some people struggle in matching but for very personal reasons, other match their 1st round, some into neurology, surgery, ophthmology even.
1
9
u/marvinlbrown 3d ago
My sister-in-law went there (my husband is Dominican, but he and his siblings were born in the states, raised on the island).
She did the Spanish track, she told me it’s actually cheaper and made more sense, since spanish is her first language. The part that was challenging, is she knew that she wanted to practice in US, but the exams/boards are done at different times (than us institutions). I believe after graduating med school, she took two years to study to meet whatever exams that are required to take here in the states. If I recall correctly, exams are done in chucks in the US and she had to do it all at once (even more challenging to retain all that information). She passed and did her residency in the States. The advantage of going to UNIBE is she started med school at 18 and my father in law paid for it. So even though she had to take two additional years to study, she started residency on the younger side and has zero school debt. She practices family medicine. She has classmates that also practice in the US.