Transfer from Ross University School of Medicine: Where to Continue Medicine in 2026

What is Ross University School of Medicine and what does it teach in English?

Ross University School of Medicine is a Caribbean medical school founded in 1978, with its campus at Two Mile Hill in St. Michael, Barbados. It teaches one English-taught programme, the Doctor of Medicine. The regular track runs eleven semesters: five semesters of Foundations of Medicine in Barbados, followed by six semesters of clinical clerkships.

The school is accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP), and intakes run in January, May and September. Clinical clerkships take place at affiliated teaching hospitals in the United States, which is why the curriculum is built around the United States Medical Licensing Examination. Ross University School of Medicine publishes a five-year cumulative first-time pass rate of 82 percent for USMLE Step 1 across its 2021 to 2025 cohorts, and a first-time residency attainment rate of 96 percent for its 2025 to 2026 graduates.

That is a clear design, built for one destination. Our own profile of the school sits on the Ross University School of Medicine page.

Can you transfer from Ross University School of Medicine to another university?

Yes. Students enrolled at Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados can transfer to another medical university, in the Caribbean or in Europe, and continue the medicine programme rather than restarting it. Medschool Experts organises these transfers as its core work and holds the world's largest choice of official partner universities.

A transfer is not an application from zero. Your completed semesters, your credits and your passed examinations are the material we work with. The question we answer is a simple one: given this record, which partner university accepts it, and at which year. Some records travel further than others.

Our transfer service covers the whole route, and our student stories show what the process looks like from the student's side.

Why do students transfer from Ross University School of Medicine?

Students of Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados transfer for five recurring reasons: total cost, a better fit with a different examination format, personal or organisational circumstances, a sharper route towards the United States, and the wish for a degree recognised inside the European Union. None of these is a judgement on the school. They are planning questions.

Cost. Eleven semesters of tuition add up. For students who are financing their studies with loans, the difference between a programme priced in the low hundreds of thousands and one priced in the low tens of thousands changes what the years after graduation look like.

Exam fit. Some students work better in a system with a different rhythm, different assessment formats and more contact time in small groups. Moving to a university whose format suits you is a legitimate academic decision, and we handle it often.

Personal and organisational reasons. Illness in the family, a partner who cannot relocate, visa questions, or the distance from home. These reasons are ordinary and they are enough.

The United States as a goal, from a European base. Some students want to stay on the USMLE track but would rather prepare for it in Europe, closer to home and at a lower cost.

Europe as a goal. A student whose plans have shifted towards Germany, Austria or Switzerland will want a degree from a European university, ideally from an EU member state. Our guide on study transfers from the Caribbean to Europe goes through that route in detail.

Where can Ross University School of Medicine students transfer to?

Students leaving Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados usually choose between four destinations: a more affordable medical faculty such as Foca in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mostar School of Medicine for USMLE preparation inside Europe, an EU university such as the Medical University of Varna in Bulgaria, or another Caribbean partner school. The goal decides, not the other way round.

The Faculty of Medicine Foca belongs to the University of East Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is our most frequent destination for students who need the total cost to come down sharply, and it also prepares students well for the German system. Medical University of Varna in Bulgaria issues an EU degree, and students there can complete the final practical year in Germany through Medschool Experts.

Mostar School of Medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the option that surprises most Caribbean students. It is the only European university that specifically prepares students for the USMLE — Step 1 during the preclinical years and Step 2 CK during the clinical years. Teaching happens in small groups, with a better teacher-to-student ratio than other European medical schools, and there are only 30 places per year. Medschool Experts places students there reliably without an entrance test, for as long as our own quota allows.

The full list of destinations is on our partner universities page.

How much can a Ross University School of Medicine student save by transferring?

Tuition at Ross University School of Medicine is USD 25,811 per preclinical semester and USD 30,500 per clinical semester, effective September 2026. Over eleven semesters that is roughly €270,500. Tuition at the Faculty of Medicine Foca in Bosnia and Herzegovina is €3,500 per year, or €21,000 across a six-year programme.

Read the table as an order of magnitude, not as a quote. Your own figure depends on how many semesters you have already paid for and which year you enter. Euro figures use the European Central Bank reference rate of 16 September 2026, €1 = USD 1.1537, and rates move.

Living costs work the same way. The Ross University School of Medicine cost of attendance sheet for 2026 budgets USD 9,059 for food and housing per preclinical semester, which is about €7,852. In Foca, tuition and living costs together come to about €7,500 for a whole year. Over the remaining years of a medical degree, that gap compounds.

Which year can you enter after leaving Ross University School of Medicine?

There is no fixed cap. Medschool Experts frequently achieves high placements for students from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados, often into year 4 or year 5, and every case is reviewed individually. The aim is always the highest possible entry year with no loss of time, or with the smallest loss the record allows.

As a rule of thumb, a transfer works when no more than two examinations are still outstanding, and when the ECTS value of those outstanding examinations stays below a set maximum. Your transcript decides. Two students in the same semester can end up in different years, because what counts is which subjects were completed and how they map onto the curriculum of the receiving university.

What we never do is guess. We look at the document, we compare it against the curricula of our partner universities, and then we tell you what is realistic. If the realistic answer is a lower year than you hoped, you hear that before you commit to anything.

How does a transfer from Ross University School of Medicine work with Medschool Experts?

A transfer from Ross University School of Medicine runs in four steps: a free consultation about your goal, a review of your academic record, a concrete placement offer naming the university and the entry year, and then the switch itself with a written plan. You stay enrolled in Barbados until the new place is confirmed.

Step 1 — free consultation. We talk about where you want to practise medicine, what your budget is, and what has happened so far. No documents needed yet.

Step 2 — record review. You send us your transcript and we compare it against the curricula of our partner universities. This is where the entry year is determined.

Step 3 — placement offer. You receive a concrete proposal: which university, which year, what it costs per year, when the next intake starts.

Step 4 — the switch. We handle the formalities with the receiving university and stay your contact point after you have started. You deregister nowhere until your new place is confirmed in writing.

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How do Ross University School of Medicine students keep a United States career on track after a transfer?

Students of Ross University School of Medicine who transfer but keep the United States as their goal usually move to Mostar School of Medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the only European university that specifically prepares for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK. The alternative is another Caribbean partner school, which keeps the familiar structure of United States clinical rotations.

The decisive questions for a United States career are the same wherever you study: the school must be listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools with the note that its graduates are eligible to apply to ECFMG for certification, and you have to pass the USMLE steps. A European university that builds Step preparation into the curriculum, in small groups, is a different proposition from one that leaves the USMLE to the student. That is the specific reason we point Caribbean students towards Mostar.

If your plans have moved towards Europe instead, the logic reverses. A degree from an EU member state such as Bulgaria is recognised across the European Union under the professional qualifications directive, which is why the Medical University of Varna is the usual answer for students aiming at Germany. From Foca and from Varna, the final practical year can be completed in Germany through Medschool Experts. Recognition rules differ by country and by year, so we check the current requirements for your target country with you.

When should Ross University School of Medicine students start planning a transfer?

The best moment to start planning a transfer from Ross University School of Medicine is as soon as the thought becomes serious, and before any outstanding examination turns into a second outstanding examination. Placement depends on the record, and the record is easiest to place while it is clean. Intakes at partner universities are also limited — Mostar School of Medicine has 30 places a year.

In practice, students contact us at three points: during the preclinical semesters when the cost becomes real, after a difficult examination period, and when the career goal shifts. All three are workable. Earlier is simply easier.

One conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Book a free consultation and we will tell you what your transcript makes possible.