SGU President Speaks Out!

[Dr E]

Tell me what you guys think about this. http://www.sgu.edu/website/sguwebsite.nsf/home/chancellorsmessage.htm
Due you think this is directed toward Ross? :evil:

[tno77]

the only thing Ross is guilty of that he talks about is accepting substandard students, taking their money, then kicking them out.

But I believe the substandard education and the real meat of the article is directed at other schools

[Rabbitmed]

Do you actually think SGU doesn't accept "substandard" students...give me a break!!!

[smashweasel]

Well it makes me feel better about myself, because SGU offered me a slot so I must not be a substandard student.

[MitchDC]

Yeah, I read that too.

I finished it with the impression that the "chancellor" was being somewhat hypocritical. SGU hasn't been much better than any other school in publishing USMLE pass rates or how they came to the figures they did present. Simply following the SGU ValueMD website would tell you that Steph and other students have been frustrated about this. To be fair, I do believe that they have current figure posted at this time. He speaks as if SGU has always had the highest standards and having spoken with old timers I know that not to be true. Finally he seems to infer that the SGU classes are small and that nobody fails which clearly isn't true. However, I have heard that the attrition (FAIL OUT, not lag behind) at SGU is small due to the student services and tutoring program.

It almost makes me think that Ross is taking over the market share and with all the other "competitors" (in quotes because they hardly compete) applications to SGU are down. That is just a very uneducated guess though with no factual basis (ie ignore that).

Now, I will agree that what he said needed to be said. There are a ton of upstart schools popping up with low or no standards. I agree that the ECFMG should report the passsing figures which would report passing numbers fairly across the board. Ross should also demand this. Its the only fair way to get the REAL answer to this important question. I agree with much of what he says, but don't appreciate the "bette than thou" approach.

SGU is a great schoool. It was the first Caribbean school and ****** had a good idea. He deserves a lot of credit. But his school is not the only good school.

-M

Tell me what you guys think about this. http://www.sgu.edu/website/sguwebsite.nsf/home/chancellorsmessage.htm
Due you think this is directed toward Ross? :evil:

[Junito]

Reporting of the first time pass rate should be mandatory for all schools. Enough with the manipulation. This would force schools to be more proactive in implementing improvements to their curriculum.

[tRmedic21]

Reporting of the first time pass rate should be mandatory for all schools. Enough with the manipulation. This would force schools to be more proactive in implementing improvements to their curriculum.
Of course! It's not like they don't HAVE this information, I mean your school has to certify you to take the exam, it's part of the dang application process! I don't understand why they wouldn't WANT to publish them... wait... oh I might... because there are probably certain schools with a high enough pass rate that would make people realize that they actually AREN'T substandard in terms of their education. Hmmmm.... never thought of it that way.

But yes, it would certainly provide a nice objective resource to help people see which schools prepare their students better on a consistent basis.

[tno77]

reporting of school information should be something the NBME is allowed and expected to do.

They don't have to release names, but they know which scores come from which schools...this information is easy to acquire, the AMA and the NBME should find a way to legally force this information to be centralized

[Shah_Patel_PT]

Tell me what you guys think about this. http://www.sgu.edu/website/sguwebsite.nsf/home/chancellorsmessage.htm
Due you think this is directed toward Ross? :evil:

I think the SGU administration is concerned about the dip in applications this year.

[Doc21ny]

I know the Chancellor at SGU very well. Yes, he is concerned with all the startup schools and substandard education that is taking place. However, he is also attempting to raise the bar for foreign medical schools in order to continue validating the education offered at the good foreign schools. The US government recently tried cutting the funding for foreign medical schools....so....students would then have to take out all personal loans or have some other means of handling the cost of education. It is imperative that the good schools like SGU standup and and bring some sort of accountability to all foreign schools.

[rokshana]

I think the SGU administration is concerned about the dip in applications this year.

since they are already wait-listing people for the aug class and working on the jan class and class sizes have increased in size to 325-350 each term- getting applications to sgu isn't probably the concern.

[###]

.............

[Shah_Patel_PT]

since they are already wait-listing people for the aug class and working on the jan class and class sizes have increased in size to 325-350 each term- getting applications to sgu isn't probably the concern.

I agree...but I think the SGU class size is still substantially smaller with Ross's September class (especially because of the honors program seats).

[Gator98MD]

very uplifting article. Almost makes me want to go back to medical school and go to SGU this time!!!:rolleyes:

[booksale]

this article is targeting Ross, and for the most part, it is true. I doubt that SGU is seeing a drop in enrollment. But Ross is seeing an increase because they are intentionally accepting anyone to maximize their income.

"Schools can also manipulate the unsuspecting students and parents by controlling when certain groups of students are certified to sit the exam and then releasing "pass rates" from small, circumscribed periods of time."

This quote describes exactly what Ross does. Ross makes you pass the comp before allowing you to register for step 1. However, this is a stupid method because many students pass the comp by just memorizing some circulating "underground" questions that somehow repeatedly show up on the comp. A good chunk of these people who passed the comp this way end up failing step 1. :bored:



Some people may flame those who come on this forum and ask about Ross' step1 pass rate, but if you think about it, pass rate IS important. Your ability to pass depends partly on you, but learning the material the first time around also requires good teaching, which has been questionable at Ross lately.

I am afraid for Ross. All i can see is Ross going down the crapper, not only because it is accepting 600+ students each semester. Even teaching staff attrition rate is horrible. Instructors are leaving, and crappy ones are coming in.

I'm halfway done with Ross. But if I were to do this again, I think I'd consider another school.