Saba is an excellent med school on a beautiful island

[wanabedoctor]

I really think the island is quite beautiful and the med school is more than I expected. Med school at Saba is a lot of work. I don't know how other med schools are, but they really work us hard over here. I have been here since the beginning of May and I haven't even been able to see all of the island (keep in mind the island is relatively small). Saba seems larger than five square miles. Also, the island seems to be very safe (that was one of my primary concerns). I hitch all over and am not planning to get a car. I don't think you really need a car here on the island. There are 4 stores where I buy food...these stores have plenty of things to choose from. Also, going to restaurants all the time will burn a hole in your pocket, so I advise you to prepare your own food at least half of the time. Basically, I feel I have made the right choice to come to Saba. :) Good luck everyone!!

[Chicago13]

Thanks a lot for all the info.

[maserati]

great posting! keep them coming ... more, more!

[BTH]

Salutations "wannabedoctor":

Wow, what an inspirational post! Wish I had gone to Saba...wait a minute, I did.

[playarf]

lol...everyday I wake up, and ask myself 'where am I', and then get disappointed because I know the answer, but refuse to accept it.
Then I proceed to my countdown calendar, and 'rub one off'.

[darkmansaad]

u mean "rub one out"

[playarf]

its in commas for a reason :P
anyhow, i shouldnt jack this thread...

yes, saba is a good place to study and all...

[Shasha]

I dont use a calander cuz the days will go by slower. just study each day like tomorrow is a block exam. That makes the month zoom by. Saba is better than I expected. Coming from New York was a change but I like it. best of luck to all of you :~)

[maserati]

Not trying to rain on this awesome thread about Saba being an excellent school/beautiful island ... but another taxi driver told me that he's a foreign medical graduate student with masters in this and that. ( I'm in Montreal / Canada )

Scared me.

From what I read in previous posts :
Start - 60 students
End - 30 students graduate at the end of 4 years?

And how many out of those 30 actually get residency?

And how many out of those who did get residency are where they want to be and not stuck in a dim clinic in some random hole with their ideals down the drain?



Are my numbers correct?


===========================================



Another concern

What's the future outlook for foreign medical students in North America? Increased chance? Decreased chance of intern/residency?





Thanks guys.

[huxald]

Not trying to rain on this awesome thread about Saba being an excellent school/beautiful island ... but another taxi driver told me that he's a foreign medical graduate student with masters in this and that. ( I'm in Montreal / Canada )

Scared me.

From what I read in previous posts :
Start - 60 students
End - 30 students graduate at the end of 4 years?

And how many out of those 30 actually get residency?

And how many out of those who did get residency are where they want to be and not stuck in a dim clinic in some random hole with their ideals down the drain?



Are my numbers correct?


===========================================



Another concern

What's the future outlook for foreign medical students in North America? Increased chance? Decreased chance of intern/residency?





Thanks guys.



My favourite line from The Shawshank Redemption is "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'"

Maserati, sometimes all the hairspliting/analyzing/preparing/questioning/evaluating/forecasting/etc. will only take you so far. After that, I believe it's a matter of making a choice, following through and adapting as things change. Don't worry, your loans will work themselves out, you'll get amazing marks because you'll be studying so hard, you'll pass the necessary exams, and you'll make the same sacrifices everyone else has had to make to bring about positive change. At the end of the day, you have to make a choice: you either have to get busy living or get busy dying.

I'll see you on the island!

[doctorvp]

Great post Huxald!

My favourite line from The Shawshank Redemption is "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'"

Maserati, sometimes all the hairspliting/analyzing/preparing/questioning/evaluating/forecasting/etc. will only take you so far. After that, I believe it's a matter of making a choice, following through and adapting as things change. Don't worry, your loans will work themselves out, you'll get amazing marks because you'll be studying so hard, you'll pass the necessary exams, and you'll make the same sacrifices everyone else has had to make to bring about positive change. At the end of the day, you have to make a choice: you either have to get busy living or get busy dying.

I'll see you on the island!

[maserati]

i agree ... that's why i'm on this site.
thanks guys!

[ReckonerMD]

i agree ... that's why i'm on this site.
thanks guys!

Mas,

Did you interview yet? Because if not, I would bring your attrition concerns to the admissions department. There are many accounts of students trying to see what the enrollment was said year, then trying to look at the graduation photo 4 years later to count the number of heads, etc. There are a lot of wacky stories along with tons of anecdotal evidence for a lot of concerns people have. Fortunately if only 50% of students were graduating, and a lower % gaining residency, SABA would not be as popular as it has become.

[maserati]

I got accepted way back in May2007 for September2008, next year.

I did ask the admissions people about this and the response appeared to be very biased and " let me sell my school as much as possible ".

I think one of the reasons why it has gotten popular all of a sudden is because of Ontario's double cohort where 2 academic years of students graduate in the same year therefore apply to med schools the same year etc. Jamming up the whole system across Canada. Students seek other options. This is not to say that SABA doesn't have a good reputation prior to this, but the reality is, people simply don't know about SABA ( or pretty much any carib med schools ) unless you're looking into it yourself.




Mas,

Did you interview yet? Because if not, I would bring your attrition concerns to the admissions department. There are many accounts of students trying to see what the enrollment was said year, then trying to look at the graduation photo 4 years later to count the number of heads, etc. There are a lot of wacky stories along with tons of anecdotal evidence for a lot of concerns people have. Fortunately if only 50% of students were graduating, and a lower % gaining residency, SABA would not be as popular as it has become.

[ReckonerMD]

That's unfortunate that you didn't get the answer you were looking for; let me share the response I received. I was told that they lose approximately 8-10 students/incoming class over 4 years, and there are many reasons from personal to academic, although academic seemed to be the least likely reason. It's probably hard for fellow students to keep track of their peers after the second year, so who's to say where people go after that and for what reasons, but if any current students can chime in regarding the academic years perhaps we can get a better idea. When I visited I spoke with several 1st and second year students and they seemed to be getting along just fine, but there are always the few who either don't like the island or transfer out for personal reasons.

All being said, if there were a real problem (i.e. 50% of the class not making it to clinicals) you could bet there would be a lot more being said about the issue, if it existed.


I got accepted way back in May2007 for September2008, next year.

I did ask the admissions people about this and the response appeared to be very biased and " let me sell my school as much as possible ".

I think one of the reasons why it has gotten popular all of a sudden is because of Ontario's double cohort where 2 academic years of students graduate in the same year therefore apply to med schools the same year etc. Jamming up the whole system across Canada. Students seek other options. This is not to say that SABA doesn't have a good reputation prior to this, but the reality is, people simply don't know about SABA ( or pretty much any carib med schools ) unless you're looking into it yourself.

[maserati]

Well, that's what I'm interested in hearing about, difficulties that people encounter AFTER the 2 years. In this forum we get questions, comments about the school, but not much about the clinicals/residency.

And of course, I doubt that those who have failed or succeeded in later years would bother posting in this forum.




That's unfortunate that you didn't get the answer you were looking for; let me share the response I received. I was told that they lose approximately 8-10 students/incoming class over 4 years, and there are many reasons from personal to academic, although academic seemed to be the least likely reason. It's probably hard for fellow students to keep track of their peers after the second year, so who's to say where people go after that and for what reasons, but if any current students can chime in regarding the academic years perhaps we can get a better idea. When I visited I spoke with several 1st and second year students and they seemed to be getting along just fine, but there are always the few who either don't like the island or transfer out for personal reasons.

All being said, if there were a real problem (i.e. 50% of the class not making it to clinicals) you could bet there would be a lot more being said about the issue, if it existed.

[golfman]

I am not sure why you are concerned with those that drop out. Regardless of if your class finishes with 75 or 1 it shouldn't matter to you. As long as you are the 1. That being said, I am in 3rd semester here and we have lost about 10-15% of the students we started with. None of those students have left because of flunking out. Many students get here and do not realize the commitment that it takes. Once they see what it involves, many choose to do other things. This is not a reflection at all on the school but on the students who were not totally prepared for the change of life that becoming a medical student takes. I have many friends who are in their 3rd year and are having no trouble at all. I also have a friend in his 3rd year of residency and he has no complaints either. I think that Saba is what you make of it. If you are looking for a place that is going to hold your hand and walk you through every step to make sure you don't flunk out then i would suggest finding another field of study. Ultimately it takes a commitment from the student to make sure you succeed.

[mower1000]

I am not sure why you are concerned with those that drop out. Regardless of if your class finishes with 75 or 1 it shouldn't matter to you. As long as you are the 1. That being said, I am in 3rd semester here and we have lost about 10-15% of the students we started with. None of those students have left because of flunking out. Many students get here and do not realize the commitment that it takes. Once they see what it involves, many choose to do other things. This is not a reflection at all on the school but on the students who were not totally prepared for the change of life that becoming a medical student takes. I have many friends who are in their 3rd year and are having no trouble at all. I also have a friend in his 3rd year of residency and he has no complaints either. I think that Saba is what you make of it. If you are looking for a place that is going to hold your hand and walk you through every step to make sure you don't flunk out then i would suggest finding another field of study. Ultimately it takes a commitment from the student to make sure you succeed.


I appreciate your comments. I keep having this recurring nightmare that I get accepted to Saba but fail out after 5 semesters and owe $100K+ in school loans with no way of paying them back. It helpful to be reminded that as long as you are willing to work hard, and stay focused, and know what you are getting into, the odds are good that you will ultimately finish up with an MD. Thanks

[messy]

I dont use a calander cuz the days will go by slower. just study each day like tomorrow is a block exam. That makes the month zoom by. Saba is better than I expected. Coming from New York was a change but I like it. best of luck to all of you :~)
Shasha, where NY are you from?

[Tellingitlikeitis]

I understand the fear of not making it, as I had the same fear. I fairly recently completed my 2 years, so let me tell you about those that left. We had a few leave after the first couple of tests, some of them because Saba is a difficult place to live and is not for every one, and some who after failing a few tests realized that the dream of becoming a doctor, and the reality of the hard work behind it are 2 different things. About 6 to 7 people dropped out of anatomy class and stayed on to repeat it the next semster. Of that seven, only one remains.
The second semster, a few more dropped classes because they were failing.
Third semester one more student failed and transferred to another carribean school, and 2 more failed classes and were held back.
fourth semster, one more failed a class and another dropped.
fifth semster, 2 students failed, and another was kicked out for repeatedly failing classes.
So all in all, how many did we lose? yea about 10 to 15% of our class. I would say that the majority of those who were unable to make it were the older students ( 40+). I think it is becuase older students have bad study habits, are not used to studying, or quite simply are not willing to put in the time that is required.