Questions About IAU

[FFDR]

Hello Everyone -

I am interested in going to med. school as soon as possible and have a few basic questions related to IAU and the island. These questions are addressed to everyone including current students, perspective students, staff, administration, and anyone else who may have any confirmed information relating to the school.

1.) How many total students are at IAU currently? How is the student life and interaction with such a small amount of kids? Lonely? Boring? Depressing?
2.) Someone made mention in a previous thread, the students teach each other. Though this may sound ideal and exciting, how practical is this method?
3.) What extracurricular activities can you take part in locally on the island, not related to school, during your free time?
4.) Are there any IAU students doing clinicals currently? If so where?
5.) Are there any IAU graduates accepted into Residency? If so where?
6.) Can you transfer out of IAU and will your credits be accepted by other Caribbean schools such as SABA or MUA if you are accepted there as a transfer student?
7.) When is the larger building going to be ready?
8.) Is there a lot of crime around the school?
9.) What is the total expense including housing, food, transport, you calculate to be for the 2 years on the island? And for the 2 years doing clinicals?
10.) Any additional comments or concerns related to the school, administration, island, or general medical education would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much & good luck in your studies! ;)

[FFDR]

Bump ^

[iaustudent06]

1. 30+ students, some study, some party, most do both.
2. case study takes up half the day, it's challenging at first, but is better than lecture 8-5.
3. we have boat trips, basketball tournaments, organized functions.
4. most do rotations in chicago.
5. none are far enough to do residency yet, school recently opened.
6. i don't know who accepts what from other schools, better to ask them directly.
7. there are plans between two areas to build/buy in the next 1-2 years.
8. no crime committed at school or out. play it smart
9. housing about 200US monthly (depending on single/double/location/etc), car rental about 400US (most of us share - like 3 bedroom place with shared car) food, most of us bring frozen food or eat out from 5-15US per meal.
10. Island -elecriticity and water goes out every once in while. teachers are good and demand appropriate work, administration a little nosy, but care about students.

[FFDR]

Thank you for your response ... What is the student body like?


Everyone get's along pretty well?

Anymore pictures of the student body? residence halls?

[squad41]

Thank you kindly for your responses so far. A few questions:

1) What is the current status with IAU building its permanent campus? I have been confused, as I have heard that the land was purchased but then I heard that the school may move its permanent location to the northen end of the island? Also, when is the school slated to be finished with construction?

2) Have any more students have taken USMLEs? If so, how did they perform?

3) I applaud you for your strong efforts thus far. What are the projections/aims for enrollment in the Spring and Fall of 2007?

4) What is the admissions procedure after the application is received. In other words, what is the process to ensure that high quality students are being received with the intellectual potential to thrive at IAU?

5) I was a bit confused by reading a previous post in reference to graduates being able to obtain New York and New Jersey residency. Am I correct in saying that by mid-2007 grads should be able to apply for residency in these two states?

[IAU]

Thank you kindly for your responses so far. A few questions:

1) What is the current status with IAU building its permanent campus? I have been confused, as I have heard that the land was purchased but then I heard that the school may move its permanent location to the northen end of the island? Also, when is the school slated to be finished with construction?

2) Have any more students have taken USMLEs? If so, how did they perform?

3) I applaud you for your strong efforts thus far. What are the projections/aims for enrollment in the Spring and Fall of 2007?

4) What is the admissions procedure after the application is received. In other words, what is the process to ensure that high quality students are being received with the intellectual potential to thrive at IAU?

5) I was a bit confused by reading a previous post in reference to graduates being able to obtain New York and New Jersey residency. Am I correct in saying that by mid-2007 grads should be able to apply for residency in these two states?

--


1) Our purchase of a 10-acre plot of land, in the southern end of the island, is in its final stages. When finalized (we hope by the end of 2006), we will commence building our permanent campus.

2) One student failed step 1, two students passed step 2 CS, and another is waiting for her results. That makes a total of 8 passes (step 1/step 2) and one fail.

3) Thanks. Spring enrollment should be a small number, around 5 which was expected due to our lack of student loans (which is not true anymore as of the end of 2006 since we will finally have a student loan program in place. I'll be posting the details on our website when loans are finalized.) Fall enrollment should be at least 20 since loans will be in place and many of our premed students at Texas A&M will be moving into the basic sciences program during this semester.

4) The admissions committee scrutinizes transcripts and personal statements. If the student looks promising, then an interview is granted. Our interview is a conference call with 2+ members of the admissions committee. A final decision is made shortly thereafter. Since the admissions committee consists of PhDs and MDs who know what it takes to succeed in medical school, quality, not quantity, is of utmost concern. We could have a greater student population if we wished if we simply accepted everyone who applies, which we don't.

5) Again, we have what should be our final site visit in the late Spring. How much time it takes after the site visit to have accreditation is up to NY. We do hope that by mid-2007 our students will be eligible to do their clinicals, and apply for residencies, in NY and NJ. If we could do it earlier, we would.

[truebird]

hey FFDR,
this is the real thing about IAU
here all the real answers.
1. there are only about 20-24 students currently at IAU
student life there is crap. nothing to do except politics.
2. the method of other students teaching students doesn't work and never will work . go to the teacher for help.
3. they say they will have extracurricular activities. majority of the time nothing goes thru. once in a while u might have a boat trip but that's about it.
4. they are like only about 2-3 students doing clinics
5. no students have been accepted nor are any in residency.
6 no other caribbean school will accept ur credits from IAU.
7. the larger building wont be ready until another 2 yrs and that also if they have the funds.
8. no crime but still be cautious around ur classmates and the local ppl do yell alot of remarks towards the med school girls.
9. total expense varies on ur housing and ur car that u rent and whether u eat out or cook at home. the dorms that you have to stay in are full of roaches and completely nasty and also no hot water at times and sometimes no water at all. also the dorms do not have a washer.
10. go to another med school like ross, st. mattews, st george, auc, or saba.

thanks

[iaustudent06]

1. so yeah there's like 21 students doing basic sciences, the rest failed, and choose not to come back.
2. you can only teach yourself. whether you use student using case study, books for reading, teachers for lecture.
3. yeah, activities include boat trip, basketball tournament, banquets. not all in one semester. cramming 2 years of medical education into 16 months does not allow time for many things. on top that, we have public clinics for the locals that take up more time. after all, u did want to help people right?
4. yeah, there's around 5 students doing clinicals. none of them have taken step 2 yet, so they can not apply for residency. only person has not passed step one, and will retake soon.
5. most schools dont take other credits, our school rarely does either.
6. the larger building is not needed, so there is not a rush to build that huge building, but there is enough funding. vieux fort (the city is school is in) is not expensive to build in.
7 yeah, crime has been minimal. you should watch your stuff. if i remember college back in the U.S. correctly, there were signs everywhere stating not to leave belongings unattended. and i remember even back home guys making comments to girls. so i think stuff like that happens everywhere. play it safe and smart.
8+) yeah there are politics everywhere you go. and it will be harder to get residency, no matter where you go. stay out of the drama, study hard, score well, and you will eventually land a residency. cost of living is too board of a question. people here spend as little as $2-3k to over 6-7k per semester. depends on where you live, eat, car, etc. visit one or two schools, you'll find out quickly.