Why did you choose to go to Ross over SGU?

[mechong]

Appreciate any feedback from current students in Dominica and especially in clinical rotations.

Thanks!

[emt2md]

I talked to the 70 year old Organic Chemistry professor at my undergrad how had actually heard of ROSS (I got A's in Chem). He said it was the best. Now granted I entered in 2005 and my entering class was under 300 but work hard and ROSS will help you succeed.

[Shah_Patel_PT]

Appreciate any feedback from current students in Dominica and especially in clinical rotations.

Thanks!

Something not usually emphasized...

Ross allows students to set up their own rotations at any hospital in the USA.

St. george....once you get your clinical schedule (although complete), you have to accept it and there is little flexibility in picking and choosing the hospitals you have to go.

I like the more democratic.."do-it-yourself" attitude that Ross allows. I picked and chose my core and elective spots at the places I desired. I had no trouble getting my cores during year 3. I picked Ross...and I am glad I did.

[stephew]

welll becareful about that: if you do a rotation at an outside ross affiliate, in some states it wont count towards licensing. ie that rotation didnt count. leaving you short of your md in their eyes. further, if you choose a rotation that isnt greenbook for THAT field same problem in many states.

FYI: SGU you can do up to 12 weeks at away places (ie non sgu affiliates), a number chosen based on NY state guidelines. and you can choose to do electives pretty much anywhere (ie but no more than 12 weeks outside sgu).

this issue with aawy rotations is very complex- please be very careful when giving advice to anyone and anyone looking to do this needs to review all information they get online for themselves, including from me.

[Chianti]

I'm a proud Ross alumni, but let's be honest, the SGU clinical program blows Ross out of the water.

SGU has clinical centers, Ross doesn't.

SGU students finish all their cores in 3rd year, the majority of Ross students don't (I wanted all ACGME cores and I didn't finish my cores until November of 4th year).

SGU has all ACGME rotations, Ross doesn't.

SGU generally has better hospitals than Ross.

And most importantly, based on the SGU students I met in 3rd and 4th year, whether in the hospital or out partying in NYC, SGU students are generally more intelligent and MUCH MORE mature than your average Ross student.

SGU and Ross are good schools, but SGU is better.

[Helicon]

I picked Ross over SGU because Ross has much lower tuition, only 16 months on the island, education is about the same.
I didn't look too far into comparision for clinical years. Ross clinical years are junk. I don't know about SGU clinical year since I never rotate in their hospital before. I heard they have their own problem too.

[phisigman03]

I'm a proud Ross alumni, but let's be honest, the SGU clinical program blows Ross out of the water.

SGU has clinical centers, Ross doesn't.

SGU students finish all their cores in 3rd year, the majority of Ross students don't (I wanted all ACGME cores and I didn't finish my cores until November of 4th year).

SGU has all ACGME rotations, Ross doesn't.

SGU generally has better hospitals than Ross.

And most importantly, based on the SGU students I met in 3rd and 4th year, whether in the hospital or out partying in NYC, SGU students are generally more intelligent and MUCH MORE mature than your average Ross student.

SGU and Ross are good schools, but SGU is better.



If you think that SGU students are that much more mature and intelligent then Ross students then maybe you should meet some of the students that I have met. Ross maybe not as good but I rather be on an island that is not so anti-westerners or anti-americans.

[stephew]

keep this civil folks

[mechong]

I appreciate the advice. I have to make a decision by the end of this week. I could pay my deposit for SGU now and then make a final decision in June thus prolonging it until I find out final word on Canada/US. I do appreciate people helping me with their own experiences, although i do know to take everything with a grain of salt. I thought I had made a decision but reading more and more things on these forums is making my final decision less clear (ignorance is bliss!)

Thanks!

[mechong]

I went to a Ross Info session in January and C**********said that all rotations are ACGME-accredited. Were only some rotations ACGME-accredited in the past and now they're all accredited?

[got milk?]

I went to a Ross Info session in January and C************* said that all rotations are ACGME-accredited. Were only some rotations ACGME-accredited in the past and now they're all accredited?


it's a little white lie. or rather, half-truth. you can probably request all acgme, but not all are acgme.

[Chianti]

C************* is full of crap (or he honestly has been lead to believe that Ross has all ACGME rotations like SGU- Ross doesn't. I personally was scheduled for an UNACRREDITED DO Peds rotation which I had to fight to get out of).

He's a recruiter, first and fore-most. I wouldn't believe anything he or any other Ross employee states about rotations.

Again, I'm a proud Ross alum who matched today, but it ticks me off how some Ross employees have no problem at all stating whatever needs to be said to get more students to Ross.

Its funny how in my interview with him C************** told me he was working on getting hospitals in my home states. Five years later and I'm still waiting on those affiliations to take place....

[HN_MD]

Alright SGU took 3 months to grant me interview and another 6 weeks to answer when I told them that I would need a decision fast. Now I am not dissing the admissions people because the lady I had went on maternity leave and everything got mixed up which is probably why it took so long. The only reason I chose Ross over SGU is that I got to start last May Vs. september and in 4 months, I will be off this rotten Island that is Dominica.
Now, if I had to do it again would I choose SGU? Probably, because they even gave me the peace scholarship and they just seem more on top of their game when it comes to clinicals.
But then again, I am working my butt off here at Ross, am learning a fair amount of information and made good friends. I am generally happy with Ross, but there's this queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach because from what I've read, I know I am going to have to deal with a lot of red tape and ** when it comes to clinicals, which wouldn't happen at SGU.
So for me, tuition was the same for both schools but timing was the major factor.
My 2 --very long-- cents

[got milk?]

Alright SGU took 3 months to grant me interview and another 6 weeks to answer when I told them that I would need a decision fast. Now I am not dissing the admissions people because the lady I had went on maternity leave and everything got mixed up which is probably why it took so long. The only reason I chose Ross over SGU is that I got to start last May Vs. september and in 4 months, I will be off this rotten Island that is Dominica.
Now, if I had to do it again would I choose SGU? Probably, because they even gave me the peace scholarship and they just seem more on top of their game when it comes to clinicals.
But then again, I am working my butt off here at Ross, am learning a fair amount of information and made good friends. I am generally happy with Ross, but there's this queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach because from what I've read, I know I am going to have to deal with a lot of red tape and ** when it comes to clinicals, which wouldn't happen at SGU.
So for me, tuition was the same for both schools but timing was the major factor.
My 2 --very long-- cents


may vs september- timing is a poor reason to choose ross over sgu. you still match the same time whether you start in may or september. but at ross, you may actually have hardships close to residency time with all the out-of-sequence rotations and crap.

[rokshana]

The only reason I chose Ross over SGU is that I got to start last May Vs. september

may 2006 vs sept 2006- you still match in march 2010, right? So you don't necessarily gain more time working (and an extra year's paycheck)- so what was the advantage?

[awdc]

I chose Ross over SGU because of the cost on top of the fact that I have significant prior educational loans.

[ChuckNorrisMD]

I thought that we are not allowed to use school officials, or peoples real names in general on this forum...violation of TOS, correct? How come people are using the name of the gentlemen from Ross openly? Is this rule apply to profs only? Please clarify.

[MustafaMond]

Something not usually emphasized...

Ross allows students to set up their own rotations at any hospital in the USA.

St. george....once you get your clinical schedule (although complete), you have to accept it and there is little flexibility in picking and choosing the hospitals you have to go.

I like the more democratic.."do-it-yourself" attitude that Ross allows. I picked and chose my core and elective spots at the places I desired. I had no trouble getting my cores during year 3. I picked Ross...and I am glad I did.

Sure one can do that but how feasible is it the hospital is going to grants his request? The "do-it-yourself" attitude you speak of seems more like "Do it yourself" litararlly, which can be considerable work. Setting up roatations is not easy and helps to have the school's name behind U when rotating.
Cost between SGU / ROSS very much neglibible. Go with SGU.

SGU - Pros
Excellent facility / faculty
Better island
Less craming per semester
Less weeding out rate
School helps in clincals years
Solid reputations
SGU - Cons
High Cost

ROSS - Pros
Bit faster graduation
Little cheaper [negated by terrible living cond.; see belows]
ROSS - Cons
Island is the pits
Very high weeding out rates
Very high crammings per semesters
Must set up clinicals himselves
Slightly lesser well known

SGU winner.

[got milk?]

when comparing ross vs sgu...... you get what you pay for.

many people compare only the basic sciences, saying that you learn the same crap. Sure you do.
People forget to compare the final 2 years.

People are suckers for Ross's 16-month island stay.

People forget that SGU has a long summer vacation after 1st year, so you're only on the island for a total of like 18 months.

Ross makes you go through that joke of a 5th semester

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS. you need to look further than the basic science years.
You need to ask about that during your interview...... and then post on this forum all the crap they spew in their attempt to lure you in.

[microphage]

u also have to take clinicals into consideration. SGU hands down has some of the better rotation of any of the Caribbean schools.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

As a current Ross student, I can say the curriculm here is very good. If you study well and learn the material they teach you, you'll be more than prepared for the boards. The curriculum is integrated so you have alot of overlap in the material among your classes, which helps alot for Step1.
As far as the school allowing people to fail, people fail themselves. When you choose to come to Ross, you know what you're getting yourself into. You know you'll be learning a year's worth of information in 6 months, so that's the first thing you need to consider. Many people end up repeating 1st semester because they couldn't adjust to the pace. SGU on the other hand, is just like US schools with 2 semesters a year. If I were to do it all again, I'd have waited and gone to SGU. Because the amount of info is VAST and every millisecond counts!

[bevo]

I choose Ross over SGU because Ross said Yes and SGU told me to retake the mcat.

My own SGU interviewer told me that there was hardly any difference between SGU and Ross when it came down to it at the end. So he said if I ever got into either one of them, take it because neither school is worth holding out for the other.

Now that I'm done, I'd probably choose SGU for the lone fact that their clinical sites and setup is better than Ross. Basic sciences are about the same. I think reputation is probably in SGU's favor, but not a significant one.

[Dru]

Please be aware that the use of individuals' names is against the confidentiality policy of ValueMD. I have edited the proper name from your post. This applies to ALL proper names except if the name is the name of a business, such as in the housing thread, where the name of the individual is actually the name of their business or apartment(s). If you see the use of proper names, please hit the exclamation point in the top right corner of the post to report it to moderators. Thanks.

[MustafaMond]

My own SGU interviewer told me that there was hardly any difference between SGU and Ross when it came down to it at the end. So he said if I ever got into either one of them, take it because neither school is worth holding out for the other.My interviewer at SGU said the samething. However remember this caveats. He also didn't knoww of the weeding outs rate and living conditions on Dominica. Hedid not know how the cirriculum at ROSS worked. He said only that ROSS graduates are good having met them. I was accepted into ROSS, into SGUs as well. SGU was definitely winner hands down.

[summerwind]

Appreciate any feedback from current students in Dominica and especially in clinical rotations.

If you search for the thread "ross moving up in the world" there is a lengthy discussion about Ross clinical rotations.

[jackbnimble]

I thought that we are not allowed to use school officials, or peoples real names in general on this forum...violation of TOS, correct? How come people are using the name of the gentlemen from Ross openly? Is this rule apply to profs only? Please clarify.

Applies to both, just a differential application of TOS.

Jackb

[stephew]

I thought that we are not allowed to use school officials, or peoples real names in general on this forum...violation of TOS, correct? How come people are using the name of the gentlemen from Ross openly? Is this rule apply to profs only? Please clarify.

because no one flagged it; while we appreciate the belief that we have magical omniscient powers, we can't catch everything and things can get by us if not flagged. and it really annoys the hell out of some users which we get a good laugh out of in the mods forum.

[****_******]

I choose Ross over SGU because Ross said Yes and SGU told me to retake the mcat.

My own SGU interviewer told me that there was hardly any difference between SGU and Ross when it came down to it at the end. So he said if I ever got into either one of them, take it because neither school is worth holding out for the other.

Now that I'm done, I'd probably choose SGU for the lone fact that their clinical sites and setup is better than Ross. Basic sciences are about the same. I think reputation is probably in SGU's favor, but not a significant one.

Yeah I agree I think I will got to SGU!!!!!!! Thanks for the advice you are great!!!!!!!!!! Good luck with everything!!!!!!!!!

[bevo]

Hi H.S. (message was too short)

[stephew]

privacy at this forum is of the most serious concern. any attempt to impersonate another individual or reveal identity may result in administrative action that can include contacting the proper authories or individuals school