Ross pros and cons

[scorpion4lif]

Hi,
I am considering going to Ross this Fall. Could any current students, or anyone who has researched and visited the school, give me more information on the pros and cons for Ross. Whats the living situation like and is it a good enough studying environment to survive through the rigorous curriculum? Do many students get sick often? What were you're first thoughts when visiting the island and seeing the campus?
Thanks, any info would help.

[cavalletti]

Hi,
I am considering going to Ross this Fall. Could any current students, or anyone who has researched and visited the school, give me more information on the pros and cons for Ross. Whats the living situation like and is it a good enough studying environment to survive through the rigorous curriculum? Do many students get sick often? What were you're first thoughts when visiting the island and seeing the campus?
Thanks, any info would help.

Here's a link to a thread that answers some of your questions http://www.valuemd.com/ross-university-school-medicine/134163-ross-vs-other-caribbean-schools.html

[AxlFoley]

Living on the island proved to be much more bearable than I originally thought. It is a 3rd world country, no doubt about that...but once you realize that and try to work around and accept it, life becomes very easy. Quality of the apartments vary greatly...from tight living conditons to near "western" quality units. The rent price is quite pretty indicative of this too, as well as the distance to the school and other amenities (generator, AC).
My place was really nice (had a generator) so I actually spent most of my time there studying, very comfortably. And if I ever got bored, I would just head to the library, where most people end up studying. School has AC and generators in library and classrooms, so both are great places to study.
There is really absolutely nothing else to do on the island except read...which you will soon realize is a really good thing

[sukhtinder]

pros:
1. nothing to do but study
2. if you get through, you will pass step1

cons:
1. nothing to do but study
2. no western amenities- foi gras, dom perignon, montrachet, filet mignon, big mac's
3. no attractive women
4. greasy obnoxious immature students

[Pokerslut]

obnoxious students. I guess what I am trying to say and still don't understand is why do people disrespect their future colleagues/ fellow classmates.

I'm going to go on my soapbox for a minute. I mean seriously-- during MERP people would complain about a question like a little kid who dropped their lollipop. "I was thinking this, but ..." .. Not to mention ask questions that are irrelevant.

You know what I'm off my soapbox.

Reminder to self-- focus on what you need to do and do it.

So I go to the physiology professor and complain. And I said to him afterwards am I being anal. "No, whenever he asks a question I see the whole class put their heads down. So its not just you."

And here's a funny point. So one of the teaching aids asks him "Do you just like to hear yourself speak?" And he pretends not to hear him. LOL.

This is during December MERP by the way. So he'll be there starting May. So the legacy will continue.

FYI, this poking fun and "talking about" him is something that I've done in his face. In fact we got into a little scuffle about it. He apologized, etc. but still continued on with the disregard for other classmates.

Does anybody have any suggestions in how to approach these people if they start to impede in the learning process?

[brob311]

pros:
1. nothing to do but study
2. if you get through, you will pass step1

cons:
1. nothing to do but study
2. no western amenities- foi gras, dom perignon, montrachet, filet mignon, big mac's
3. no attractive women
4. greasy obnoxious immature students

This could be a pro if you are looking at things that will not distract you while studying.

[McGillGrad]

Does anybody have any suggestions in how to approach these people if they start to impede in the learning process?

I would start talking as soon as he asks a question with your own question.

Or sit in front or close to him and raise your hand as soon as he does.

Or as soon as he asks the question, ask the professor if it would be okay to have him ask that question after class because you do not want to fall behind.

Or do nothing and hope he fails out eventually (or annoys the prof enough for the prof to shut him up).

[ydobon]

Does anybody have any suggestions in how to approach these people if they start to impede in the learning process?

One of the students is extraordinarily demeaning with those that she speaks. As a result, I've seen small groups of educators identify her for later special treatment. Their technique? Once she starts acting poorly, they simply ignore her and help someone else or proceed with lecture.

[jwhiteys]

You will actually find once you get to the island that immature and obnoxious people are really one of the biggest cons of ross. Apparently, my class (first semester going to second) is one of the worst. We actually had people BOO THE HONOR COUNCIL REPS WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO TELL THEM NOT TO CHEAT. Amazing I know. Someone got offended b/c they said Ross was a "second chance," which for most people it is. Some people here, though, act like they applied to Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc., but turned them down to come to Ross. Real Zeros...

Anyway. the major pros were already mentioned. Ross is okay and there aren't many distractions. I can personally say I have never studied this much in my life.

[onmyway]

Ross has been around a long time, is stable, and has thousands of graduates out there that have made the school known to residency program directors and state licensing boards alike. There are only a couple other offshore schools that can boast that on as large a scale, SGU and AUC maybe. If you have a chance to go to SGU, I'd go...gentler living conditions, beautiful campus, good academics, good clinicals, perhaps even better known than Ross. Otherwise, with AUC it's a toss-up. Ross has DeVry backing and has lots of short-and long-term enhancement plans that may just make it a truly excellent place to be. If you just do the work, pay little attention to whatever else is going on, then it will get you what you are going there for...an M.D. and the career to go along with it.

[Pokerslut]

You will actually find once you get to the island that immature and obnoxious people are really one of the biggest cons of ross. Apparently, my class (first semester going to second) is one of the worst. We actually had people BOO THE HONOR COUNCIL REPS WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO TELL THEM NOT TO CHEAT. Amazing I know. Someone got offended b/c they said Ross was a "second chance," which for most people it is. Some people here, though, act like they applied to Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc., but turned them down to come to Ross. Real Zeros...

Anyway. the major pros were already mentioned. Ross is okay and there aren't many distractions. I can personally say I have never studied this much in my life.


Funny story related to this post regarding rude, obnoxious people, etc. I was in the past MERP class that is heading to the island in May. Its funny how reading these posts kindle memories in my head.

I was going over my biochemistry lecture recording when I literally heard someone say "Who gives a sh-- " when Dr. M was making a point. I had to rewind it and have someone else listen to it to confirm. lol. Its even funnier the professor didn't hear it. So yes, Ross has immature people alright.

Again another random thought regarding rude/disruptive people:
The Micro professor had a name for a group of people in the back of the class-- she called them the "clown row". They would make noise and disrupt class at times.

Oh another story, true I swear:
The physio professor was so pissed at one guy for getting up during lecture--not a big deal I know but it was a build up of things the rude student had done-- that he(professor) said if you don't shape up (paraphrasing) I'm going to make the mini more difficult. He said this to the disruptive student. The class got quiet quick. Silence for about 10 seconds and then he said he didn't mean it and that he was just really pissed off.

That story about booing the honor council person says a lot about the school I'm sorry to say.

[Cuando2]

Funny story related to this post regarding rude, obnoxious people, etc. I was in the past MERP class that is heading to the island in May. Its funny how reading these posts kindle memories in my head.

Long story short, I was going over my biochemistry lecture recording when I literally heard someone say "Who gives a pooh pooh" when Dr. M was making a point. I had to rewind it and have someone else listen to it to confirm. lol. Its even funnier the professor didn't hear it. So yes, Ross has immature people alright. But many of my classmates were respectful, but 7 out of 54 in my honest opinion need a class in common courtesy.

R--- (Mr. does alcohol make it open)
DP (Mr. Football, ha)
Ad---- ("This is not high school, this is not college, this is medical school"
Mon---, yeah you Mr. Iraq (he's a buddy of mine, wait what does that say about me? lol)

This is not an attack on the above--mainly killing time before I leave for Grand Cayman and reminiscing.

Again another random thought regarding the topic:
The Micro professor had a name for a group of people in the mid back of the class-- she called them the "clown row".

Oh another story, true I swear:

The physio professor was so pissed at one guy for getting up during lecture--not a big deal I know but it was a build up of things he had done-- that he said if you don't shape up (paraphrasing) I'm going to make the mini more difficult. The class got quiet quick. Silence for about 10 seconds and then he said he didn't mean it and that he was just really pissed off. Now that was something else.

I'm not putting Ross down, just hopping on the story bandwagon.

But that story about booing the honor council person says a lot about the school I'm sorry to say.

I didn't really get much out of your post...I couldn't even understand what you were saying

[Cuando2]

You will actually find once you get to the island that immature and obnoxious people are really one of the biggest cons of ross. Apparently, my class (first semester going to second) is one of the worst. We actually had people BOO THE HONOR COUNCIL REPS WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO TELL THEM NOT TO CHEAT. Amazing I know. Someone got offended b/c they said Ross was a "second chance," which for most people it is. Some people here, though, act like they applied to Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc., but turned them down to come to Ross. Real Zeros...

Anyway. the major pros were already mentioned. Ross is okay and there aren't many distractions. I can personally say I have never studied this much in my life.

Hahaha, thats really funny (bolded statement above). I'm surprised that students down there still come up with this same story that you've mentioned. We had a few kids in our class who mentioned similar things...in fact, one kid in particular said he applied and got into JHU (hopkins) and turned them down because he would rather go to Ross since the weather was better. As dumb as these stories are, people are even more stupid to think we'd actually believe them.

[summerwind]

I would be concerned about the lack of clinical spots. I can ignore rude students but it seems there is little you can do when it comes to scheduling rotations through a seemingly non-responsive Clinical Department.

http://www.valuemd.com/ross-university-school-medicine/133400-prison-errr-i-mean-dominica-here-i-come.html (http://www.valuemd.com/ross-university-school-medicine/133400-prison-errr-i-mean-dominica-here-i-come.html)

[Pokerslut]

I didn't really get much out of your post...I couldn't even understand what you were saying

Yeah, I'm sorry-- I put dashes instead of their names because you aren't allowed to post names. And they changed some words because you couldn't use sh--. Plus I started to assume that only MERPers would be reading this.

I'll edit it a bit.

[utorontograd]

That story about booing the honor council person says a lot about the school I'm sorry to say.

The honour council rep gave the worst address I've ever heard in my entire life. It was her demeanor that was offensive I thought, not the comment about a second chance.

I couldn't stop laughing because that girl dug herself in so deep, but I can understand why others showed their disapproval.

Your really had to be there to judge.

[utorontograd]

Repeat.......

[utorontograd]

Pros:
-organized curriculum with a focus on USMLE objectives
-challenging exams
-a lot of good instructors
-mediasite (huge pro)
-nice campus
-good TAs
-will remove test questions that are unfair when someone files a grievance

Cons:
-can't keep your exam after it's written so you don't know what you got wrong. can't learn from your mistakes.
-people can leave their crap in the library over night holding tables hostage (huge con if you like studying in the library)

[Pokerslut]

There goes to show you that there is always two sides of a story. I almost forgot that.

Then in that case I take back my comment about that event saying a lot about the school. Not that it matters.

As a side note: Deciding between Ross and SMU if you don't care about California is a TOUGH decision given all the information available on Valuemd.



The honour council rep gave the worst address I've ever heard in my entire life. It was her demeanor that was offensive I thought, not the comment about a second chance.

I couldn't stop laughing because that girl dug herself in so deep, but I can understand why others showed their disapproval.

Your really had to be there to judge.

[Chianti]

Ross certainly does have its share of IMMATURE losers/thugs.

Don't worry though- the vast majority of these morons will flunk out of basic sciences at some point and then transfer to St. Matthews or Antigua or one of the other unknown schools and then register on valuemd and spew crap about Ross.

Even if these losers pass the classes, the majority of them won't pass Step 1. Thankfully, the vast majority of people I rotated with during clinicals were extremely professional and represented Ross in a good manner.

Just try and ignore the morons on the island.

As a side note, if you pick SMU over Ross you are extremely naive. The only schools you should consider in the Carib. are SGU, Ross and AUC. I would recommend SGU if you get in.

[Pokerslut]

I appreciate your perspective but can you elaborate why SMU is a naive choice. I've experienced a little about what Ross has to offer and it left a nasty taste in my mouth so to speak.

But if you could elaborate it is not yet too late to tell Dr. C that I am coming to Ross. Any advice and or perspective is appreciated.

Ross certainly does have its share of IMMATURE losers/thugs.

Don't worry though- the vast majority of these morons will flunk out of basic sciences at some point and then transfer to St. Matthews or Antigua or one of the other unknown schools and then register on valuemd and spew crap about Ross.

Even if these losers pass the classes, the majority of them won't pass Step 1. Thankfully, the vast majority of people I rotated with during clinicals were extremely professional and represented Ross in a good manner.

Just try and ignore the morons on the island.

As a side note, if you pick SMU over Ross you are extremely naive. The only schools you should consider in the Carib. are SGU, Ross and AUC. I would recommend SGU if you get in.

[onmyway]

Track record, history, reputation....thousands of practicing docs from Ross are out there practicing, and each one went through a residency and a licensing process. There are residency programs in all 50 states who have had a Ross grad at some point or other, and when one of them gets your application they will know your training is for real. Plus, Ross is stable and is not going to go out of business anytime soon, if ever. AUC and SGU share most of those attributes with Ross, though I believe SGU is the superior school overall.

The offshore path to becoming an M.D. is unconventional and full of twists, turns, and bumps in the road, but most of them are inconveniences rather than deal-breakers. But you don't want to gamble with this process at all...if you think I am joking, take a glance at the St. Christopher's forum.

[Chianti]

Going to a new school like SMU, AUA, MUA etc..... is foolhardy when you have established schools like SGU and Ross with THOUSANDS of LICENSED doctors in all 50 states. Ditto to what the poster before me said.

Ross is superior to SMU in every way.

[utorontograd]

The negative comments on this forum can be frightening. I know, because I was there just a few months ago. I had a friend who went to Ross and they told me not to even go on this website because it would mess with my head.

Ross really is a solid school. But that's all I'll say here. If you want some insider info on the experience from someone who isn't jaded you can PM me.

Best of luck.

[phisigman03]

Going to a new school like SMU, AUA, MUA etc..... is foolhardy when you have established schools like SGU and Ross with THOUSANDS of LICENSED doctors in all 50 states. Ditto to what the poster before me said.

Ross is superior to SMU in every way.


not for long. most of Ross old faculties are at SMU and they are improving by the minute. In the mean time Ross is going into a slump. Want proof? Ask the students on campus and they will tell you.

[phisigman03]

The negative comments on this forum can be frightening. I know, because I was there just a few months ago. I had a friend who went to Ross and they told me not to even go on this website because it would mess with my head.

Ross really is a solid school. But that's all I'll say here. If you want some insider info on the experience from someone who isn't jaded you can PM me.

Best of luck.


Do your friends have stock shares with Devry???

[utorontograd]

Do your friends have stock shares with Devry???

Believe it or not some people actually like Ross. You obviously like your school. Let's leave it at that.

[teratos]

The negative comments on this forum can be frightening. I know, because I was there just a few months ago. I had a friend who went to Ross and they told me not to even go on this website because it would mess with my head.

Ross really is a solid school. But that's all I'll say here. If you want some insider info on the experience from someone who isn't jaded you can PM me.

Best of luck.

Have you really seen that many negative comments about Ross? do see some negative, but I think they are more than balanced by the positive....

To weigh in, I think in general it is better to go to a school with a long track record. Lots of practicing docs, ability to practice in all states. Should these not be an option, you need to choose carefully. It can be a gamble, betting on which schools are going to stand the test of time. G

[rainne symphony]

The honour council rep gave the worst address I've ever heard in my entire life. It was her demeanor that was offensive I thought, not the comment about a second chance.

I couldn't stop laughing because that girl dug herself in so deep, but I can understand why others showed their disapproval.

Your really had to be there to judge.

lol. I agree!

I like Ross. It takes a while to get used to. I love the mediasite service. I think it really helps to mediasite while studying for certain topics. Sometimes, I do feel that ROSS is really Rely On Self Study but I am surviving so far. All of the teachers here (all that I have talked with) are approachable and available most of the time. I don't like the fact that there are so many people/cadaver. Then again, that's liveable.

Nothing is perfect but once we're used to it, it's not that bad. We're here to be doctors. Once we focus on that, trivialities don't matter much.

[sukhtinder]

i remember studying for micro in the library, made a chart with bacteria categories (grm pos, neg, etc), went for a 5 minute break outside to stretch, came back, it was snagged by some sleazebag, just pathetic.