Costa Rica

[Julius Ceasar]

I am interested in finding the forum for UNIBE Costa Rica NOT DR. I am going to visit the school next week (Oct 24th). Can anyone help me?

[Julius Ceasar]

This school has excellent facilities and Federal loans. The medical program has been taught in Spanish for the past 13 yrs. The English speaking program is brand new, this is their first year teaching in English.

[DrCure21]

Hello:

Please, let me know about this school. I've heard that you can get your MD in three years. Please, let me know what other information you can find out about it.

Thank you.

DrCure21

[Julius Ceasar]

Hello:

Please, let me know about this school. I've heard that you can get your MD in three years. Please, let me know what other information you can find out about it.

Thank you.

DrCure21

Yes you can complete the program in 3 yrs but you have to complete 3 semesters per year.......

[immunologic]

Yes you can complete the program in 3 yrs but you have to complete 3 semesters per year.......

Is it true, that the people of your NYC office dont call back after people leave messages?
A lot of people complained about it.
Also why are you not listed on the CALIFORNIA list of approved schools?

California's Lists of Nonrecognized and Recognized Medical Schools (http://www.credentialwatch.org/non/california_medical.shtml#D)

[immunologic]

This school has excellent facilities and Federal loans. The medical program has been taught in Spanish for the past 13 yrs. The English speaking program is brand new, this is their first year teaching in English.

Which airline did you use to fly, and how much was the ticket?

[october]

ignore double post

[october]

Is it true, that the people of your NYC office dont call back after people leave messages?
A lot of people complained about it.
Also why are you not listed on the CALIFORNIA list of approved schools?

California's Lists of Nonrecognized and Recognized Medical Schools (http://www.credentialwatch.org/non/california_medical.shtml#D)


It is fascinating how CA approved school($) in developing countries may lack items on the CA list such as; an up to date, organized, spiffy library.
research, proper academic structure and clinical experience, etc etc. I seriously doubt schools such as the one in Myanmar even come close to places like UNIBE, which I see as quite a decent facility.

[Julius Ceasar]

Which airline did you use to fly, and how much was the ticket?

Continential around $260.00, When I was there Someone told me about some low budget airline for like $79.00 one way. I forgot the name and still can not find it.

[Julius Ceasar]

Is it true, that the people of your NYC office dont call back after people leave messages?
A lot of people complained about it.
Also why are you not listed on the CALIFORNIA list of approved schools?

California's Lists of Nonrecognized and Recognized Medical Schools (http://www.credentialwatch.org/non/california_medical.shtml#D)

I called the office today and someone answered 2nd ring.

[dezertmedic]

I will be attending UNIBE CR in Jan. in the english program. I am looking to meet anyone that may be going down also. I would like to find friends to study with during the semester and spearfish and scuba with during the breaks.

I have never had a problem with the NY office nor the school in CR returning emails/calls or answering the phone. I have been approved for the loans.


PM me anytime for my email address.

[Julius Ceasar]

How much was your loan approval for?

How long did it take the admissions committee to accept you?




I will be attending UNIBE CR in Jan. in the english program. I am looking to meet anyone that may be going down also. I would like to find friends to study with during the semester and spearfish and scuba with during the breaks.

I have never had a problem with the NY office nor the school in CR returning emails/calls or answering the phone. I have been approved for the loans.


PM me anytime for my email address.

[dezertmedic]

Initially the approval was only for 8500/academic year which is two semsters. I had filled out the application with some errors, but thankfully they were corrected and I will get the 18,500. I think there is also a way to get 22,500, but we are still waiting for the official answer.

The loan amount you are approved for has nothing to do with whatever school you attend. It has to do with how many credit hours you have and what year student you are/will be. Best thing is to call the US Dept of Student Aid and get it straight from them. The school is also very eager to help. The school's financial aid dept in CR is a great source of info. You can get the contact info from the NY office.

The addmission process took a few days. I applied back in the summer so please forgive if I am off a day or two. From the time they recieved my application in NY, held the phone interview, then called me back with a follow up interview and said that they would be sending the official letter was over a span of about 4 days or so. It wasn't just a 10 minute phone call and asking, "so why do you want to be a doc?"

I am looking forward to starting in Jan. Are you serioulsy considering Jan? Have you asked if there is a chance you could get in by then?
Have you filled out the housing application form?
Where are you in the process?

Cheers

[Julius Ceasar]

First, I wanted to find an affordable school 6K per semester, (Please correct me if I'm wrong) but UNIBE CR offers a three year program which cuts my education cost of attending other schools by 25%. Next, they offered Federal loans which means a lower interest rate, easier approval, and the Fed's pay my interest on the first $8,500.00 of each disbursement. Finally, they offer US clinical rotations. This is why I decided to apply.

I am working with the IEFC regarding Federal and supplementary loans. I can get $20,500.00 from the Fed loans. You may want to check out their website Welcome to IEFC (http://www.iefc.com).

I didn't complete the housing application. I went to the campus last month and there are available apartments listed on the corkboard in the back of the cafeteria. The apartment owners post them there, they were less expensive than offered through housing. I also met a student there from Miami that said get Vonage (internet telephone service), activate it in the US before leaving for CR then when you arrive in CR connect it to your internet there. He get all his calls on a US number and none of his family or friends get charged for internation calls (Very cool).

I don't know if I can make it for January (family stuff) but I will try. If I can't I'm there in May for sure.:cool:










Initially the approval was only for 8500/academic year which is two semsters. I had filled out the application with some errors, but thankfully they were corrected and I will get the 18,500. I think there is also a way to get 22,500, but we are still waiting for the official answer.

The loan amount you are approved for has nothing to do with whatever school you attend. It has to do with how many credit hours you have and what year student you are/will be. Best thing is to call the US Dept of Student Aid and get it straight from them. The school is also very eager to help. The school's financial aid dept in CR is a great source of info. You can get the contact info from the NY office.

The addmission process took a few days. I applied back in the summer so please forgive if I am off a day or two. From the time they recieved my application in NY, held the phone interview, then called me back with a follow up interview and said that they would be sending the official letter was over a span of about 4 days or so. It wasn't just a 10 minute phone call and asking, "so why do you want to be a doc?"

I am looking forward to starting in Jan. Are you serioulsy considering Jan? Have you asked if there is a chance you could get in by then?
Have you filled out the housing application form?
Where are you in the process?

Cheers

[dt]

I am just curious about the MD degree that comes with the 3 year English program. Is it really a "Doctor of Medicine", a postgraduate degree?

After going through the program, does one still need to do the internship year to get "Medico Cirujano" equivalent kind of degree?

If one doesnt do that internship year will the MD ("Doctor of Medicine") be awarded by UNIBE-CR and recognized by USA, Canada and elsewhere come licensing time?


I was thinking about this because if you check IMED (http://imed.ecfmg.org/details.asp?country=270&school=&currpage=1&cname=COSTA+RICA&city=&region=&rname=&mcode=270030&psize=25) it only list "Medico Cirujano" degree that requires 5 years of study (plus 1 year internship) for it to be recognized by the CR government. The MD degree is not listed.

But if one gets the 3-year MD degree, will Costa Rica recognize the degree?

[dt]

Also for the 3 year program (that's 9 semester, 3/year)...

The basic science curriculum consists of 5 semesters (http://www.unibe.ac.cr/esp/international/newsite/basic_science_p1.htm). This means that clinicals semesters (http://www.unibe.ac.cr/esp/international/newsite/second_year.htm) are only 4 semesters long. Is 4 semesters of clinicals enough (especially since 24 weeks of the 4 semester are electives)? I am concerned about the length of the cores.

[Julius Ceasar]

Also for the 3 year program (that's 9 semester, 3/year)...

The basic science curriculum consists of 5 semesters (http://www.unibe.ac.cr/esp/international/newsite/basic_science_p1.htm). This means that clinicals semesters (http://www.unibe.ac.cr/esp/international/newsite/second_year.htm) are only 4 semesters long. Is 4 semesters of clinicals enough (especially since 24 weeks of the 4 semester are electives)? I am concerned about the length of the cores.


Yes it is recognized but it's 10 semesters (I think) the final two semesters of electives are 12 weeks not 15. The year internship is only needed if you plan to practice in CR, they don't require a 3 or 5 yr residency. You should call IMED B. K. for confirmation. It took me a while to understand but they complete 1.5 academic years in one calendar year (the math is pretty easy, even for me).

[dt]

Yes it is recognized but it's 10 semesters (I think) the final two semesters of electives are 12 weeks not 15. The year internship is only needed if you plan to practice in CR, they don't require a 3 or 5 yr residency. You should call IMED B. K. for confirmation. It took me a while to understand but they complete 1.5 academic years in one calendar year (the math is pretty easy, even for me).


9 semesters, from here:

UNIBE - School of Medicine - About (http://www.unibe.ac.cr/esp/international/newsite/about.htm)

The M.D. program consists of five semesters in the Basic Sciences followed by four semesters in Clinical Clerkships. Clinical exposure begins in the third semester and clerkships are available in the United States of America.

That's 2 semesters (24 weeks) for electives, leaving 2 semesters for cores??
And the cores are: Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Obste./Gynec., Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Radiology

[cryo4]

Can anyone really expect to feel equipped to be a MD in three years? --- my education in medicine lasts more than TWICE that -- and at no moment do i feel i could learn and understand these things at a faster rate. I feel maybe there is an unhealthy culture of seeking shortcuts. Looking around these forums, does nobody else feel like people care less about WHAT they will learn, and rather more whether or not they will be able to practice in the US (for example)?

.... PS.. im not referring specifically to anyone on this thread -- rather that, after perusing these pages for the past half hour i am a bit distressed by all the people who would consider studying in some tiny dodgy school.

[zack1]

Can anyone really expect to feel equipped to be a MD in three years? --- my education in medicine lasts more than TWICE that -- and at no moment do i feel i could learn and understand these things at a faster rate. I feel maybe there is an unhealthy culture of seeking shortcuts. Looking around these forums, does nobody else feel like people care less about WHAT they will learn, and rather more whether or not they will be able to practice in the US (for example)?

.... PS.. im not referring specifically to anyone on this thread -- rather that, after perusing these pages for the past half hour i am a bit distressed by all the people who would consider studying in some tiny dodgy school.
carribean med schools have been doing this for along time and it very much works good for them. I mean those students work really hard, have no breaks and above all spend way too many hours, days and months doing nothing but studying in far island with less distraction. I wonder why you started with this as your first thread.... fyi it doesn't matter how long it took you to get there....it is how you used that time to get there..hope this helps!

[Julius Ceasar]

I don't believe anyone would be equiped to be an MD in 3 yrs. That's why were required to complete a residency program. I think your problem is that you have difficulty thinking outside of the box. Everyone is limited to thinking in the Caribbean mode, this program is designed along the lines of a US medical program (very different) and since we plan to practice in the US (not the Caribbean) well need I say more.

Oh one last statement, I visited the school in CR as I did several Caribbean and European programs. This school is anything but some tiny dodgy school. It is more on the size and quality of AUC, not quite the size of ROSS or St. George but larger and much nicer than the rest.


Can anyone really expect to feel equipped to be a MD in three years? --- my education in medicine lasts more than TWICE that -- and at no moment do i feel i could learn and understand these things at a faster rate. I feel maybe there is an unhealthy culture of seeking shortcuts. Looking around these forums, does nobody else feel like people care less about WHAT they will learn, and rather more whether or not they will be able to practice in the US (for example)?

.... PS.. im not referring specifically to anyone on this thread -- rather that, after perusing these pages for the past half hour i am a bit distressed by all the people who would consider studying in some tiny dodgy school.

[Zut Alors!]

Once again, the problem with such little time in rotations is the real issue here.

[jameslynton]

You can disregard any posts by immunlogic - this poster was a troll.

[Julius Ceasar]

Once again, the problem with such little time in rotations is the real issue here.

I have actually sat down and calculated the hours spent in IM rotations both with CR and the Caribbean schools. I based it on a 40 hour week for the Caribbean program X 12 weeks = 480 hours, as opposed to 600 hrs in the CR program. I excluded call nights because both programs have this requirement. I believe the CR program also requires students to attend lectures (like US programs) during their rotations.

So I think this issue may be resolved:p

[Zut Alors!]

I have actually sat down and calculated the hours spent in IM rotations both with CR and the Caribbean schools. I based it on a 40 hour week for the Caribbean program X 12 weeks = 480 hours, as opposed to 600 hrs in the CR program. I excluded call nights because both programs have this requirement. I believe the CR program also requires students to attend lectures (like US programs) during their rotations.

So I think this issue may be resolved:p

Does this trend continue for all core rotations, as well as electives? I'll take your word for the IM rotation, but the issue is if there is an acceptable total number of weeks for all cores, not just IM.

[Julius Ceasar]

Does this trend continue for all core rotations, as well as electives? I'll take your word for the IM rotation, but the issue is if there is an acceptable total number of weeks for all cores, not just IM.

It works out the same for Surgery, OBGYN, Pd's, FM, and Psyc. I'm not getting into it for electives because they work out the same.

[dt]

It works out the same for Surgery, OBGYN, Pd's, FM, and Psyc. I'm not getting into it for electives because they work out the same.


Where did you get the detailed info on the complete curriculum, clinical hours and course schedules of each semester? They are not on the school website. Does the school send out all these info when you are accepted so that you know exactly what you're doing for the 3 years?

Also, I thought clinical cores are done in the USA. So how can one get clinicals hours and course hours at the same time since the courses are done in Costa Rico?

[Julius Ceasar]

Where did you get the detailed info on the complete curriculum, clinical hours and course schedules of each semester? They are not on the school website. Does the school send out all these info when you are accepted so that you know exactly what you're doing for the 3 years?

Also, I thought clinical cores are done in the USA. So how can one get clinicals hours and course hours at the same time since the courses are done in Costa Rico?

I plan to complete some of my cores in CR. The cost of living here is amazing and UNIBE CR is affiliated with several private (First class) Hospitals.

[2fasfasligand]

I have credible information that someone by the name of P*** L**** who was one of the Deans of St.Chris is involved with the English program at this school. This is the same person who was caught embezzeling money and was fired by the head Dean and founder of St.Chris and has been taken to court by former and current St.Chris students and grads. I hear millions could be awarded to the students for their pain and suffering. This certain person ran off with peoples loan money when he was fired. Beware if he is working for this new Costa Rican UNIBE English program! He has a bad history and current students should alert their administration.

Check out the following ValueMD Thread:
http://www.valuemd.com/unibe-dominican-medical-schools/140961-costa-rica-unibe-campus.html#post651480

[Julius Ceasar]

I have credible information that someone by the name of P*** L**** who was one of the Deans of St.Chris is involved with the English program at this school. This is the same person who was caught embezzeling money and was fired by the head Dean and founder of St.Chris and has been taken to court by former and current St.Chris students and grads. I hear millions could be awarded to the students for their pain and suffering. This certain person ran off with peoples loan money when he was fired. Beware if he is working for this new Costa Rican UNIBE English program! He has a bad history and current students should alert their administration.

Check out the following ValueMD Thread:
http://www.valuemd.com/unibe-dominican-medical-schools/140961-costa-rica-unibe-campus.html#post651480


I met with the director in his NY office. I completed my interview there last week. Is he African American? he introduced himself as T__ J______.

This school is approved for Federal Loans, I have received approval for $20,500.00 from the Feds.

[Brerwolf]

So with a few semesters under your belt how would you say things are there? Fin aid going smoothly? Where will they send you after you finish your first 3 years?

[coolaid]

Julius ceasar, where are you!!!

[valladaresj]

How much is tuition and why does the website not mention an english program? Where can I find more information?

[vilks]

Please does anyone know if a foreign students have to comply with the social service in Costa Rica to obtain an M.D.

[ahsan]

Vilks,
No the foreign students don't have to comply with thee social service in Costa Rica as there is no such thing like that there,atleast in the English Language Program.
These types of programs are there in Mexico and may be other Hispanic Countries.

And Valladeresj, The Website you are mentioning use to have the link on the top of the page for their english program.But I don't know why it is not there now.And it seems the english program's website is down now a days and nobody is answering
the phone as well,I tried to call them several times.Moreover Dr J also left,only Dr P*** is there who I spoke a couple of times,recently.

Dunno what is going on,But whatewver is it is scarry.