pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, cheap cheap cheap...

[fossildoc]

...talk a lot, pick a little more,
pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little,
cheap cheap cheap, talk a lot, pick a little more,
pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little,
cheap cheap cheap, talk a lot, pick a little more,
pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little,
cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap cheap

The above is the refrain of the song "Pick a little, talk a little", song by the Buffalo Bills, a barbershop quartet, in "The Music Man", starring Meredith Wilson, which opened on Broadway in 1962.

I attended that show on opening night, with box seats offered to my mother by her company when a last-minute cancellation made them available. It was my first Broadway show, which also starred eight-year-old Ron Howard who sang "Gary, Indiana" with a lisp, as required by the script. He brought the house down.

Little did I know that forty-six years later the refrain to that song would echo through my head upon learning of my school's latest policy of making students pay ten cents --Aruban money -- about 5.7 cents American -- per page to copy any handouts the teachers wanted to give us. And this after furiously negotiating away a much more draconian policy which mercifully was attenuated by calmer nervous systems. Here's how the math breaks down: my PDI class numbers 22, we get a 5-page handout on each of 24 classes we meet during the semester. Assuming that bulk paper in Aruba costs double the $1.25 per ream it costs in Staples in the U.S., that comes to a whopping $7.54 USD in paper for the whole class for the whole semester.

Okay, I can see the financial strain it might cause the school, especially in light of the tiny just-announced tuition increase ($800-$1000), but here's the good part: the teachers are allowed to make just one paper copy, which they can give to one student to do with whatever they want. Why? Because electronic dissemination would encourage pirating the copyrighted works of our Nobel-prize-in-literature-winning teacher/authors. But we can scan and distribute the paper copy as we wish.

Got that?

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, cheap cheap cheap...

[IMG Reality]

I called the office about the tuition increase and they said it was because one "Aruba is expensive" and two they are trying to get a site visit, which I assume is NY state? any clarification about this???

[Xavier Admissions]

We obviously do not want to encourage rumor or assumptions, but we are taking on more projects for the benefit of the students and their education and conditions in Aruba. There are many plans under way that we are excited about.

[fossildoc]

We obviously do not want to encourage rumor or assumptions, but we are taking on more projects for the benefit of the students and their education and conditions in Aruba. There are many plans under way that we are excited about.

If you don't want to encourage rumor or assumptions, why not simply state what the many plans are which are under way for the benefit of the students and their education and conditions in Aruba? You know, the plans which you are excited about. Failure to enumerate your plans invites the rumor mill to fill in the gaps.

By any chance, would your plans include implementation of the promise of electronic access to zillions of journals which has been on the first page of the school web site for over two years?

Would it also include implementation of official student emails -- from which I have yet to receive a single message -- to disseminate information from teachers to students, instead of relying on the rumor system to pass along important information?

Could it by some luck include implementation of an ftp download system, for which the infrastructure has been in place for over a year, so that teachers and students can upload and download documents for each other, instead of the current flash drive pass-along maybe-I'll-get-it system?

Would these exciting plans include a sensible, well thought out policy on giving students something to study from, instead of the current quiz-hoarding system which has no analog in American or Canadian colleges?

Of all the conditions in Aruba, would the plans include a fair apartment listing service that seeks out all available housing units, not just the expensive ones? And how about a logistics service to prevent the isolation of new arrivals?

Would there be enough money for a full-time knowledgeable career counselor in permanent residence in Aruba, someone on top of changing state regulations, rotation rules, residency requirements, and the like, to replace the current last-minute advice on what to do after we're already in the middle of doing it?

Might there also be a faculty code of conduct, similar to the student code of conduct, or is it only students -- you know, the ones paying for all this -- who must be held to standards of conduct? Will faculty be required to wear school advertising Monday through Thursday? I would be really excited about that plan.

[Xavier Admissions]

Thank you for your response. And to you and others... we yet again are at an impass with communication. Many have asked on here "Why do you not comment on ValueMD very much, this would be a great place to share information." If you read the previous post above, this is why. We can't ask for input and ideas on making Xavier better without getting blasted by some student who would't take the time to share their thoughts with the Administration here in the States, but can namelessly go off on some tangent on here.
FTP Downloading? GREAT IDEA! Some of your other comments are useful as well. I just ask that students with ideas share them with the Administration in a mature manner (info@xusom.nl is best where you can reach me) before blowing up and trying to make the school look bad. Is degrading Xavier what you wish to accomplish? Have I made a mistake in asking for input on the new website?

[fossildoc]

Thank you for your response. And to you and others... we yet again are at an impass with communication. Many have asked on here "Why do you not comment on ValueMD very much, this would be a great place to share information." If you read the previous post above, this is why. We can't ask for input and ideas on making Xavier better without getting blasted by some student who would't take the time to share their thoughts with the Administration here in the States, but can namelessly go off on some tangent on here.
FTP Downloading? GREAT IDEA! Some of your other comments are useful as well. I just ask that students with ideas share them with the Administration in a mature manner (xavier@valuemd.com is best where you can reach me) before blowing up and trying to make the school look bad. Is degrading Xavier what you wish to accomplish? Have I made a mistake in asking for input on the new website?

(Edit note: ValueMD censoring software changed an email address I mention several times, so I had to change it to an awkward form, which should be self-evident.)

You have no idea what you're talking about, and I find it laughable that you, who do not study here, should have anything to say about anything at all, particularly in light of the history of the admissions department in dealing with students.

First, regarding your crack about 'namelessly', there's hardly a student at Xavier who doesn't know who fossildoc is, and certainly many faculty know who I am. Why don't you pick up the phone and call the registrar, or any member of SGA, and ask who I am. Even better, go down the hall and speak to the Panama development person, GR, and ask to see my Logistics posts in the Panama forum. So much for your nonsense about 'namelessly'.

As for your unfounded allegations about not taking the time to share my thoughts, once again you are completely misinformed. I have sent several emails -- with my name on them -- to your chief academic officer, MC, with constructive suggestions for the solution of problems that plague students here. I have all the original emails and replies, and would be glad to post them all here if you'd like. The last one was a suggestion that the school create a group mailing list for each class and for each grade level; this could be done with a simple computer program, since all that data is in the registration data base. Faculty should be required to utilize these group lists to pass important information to students, and should never depend on a student to disseminate information. This will avoid a repetition of disastrous events in the past two semesters in which students did not receive important information intended for them by the teacher. I have MC's response, in which he promises to implement such a system beginning this semester, but lo, it's business as usual. Instead of a computer-based solution, we still use the rumor system to promulgate announcements, and some students never get the memo.

What's the use in taking the time to share our thoughts if, even after promises of implementation, nothing happens?

Now let's get to the Admissions Department. At the bottom of the first page of the school web site there is an email address, info-atsign-xusom-dot-nl. To me, info means information. "What's the textbook used for Anatomy?" is information, and such an inquiry should be answered by a responsible administration. During the six months beginning January 2007, I sent three emails to info-atsign-xusom-dot-nl inquiring about the online access to electronic journals which had been touted on the first page of the school web site as coming 'soon' for over two years. None of those emails were answered.

I sent a fourth email to the person in charge of Panama development, the aforementioned GR, who promised an answer that never came (she is a great person, BTW).

Then at a meeting between the entire student body and your CEO, CB, I, fossildoc, rose and challenged CB to fix the unresponsiveness of the school to student emails, a complaint voiced so loud and so often by other students that it became an item of discussion between SGA and the Atlanta brass. CB, in front of the entire student body, promised to fix this problem by requiring all emails to be answered. Then, about a month later, I sent CB an email in which I copied the first three unanswered emails, and asked that he investigate why they were never answered. Paradoxically, he never answered my email! I found this so amusing that I decided not to pursue that thread, as it was clear that promises from on high were no more than just that -- promises.

I then sent another email to info-atsign-xusom-dot-nl asking once again about the journals, and noted that CB had assured me that this email would not be ignored. This time I did get an answer. It said that info-atsign-xusom-dot-nl is an address in the Admissions Department, and only questions about admissions would be answered; all other inquiries would be 'forwarded'. So why isn't it called admissions@xusom.nl? How is a reader supposed to know that the address applies only to Admissions, especially when it is on the first page of the web site, not on the Admissions page?

To me, this represents a deplorable lack of judgement on the part of the person controlling info-atsign-xusom-dot-nl, and I suspect it is still operating that way.

The only person in your organization who faithfully answers emails is the aforementioned MC, who I believe is a Good Man in an impossible situation. There is a saying: you can't soar with eagles if you have to grovel with turkeys. I get the feeling that not everybody is on the same train in Atlanta.

Now let's move on to the ftp idea. It was actually implemented by our very capable and student-friendly IT guy, but it was abandoned because key adminstrators in Aruba could not figure out how to work ftp. The computer illiteracy of the faculty here is shameful; any eighth-grader in the U.S. or Canada will know how to use ftp. I myself designed a computer program to drill students on tabular data which had to be memorized, such as is found in Microbiology or Pharmacology, but once again it didn't take off because a key adminstrator didn't act on it, despite a 21-page printed instruction manual.

Regarding the web site, in January 2007 I had an eyeball-to-eyeball meeting with CB -- not the meeting referred to above -- in which I told him for over an hour that the most powerful marketing engine for the school was not television advertisements or posters in college hallways, but the collective mass of students who pass through the school, whether satisified or not, and that it was therefore incumbent on him to listen with both ears to the complaints of the students. I also drove home the point -- apparently without results -- that the primary interface between the prospective student and the school is the web site, and that it was a matter of utmost urgency to remove from the web site all manner of deception, particuarly the Panama web site, which was a grand deception from beginning to end. (If you're the Definition Police, a deception is a truth told in such a way as to induce the reader into believing something which is not true.)

The saddest part of this is that none of it was necessary; Aruba has enough positive attributes, and Panama had enough good concepts and plans, to stand on their merits without any need for deceptive elaboration. I was thrilled with Panama; it was a great idea. When I arrived in Aruba after Panama's cancellation I was at once surrounded by students who first asked if I was fossildoc -- yes, I was -- and told me that they hadn't opted to go there solely because of "ambiguities" and "holes" in the Panama web site; they said the school was waffling on important issues, such as accreditation. As I said in one of my other posts, students will tolerate almost anything if they believe you are being honest with them, but that was not the case with the Panama web site.

It is no secret that the Caribbean med schools thrive on a healthy dose of lies and deceptions, luring students who then feel trapped once their tuition is paid. I do not want Xavier to be regarded in that manner, because its reputation will follow me everywhere, yet there hasn't been a word changed on the web site in the year I've been here.

At this meeting with CB, I said I would sit with him and go line-by-line through the entire web site, both Aruba and Panama, and point out the deceptions, but he did not have the time.

As for your again misinformed comment about trying to make the school look bad, my response is simple: have someone PM me and ask if I recommend the school. I would have no way of knowing s/he was your stooge. Because of my postings in this forum, hardly a day goes by when I don't get a PM asking for the 'real deal' about Xavier, and I tell them all the same thing (why wouldn't I?), which is: this is place to be. But it's like a rocky marriage; it needs counseling at times, and if the couples have the good sense to get the counseling, all should work out in the end. Xavier would have to form a committee to concoct the humiliations I suffered at my previous school, MUAB, now defunct or almost so; in that context, Xavier is a paradise. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement, particularly in the realm of communication about which you know so little. I bet you can't name a single item on the agenda of the last SGA meeting with MC. So why are you making groundless comments about going off on a tangent, when those tangents may be the items of greatest interest to the study body?

I think it is ludicrous that someone who doesn't know anything about me or my history of communications with the administration or my constructive activites within the school -- like being the ONLY student to help incoming newbies -- should make such uninformed and irresponsible comments. I know what I am talking about, and I will defend any statements I have made in any of my posts face-to-face with any cheeses you may wish to send here.

If you want my input about what the web site should look like, once again I will sit for several hours and go through the current site line by line, making suggestions for emendations and additions, but if your idea of student input is a 15-minute block of time for each student like we get when MC visits, then forget it. I'm not a sound-bite man.

[Xavier Admissions]

Yes, I do know who you are, and no, it doesn't make any difference. I wasn't under the impressions this was the mature way to call someone out. I assume you know who I am and have absolutley no issue with going over issues or the website in a detailed mannor. I don't agree with the comment that I am so ill-informed since I have been with this school since it's beginnings in Bonaire, but if this is your perception then I apologize. Yes, information about academics typically get forwarded to the appropriate person or Dean, but the intent was to make sure that questions were getting answered by someone and since I deal with most students during their enrollment, I have a basic and personal responsibility to see that they are treated fairly. I don't baby sit or stand over peers to verify there response, but it seems that there needs to be a better way to communicate info.
Per that thought, the majority of the Administration here in Atlanta had a long conference call with the SGA today and we are making some headway in regards to concerns they and other students have. If you, would like to talk to me in depth about any issue, I welcome your thoughts.
The website is currently being updated and remodeled, and we welcome insight preferrably through a phone call so that we can discuss options. This forum is not where anyone in the office spends a majority of their day, so it typically has a delayed response.

Thank you for you concerns,
AM

[dt]

Yes, I do know who you are, and no, it doesn't make any difference. I wasn't under the impressions this was the mature way to call someone out. I assume you know who I am and have absolutley no issue with going over issues or the website in a detailed mannor. I don't agree with the comment that I am so ill-informed since I have been with this school since it's beginnings in Bonaire, but if this is your perception then I apologize. Yes, information about academics typically get forwarded to the appropriate person or Dean, but the intent was to make sure that questions were getting answered by someone and since I deal with most students during their enrollment, I have a basic and personal responsibility to see that they are treated fairly. I don't baby sit or stand over peers to verify there response, but it seems that there needs to be a better way to communicate info.
Per that thought, the majority of the Administration here in Atlanta had a long conference call with the SGA today and we are making some headway in regards to concerns they and other students have. If you, would like to talk to me in depth about any issue, I welcome your thoughts.
The website is currently being updated and remodeled, and we welcome insight preferrably through a phone call so that we can discuss options. This forum is not where anyone in the office spends a majority of their day, so it typically has a delayed response.

Thank you for you concerns,
AM

I disagree. It would seem other ways tried are ineffective and management is non-responsive.

How long has xavier been around? 5 years?

[Xavier Admissions]

Xavier was chartered in 2003.

[WPW]

If i can make a suggestion please with regards to the website, if you can add a section of all the different people that have matched and are in residency from Xavier as well as keep it updated. As a future student looking into residency, it would be nice to know this info, also helpful if we could get intouch with those peopel and get advice since we really dont have any meaningful counsellor in Atl.

As for the above arguments of implementing changes, its the same ol story that we'eve been hearin. After going through XUSOM with MD and now almost done with clinicals, even in Atl its the same story that changes will be made etc etc. I think we just have to accept this as carib med students, its the reality of the path we have taken. I hear the same complaints from students from other schools as well.

[ams]

oooo i know who you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!...hmmm well if you are who i think you are..then you probably are gonna send pm to fossil and "remind him that your a school official" and he can be reprimanded.

The funny part about all this is...that all these concerns about our school and things Fossil brought up....and many other things...finally got the admins attention THREW THIS FORUM. And I was there in Jan 2007 and I saw Fossil have a talk with CB.

thats sad, and honestly the Atlanta Admin has poor poor communication with the students..and its frustrating.

Even when i got to ATL...this admin left my entire class in the dark and threw out orders. And when we would try to get a hold of them...it was impossible. So some one from our class would have to show up to the office and finally get to talk to someone face to face.

Both aruba and Atl admin have thier issues...which can be easily fixed

Personally there are alot of flaws...and things can be done about it, and i have had this complaint, this admin is not student freindly and has poor communication. IF this admin did have great communication, and treated the students good...then no matter what problems this school may have..the students would stand behind it no matter what.

anyhow I hope things start to get better....

[Xavier Admissions]

If i can make a suggestion please with regards to the website, if you can add a section of all the different people that have matched and are in residency from Xavier as well as keep it updated. As a future student looking into residency, it would be nice to know this info, also helpful if we could get intouch with those peopel and get advice since we really dont have any meaningful counsellor in Atl.

As for the above arguments of implementing changes, its the same ol story that we'eve been hearin. After going through XUSOM with MD and now almost done with clinicals, even in Atl its the same story that changes will be made etc etc. I think we just have to accept this as carib med students, its the reality of the path we have taken. I hear the same complaints from students from other schools as well.

It is true that some changes have not taken place at Xavier, or other schools in the Caribbean. Some issues are business and budget oriented, not being dismissed, but have time frame implementation hinderances. No, we are not a US school with all the grants, alumni contributions, and local resources that come with a 50 or even 20 year old school in the states or elsewhere.
This is why as Xavier grows in number and age we have been able to implement more and more for the students. Of course, with all honesty, students' expectations are for a request to be met in their time frame and by their standards. This is quite understandable from that perspective. Well, welcome to the real world where you work with what you have and those that are not happy move on. As you can see from previous posts on this thread, when you have a student enjoying the art of accusations and name calling it makes it hard to distinguish his priorities between thinking that the professors should be forced to dress like him and FTP downloading. Yet he reamins a student, and a good one at that.
Once again, no, not everything brought up will happen at the students' time frame or even request, but it IS our job to work with students to make their time at school more effecient and enjoyable.

[Xavier Admissions]

oooo i know who you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!...hmmm well if you are who i think you are..then you probably are gonna send pm to fossil and "remind him that your a school official" and he can be reprimanded.

The funny part about all this is...that all these concerns about our school and things Fossil brought up....and many other things...finally got the admins attention THREW THIS FORUM. And I was there in Jan 2007 and I saw Fossil have a talk with CB.

thats sad, and honestly the Atlanta Admin has poor poor communication with the students..and its frustrating.

Even when i got to ATL...this admin left my entire class in the dark and threw out orders. And when we would try to get a hold of them...it was impossible. So some one from our class would have to show up to the office and finally get to talk to someone face to face.

Both aruba and Atl admin have thier issues...which can be easily fixed

Personally there are alot of flaws...and things can be done about it, and i have had this complaint, this admin is not student freindly and has poor communication. IF this admin did have great communication, and treated the students good...then no matter what problems this school may have..the students would stand behind it no matter what.

anyhow I hope things start to get better....

So let me get this straight. You think that we would repremand someone from a public forum comment?? I, and I say I because I am the only person that writes on here on behalf of Xavier, would have no authority to repremand anyone form here. NO ONE has ever been repremanded on behalf of a comment on here. We have no ability to verify names so any logical conclusion would be that you roll with the punches. I try to help where I can, but it seems for some that it is more fun being upset than being in medical school. If communication, which you and I value highly, were an issue why would I hinder it by being upset at a student for their ideas and perceptions?
I apologize for requests that were made to CB that did or have not come to realization. I cannot answer on his behalf, but I do know that he has brought up issues from the student body that has not been able to be corrected yet. Our job is to work to make the school run, and your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
You commented in your last statement that communication with students could easily be fixed. But yet I do not read any answer. I must admit that that is quite ironic.
You do understand that the ATL office works mainly with the students IN ATL. You, or at least your peer, knows where our office is, so what is it you don't know? During the SGA meeting there was a total lack of understanding by PM and MD students as to 5th semester. This could possibly be your question, so let me answer it simply. READ THE WEBSITE! You may not like it, which is why we are working on a new one, but go to the current student section. At the top there is, and has always been, a section called "5th Semester." That info hasn't changed for at least a year.
Hope that helps,
AM
P.S.- Since most of you should know who I am and know where I am, come and give me some suggestions that we can work on. If not, well....... your issues may not mean as much as you let on.

[WPW]

It is true that some changes have not taken place at Xavier, or other schools in the Caribbean. Some issues are business and budget oriented, not being dismissed, but have time frame implementation hinderances. No, we are not a US school with all the grants, alumni contributions, and local resources that come with a 50 or even 20 year old school in the states or elsewhere.
This is why as Xavier grows in number and age we have been able to implement more and more for the students. Of course, with all honesty, students' expectations are for a request to be met in their time frame and by their standards. This is quite understandable from that perspective. Well, welcome to the real world where you work with what you have and those that are not happy move on. As you can see from previous posts on this thread, when you have a student enjoying the art of accusations and name calling it makes it hard to distinguish his priorities between thinking that the professors should be forced to dress like him and FTP downloading. Yet he reamins a student, and a good one at that.
Once again, no, not everything brought up will happen at the students' time frame or even request, but it IS our job to work with students to make their time at school more effecient and enjoyable.

I agree with you, XUSOM has gotten a lot better then it was when i started with it. But there still remains to be a fact that certain changes that we have asked for, and were promised to us when we started are still not met. I understand the time frame issue,budget etc etc but atleast we should see some movement in that direction. For EG.Health Insurance in the states, none of us have any while other carib students that I speak to are covered, after numerous conversations with admin, were told "we are working on it" Its been over 2 years nothing has come of it. Changes on the website, i remember that in my first week in Aruba it was bought up and same thing was said "we are a credible school we'll change it" Till this day the website is the same with the same inconsitencies.
Also my issue is sometimes certain things are promised to us by ADMIN, as the admin sometimes makes statements which are not true. And then when we go back to find out more about them we hear the same story "we are still working on it". Again i'm not trying to make the school sound bad or anything, I think Xavier is a good school and i would go through with it again if i could, but since this topic was bought up i thought it was important for everyone to understand, we are not an AMERICAN school and thus cant have things that way. And by everyone understanding i mean the ADMIN and the Students, cuz at times the admin expect students to behave like American Grads yet they dont in return and vice versa. There is no right or wrong in this, we have to work together to improve the school.

P.S what about the suggestion of the resdiency list is that valid?

[Xavier Admissions]

The statistics on current students, USMLE rates, graduates, and residents are being updated again for 2008. We started going through them again startting in January to pull all the information we could that would be useful to current and incoming students.
If you have any suggestions as to what stats/ comparisons you would like, let us know.

[ams]

As I am "rolling with the punches"

Here is a solution. There should be a student forum on the school website. There should be a admin from ATL and Aruba dedicated to this forum. IT can be a quick way for students to discuss things, sell things, for admin to communicate things, for students to ask questions and get clarity on things. Kind of like SMU's forum. And the only way you can log on is with your student id number and of course students will have thier own email aswell. And ofcourse non students can sign on as visitors to speak to other students and admin.

Okay so anyways you said that ATL office is dedicated to mainly students in rotations. So everytime there is a problem in Aruba, the admin there say go to MC and the ATL admin..getting threw to them...takes time. This is why i say that communication is poor.

As for the 5th sem, Yes a brief summary is on the website. We are told to be in ATL by a certain date. We show up for that day only..and then we wait, and wait and wait week after week for schedule to be made for ICM and GIR. And so getting in touch with the office, to find out whats going on, whats the status and what not...was difficult to communicate with the admin. The website does not give this information. Had we had proper communication, or had you said.."the schedule is currently being worked on by the preceptor, we do not have a definite date but we are hoping for sometime around "this month. If you any further questions please let us, as of right now continue your kaplan" would have been a very satisfactory form of communication.

Secondly. The school should invest money into its students, and actually have a proper faculty...starting with the dean all the way down. Great teachers can make or break the school. Why are teachers walking out left right and center?? they are not happy..so that should tell you something about the admin. Invest the money to get good admin and teachers. MC (who never passed his boards btw) and G are not real proper deans, and I can go on and on about the teachers....look at Ross...they are that good because they have amazing teachers.

Third, the school should actively help the students in settling them in and making sure they are secure. Mr. A and Mr. N...sorry they are no good. IF you have a standarized service and procedure to recieve, help and settle the students, it would make life alot easier. I had to rough it out and so did many...and i was promised help. Its funny because our activities on the island outside of school is a concern of the school, but helping us get set up (apartment, transportation, airport arrival...ect..) is not really a priority. And i know the school says they do it...but you and i know thats not true.

Fourth, why on earth are we using an outdated question bank for our exit exam. why not use something that will better prepare us for our boards. And why have an exit exam..that proves nothing besides how good your memorization skills are in matter 2 weeks. The ciriculum needs to be more board oriented, and steps need to be taken asap towards that.

Fifth..why dont we have green book rotations in ATL, why does RC pump the fact that it doesnt matter...because it really does matter to the students who have passed thier step 1. It should be a big concern to make sure the students are prepared and pass the step 1, and then go on to proper rotations.

Lastly solve the VISA issue.....Mr. A is worthless at it...students have come in pre med or med1 and finished med 4 and left and never got a visa or paperwork done.

i bring these points forward because I do see a potential for Xavier..yes it is my school, and I take pride in it, and thats why i want to see changes for the better.


ps. is this CM

[AUCMD2006]

The statistics on current students, USMLE rates, graduates, and residents are being updated again for 2008. We started going through them again startting in January to pull all the information we could that would be useful to current and incoming students.
If you have any suggestions as to what stats/ comparisons you would like, let us know.


stats i wish my school or any of our schools down there would have

1)a true first time usmle pass rate not some crud like st mats 97% or some dynamic number when i ask someone from my school or others. then the overall usmle pass rate.

now give the actual true numbers and if it is low then list measures taken to work on imrpoving it

2)attrition rate. both overall and per class each semester
3)what percent of students that start with thier class actually end up leaving basic science on time and what percent decelarate
4)the graduation rate. and what percent of this are students that started with xavier vs. transfer students

i know i don;t attend this school but the above would be welcome by anyone comparing

[WPW]

stats i wish my school or any of our schools down there would have

1)a true first time usmle pass rate not some crud like st mats 97% or some dynamic number when i ask someone from my school or others. then the overall usmle pass rate.

now give the actual true numbers and if it is low then list measures taken to work on imrpoving it

2)attrition rate. both overall and per class each semester
3)what percent of students that start with thier class actually end up leaving basic science on time and what percent decelarate
4)the graduation rate. and what percent of this are students that started with xavier vs. transfer students

i know i don;t attend this school but the above would be welcome by anyone comparing

agreed all these sats would be nice to know.

[mellsworth21]

current USMLE data would be interesting...

[DOCplucinski]

And why have an exit exam..that proves nothing besides how good your memorization skills are in matter 2 weeks. The ciriculum needs to be more board oriented, and steps need to be taken asap towards that.

AUA, Ross and probably SGU etc, students must pass the Comp (Comprehensive basic science test administered from the NBME) before being able to sit for the USMLE. it's not about how much you can memorization, it's about seeing the big picture and doing well on it gives you a greater chance of passing the USMLE. exit exams are usually in place, at least at my school and others, to prevent students who probably won't be passing the USMLE from taking it. they are a great tool and should be in place.

[WPW]

AUA, Ross and probably SGU etc, students must pass the Comp (Comprehensive basic science test administered from the NBME) before being able to sit for the USMLE. it's not about how much you can memorization, it's about seeing the big picture and doing well on it gives you a greater chance of passing the USMLE. exit exams are usually in place, at least at my school and others, to prevent students who probably won't be passing the USMLE from taking it. they are a great tool and should be in place.


we are not against having the exit exam, i think we just want it to be more relevant. In our case we were given over 3000 questions from EXAM MASTER and told to know them. Those questions arnt even board oriented, we just spent hours and hours memorizing them.

[ams]

the concept of an exit exam is not the problem.

its the way this exit exam is.... your in finals, and the last two weeks your told okay the question bank for the exit exam is up...so now i need to make a logical decision...Do I study for my finals...or do i memorize all the 2000 or 3000 questions.