sint Eustatius vs MUA

[Arash2663]

Can someone please post which is the better school between St. Eustasius and MUA in terms of residency match and USMLE pass rates?

[rdecastro]

Having dealt with both administrations, I'd stay the heck away from any offices in Gardner, MA.

[Arash2663]

Hi everyone,
I did some research on both schools in terms of residency match and USMLE pass rates, and to me they are very similar. Each school has its pros and cons, which makes it very difficult for me to decide. For example at USESOM you have the opportunity to stay over there for 4 semesters and you can take the last semester of basic science in the U.S in Illinois. However, statia is smaller than Nevis which means that there are better housing facilities in Nevis, but you have to stay there for 20 months. MUA has bigger and better buildings, and is sister to Saba, but USESOM has a better clinical rotation in the U.S.
I know that at either school I am able to reach my goals. In addition, I know that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to reach those goals, the only question I have is which school makes it easy, MUA or USESOM?

[Bubkas1]

Having dealt with both administrations, I'd stay the heck away from any offices in Gardner, MA.
Amen, brother!

[med etudiant]

Gardner. MA is SEUSOM? Can someone elaborate?

[DOCplucinski]

don't forget MUA-N has NY approval, with that said, there should be no reason you should chose a school that does not have NY approval when these schools are already easy enough to get into

[kryptik]

Gardner. MA is SEUSOM? Can someone elaborate?
i think MUA has their office in Gardner MA

[nanagurl]

In general the schools are very similar in terms of teaching, USLME Step 1 pass rate, etc, etc... But here are a few island differences


USESOM
* Spread out campus (New campus to come in future years)
* Great Clinical Sites all over
* Staff and Administration are GREAT and don't mind talking to you (5 Stars)
* Exams taken electronically
* If you fail 2 or more classes you take the semester over
* Soon to be under Holland government
* Smaller island not tourist oriented, but GREAT diving
* Can get away with walking to places
* Has the option to do 5th semester in Normal, IL
* Tuition ~$7800
* Has a scholarship program
* Internet in the classroom, can download notes off school server
* Suarez building has a cafe that serves breakfast and lunch items
* Currency is Guilders (~1US to 1.8 Guilders)
* Airline carriers are only WinAir

MUA
* Centralized campus (New building to open in a few months, weeks)
* Administration is not helpful at all (2 Stars)
* Exams are on Scantron sheets
* Has the main, yet good clinical sites
* If you fail 2 or more classes you are EXPELLED
* Owners of the school also own/connected with Saba and SMU
* Island is a bit larger, Regular ferry to St. Kitts and is tourist oriented
* Require transportation
* Shelf exam (Standardized Test) for each class in addition to final
* Tuition ~$7800
* Internet only in Library, download notes off classroom computer server
* Campus has a soccer field, pool and Cafeteria
* Currency is ECU (~1US to 2.3???ECU)
* Airline carriers are American, Winair, Liat..dont know if there are more


**No idea about true residency statistics....just have to look at the school websites

[Compassion MD]

Currently a Sint Eustatius student.

DOCplucinski (http://www.valuemd.com/members/docplucinski.html) is right...

If I was accepted into MUA-N (NOT MUA-B), I would 100% go to MUA-N.

There are many other reasons why I would go MUA too... but currently studying for exam.. anyone is free to PM me for my input.

Sorry Statia.

[Arash2663]

Why Compassion MD?

[mikeLE]

I'm Canadian, I have no interest in practicing in NY or CA, having that said, I'm glad I made the decision coming to this school. I'm only in 2nd term and having 5 terms of the "island life" just makes me sick hahaha, we get to go to Illinois for 5th term!!! :D

[ed p]

If I was accepted into MUA-N (NOT MUA-B), I would 100% go to MUA-N.

There are many other reasons why I would go MUA too... but currently studying for exam.. anyone is free to PM me for my input.
Why would you choose MUA over Statia? I have been trying to make the same decisiona and have concluded that if the administration at MUA is terribly immature and would dread dealing with them for four years. Some of their comments on this board are ridiculous, and since these are the people in charge of my clinical rotations, I would put a lot more faith in the professional Statia administration and feel like they have my best interest in mind. Plus, I spoke with the admin at MUA yesterday and they said that their clinicals are basically in Chicago, NY, and LA. That doesn't sound very diversified to me at all.

[Dr. N2012]

Statia has good clinical sites for sure....How diversified...not that big deal to me...as long as i get somewhere....

I will not give 5 stars to statia officials....rather 3 stars (they are okay but not the greatest of all) It takes time but they do response...

I was to apply for MUA...but choose not to go there cause of island being too distractive.....

I love statia life....its great...NO Distractions....Lot of study :)

[Shiz77]

I would go to MUA-N over Statia for these reasons:

1) MUA-N has NY approval - only means you can do more than 12 weeks of rotations in NY, but also means that you have a HIGHER chance of getting residency in NY which is very IMG friendly

2) Will be applying for Cali within the next year or 2-- read the forums of AUA and SMU and you'll see how important this accred. is

3) Sister school of Saba, shares clinical sites with Saba, will be using Saba's blueprint for cali approval

4) Loan program--not the best, although I'm not sure what Statia has


Statia has an impressive list of alumni but with 11 states now following the Cali list you don't want to keep your licensing limited. I would definitely go to a school that has some sort of american accred., preferably the BIG 4

[joe soap]

one good reason to go the MUA route is that schools that currently have NY approval can apply and be ready for Stafford loans in 2 years...doesnt help us in school now but those down the line it will be great for you guys...AUA, SMU and the others also fall into this category...i admit i know very little about Statia except that they have a Dutch approval situation coming up...good or bad dunno..if Statia gets a Dutch approval then that would put you guys light years ahead in terms of recognition...like i said i dont know what the circumstances surrounding that are...

[Shiz77]

Has MUA applied for this stafford loan approval process?

[joe soap]

dunno...as far as i know the deadline is 2 years from now and the school has to meet certain performance markers...contact MUA admin

[OasisMan]

...Statia except that they have a Dutch approval situation coming up...good or bad dunno..if Statia gets a Dutch approval then that would put you guys light years ahead in terms of recognition...yup, that is this december or earlier

if approved, Statia will be considered a "Dutch School" instead of a Caribbean school, even tho in Carib. Statia has land to build campus, so who knows when they will. Therefore, NY approval is right around the corner. Also, Statia is known for having excellent clinical rotations/spots...

plus, leaving the carib for 5th term is excellent http://www.valuemd.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Shiz77]

I don't think the Dutch approval thing will matter if you want to practice in the US. I mean it'll look awesome but in the end clerkships can still be done for a limited time in NY and Cali is out of the question. Building a new campus + NY approval = many many years. And then there's Cali.

I'm not trying to bash this school, it seems to be very good but in the end what matters is accred. when it comes to licensing and a school's development. I still say Big 4 is the way to go for anyone wanting to do the carib route.

[med etudiant]

It will be interesting to see how the Dutch situation is handled, such as how it affects accred.

[Shiz77]

Me too, Statia belongs with the other 2nd tier schools (MUA, AUA, SMU)

[OasisMan]

Building a new campus + NY approval = many many years. And then there's Cali. I'm not trying to bash this school, it seems to be very good but in the end what matters is accred. when it comes to licensing and a school's development. I still say Big 4 is the way to go for anyone wanting to do the carib route.matters not to me how long NY approval takes, as i have no desire to practice there. im just saying, it will happen sooner or later.

agreed that a "dutch school" doesnt make much of a difference when compared to a "carib school", but it sounds nicer.

of course the big 4 (maybe 3, excluding SABA) is the way to go, especially now with the loan situation

[med etudiant]

Oasis, has the admin addressed anything about the Dutch situation? What are the benefits of this?

[don1]

I'm not sure about the administration at MUA being so bad. I'm a med 4 at MUA-N and so far haven't had any major problems with them.

In fact I was working on getting a loan and needed the finance person to forward some material. She was awesome and went out of her way to make a special trip to her office to fax the information I needed the same day I called (the person handling my request has 2 offices). Also, I'm in the process of looking into setting up electives; I emailed the clinical coordinator a few times and got a response within 4 hours with advice and suggestions.

Another big plus is the Dean. If you want to be a surgeon, neurologist or whatever, this guy will go to bat for you. He will make calls and be an advocate for you to help you get to where you want to go.

So far my experience has been great. I'm sure there are others who's experience has been different.

I don't know anything about St. Eustatius so I can't comment about that.

If I was accepted into MUA-N (NOT MUA-B), I would 100% go to MUA-N.

There are many other reasons why I would go MUA too... but currently studying for exam.. anyone is free to PM me for my input.
Why would you choose MUA over Statia? I have been trying to make the same decisiona and have concluded that if the administration at MUA is terribly immature and would dread dealing with them for four years. Some of their comments on this board are ridiculous, and since these are the people in charge of my clinical rotations, I would put a lot more faith in the professional Statia administration and feel like they have my best interest in mind. Plus, I spoke with the admin at MUA yesterday and they said that their clinicals are basically in Chicago, NY, and LA. That doesn't sound very diversified to me at all.

[OasisMan]

Oasis, has the admin addressed anything about the Dutch situation? What are the benefits of this?i havent heard anything

besides being accredited by the home nation, i assume there really arent any benefits except to say you went to a "dutch school"

[Compassion MD]

Agree with you... don't see any benefits at all... IMG is IMG... you are an IMG forever.

PLus...
From Wiki...

The Netherlands Antilles was scheduled to be dissolved as a unified political entity on 15 December 2008, so that the five constituent islands would attain new constitutional statuses within the Kingdom of the Netherlands,[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Antilles#cite_note-endofNA-1) but this dissolution has been postponed to an indefinite future date.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Antilles#cite_note-2)

i havent heard anything

besides being accredited by the home nation, i assume there really arent any benefits except to say you went to a "dutch school"

[Shiz77]

That's why you guys should apply for NY approval stat

[vasman132]

MUA would have a real nice name if it didn't drag MUA-belize along with it. that was a disaster. i think there's only one MUA campus now so their name will get a bit better over time. i do think that once st. eustatius applies for new york or cali, we'll enter the top tier of schools. personal opinion of course.