Saba vs. Ross

[patomd2014]

Hi, I have saved a great deal and not not need much in the way of loans. Is there any real advantage or disadvantage in attending Saba vs. Ross. Interested to hear from any transfers to Saba who might have been at Ross. Thanks, Lonnie

[golfman]

If you don't need loans then I would suggest Saba. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the island and I felt the education was great. If you need loans, I would look at AUC or Ross. I would prefer AUC over Ross because of the "weeding out process" that Ross does. Both are Cali approved. Don't let the horror stories that get posted on here from time to time deter you from either school. Sometimes Medical students freakout and act as if the world is ending. You will be there soon enough and probably do the same at least once. Realize that if you want to be an MD then there is no exam or professor that can stand in your way. Hope this helps.

[tylerdurden]

Wud up,
I'm currently attending Saba and I think it's a great choice. I was accepted to Ross as well but decided after tones of research on both schools, that Saba was my best bet. I am Canadian and that weighed in heavily on my decision since Ross has a history of virtually no Canadian residency matches while Saba grads have been extremely successful with matching in Canada. Saba has classes sizes that are 1/4 the size of Ross's and the tuition is almost half compared to Ross. I'm sure island life at Ross is more exciting but Saba has no crime to worry about and we're here to study anyway right? The only place that Ross might have an advantage is clinical exposure. At Saba there isn't any clinical stuff until 4th semester. I don't know when you start with clinical stuff at Ross but that might be something to look into. Anyway, good luck with med school! Peace out

[tanthalas]

It really depends.
In my opinion both schools are using a weed out system.

I'm 1st sem here at Saba. Saba is taking in many more students
then they have in the past. Our class started with 101. We'll be down to around 80 students after 1st sem. The current 2nd semesters are getting killed as well. They have approx 80 students and a large chunk will not make it to 3rd. Currently in 5th semester, there are 30-40 students.
Recently, it seems as if only 50% of the students make it to 5th sem.

However compared to Ross, its still a fraction of their incoming.
Ross has 400+ students that enter in 3 times a year. I've heard from the 400 that only about 50% of them make it ON TIME to 5th semester.

Ross has US stafford loans. Saba does not.
If you're paying out of pocket, Saba makes a lot of sense.
Tuition: $9120
Living costs: $1000/mth (including cheap rent)
So you could make it thru on $13,000/semester.

I'm just guessing here, but Ross would be in the $20,000+/semester.

To pass a course at Ross: 65%
To pass a course at Saba: 75%

Dominica is NOT as safe as Saba.
Dominica costs more in terms of flights from the US.

HOWEVER: Ross certainly has some advantages. They have individual state approvals (as well as SGU) that Saba does not (i.e. New Jersey) and one can do clinicals there. There is no other caribb school other than Ross and SGU where one can do clinicals in NJ.

Ross have 7000+ graduates, so one could assume networking and getting alumni help would be easier compared to Saba.

Personally, if money is an issue, go to SGU/AUC/Ross.
If money isn't an issue, go to Saba.
In the end, it'll be about Step 1 scores. I haven't seen enough evidence that SGU/AUC/Ross graduates get more quality residencies compared to Saba, yet their tuition is 2-3 times as much.