FATIMA UNIVERSITY

[nismo]

Does anyone have any information on Our Lady of Fatima University in the philippines?

[MikeM]

I do not know much about Fatima University, but try and visit this link. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=838b0eac087a575c1be146aa182ad418&threadid=60994

It is a forum dedicated to information about Med Schools in the Philippines. I am not sure how credible the information is, but I have viewed all of the posts on that forum. Most of the posts are over 1 year old and there are very few posts that are recent. There are some posts about Fatima though. Hope this will help. :D

Mike

[drholemd]

What would you like to know about Fatima? I am currently a student at University of the East in the Philippines. I visited Fatima and know many students who attend there. One thing I can tell you (assuming that you are a foreign student trying to go to Fatima) there are lots of Fil-Am's and Taiwanese students. The foreign is fee to attend at Fatima is $8000 and that is non refundable. They have two programs, one based on the traditional curriculm and one program based on problem based learning. The more advanced students seem to be in the PBL program. Many of my Fil-Am friends who have gone to Fatima have passed Step 1 with 90's or higher.

[cmbtdoc]

how many fil-ams do you have at uerm? how much is the foreign student fee? are able to do clinicals in the u.s.? what if you arrange your own clinical rotations? is it pbl at ue?

is there any fil-am website at uerm?

[amgirlmd]

run/owned by a UERM alumnus... www.pinoyIMG.com

[filhawaiian]

No disrespect to the Fatima students, but these are the FACTS. My friend currently attends Fatima and one of my good friends graduated from Fatima 2 years ago.

1. Truth is any student who fails out of medical school in the Philippines has a second chance at Fatima.
2. The filipino students attend Fatima as their last choice.
3. There is a "donation fee" of $8,000 - $10,000 USA dollars for foreigners(They view it as a non-resident fee)
4. There are "special" classes but you pay extra for those....it's pretty much a guarantee pass course (NOT a PBL course....my friend is currently enrolled in it and so are all those twainese and some...not all the FilAms.)
5. High failure rates at Fatima. Don't get me wrong. If you study what you are supposed to study you can pass. Although majority of the students are subpar. All of the smart ones get accepted at UP. The professors are the same teachers from UE, FEU, and some from UP (cause Fatima pays more)
6. Fatima allows you to do your whole 4th year in the USA (Not exactly legal, but whatever....do your research esp NY residents)

If you only want to spend only 3 yrs overseas and do your whole 4th year in the USA, go to FATIMA
If you want the best, go to UP (But you'll have to stay 5yrs)
If you just want an education UE, FEU, UST (all allow partial rotations in the USA)
If you want to work in a hospital that looks like the USA, go to FEU or St.Lukes (don't know if St.Lukes is accredited yet). I know UST is in the process of building a new hospital. I don't know about UE...maybe someone will comment.

All schools are decent. Each one of them have their problems and **.

[amgirlmd]

i agree... that's the basic facts... all schools require a "donation" and more or less in the same price range...

I agree with what was said about the major med schools.... UST, UE, FEU, Fatima.

Look for accredited WHO med schools.... you will have more of a headache to come back here to the US. otherwise, you will need to take the Philipppine medical boards first to be considered "on-par" with the rest. otherwise, you just need to graduate with MD degree.

I don't want to name the schools... i honestly don't know the updated status of each school... but i would think that any "newly founded" school hasn't been WHO-approved yet, but would say they are in the "process" of becoming WHO-approved. but i don't know what that means to the ECFMG.

but that's my two-cents in as well. goodluck!

[cmbtdoc]

Hi,
thanks for all your insight. What do you mean when you said "illegal" 4th yr rotations in the US? Why illegal??

Whi arranges for the rotation sites? The students? or the school?? How is this done????


Also, if most of the profs are from UE, FEU and UP,...they have great faculty.....

How are the Fil_Ams doing? Are they organized? I am very interested....

[docere]

filhawaiian,

yes, almost all of your info regarding my school is really true. One thing that caught my attention is the clerkship (the 4th year thing.... its clerkship dude) that its illegal? Of course thats not true ok? visit this www.op.nysed.gov/medforms.htm and scroll and you will find the list of medical schools that are accredited taking clerkship in NY. And take note we are (FATIMA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE) the only school from the Philippines that is included in the list ok? Thats from New York State Education Department. Please refrain from informing people of your own speculations because you missed informed them. You don't have the right to speak because first youre not from that school. And not all student from our school I admit can pass the USMLE, but it was all totally depends on their preparations before taking the exam. I have 3 friends who got very high score in the USMLE 93-99% which is almost unbelievable. But I will never recommend my school to people like you, and im sure you will never survive the long journey of medicine.

docere_ron@yahoo.com

[cmbtdoc]

Does UE, FEU, UST,....LASALLE...accept transfers in advance standing???

Can get Stafford loans??? I'd like to correspond to a Fil (US citizen) like me who is going, or have gone, to any of these schools. Is it safe ??? Affordable??? How often do you come home to the US?

[amgirlmd]

i went to UERM and they don't accept advance standing students. I think that you can get a stafford loan though. It is definitely affordable and it is very safe. i lived a few blocks away and walked to school. i went home to the states 2-3x a year. usually for semester break (1-2 weeks in Oct), christmas, and summer vacation. Of course i missed a few days since i would extend it, but it was worth it. 4 years goes by really quickly.

i think that Fatima is the only school that you mentioned that accepts advance standing students. there are other schools that will accept, but i am not sure. if you have a connection to the school than you might have a better chance to get in.

good luck

[cmbtdoc]

How much is rent? Is it affordable to get a used car...and sell it later? How many FilAms were there at UERM? Do people give you a hard time for being expats?? Are you worried about the Muslims??

[amgirlmd]

there isn't really a need to drive there. i wouldn't even want to since there is sooooo much traffic and congestion. plus there is alot of construction. UERM is very convenient since SM Centerpoint mall is literally 2 blocks away from the school.

i graduated a few years ago, but there is a train (LRT) in front of the school, so i am sure that there is a stop in front of the mall.

rent depends on where you stay but it is relatively cheap.

honestly, the abu-sayaaf ( the radical muslims) are mostly in Mindanao. There is some unrest and bombings while i was living in manila, but it really didn't effect my life.

there is a limit to have only 10-15% foreign students in the entering class, so with a class of 200 students, that's max of 20 students, so there can be about 80 foreign students including all the years. but this also includes students from china, taiwan, hong kong, pakistan, etc.

all of my classmates are very friendly. and some of them are my best friends there. they are very helpful and nice. of course there is a big culture shock, even if you have visited often with family. but i definitely enjoyed myself.

good luck.[/img]

[cmbtdoc]

Does the school teach to the USMLE??? Is it PBL?? Did you find their teaching adequate for US licensure...or were there a lot of extraneous useless stuff??? Did you profs pick on expats...or did they treat you equally with the locals???

Were there a lot of locals who took the step one too???? How did you find the rotations??? Do you speak the local language??? How was the hosp personeel??? equipment???

[microphage]

4. There are "special" classes but you pay extra for those....it's pretty much a guarantee pass course (NOT a PBL course....my friend is currently enrolled in it and so are all those twainese and some...not all the FilAms.)
5. High failure rates at Fatima. Don't get me wrong. If you study what you are supposed to study you can pass. Although majority of the students are subpar.


Why would there be a high failure rate? There ARE guarantee courses???

[chenwenyee]

No pay.. No gain the degree. but think positive .. as long as you pay.. everything is possilbe there..