If you weren't going to SGU, you'd go to ....

[Bedazzled]

I'm just wondering which schools everyone feels are the best choices??

I haven't applied yet, but I'm starting to look more into all of the Carib schools. Seems like SGU is the best, then Ross or ACU.

what do you think??

[wildream]

Now I am trying to decide between SGU and ROSS. I really want to go to SGU, but there is a chance I can't do it due to some personal issues, but if I don't go to SGU(which is on top of my list) then I would go to Ross. I did a lot of research and I have the feeling both Ross and SGU have the same quality of education, it is just that SGU has some advantages when it comes to clinicals and the residency. But also don't forget the extra 5,000 dollars of SGU over Ross each semester( 50,000 for 4years)

[stephew]

I'm just wondering which schools everyone feels are the best choices??

I haven't applied yet, but I'm starting to look more into all of the Carib schools. Seems like SGU is the best, then Ross or ACU.

what do you think??
it would have been the royal college of surgeons in dublin or UCD in dublin.

[Nimitt]

With that extra $50, 000 for 4 years there is a vast difference between Ross and SGU. SGU has a phenomenal campus everything is uptodate. Wireless lecture halls, A/C lecture halls and dorms, New dorms, new lab facilities, pretty decent library, organized clinicals, etc. SO in my opinion the 50, 000 goes a long way.

Nimitt
3rd year
SGU SOM

[drnick07]

...Ross. If not Ross, then AUC. If not AUC then Guadalajara. If not UAG then I'd get a masters and do whatever i could to raise my stats. If that didn't work then I'd look into DO, RN, or PA school - anything to have patient contact.

[rsgillmd]

I have to agree with Nimitt. Heck when I left Grenada wireless didn't exist and only some of the ethernet ports and electrical outlets in Bourne worked, not all. The superdorms weren't there either.

When I went back from Vinnie's to Grenada to teach CPR it was a big surprise to see how much they had torn up over winter break. They were redesigning the entrance to the True Blue Campus. The guard shack used to be off to the side by the field, but when I went back they had put it in the center. The infirmary moved to the vet school while I was still in Grenada, but that building was torn down also. The CAS shacks, for lack of a better word, were also gone.

I don't know when wireless hit Grenada, but I left Vinnie's in 5/02. That whole semester Dr. Baer talked about trying to set up a wireless system. Apparently next term they had one.

So, although I think our tuition money can be put to even better use, you can't argue with the fact that the school is constantly changing and improving. Heck, I got to enjoy the benefits of the new path lab. It opened up when my class started. The school has made a lot of changes in a very short time, and I'm sure there will be more to come.

Ravpreet

[Andrew21]

SGU, then AUC, then UAG in guadalajara.

Andy

[zedpol]

With that extra $50, 000 for 4 years there is a vast difference between Ross and SGU. SGU has a phenomenal campus everything is uptodate. Wireless lecture halls, A/C lecture halls and dorms, New dorms, new lab facilities, pretty decent library, organized clinicals, etc. SO in my opinion the 50, 000 goes a long way.

Nimitt
3rd year
SGU SOM

Hey guys, not here to get into a ross vs sgu argument, just thought i would clear up some confusion. We also have wireless, a/c, and they are in the planning process for building dorms, our clinicals are also organized for us. I am not sure how to respond to etc. though :wink:

I have got to say though, you guys sure have a pretty campus.

I don't think you could go wrong with either school although I only have experience with Ross.

Zedpol

[Houstonian]

I'm just wondering which schools everyone feels are the best choices??

I haven't applied yet, but I'm starting to look more into all of the Carib schools. Seems like SGU is the best, then Ross or ACU.

what do you think??

I have had the unique opportunity to have had a cousin at Ross and a sister at St. Matthews (SMU), while I myself am at St. George's. Before coming here I stayed a week at both Ross and St. Mattews and attended lectures at both. Both SMU and Ross have adequate facilities comparable to where SGU was a few years ago I would presume. SMU is in a high multi-story office complex, while Ross has a proper campus, but they are mostly tilt-up aluminum buildings. SGU and Ross are more organized at clinicals. SGU has by far the best facilities, with a 24 hour wireless study room and excellent dorms. I think SGU has better academic support (Department of Educational Support - DES) in place than Ross or SMU.

SMU is probably one of the newest Caribbean schools, but my feeling after visiting is that it will pass AUC and Saba in quality because of the money being invested into it. SMU is in Grand Cayman and the island is like living in the US. My sister calls me every once in a while after her classes to gloat about going to pick up food from Wendy's on their 99 cent menu, which she works off at the local Gold's gym (with a school discount). SMU also offers dorms, though they are not next to the school complex. Ross has had a recent history of crime because the dramatic poverty on the island of Dominica, but as of late Grenada and SGU hav had a few bugleries as well (all the more reason to live on campus). Grenada is definitely not as well developed as Grand Cayman, but we do have a proper grocery store, KFC, Subways, and TCBY all located near campus.

As for teaching, I think SGU has been able to attract some really talented faculty and visiting profs with impressive credentials (Hopkins, Oxford, Stanford, NIH), but I understand Ross has a good number of decent visiting professors's. Ross has suffered a series of recent faculty departures and as my cousin put it, they weren't the ones that students wanted to see leave. SMU has a ways to go in getting good faculty, but I think they are working on it with a new Dean and revised curriculum. Easy island access and amenties are going to go a long way in attracting students and faculty to SMU going forward.

SMU also recently received NY state approval and is supposed to have their final California licensing board visit next week. Assuming they get the approval (which they should since they have poured money this term into filling the chinks in the requirements - by buying a new piece of property to build a proper campus next to their dorm, reorganized their curriculum, added cases and small group discussions to courses, added shelf exams, began a Research arm, and started sports clubs) they would be only the 4th foreign medical school licensed to allow students to have clinicals rotations in California. SMU is also cheaper in tuition, but the cost of living is higher in Grand Cayman because of it's popularity, which attracts year round tourism. It's also on most Caribbean cruises and has direct flights from all over the US versus on NYC and Philladelphia for Grenada and none for Dominica.

So based upon my personal experience with the Caribbean medical schools, I would say SGU, Ross, and then SMU.

Good luck in your decision!

[rocky_wayne]

I was accepted to both AUC and SGU. I have met physicians from both of these institutions and they are very knowledgable. I chose AUC for the fall '04 semester because they offer living conditions similiar to the US. I hear the island is beautiful also. I figure if I'm going to live on an island for two years, I might as well be happy.

Best of all, the tuition is much less. If I were going to try for a very competitive residency like derm or ortho, my decision would be SGU. But those residencies are hard to get for a US med school grad.

[Hburg]

I second Steph, Royal College.

[Buttons]

I second Steph, Royal College.

And, I third. The notion still floats around in my head occasionally, but I liked the idea of coming back to the US for clinicals..... and my husband wasn't really keen on 5 years in Ireland.

[xenex]

Hello,

do you think that the royal college of surgeons is highly respected. I am deciding between SGU and that school.


Xenex

[Buttons]

All I can give you is my opinion. I'm an incoming student, not a doctor, so take it for what its worth. I've heard really good things about all of the 'atlantic bridge' program schools. The have the advantage of being schools for Irish citizens who happen to take people from the US. They have lengthy histories and are certainly well respected.

When volunteering in a hospital and asking various docs for their opinions everyone seemed to know someone who came from the Irish schools, but they also all knew somebody from SGU. The Irish schools have great USMLE pass rates, but it's all self study- the cirriculum is not designed to help you pass US exams. SGU also has good pass rates on the USMLE and it is my understanding that they will do everything to help you do well on your boards. RCS and the like don't have clinicals in the US, and why should they- they are Irish schools.

Bottom line: anyway you look at it- when you come back to the US you are going to be an IMG. Perhaps the irish schools have a slight advantage because of their extened history, however both SGU and RCS would provide you with a solid education to help you acheive your goals- the rest is up to you. Thre are advantages and disadvantages to both routes- you just have to choose the one that fits your goals and lifestyle best.

[Picard]

If I didn't go to SGU, these will be my choices, in the same order --

1) Star Fleet Academy School of Medicine (located in San Francisco, North American Continent, Earth. Nice weather, especially for humans. May be a bit too cold if you are a Cardassian.

2) Vulcan Academy of Science, Faculty of Medicine. Top notch research oriented medical school. Downside is, social life sucks on Vulcan.

3) Bajoran Institute of Health, on the planet Bajor in the Bajoran Star System. Solid clinical sciences. Ancient culture much like Earth. Close to DS-9, a gateway to the Gamma Quadrant. Downside -- recent war with Cardassia, and Jam'Hadar threat is always there...

4) Kahless School of Medicine on Kronos (homeworld of the Klingons). Named after the first Emperor of the Klingon Empire, this is the most prestigeous medical school on Kronos. Excellent in Anatomical dissection using the Bat'leth. Poor bedside teaching. Patients don't like it when their doctors keep on talking about the "Sto-vo-Kor" and telling them, "Today is a good day to die."

P