few questions

[hope2bdoc]

I still haven't received any email or communication whatsoever about the dorm even though my name was on the room list that was briefly circulated. it seems a bit unprofessional to still not have sent at least a mailing of some sort regarding when it opens and all that, considering the late date.

secondly, do we have to have a return ticket in hand when arriving at cayman. a delta agent i talked to today said this is required by cayman immigration but that is not taking into account a student visa, but again, just as with housing, since i have not heard word one from the school or admin, i have no idea about this.

third, is it too late to join the joint program, and more importantly to obtain the stafford if one does join? i tried contacting Donna Walters about this but got a message in late july that she would be gone until today and couldn't get her today either. the florida office is only willing to refer calls over to her and apparently can't help with the slightest detail or question regarding the joint program.

lastly, when is the tuition due, once and for all. there have been a number of conflicting emails, postal mail and chat discussions on this point and i am juggling several different options as far as payment, which loan to use or just to pay it myself but i need to know definitively what the deadline is, what the late fees are, and all of that in an authoritative way with no contradictions later. it's unfortunate all these questions must be posed here, but i have had limited success with the school on these matters.

i was quite pleased with the school's attentiveness and responsiveness during the admission process and that played a significant role in my decision to go there. i am a little disheartened that that did not carry over AT LEAST into the immediate pre-enrollment days. it does make me wonder a bit if SMU has gotten itself in a little deeper than they are set up for what with the NY approval and the corresponding increase in entering students. i hope i am wrong.

[SMU_Information]

Most of this information is in the student handbook that was sent out when you are accepted.

The Hall will be open on the 26th from the last time I heard. sguilbard@smu.ky for confirmation.

Yes, you must have a return ticket, either open-ended or a hard date.

The reason everything has to go to SJC is because they are a completely seperate institution, with their own registration, financial aid, and administration.

Tuition is automatically deducted from your financial aid. If you are a self pay student, contact student accounts at 1-800-678-3301 and arrange for your payment. Failing that, Jonni Tindoll will be on campus the first week to assist with payments. There was an issue with people who had already registered receiving emails for returning students, whose tuition was due earlier (and also receive their invoices earlier).

Remember, if you have any questions, call or email me. If I don't know, I can at least go and stand in somebody's office until they tell me (except for the Hall and SJC). As far as being overwhelmed with NY, I actually had a pretty boring day today. Got a lot of paperwork and research done :) .

I'll see you on Cayman.

[wowmd]

JP, the hall will be open on 26?? I thought it was on 25th?
Can you please double check this for me? Sebastien specifically had said starting on 25th.

[SMU_Information]

That's why I said as of the last I heard. If Sebastian said 25th, that's what it is.

[dallasdoll]

a handbook? I never got a handbook. I just got an acceptance letter and a folder.. is this what you mean?...

I have never heard anything about the dorm situation.. I have tried to contact Sebastien SEVERAL times and have YET to hear a thing. I just assume I am on the waiting list since I never saw my name on the list that was up for a few days. I have been trying to find an apartment since then.. with no luck I might add.. I am just hoping to find something when I get there.

As for a return ticket.. this is the first I heard of this. I have had a one way ticket for about a month now. That does suck because now it is so close to departure, and my cost is going to increase!

I have also never gotten anything else in the mail since the initial acceptance, nor have I heard anything since I sent in my money. I called to make sure everything was there, and was told that it was in order... but... I cant help feeling that something is going wrong and I won't know about it until too late. Paranoia maybe... but... I feel like I am just showing up and have no idea what is going on.

[gebbils]

its the 25th, as far as Im concerned.
and guys, once and for all, its already August 10th, 2 more weeks till the school starts so if you are not getting some info or are not sure about something, don't waste time here trying to find out answers, just call the school, call the residence hall and ask questions, nobody will do it for you, JP is being very helpful and we thank you for that.
so just call the school and residence hall and ask questions, dont just sit and wait till someone calls you, they wont

[qtncaribbean]

hi,
This dorm situation is very frustrating, one would think that an accepted student would get a phone call from the school letting them know that the RH is booked. I had to find that out over the internet on a forum and again had to contact the school to confirm the rumor, which is true. At the very least an email would do. I mean at least let us know whether we are on the waitlist or in the RH. Nothing, not one single word about the whole situation. Isn't that what the $500 deposit is for? to at least have some kind of answer. I understand that we will get that money back but at least tell us something. Also when I contacted the school about the RH the school also said they will email the list of realtors, and contact information to help with the search for a place to live while attending SMU, and it has been over 2 weeks and not one single word from the school. I don't know about anyone else, but I find very difficult to try and find an apartment in the Cayman while living in the US. From what I've heard on the forum so far St. Matts has one of the better administration, man, I just hate to have to deal with the other schools then if this is true. This post is in no way desrespecting to school or anyone else, so don't be offended. I am simply very frustrated.

[gebbils]

i feel bad and i completely agree with you, the school says that they are very helpful, but if you dont call and inquire about anything, nobody will care, which is really really sad.... but that's reality
that RH assignment list was on smuonline.com for a few days and that was it, then they took it off, not everyone knew about it and noone got any email, like Sebastien Guilbard said he was going to email around 15th of July, I had to call and confirm that my name was on the list, I think there's alot of things school administration needs to work on

[dallasdoll]

I am really frustrated. The only information I ever get is from this forum. I can only imagine if I didn't know it existed. You do have to be proactive in this.. and I have.. but I still haven't gotten any info. Trying to get ahold of Sebastien is a feat I have yet to accomplish...

I agree that somebody should have emailed me and told me I wasn't going to be in the RH... if I wasn't familiar with the forum I would just be showing up in GC and expecting a room. Even knowing that I am stuck without a room, I have been trying for about a month to find an apartment.. which is pretty impossible from across the ocean.

I also posted info on the SMU forum trying to get somebody named Matthew to email me the list of apartments or realtors... Never happened. I noticed about 5 other students had the same request... i am guessing it never happened for them either.

This just makes me nervous about everything going on in GC. If this simple stuff is causing such problems, what happens at the difficult parts.. like scheduling for clinicals...... its making me wonder.

[qtncaribbean]

The school has been helpful, especially Adriana. I understand that you have to be proactive and everything, but since when do a school take a student's deposit for the RH and not even response. I completely agreed with you, what happened if we don't know of this website. Dude, I am whining again, my apologies!!!

[AmericanIMG]

newbies, you have to get on the phone and get ahold of people in the florida office to get results. you cant make random calls or send random emails and expect to get all of your questions answered. another way to get things done is contact a student mentor who lives here in Cayman who can get ahold of Sebastian (i just saw him today). expecting a bunch of answers and solutions when not putting enough effort in will gain you little to no results, please dont just count on this forum for answers (this is only a forum). again, try contacting the florida office or bryce here in cayman or student mentors for specific answers. i think outside of JP looking every now and then SMU admin doesnt really look at this website.

okay, sorry for sounding so harsh, i just want to let you all know that you cant expect everything at your fingertips 24/7 without trying your best at contacting people. Emailing, as i have experienced first hand, is not the best way to contact admin here in Cayman or in Florida ; trying to call is the best way.

i know the res hall situation is tough right now, but if you call the florida office you can get all the move in dates and all the info that you need. also to the people that dont have an apt yet, its not too hard to find one here, dont stress too much, you can find and get an apt and car done all in one day (provided that you bring travelers checks).

well thats about it, feel free to PM me if you have any Qs.

:wink:

[qtncaribbean]

Hi, I completely understand what you saying. As for me and I am sure for most everyone here,, we are not expecting to get everything at our fingertips or that we don't put in enough effort, I've called the school many times, and asked them about the RH and the rental situation, and still nothing. I emailed Bryce, and called the RH, in the cayman, and was told to email Sebastian, and I have done that. Any answers from them? NO!!!
I mean we are in medical school here, how much do you have to get on someone's case to get things done? All I am saying is that: An email, a phone call, something, some kind of answer, is that too much to ask? I mean are we not paying the school a fortune? Isn't this supposed to be a professional school? Where is the professionalism in that? However, I don't want this to turn into a debate, because we all have made the decision to go to SMU. I know that for my undergrad here, when the school ran out of room in the dorms to accomadate the freshmen, they put them up in the hotels here, and paid for the extra cost. I am not expecting that from SMU, but at least an email that tells you that you are on the waiting list after cashing the $500. Once again, only frustration!!! No harm intended... Thanks guys

[fh71182]

hey american img, whats a "random" call or email? every email and call have a purpose, questions that need to be answered. every email address has a sender's email address which you hit the "REPLY" button.........i wonder whats a "random" call. we're not telemarketters here you know. we dont make "random" calls.

[gebbils]

I agree with fh71182 and qtncaribbean! I'm with you on this one!
I think that something should've been done with RH situation, once they got the deposit, and u dont have to be calling florida office ten million times for a simple answer, seriously, there shouldn't be just one person handling financial aid, like once I wanted to find out about my financial aid and admissions info, they kept telling that Giselle was on the phone, and I couldn't get an answer for 2 days, even though I left messages.
I would want to see how frustrated AmericanIMG would be, if he found himself in the same situation, not knowing anything about an island and with no apartment, I mean its easy to be so relaxed and call someone "newbies" when you're all settled with everything. Im not arguing, just making my point here.

[wowmd]

Although I personally did not have much problems with SMU, I totally agree with gebbils, fh71182, qtncaribbean.

I would like to ask each of the SMU administrators' job functions. Perhaps they should ask themselves. If every SMU administrators both in Florida and in GC perform their own job functions, then I really don't think there would be much problems.
As a student, our ONLY job function is to study and nothing else.

[jguru2]

hey american img, whats a "random" call or email? every email and call have a purpose, questions that need to be answered. every email address has a sender's email address which you hit the "REPLY" button.........i wonder whats a "random" call. we're not telemarketters here you know. we dont make "random" calls.

LOL...somebody's getting mad now....:)
I agree with the above though...you can only make so much calls you know...email's too. Dates were promised...then it went past....room assignments posted...then "poof" gone...hard to be placed in a situation like that, and then not be able to find answers where you thought it should come from...and with just a couple of weeks to go...so give the newbies a break...help if you can and it will be appreciated...if not, then you know what to do.

[ranjit]

i'm having the same problem with the dual degree program, donna walters hasn't responded...have any of you guys heard anything about what were supposed to do??

[qtncaribbean]

She haven't called me either, actually noone has! LOL But I was told by Darryl Frazier that there will be an orientation regarding the MHSA program during the first week of school and Donna Walters will be there to answer any questions regarding her program. IN PERSON. :D

[AmericanIMG]

random calls...wow that statement got you all crazy

this is what i meant. i meant that follow up calls should be made on a regular basis regarding the housing situation because with people choosing to either not matriculate or choosing to attend other universities housing will open up (if this does indeed happen).

i made the random calls statement with regards to those people that call once, cant get through, then dont call again. then a few of these people get super upset with the situation...i know exactly how you all feel. when i was in undergrad my soph year i was supposed to be put into these dorms for the summer, yet a week before classes the fire marshal declared that the dorms would need to be changed to get under code...so i was SOL too. i was frustrated and upset, but all i could do was get up and hustle to find a place to live. luckily a friend was moving out for the summer and let me stay at her place, but it took me almost the whole time to find her and get everything in order. i know that i am getting a little off topic here, but what i am trying to say is that if you keep trying you will find a way to get things done. for all of those newbies that are on the waiting list or couldnt get housing that sucks and i'm sorry, but dont get too worried, there are some great apts here for rent and if you come 3 days ahead of orientation you should easily be able to get everything in order. i understand that its a frustrating time, but the school is trying their best to accomodate all of you.

:wink:

[qnguyen]

one thing I don't understand is why the school don't contact the students. I mean it is up to us to inquire about what we want, but do we have to call them up all the time to ask for the simplest things. A simple email that says something like "hey you're in the dorms, or hey you are not but you are on the wait list, or hey we don't like you so you are SOL." Or just simply answer their emails, then none of us wouldbe here whinning about this. There are too many far more important things to concern ourselves with.
AmericanIMG, just don't use the word "random" anymore. :D

[AmericanIMG]

werent you all sent the dorm list? who was in, who was on the wait list who was out? i didnt have any communications probs before i got here...they always let me know what the deal was.

:wink:

[qnguyen]

I didn't get anything from the school except for the initial acceptance packet. I have not heard a thing from the school, the only time I find out anything is through this site, then I have to call up the school to confirm, then at that point i still get the run around. If you email them, you can forget about getting a response. Must have changed since you applied

[AmericanIMG]

what exactly do you want to know from the school? the florida office is the best to contact.

:wink:

[gebbils]

yeah they never sent a Dorm list, nothing about the waiting list, all that was sent is that acceptance packet with instructions and thats it, even the RH list that was supposed to be emailed on July15th, was never emailed, and as we found out later it was shortly posted on smuonline website and then they took it off, so I guess a few things did change since you applied, AmericanIMG

[qnguyen]

what exactly do you want to know from the school? the florida office is the best to contact.

:wink:

well, exactly what they think we should know that will help us with our transition from the states to the island. Isn't that what they are there for? They wouldn't have to answer so many calls (same thing over and over) if they've send out an official letter to everyone. That would saved them so much more time and trouble from having each one of us calling them up every day bugging them about it. There would be less people questioning the competency of the administration. Don't you agreed? I mean if you are moving thousands of miles away from a place of your comfort to a completely unknown island, as many of us never had the chance to visit, wouldn't you like to know as much about it as you can. Especially where we are going to live or even have a place to live for that. I don't know about you but I find it extremely challenging to secure an apartment that I have never seen before or even know the location of it, as to how far it is from school, from a place thousands of miles (km) away. And being told to send in money for a deposit before even get a chance to see the place, and having realtors telling us that they will find us a place that will fit our discribtion for a fee. Don't they already get pay by the home/apartment owners, why do they need us to pay them extra to do what they are suppose to do. Don't they work on commisions? And it would be extremely helpful if the school send things out or post them when they say they would. Don't get me wrong, I am not discrediting SMU in anyway.

[AmericanIMG]

i believe that if the school had your proper email address you were emailed the residence hall room listings (unless they told you there was no more room). since i am in the res hall next semester, they emailed it to me.

it sucks that you guys have so many unanswered questions, before i came here i was in contact with a student mentor who let me know everything (also i was in contact with MDTOB before i got here, which is funny cuz now we do all the postings).

it seems like you havent had the opportunity to get alot of things cleared, go ahead and let me know what you would like to know here on valuemd and i will do my best to get around and answer them to as soon as possible. JP Yates is also good to contact for more information, i believe that in the list of contacts in your acceptance package he is listed as student director.

:wink:

[wowmd]

AmericanIMG, what semester exactly are you in?
It seems as if this upcoming semester is not your first or second semester, so how did you reserve a room in RH?

[SMU_Information]

Everyone should have received this email the day before yesterday:

"To Accepted Students for the Fall 2004 Class St. Matthew's University, School of Medicine

I wanted to take a moment to let you know about this coming semester's housing situation. St. Matthew's University purchased a residence hall in the Fall of 2003 and following renovations provided housing to 130 of our incoming students. In January we had approximately 93 first semester students and about 37 continuing students. For May there were 86 new students and 44 continuing students living in the Residence Hall. For September 2004 we have allowed due to special circumstances 20 continuing students to remain in the Residence Hall and 110 new students. All these students paid their housing deposit by the July 1 deadline. Currently, we have a waiting list for the Residence Hall of approximately 24 students.

All of the 110 who are guaranteed a space have been provided with a room number. If you didn't get yours email Sebastien Guilbard at sguilbard@smu.ky . It is my experience that approximately 15% of those who have been guaranteed a room in the Residence Hall will have to, for one of a number of reasons, defer their registration until January. This could potentially open up 17 rooms which would be reassigned to those on the waiting list. For anyone on the waiting list below 10th place it would be good to consider an alternative housing arrangement for August.

Prior to January of this year all students sought private housing in the local community. All entering students who have a guaranteed room in the Residence Hall will have to move out of the Residence Hall into private housing for their second through fifth semesters anyway. Thus, do not be alarmed if you are required to seek housing in the community. There are numerous apartments, condos, and private houses which can be rented or leased. August is a good time to finding housing as it is the "off season"
and there are many more available priced better.

Our goal is to assist you in every way we can to make a smooth transition to the island and into your medical studies. Please contact Sebastien at sguilbard@smu.ky or Matthew Luke at mluke@smu.ky, or Bryce at baveritte@smu.ky for direction and assistance in locating a place. You might want to arrive on island and for the first two or three days take residence in a hotel until you locate your housing. There are a number of quality places some of which provide discounts for students for a few days stay. Also, you may wish to contact your mentor (on www.smuonline.com) to ask for assistance with recommendations for housing. I can assure you that you will love Grand Cayman. It is a modern country with excellent infrastructure and one that is a safe and friendly.

If you paid your housing deposit and are on the waiting list and do not wish to wait to hear if a room becomes available, you may begin the search process. We will gladly refund the $500 you have paid. If you have any questions or difficulties that I can assist you with you may also email me at jthornton@smucayman.com.

Dr. Jerry W. Thornton
Vice President"

[gebbils]

this is a first time Im reading this, never got this email

[SMU_Information]

My mistake, I should have been more specific.

If you are on the waiting list, or if you are an accepted student without a residence Hall deposit, you should have received this yesterday.

Since you already have your room, gebbils, you did not receive one.

Whoops :oops: .

[gebbils]

oh ok

[hope2bdoc]

Even so, I don't think the appropriate way to let people know they have a room is to post the list on the smu online thing and then withdraw it after a couple of days. It wasn't even sent to the smu student email accts. I agree with the others, were it not for this forum, I would never have learned of my room assignment. Then again, I would never have learned of the existence of this school but for this forum so there is a certain logic and circularity to it.

Even now, I feel considerable tension and anxiety at landing in a foreign country in a couple of weeks expecting a room waiting for me just on the basis of what i read at valuemd. A $150,000 educational venture should not rely in any way on information disseminated on an internet message board. If for some reason I am denied a room, what am I going to say, that my name was on a list put up for two days and then removed?

[qnguyen]

Hi,
I completely agreed with there hope2bdoc. Oh by the way, American IMG the school do have my proper email address. Otherwise I would have never found out that I was accepted into SMU. I found out my acceptance through my email and my email address haven't changed since a month ago. Therefore, you should not question our competency, for the most parts, we do know what we are doing. Most of us are college graduates we are very capable of entering the correct email address. However, AMericanIMG don't misjudge the tone of this post, it is only stating a point and in in no way disrespecting you or the school.

[wowmd]

Hahaha...

JP,
We are going to email Sebastien, ONLY if he promises to email us back !!
:lol:
Perhaps we should write this as the title when sending emails. "This is not a random email. Please email me back." :lol:


By the way, SMU should consider the "living in RH requirement" as a first semester student as an option, not a requirement.

[gebbils]

good one :lol:

[momMD2B]

Hi, I was wondering if the requirement to stay at the Residence Hall still stands if I have two kids with me. Do we have to stay in the hall? How many people can be comfortably accomodated in one of the units? I'm a prospective student, but I have to organize my plans well in advance to limit any possible chaos. Wouldn't having families at the Hall cause disturbances to the other students? Or would it be easier to just get private housing? :?

[gebbils]

Kids cannot stay with you at the Residence Hall, you will have to find housing outside the campus and in this situation you are not required to stay your first semester at RH

[SMU_Information]

Sorry, it took a while, but the eye of Charley went right over my house (and hence, the Oviedo office), and we just got power back a couple of hours ago.

I agree, that the staying in the Hall "requirement" isn't so much a requirement as a hope this semester. While SMU normally receives more of the students with families, who normally don't stay in the Hall. we ended up with a lot of single students this semester. So, the Hall filled.

I am not sure how things are going to be done for the January semester, but its already under discussion.

I can't promse how quickly Sebastian will email you back. I have a billing list of rooms, which is unofficial. However, if you still have questions about your room assignment, I can help you off of that list.

I will also be arriving on Grand Cayman August 23rd. If you need any assistance, don't hesitate to call me at the Sunshine Suites. I will be with Dr. Heller and the Student Mentors most of the time, so between all of us, we should be able to take care of any of your situations.

I know it has been hectic, what with the Immigration and FA deadlines changing. Deep breaths, and contact me with any questions.

JP

[mshehorn]

Listen up you whining babies. I got accepted a week before the July 30th deadline. A deadline set by immigrations....not SMU. I sick of all this SMU bashing. I was put on a waiting list. They emailed me a day after I sent in my deposit. They told me I would't have a room at the res hall. I emailed some people and I found myself a place to live. Maybe I got lucky, but I also met some guys that wanted to share a place. Its not that freakin hard. Get together, go down a few days early, and find a place. There are several apts available. You people that are pissed off about sending random emails....maybe you're not emailint the right people. Ariana or adriana whatever her name is will email you back within two days. JP is your greatest resource if your stressing over some issue. Adrianna will make sure your app is complete. Dr. Heller will be glad to direct your inquiries toward the mentors. Nearly everything that has been asked could be answered by those people or is in your acceptance packet. I swear, I'm not nearly as concerned about SMU's abilities as I am about the capabilities of my fellow classmates. Come on now. There are plenty of people that can answer your questions. I received an email about res hall status, I called the florida office, they told me that I was pretty far down the list. I emailed some mentors and several other people and found a place to live. In fact If anyone needs a last minute place to crash I may be able to help. I won't be getting there until the 28th but if you still need help contact me at m_shehorn@hotmail.com I'll help with anything I can.