Move over Ross, Saba School of Medicine recieved California

[djinbh]

With affordable tuition, safe island with friendly natives, and boat ride away from San Marten,they immediately catapult to one of the better places in the Carib for medical school.

[Dru]

Congratulations and best wishes for Saba. Although Saba now joins the Carib schools to form the "big 4" (AUC, SGU, ROSS, & now SABA), it is doubtful that it will be necessary for any of the schools to "move over". Each of the schools has benefits and disadvantages. Saba only, at last report, admits 40 students to each of their 3 rolling semesters. Although small class sizes has its advantages, it may be uncomfortable for those students who want to blend in with the crowd and just get it over with. Saba requires that you spend 20 months on an island, as opposed to the 16 months in Dominica. Although some think the Dutch West Indies are "nicer" islands, some students may be willing to sacrifice the rougher surroundings of Dominica in exchange for being back with family and friends 4 months earlier. If you weigh Saba's 3.3 years of class and clinical time against the 2.9 years at Ross, your time out of the starting gait may be worth being able to start working as an MD earlier. The fact that Saba's tuition is lower may not be beneficial if you consider there are more semesters to be purchased.

All in all, Saba joining the "big 4" should be applauded by all. It offers prospective students the benefit of more choices. It offers Saba's past graduates the respect and licensure that they deserve. It offers scholastic consumers the right to make universities be accountable for the services they provide.

[Linus]

what about stafford loans...i am pretty sure saba is not approved for that like ross is

[djinbh]

Thank you for your reply.I was speaking allegorically of moving over, not replacing.For those students interested in "blending in" and "just getting their medical education over with",Ross is a good option. Ross is also an option for those with poor credit, as Saba has med acheiver loan which are not federally subsidized and are based on credit history.
Your comment about 3.3 compared to 2.9 is inacurate.Saba student spend 5th term on the island taking Kaplan review,in preparation for USMLE, while Ross students get to move to Miami and take Ross's review(or Kaplan if they wish to pay for it).So Saba, 5 terms on island,Ross 4. However medical school is ten semesters and both Ross and Saba are on the trimester system, so they both finish at the same time. Saba students do not have to pay for an extra semester, in fact they will incure almost half the debt of the Ross graduate.Ah, the price one pays for blending in :wink:

[badnewsbearer]

Actually, Ross isnt a good system for students with imperfect credit. Sallie Mae rejects you for any past charge off regardless of cosigner. National Ed will allow a charge off, with an accompanying cosigner. Postings rumor however that Nat Ed is no longer doing business with the morons in New Jersey. I checked this with Ross Dominica financial aid counselor (the most competent one) and he would neither deny nor refute. His exact words were I have not heard that. Not very reassuring. National Ed backed out for a short time at the end of last semester, and I am scrambling to try to find an alternative as I feel pretty certain Ross will drop the ball here. Hopefully my chargeoff falls off the report this year, and I will soon qualify for sallie Mae, but otherwise I am faced with accepting a 12% loan from a commercial bank's education loan package, like B of A. Sucks.

[Linus]

Not a rumor about National education. Here is a email from a financial aid conselor in new jersey. i always used them because they did not make you pay a disbursement fee, now I have to pay 6%, i think with sallie mae

used her initials instead of name

Robert,

I regret to inform you that we do not have any relations with National Education anymore, and we will no longer certify or submit any National Education loans to them. Therefore, you may choose to apply through Sallie Mae, or Key Bank. These are the lenders we are currently offering.

Any additional questions, please let me know.

Thanks,

TP
Financial* Aid Counselor
Ross University
499 Thornall St 10th Fl.
Edison, New Jersey 08837
(732)978-5300 ext pm for extension
(732)978-5307* Fax

[goldielocks]

what about stafford loans...i am pretty sure saba is not approved for that like ross is

Sure you can argue about finances Linus because now you're grasping at straws, but since u want to talk money, what about the upcoming Ross 8-9% tuition increase. No wonder u need more loans to attend Ross, but is Ross offering a better product? Of course not, if anything it might be offering a lesser product and u know it.

Why not face the reality that Ross is running scared, so of course u try to minimize the accomplishments and betterment of other schools.

[Linus]

goldie
the guy posted on the ross forum in order to gloat about his school....i think it is great saba is approved in california, but i wanted to respond to the guy about his downplay or ross ("moveover ross, saba...")...i am not trying to minimize the accomplishemnts of other schools...i was just defending my school after someone got on the ROSS forum to talk about another school and how great it is

i am not sure what you have against ross...maybe you are a student who has had to repeat a couple semesters and you are pissed you are having to pay more in tuition....sounds like from your posts you expect ross to spoonfeed you the knowledge and you do no work and get you get your MD

med school is not like that....if you dont like ross transfer, if you think it costs too much, transfer...if you dont like the professors, transfer

[djinbh]

I sorry you misunderstood the tone of my post. I am a student in the process of deciding between Ross and Saba.The news was a pleasant surprise to me and I know that many others like myself that read this column for information and not just gabbing or complaining might be interested to know.I was also hoping to get some opinions, as I have to decide very soon. Didn't mean to ruffle feathers.

[goldielocks]

I just think that u guys should stop the disinformation and stop ruining Ross reputation.
Improve Ross, but don't lie to the incoming students about the realities of Ross.
If Ross is more interested in the money than in their students then state so, after all it is a business and there is nothing wrong with that.
If Ross is presently not doing as hot as the other schools, then admit it. Why continue to deny where Ross stands in comparison.
It's obvious that students should have to put in alot of work and sacrifice to succeed, but by the same token the school should do their part and take blame for it's failures.
Why not come clean, remember, you can hide the truth only so long.

[Dru]

DJ...your tone was gloating and trollish...even in your reply and explanation.

Again, I think you have to take in the whole picture. YOU are the consumer. If you are unhappy with the school, your financial ability to pay, end-result of licensure &/or the quality of the educational end-product, AS A CONSUMER, YOU NEED TO SHOP ELSEWHERE. I think most members of the forum have been brutally honest in all respects regarding Ross, including the environment. It is nobody's intent to misinform or lie about Ross or any other school.

IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR NEEDS AND DESIRES AS A CONSUMER OF EDUCATION. If enough consumers shop elsewhere, corporate powers will notice enrollment trends. If they have any self-respect, they will also care about the end product. This should hold true with the owners of Ross or any other college.

[goldielocks]

... I think you have to take in the whole picture. YOU are the consumer. If you are unhappy with the school, your financial ability to pay, end-result of licensure &/or the quality of the educational end-product, AS A CONSUMER, YOU NEED TO SHOP ELSEWHERE...IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR NEEDS AND DESIRES AS A CONSUMER OF EDUCATION. If enough consumers shop elsewhere, corporate powers will notice enrollment trends. If they have any self-respect, they will also care about the end product. This should hold true with the owners of Ross or any other college.

DJ, I agree with Dru, so watch out for the bait and switch trick. Bottom line is BUYER BEWARE.

[awdc]

I'm surprised with all the talk about comparing ross and saba on this thread, no one has brought up which school has a better clinical program and which graduates tend to match into better residency programs. Any opinions out there on this aspect?

[azskeptic]

... I think you have to take in the whole picture. YOU are the consumer. If you are unhappy with the school, your financial ability to pay, end-result of licensure &/or the quality of the educational end-product, AS A CONSUMER, YOU NEED TO SHOP ELSEWHERE...IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR NEEDS AND DESIRES AS A CONSUMER OF EDUCATION. If enough consumers shop elsewhere, corporate powers will notice enrollment trends. If they have any self-respect, they will also care about the end product. This should hold true with the owners of Ross or any other college.

DJ, I agree with Dru, so watch out for the bait and switch trick. Bottom line is BUYER BEWARE.

What I find curious is that students settle sometimes for less than they need to i.e. they have good enough resumes/grades/mcat scores they could, with some help, get into a US med school, DO school, or an offshore school that they would like better than some of the bad actors. While the top 5 (list them however you want) have lots of satisfied folks, the unsatisfied probably should have tried other options first or not got themselves in a situation where they feel they 'settled' for less.

If I was a Ross student I'd be upset that they named a 'self proclaimed naturopath admirer' as the new President. That will not draw alot of admiration for Ross from the conservative medical crowd; what was DeVry thinking? Was there no member of the 'good old boys and girls' medical school crowd available?

azskeptic

[link626]

I'm surprised with all the talk about comparing ross and saba on this thread, no one has brought up which school has a better clinical program and which graduates tend to match into better residency programs. Any opinions out there on this aspect?



i'm curious too....

although, based on their match list, they didn't do bad it seems. there are anesth, obgyn, surgery matches, etc....

of course the sample size isn't great since there are only 40 students per semester.


how many states is saba accredited in?