former student
06-02-2003, 10:16 AM
Dear Prospective Students,
You will read lot's of information on this forum regarding pro's and con's about attending Spartan. Spartan is not the worst school you can go to because on a very basic level, you will get what you need such as didactics in basic science, clinical rotations in the states and in mexico, or where else you set them up, certification for private loans and to take the usmle, and most of all a medical school diploma. So...in a "nut shell" you basically get what you need. Now if you are a enterprising student that can manage independently, by setting up your own roataions, good self study for the boards without depending on proper didactic instruction from the school, and not too terribly dependant on student loans..this school could work out for you.
On the other hand, students who need more supervised and traditional guidance may not do as well. The classes taught on the campus are the right courses for basic science and the school use the right books, but the problem is.. most instructors are not really qualified to teach the course, or savvy enough to stream line the course so the student can get the "meat and potatoes" of what's really going on so they can apply the information to high yield learning for board passage. A large percentage of students leave the island not ready/qualified to take the usmle. More money is spent on review courses.
ROTATIONS:
I do like the fact that Spartan will let you set up your own rotations. So if you know people this could be an asset. What if you don't have any connections or the skill to find them on your own? Then your basically at the mercy of the school. They will try to convince you to go to mexico for rotations because you can study for the boards, the cost is cheap and you get more hands on there than in the U.S. Which is partially true...
.
The down side to this plan is 1. The hospital in mexico is inadequate training for junior and senior medical students who are planning to return to the U.S. for practice. The clerkships are really observerships with minimal to no hands on training. There is a language barrier for most students, there is no training of patient interview (b/c of language barrier), clinical skill assessment, or physical exams. So if a student did all of there training in mexico, he or she would not have the necessary skills for residency, which is a disadvantage, so about this being more hands on ..you will have to decide. :(
Clinicals in the U.S.: Spartan is not formally affiliated with any hospital, but they do work with a few tuition based clinical sites. These students are paying a additional $300-$350/wk., which is absurd., most student that I have spoken to said the training was o.k., some rotations are better than others. For these rates your better off setting them up yourself.
FINANCIAL AID:
Spartan does not have stafford loans..and I doubt it that they will be getting them anytime soon. Spartan has been telling students since 1997 that the loans are just around the corner and they are working on it. This is 2003...you decide, but I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting on these loans.
Terri loans have been around for a while and most students are getting these if they can pass the credit check. If you credit is not up to par, the school has no other plans for you or no advice on what you can do.
Med Achiever loans are new, but from what I understand they are credit based loans as well.
Something to think about as well...students that do receive loans are complaining about not getting enough loan money especially when they are paying heavy fee's for rotations. For some reason the school only wants to pay for the cost of education (minimally) and not give students enough money to live on. They are a lot of SHSU students who receive loans and are totally broke.....you figure that one out. So you married one's with kids..this is something to think about.
ADMINISTRATION/STUDENT ASSISTANCE
Most student are not satisfied with the service they receive. The staff is not professional or knowledgable as most med schools about medical school affairs.
So yes...Spartan is cheap..but you are going to get what you pay for. If you can deal with what I shared with you...then come on down...we would love to have.
FORMER STUDENT
You will read lot's of information on this forum regarding pro's and con's about attending Spartan. Spartan is not the worst school you can go to because on a very basic level, you will get what you need such as didactics in basic science, clinical rotations in the states and in mexico, or where else you set them up, certification for private loans and to take the usmle, and most of all a medical school diploma. So...in a "nut shell" you basically get what you need. Now if you are a enterprising student that can manage independently, by setting up your own roataions, good self study for the boards without depending on proper didactic instruction from the school, and not too terribly dependant on student loans..this school could work out for you.
On the other hand, students who need more supervised and traditional guidance may not do as well. The classes taught on the campus are the right courses for basic science and the school use the right books, but the problem is.. most instructors are not really qualified to teach the course, or savvy enough to stream line the course so the student can get the "meat and potatoes" of what's really going on so they can apply the information to high yield learning for board passage. A large percentage of students leave the island not ready/qualified to take the usmle. More money is spent on review courses.
ROTATIONS:
I do like the fact that Spartan will let you set up your own rotations. So if you know people this could be an asset. What if you don't have any connections or the skill to find them on your own? Then your basically at the mercy of the school. They will try to convince you to go to mexico for rotations because you can study for the boards, the cost is cheap and you get more hands on there than in the U.S. Which is partially true...
.
The down side to this plan is 1. The hospital in mexico is inadequate training for junior and senior medical students who are planning to return to the U.S. for practice. The clerkships are really observerships with minimal to no hands on training. There is a language barrier for most students, there is no training of patient interview (b/c of language barrier), clinical skill assessment, or physical exams. So if a student did all of there training in mexico, he or she would not have the necessary skills for residency, which is a disadvantage, so about this being more hands on ..you will have to decide. :(
Clinicals in the U.S.: Spartan is not formally affiliated with any hospital, but they do work with a few tuition based clinical sites. These students are paying a additional $300-$350/wk., which is absurd., most student that I have spoken to said the training was o.k., some rotations are better than others. For these rates your better off setting them up yourself.
FINANCIAL AID:
Spartan does not have stafford loans..and I doubt it that they will be getting them anytime soon. Spartan has been telling students since 1997 that the loans are just around the corner and they are working on it. This is 2003...you decide, but I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting on these loans.
Terri loans have been around for a while and most students are getting these if they can pass the credit check. If you credit is not up to par, the school has no other plans for you or no advice on what you can do.
Med Achiever loans are new, but from what I understand they are credit based loans as well.
Something to think about as well...students that do receive loans are complaining about not getting enough loan money especially when they are paying heavy fee's for rotations. For some reason the school only wants to pay for the cost of education (minimally) and not give students enough money to live on. They are a lot of SHSU students who receive loans and are totally broke.....you figure that one out. So you married one's with kids..this is something to think about.
ADMINISTRATION/STUDENT ASSISTANCE
Most student are not satisfied with the service they receive. The staff is not professional or knowledgable as most med schools about medical school affairs.
So yes...Spartan is cheap..but you are going to get what you pay for. If you can deal with what I shared with you...then come on down...we would love to have.
FORMER STUDENT