I' d love to hear what the students of mua think!!!

[dawne]

I am interested in applying for the program, but have a few questions -
1. Do any of you have children and families that you moved down there? How is it going? Do you use child care? what are the schools like? I have a 17 month old and am very concerned about him - Do you feel that you have enough time for the family outside of school?
2. How much would it cost to purchase a small home?
3. Anyone studying tropical medicine? Do you travel for your clinicals?
4. How many grads are passing us licensure?
5. Can you or would you want to do all of your clinicals in San Pedro or Belize City?
6. What is the average salary of a new grad practicing?
7. How is the library coming along? If no books, are you able to access what you need via internet?
8. How do you afford your living expenses?
9. Are there any scholarships out there?
Thanks so so much! I'll look foward to hearing from you - dawnerolsen@yahoo.com

[studentMD]

try emailing the school and see if they can put u in touch with current students..

i havent seen current students posting here in a while..

so ur best bet would be to go through the school and see if they can get u email address of students that would be willing to share their experiences with ya..

[sunnyskies]

hello dawn,
Im gonna try my best to answer some of your questions.
1. okay dont worry about your son, you can find a great nanny in no time and daycare.
2. Im not sure how much it would cost to purchase a small home. However, I know students usually pay $400.00 US for their 1 bedroom apt you can find some apts possibly for cheaper. I know a student right now lives in a house for $350, those are government housing. There are always places for rent, you could probably stay at a hotel and search around for places that you like. Or make a committment to an apartment complex for 3-4 months until you find a place you permanently want to settle in too.
3. At the current moment, I dont know anyone studying "tropical medicine" , but I believe if you wanted to do that it wouldnt be a problem, they would just most likely set you up with a doctor in belize that studies that. You would have to ask the dean on more info on that.
4. How many grads are passing USMLE, not sure. I do know that u can start clinicals before you pass STEP 1.
5. A current student here is doing her clinicals in Belize City at the main hospital there. Im not sure if you can do all of it in San Pedro. Ask the dean on that one.
6. The avg salary of new grads practicing depends on what specialty you are going into. You should be able to find that online.
7. The library currently still has no books in it, the books are in the main office. The library has 2 sections a group and quiet study with a couple of computers. We are suppose to be getting 10 new computers, but we have been waiting for a couple of months. Mostly students bring their laptops and connect to the wireless modem. Or if you decide you want internet at your house (cable is better-more convienent, and you can use the dialpad software to call home thru the internet (cheaper than phone cards).
8. Thank god we have a loan programs, thats how i afford living expenses. The biggest expense probably would be your electricity and thats when you are running your air conditioner the most. That can run from 60.00 US- 100.00 US a month on an avg.