AUC and Ross' "Accelerated" Program

[Reggaman]

Someone told me to go to AUC rather than Ross if I wanted it easier. what is that supposed to mean? They went on telling me that Ross has an accelerated program of basic sciences finished in 4 semesters. Is this somehow different than AUC's basic sciences. What makes Ross "accelerated?" Does this contribute to Ross' high attrition rate or do both have the same rate? Already searched on this accelerated thing and didn' find any info.

Man! I am having the toughest time trying to decide between Ross and AUC!

[tRmedic21]

Ross' 5th sem is a clinical transition semester in a small south Florida hospital, whereas AUC's 5th semester is basically clinical preparation with hired patients and the Kaplan Review here in Sint Maarten. I personally have not heard great things about the Ross 5th sem, but I am speaking from rumour, not experience, so take it as that only.

Both programs have their strong points, but I don't think you can say one is 'easier' than the other unless you've done both.

[AUCMD2006]

there is no real 5th semester at either school. as stated before the 5th semester serves two purposes: 1-supposedly get us ready for clinicals 2-most likely just an extra semester to squeeze out 9k from us.

as far as what is easier that is subjective but look at the shelf exam scores and they are the same. i think they balance out in the end since auc uses profs notes for exams and they write their questions they may/may not be easier depends on how you learn. auc does not have a curve though and it sucks....ross has a curve which people have said can be 30 points but they take the shelf exams as their finals which is probably more difficult......same ending though

[JokerABC]

well, i think you should look at the schedule for 5th semester AUC and compare it to Ross. at AUC, i heard you take clinical pathology and systemic pathology II in your 5th semester in addition to the pre-clinical. and at ross those 2 classes are already finished in 4 semesters -----maybe that is what makes it "accelerated?"

[Superman32]

I think Ross is an accelerated program because you only have about 2 weeks btw semesters.
You just go straight through.

[tRmedic21]

AUC also has that, only 10 days between Jan/May and May/Sept, with about 18-20 during Xmas.

[Picard]

If you want to practice medicine in the US, you cannot "graduate" from medical school with less than 4 academic years (this, for all intent and purpose, translates to a minimum of 4 calendar years as far as resicency applications is concerned). Anything less, you will not be eligible for licensure in most states because most states mandate a minimum attendence in medical school of at least 4 academic years.

P

[Infiri]

One good thing that Ross has is the Shelf. Old USMLE.
Taking this exams help you on the boards. You know how the question are and the main subjects. Also the MINI's on Ross are Board like questions. I have pass all of the first semester Shelfs, that means I have a good chance to pass the same subjects on the USMLE. And if you dont pass one shelf then you know what is your weak point. The shelf is the closes thing you will ever get to the USMLE, the examn comes from the same people.

[JokerABC]

AUC has Shelf exams also. SGU is the one that doesn't.

[Daniel]

while i agree that having a shelf exam is a good thing, i cannot agree with the amount of weight it carries. everyone acknowledges that it is a hard exam. but if that were true, why does ross give so much weight to it? 30% per subject places some students at a position where borderline students can fail and where A students become B students.

in essence, the problem is that the shelfs are rotated every other semester...thus, some lower semesters with connections to upper semesters will know the jist of some of the exam questions...thus skewing actual test performance based on individual knowledge.

if the shelfs were weighed less, there would be less impact due to this type of unscrupulous activity.

[Picard]

Shelf exams, while nice to have, are really not as important as what some schools claim to be. Instead of focusing so much on "old exam questions," you should spend the time actually "learning the material." Using shelf exams to "grade" student is really not necessary if the class itself is well taught and the class exams are fair. SGU, as stated above, does not use shelf exams -- no need to. Without them, their students already met/surpass US medical school means on Step I in both passing percentage and mean score... Medicine is not practiced by "board questions." Besides, "medical truth" has a half life of about 7 years. So many of the "old board exam questions" are acutally not "good medicine" according current standards.

P

[Daniel]

well said captain picard!

[cmbtdoc]

Also, if you fail one course in Ross...you will be repeating THAT course PLUS all other courses where you flunk (less than 56) shelf exams even if you PASSED those courses.

You are automatically held back ONE semester.

If you failed only ONE course, you can only take electives the next semester when you repeat your failure. It will slow you down. You can NOT pick and choose courses between semesters. It sucks.