I need some advice....

[Ariesmale1us]

I am about to apply to Spartan for the jan'04 term. I am too late for the fall session. Spartan is my only choice. I have not applied to any other school either in the US or elsewhere in the caribbean. I have very limited resources and I want to make the best of what I have and I believe Spartan would give me the chance to achieve my dreams and ambitions. I have no one to support me, but myself. What is the barest minimum that one could survive on for food and rent? This is the first time I am posting. I would like to get to know a few present students and find out more about the course and the college. Good luck to u all...

[emerson24]

i saw your post.

Let me ask you a question, if you could get in for the september term, being that it's only two weeks away from starting and realisticly 9 days before you should leave, would you go ?

[Ariesmale1us]

In reply to your question, I would, at the drop of a hat. Do u think I could get in? let me know...
ps:sorry for the late reply.

[dt]

You will never know till you try..

[louloo]

Hi,

I was in a very similar situation as yourself as far as money is concerned. If Spartan does have spots still open then it is still possible for you to attend in September. If you apply on-line for your Teri loan usually it takes only 2 business days for them to give you an answer, if your rejected at first then apply again through the reconsideration process which will take an additional two days. Its possible to monitor the status of your application on-line so that way you do not need to wait for answers in the mail. Not only is the actually tuition at Spartan inexpensive, but so is the housing. In the admission booklet it states that a one bedroom usually costs bw 150-300 US, so factor in that cost. Also on previous posts its was noted that fruits and veggie were very cheap on the island and take-out food is usually around 5.00 US per meal. Thus, if you were not a huge meat-lover then your food costs could be minimal as well. I bought most of my books from Barnes and Nobel because I am a Canadian and not too many other on-line stores would deliver it to my remote home. But, I was able to get some of them used and my total book cost was around 300.00 US. However, if your American then you might be able to obtain the books cheaper, also I bought some brand new one's but you could always settle for all second-hand books. Hope this gives you some idea of the costs.

Laura :D

[Ariesmale1us]

Hi Laura,
Thank u for your kind reply. I had posted a reply earlier. It was just a brief intro about me. I hope u had a chanceto read it. I wonder if you could help me understand loans from TERI. Is it only for US students? Can other students apply for this loan? How much can one borrow? what about the interest?

[currentstudent]

Spartan is a very affordable school.....the tution is the lowest of all the caribbean schools and housing and living costs are quite cheap in St.Lucia......I am currently a student attending Spartan.....Living expenses will run you anwhere from 650USD per month for rent, food, phone, etc........Terri loans are available for Americans and Canadians.....Im not totally sure if you have to be a citizen of either Canada or the USA though.....Terri loan will give you a maximum of 10,000USD per trimester which is more than enough to live on!.....Im not sure about the interest rate on Terri loans however.......Spartan will also be providing students with Stafford loans starting this January and that I know is at a much lower interest rate......Terri loan will approve you very easily if you have excellent credit or no credit.....if there is anything negative on your credit rating then Terri may be somewhat difficult......Living costs here are quite cheap.....especially if you have a roommate!!!......well I hope this helps.....good luck :D

[smilyface]

don't panick dear things will work out fine for you
and please try to apply for september because when i firt got accepted to spartan i got accepted just a week before the school started and guess what i had to pack and say byes to ppl around and get my self ready for medical school in less than a week :)

wish you best best of luck :)

bye

[Ariesmale1us]

It looks like I will be coming in Jan for sure. Unforseen financial constraints have put my coming to Spartan this sept on hold. I WILL be coming in Jan. It is going to be challenging and a long journey, but heck, I am looking forward to it!! Over the last couple of days, I have been reading the Spartan forum and noticed a lot of hostility towards the college from a few individuals. I sat back and really dissected each person's gripe about the school. The old saying dawned on me." Your neighbor's grass is always greener!" So bigger schools like St.Georges, Ross, etc will be so appealing to u. Spartan is a small school from what I gather. It may not have all the amenities that bigger schools have to offer. I told myself "forget everything else, Spartan is giving u a chance!!" I looked at the tuition and common sense struck me on the head with a huge mallet and cried out "Hello, am I getting through to u O learned one or shall I strike thee again?" Leave logic out of the equation, common sense is enough to see the light. If you guys only knew what I have been through to get this far you will kiss the ground that Spartan stands on. Do u guys know what it is to be given a CHANCE to work towards a goal?The bottom line after all of this is that I will receive an MD. What I achieve from there on will be left to me. I read about the problems of getting placements in rotations, clerkships, etc. All I can say is that I am willing to take a chance and work bloody hard, give it my best shot and see what happens. Nothing comes easy in life. I have been working in a hospital for some time in the UK and I have met medics from all walks of life. I have met guys from Siberia, Ethiopia, Africa, Russia, and smaller countries that I have not heard of working with docs from Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, etc. It is all about proving yourself. But the bottom line is that they all have one thing in common...they are all MDs. Where they received their education is not of consequence, but how well they fare in practice is of the utmost importance. Because, in all of this there IS someone to either benefit or lose - THE PATIENT!!

[emerson24]

I told myself "forget everything else, Spartan is giving u a chance!!"

Do u guys know what it is to be given a CHANCE to work towards a goal?The bottom line after all of this is that I will receive an MD. What I achieve from there on will be left to me. I read about the problems of getting placements in rotations, clerkships, etc. All I can say is that I am willing to take a chance and work bloody hard, give it my best shot and see what happens. Nothing comes easy in life.

That is right attitude. Attitude has a lot to do with your success. Attitude will be put through the strainer. It will be beated down. You will lose the positive attitude, and most likely question why you are doing this at all. This is normal. Kind of like the butterflies you would get if you were ever in a fist fight as a kid. It's just part of the process. So when you get down, stressed, and perhaps question WHY ? Look back to the time that posted this very message.

One of the other obstacles that affect attitude is the system. You will have to play by the rules and you will often become frustrated. Medicine is obviously different than what it was 10 years ago and is continuously changing. There will be many headaches that will come with being a physician. I think it is very important to look within and be honest with yourself, and understand what it really is that drives you, as well as what perturbes you. Some specialties will have more frustrations than others. Some will require longer hours. Perhaps different personalities such as in surgery.

To say that we practice medicine for pure altruistic reasons I think is incorrect. There is other incentives. Ego, money, and feeling good about yourself for the act. If one was completely altruistic, they probably wouldn't fuss about reimbursement, or ever squabble about salary when finding a job. The bottom line I think in some respects is that money is an incentive. And why shouldn't it be for all the hard work you put in ? That is not to say that money is what gets you into medicine, but when you are at the barganing table, you can bet you will be trying to negotiate the best salary you can. We all have egos. To feel that we are important is what we all want. I think that is fact. Being a doctor fulfills that. However, in the world of medicine today all of these incentives become duller like anything else. Again, that's not to say that a doctor can't love what he does 10 years down the road, but I think it's similar to when you are first on call. You can't wait for that pager to go off. You gladly take call. But after a while, you begin to not like being on call so much. I don't think it's to that magnitude with regards to the overall feeling toward your job, but moreso illustrating that things do not remain as luminant as they were in the beginning. Doesn't mean that you can't love your job, but other issues will tarnish the initial feeling a little, I think. There are some docs that it has so muched that they quit medicine all together. So, it goes back to knowing yourself and what it is that will keep that drive going which will make you love or if not, like your job years later.

No one can predict the future and how things will turn out for themselves. The only thing you can do is to keep a positive attitude as you do and go full force ahead.

I also think and have seen that there are some that go in with a positive attitude who become transformed into arrogant people. Just think about how when you are with a surgeon who may be arrogant, or say things that just don't sit right with you. How will you respond ? You think you will tell him outright that he's arrogant, or unprofessional ? Doubt it. Do you think you will not laugh at his "poor joke" of some one else ? Perhaps not, but by being totally in disagreement will probably cause you to be treated in a way that is not in your best interest. Even if it's just a change in the energy level. Therefore, I think people either half heartedly smile or laugh, and some lose themselves because they perform the same half hearted laugh over and over to just "keep the peace". We all want to be liked and well recieved, but at what price. I"m not saying that you will become an arrogant person, but like evolution with anything, it's a gradual process. So my advice is be true to yourself and don't lose sight of what is "right" and what is "not". It's a long road, remember your center.

Best Wishes!

[Ariesmale1us]

Hi Emerson24 and thank u for such great advice.
So my advice is be true to yourself and don't lose sight of what is "right" and what is "not". It's a long road, remember your center.
The above quote reminds me so much of what a doctor said to me when I was shadowing him gaining experience. This is the perfect example of wisdom shared. You are right. I will never ever falter from my true path...
Thank u once again..... I am so looking forward to Jan 2004.