Pros/Cons: SGU or AUC?

[butters]

hey, what about ross??! Rossies are cool!

[microphage]

Originally Posted by butters

hey, what about ross??! Rossies are cool!

CONS for Rossies: they are bitter once they finish up on the island... and complain about the island all the time

:P

just my exaggerated point of view

[butters]

Originally Posted by microphage

CONS for Rossies: they are bitter once they finish up on the island... and complain about the island all the time

:P

just my exaggerated point of view

hehe...well...ure right! when isn't microphage right??

[butters]

rossies are the real survivors!! okay...sorry to have gotten waaayy off topic.

[stateofequilibrium]

Originally Posted by butters

rossies are the real survivors!! okay...sorry to have gotten waaayy off topic.

What I hear from my friend, I do not doubt that for one millisecond. But I hear Belize is worse. You need to be constantly sharpening that machete, not to mention that US student was raped and killed there recently (not a med student, just a tourist).

But this topic has been done a million and one times, this makes it a million and two. Both will get you where you want to go.. what you need to do is choose between the fine print. I believe SGU has a better a infrastructure than AUC, but AUC for the slightly more self-reliant student offers more comforts like home and is cheaper in tuition.

AUC probably (heh, why am I saying probably, definitely) has better looking and cooler people than SGU though.

[butters]

Originally Posted by stateofequilibrium

What I hear from my friend, I do not doubt that for one millisecond. But I hear Belize is worse. You need to be constantly sharpening that machete, not to mention that US student was raped and killed there recently (not a med student, just a tourist).

But this topic has been done a million and one times, this makes it a million and two. Both will get you where you want to go.. what you need to do is choose between the fine print. I believe SGU has a better a infrastructure than AUC, but AUC for the slightly more self-reliant student offers more comforts like home and is cheaper in tuition.

AUC probably (heh, why am I saying probably, definitely) has better looking and cooler people than SGU though.

Wow...worse than Dominica?? That's hard to believe.

You know, I think in these cases of deciding between two schools you really have to realize that both schools are excellent and will get you where u need to go. Why not take a visit to both places and see which one is better suited to u? I've been to St. Maarten and I don't know how people get studying done there...oh man, so many distractions!! I visited the AUC campus and there is a casino at the corner at the entrance to the school. And then I visited Saba and it's soooooooooooooo quiet....oh man...kinda eerily quiet (but a very, very beautiful place and very conducive to studying).

But SOE...the coolest and best are at Ross! (hehe...I'm gonna start a fury in here, huh?).

Happy New Year all!

[stateofequilibrium]

Peace and quiet are great, but sometimes you need an outlet. A lot of these islands the best you can do is go to the beach or sleep with your classmate.

And the Casino next to AUC is a godsend for lazy people like me who hates cooking. The casino has a lot of good restaraunts attached to it. For lunch I'll go down and a get a big size Pad Thai. Or maybe some sushi. Or some great Italian pasta or pizza. And now, I need to try the new steak place that opened up. And that's all just walking distance! Not to mention the Chinese place that probably uses cats, and the little Deli a bit further down.

It's all about self-discipline, but if you have an iota of it, the distractions available on St. Maarten as say opposed to the chickens and goats on any other island is most welcome.

[stephew]

please stay on topic.

[Mooby]

Some minor considersations are:

-AUC is easier to fly to than SGU
-SGU was somewhat damaged by hurricanes a year or two ago, which has strongly affected rental costs. Since AUC seems to have a lot of units on the island, there are some more options and maybe a little less volatility. But, it's super expensive anywhere in the Caribbean, the most SGU's high rents may add is probably 2-3k over 2 yrs.
-AUC seems to ship a lot of ppl to St. Matthews. Not a problem if you keep your grades up. Attrition rates are high at all Caribbean schools.
-You'll find some highly reactive bloggers on the subjects of AUC as well as St. Matts. I dunno if this is indicative of a general attitude of the school or environment of the island. SGUers posts seem generally more lax.
-AUC does have a lot of distractions.

Major considerations:
-SGU's large graduated population and large classes mean much greater recognition, however, you're still just a Caribbean grad anywhere you go as far as I can tell.
-SGU has a lot of alumni, and many are willing to be contacted. I've found 3 through personal connections, and I've contacted 2 through the school. I've only been able to contact a few AUC graduates through this website.
-AUC is on a very developed Island. There's even been discussion of extending the wireless network being created in Phillipsburg to other parts of the Island.
-AUC seems to have a lot of family supports. But, at times they seem overly focused on this matter.
-Large tuition gap, 100k for 4 at AUC vs 145k for 4 at SGU

Bad for both:
-Relatively few research opportunities. This seems common to all Caribbean schools

[stephew]

Mooby:
I think the flights, the 3K (which is a drop in the bucket!!) and the "distractions" are all extrememly minor things.

I also take great exaception with the "Youre an IMG whereever you go" thing. Its just not true; the parallel is that youre not "just a med school grad" if you come from harvard over State U. Does that mean the harvard guy is better than you? No, but it can and does open more doors in many cases. It holds true for off shore schools. Some rail against this but they're usually kids still in school who don't know any better and don't like the idea.


And yes research is minimal at these schools relatively speaking but sgu does have WINDREF which is the research facility and does have a masters degree if youre interested.