Thread: Mua Pros Vs. Cons for future students

Here is some information for students considering attending MUA. From an MUA STUDENT! First off, as an mua student my opinion may be a little bias (of course we would all like to say we go to the best school), however i will try to simply state facts.

Pros:
1) As far as going to any island to study medicine, i believe Nevis is by far the best for many reasons. -first there are not too many distractions as nevis is more of a quiete get away island. i mean imagine going to school in st martin (a crazy tourist island), which by the way is my favorite island becuase its so much fun, however its not a place where I (me personally) can study. if your the type of person who gets distracted easily (like me) then nevis is where you should go.
-second reason. i know you here all this stuff about nevis being the safest island from mua officials, i can not speak for other islands as i do not know, however i have been in nevis for over a year and never felt unsafe. of course there have been people who have got there house broken into or whatever, but i have only heard of like 3 robberies since i have been here. everywhere you go will have crime, but i do think nevis is very safe.

-three- most local people here are nice, and have strong religous beliefs, which is good to know. however there are a lot who really hate the students and are obviously racist, which is very unfortunate. but you dont interact much with locals, becuase your constantly busy with school.

-four- nice beaches with noone there, so you can actually study on the beach if you like.

2)Faculity: I can honestly tell you that i was EXTREMELY surprised with the faculity here. they are the best teachers i have ever had, and thats no bull, they are very laid back down to earth people who love to teach, and are very good at it. they will do anything to make you learn this stuff. i went to one of the top undergrad universities, and i can honestly say some of these professors here are by far better than any professor i had.
3) Dean T: by far the most caring person i have met. loves to teach, and truly loves medicine.
-he is the SMARTEST person i have ever met. he really motivates you to want to learn and get at his level.
-he really cares about his students ( i mean the guy gives his personal cell phone number to the students, and tells you to call him anytime day or night if you have ANY problem) which if very comforting.
4) new building: i have walked in the new building and it is a very nice building, really nice classrooms with really comfortable seats (however they are kind of close to each other).
-building is overlooking the water and has 2 huge balconies facing the water.
- there is a GYM!! in the new building. personally im sick of working out at these crap gyms. i need some real equipment.

5) school has 2 buses, so you could live here without a car. which is good esp if your on a tight budget

cons:

1) Rotations: i can imagine this is one of the biggest factor for most people considering a school. MUA currently only has 9 rotation sites. so if your hoping to do a rotation in your state, chances are mua does not have affiliations. you will here all this garbage about mua getting new sites, dont believe it, until they actually get the site. there is a rumor about mua getting a whole bunch of new sites, but when i emailed Dr. ******* the head of clinical dpt. she said this is all rumors. i personally dont mind where i do my rotations, but many people might.

2) mua does not have a site in the US for 5th term, as does Ross and AUC and even Windsor (lol). it is not exactly cheap to fly out here, esp. for canadian students.

3)library is small, and poorly deigned. for example anytime someone walks in and out you see them. but there is a back section which is more secluded. however the dean (being the caring person he is) allows us to study in classrooms as well, becuase the library gets too crowded.

4) loans: no federal loans


all in all i think mua is very good, and profesional. if your considering attending here, prepare yourself for a tough curriculum.
if any students have questions about mua you can msg me.

stanmarsh has a valid point. some of you might not want to be so fast to speak until you experience things yourself. they CAN fail you to save clinical spots - not saying thats what they do, but the key word here is 'CAN'. they can basically do whatever they want. YOU never get to see your actual NBME scores - NEVER. NBME will not even release them to you b/c you are a foreign med student - everything has to go thru your most excellent dean. If you request to have it regraded....again, that goes thru our precious dean and you have to ask HIM for your grades. If you call NBME to verify your grade, they cant give you any information at all, if you email them, they cannot respond with your score at all - you have to get the reprinted, recopied version from our wonderful dean. So, technically, there is ALOT this school and our most wonderful precious kind and caring dean can do. and yes, this does make some uneasy.

and NO i dont think 'good for them' for trying to fail someone on a comp for the sake of passing the real thing (if that were even true) - we're not in kindergarten here, we're adults, some of us with children back at home - it should be left up to us. people worked hard in med school and a majority of students arent ready for the MLE at the end of med 5. the dean himself said that; students arent supposed to be, thats why they give students three months to go home and prepare for it. so why hold back students with 3.8, 3.9 gpas or any for that matter for failing an NBME comp, when they can go home and advance from the 3 months required time that they may need for the real thing? it mentally and emotionally sets students back automatically.

and the NBME pass rate was a 55 April semester, not a 58. Kaplan was a 35 April semester. Students were given the chance to pass either or. August Med 5 pass rate was a 62 - and that was for NBME ONLY. The August Med 5 low failing rates were the Aprils Med 5 high passing rates. The 62 passing rate for August Med 5's was not even discussed or mentioned as THE passing grade until the actual scores were handed out an hour before the graduation, with ppls parents sitting there. This doesnt matter anyway being that Aprils Med 5 class - ALL got to go home, no retakes necessary for those that failed. So before judging the students for complaining - or saying those that failed did not work as hard as those that didnt....put yourself in their shoes. You took out loans, worked hard to mantain your 3.9 thruout all 5 semesters, never failed, cheated, or dropped, studied for the comp, but failed the first one by a couple points, then of course your most gracious dean raises the score the 2nd time, you fail that. after your third attempt failed, you're dismissed. all attempts weeks apart w/ 1 week to wait for each result.

the way i see it, if students pay their tution, successfully make it thru basic sciences, they should be able to leave and do whatever it is they need to do (review course, robbins cover to cover) to pass the MLE, instead of wasting time trying to prove to the school that they are capable of passing a NBME exam, so that the schools 1st time pass rate comes off good in appearance to the outside world. truth is, if a school gets a 100% first time pass rate in a given semester, but loses nearly 1/2 that class in the process - it does not mean the school IS good. it means the school is trying to look good. Trying to look good is not necessarily bad, but when its at the detriment of the students that chose one particular school over others, dished out the money to build, add to and make the school what it is....well, i think thats sad. A school gets to pick, choose, and select its students at the beginning......not at the end.

It's not easy, all of us have this dream and are working hard for it. as med students that are going to be doctors - compassion for your fellows, and a little respect for the experiences (both good and bad) that others have had shouldnt be much to ask. You never know what the road ahead of you will carry.

I agree........I really think it is insulting to know that the school will put everything on a test......(comp) which doesn't mean anything.. I feel that if you did a great job during basic sciences than you paid more than enough blood, sweat, and tears to take the USMLE. I voiced my concern to the staff folks....but hey
Besides, thats alot of money to be dishing out to get kicked out at the end......they should use the test as an indicator but not as your career buster....thats what the USMLE is for.....
US schools don't even do this....and if you want to mock the US schools, let do it all the way. Not make your own rules..

Originally Posted by 4hisglry

the way i see it, if students pay their tution, successfully make it thru basic sciences, they should be able to leave and do whatever it is they need to do (review course, robbins cover to cover) to pass the MLE, instead of wasting time trying to prove to the school that they are capable of passing a NBME exam.

Now it is the Shelf Comp and previously it was the Kaplan Post Test. MUA, and many other good schools, have always had an exit exam that students must pass before they can take the USMLE. This is spelled out in the promotions guidelines and have been discussed here many times in the past. In fact, you have not successfully made it through the basic sciences until you have passed the exit test, since it is part of the Medical Board Review Course. It is a course requirement. So your arguement is false.

If a person does not want to go to a school that has an exit exam, let her or him choose one. It seems unfair to complain about the way the school works when it is up front about what is required before you even come here. I'm still a couple of semesters away from the Comp and worried, as all my classmates are, but this is what we signed up for at MUA. Otherwise I would be somewhere else. You can debate the school's motivations if you want, but that's immaterial. Again, if you don't want a school that requires an exit exam, don't come to MUA.

No one asked you.......................
let us vent if we want to!!!!

ok i feel better...............LOL (smile)

1) While other carribean schools pay up to 800$ per credit for the teaching hospitals in the US , MUA pays 345$. What it comes down to is pure business.
Unfortunatly school representative blame this on one student misbehaving. MUA is known for lack of support when it comes to students, while other schools are constantly sending representative to clinical site to listen to what their student have to say.

2) LOAN program : everytime a student get approved for loans there is a 1500$ upfront fee that is added to the loan amount. Ed invest is the only supplier for AUA,windsor and other schools, How come there is no upfront fee with the other schools. Lets not point fingers. But this is another situation that prooves the business oriented mind of our administration.

3) Teaching At MUA : medical schools is know to be ((self teaching)), teachers are there to clarify difficult concepts. So compare to other medical schools MUA tend to have a far better teachers. Eventhough some of the teachers have no record in the US and seem to have changed their names,,,, everyone gets a second chance.

4) The comp shelf passing grade: the sad story is that each student takes a set of 5 exams every semester and is required to pass in order to be eligible for the comprehensive shelf.....and if you dont pass with a 62%,, you loose all the money that you invested ,,, and you are no more part of the family of MUA.

5) a better approach to scoring higher avg on comprehensive exams should be followed. a teacher passing out over 100 questions of the 125 shelf exam questions is not ethical. some will prbly attack me about this and i am sure i will receive msgs,,,, but bfr sending me a message ask the students about the reality

6) FOR MUA admin: Students love MUA as much as teachers do.

doc2b1day,

Thank you for your response. I don't think an argument can be 'false'. At the beginning of that statement I said, "the way I see it". I am stating my opinion, as just that, my opinion, not as law or anything.

Originally Posted by doc2be1day

MUA, and many other good schools, have always had an exit exam that students must pass before they can take the USMLE.

Many good schools do not have exit exams (better/more greenbook clinical sites too.....ironically, if they are 'good' schools; they shouldn't even have to. They should know that after all the awesome teaching, good grades and effort of the students - they will most likely pass after 3 months of intensive study.

Originally Posted by doc2be1day

This is spelled out in the promotions guidelines. In fact, you have not successfully made it through the basic sciences until you have passed the exit test, since it is part of the Medical Board Review Course. It is a course requirement.

A board review course that was "Kaplan", not NBME. Nevertheless, I see your point, but argue that the 'promotion guidelines' can be changed whenever it meets the needs of the higher powers, an example of this will follow my response to your next quote.

Originally Posted by doc2be1day

It seems unfair to complain about the way the school works when it is up front about what is required before you even come here.

Yes, I signed up for this. And knew what was required. However, it was required of all students, not just me. So what you're saying is...You think it is unfair of a student to complain when one semester is not held to this 'promotion guideline' and another is. I don't think it is unfair to complain - as a matter of fact, I think as a doctor to be, one needs to stand up for what is right, what is just, and what is good...first do no harm, right? And what is happening is neither right nor just. Why let one class go after failing the first attempt, but another be dismissed after failing 3 attempts? That, my friend, is unfair.

Originally Posted by doc2be1day

You can debate the school's motivations if you want, but that's immaterial. Again, if you don't want a school that requires an exit exam, don't come to MUA.

I did not say what the schools motivations were - only God knows that. I cannot even assume, but I can certainly comment on how things appear and how they have gone. As I stated earlier, you never know what your road has ahead of you. So dont be so quick to throw out someone elses complaint as null or unfair.

I wish you and your class the best of luck. You really seem motivated. Hold on to that motivation and God bless You.

BTW....A little too late, I'm already at MUA and do not have money to start over again

Alright people play nice lol.

Hi guys,
Can someone here attending MUA plz pm me Dean T's email add (or if he doesn't check email primarily, his preferred contact info? I am in the US so calling may be ruled out?) It is really urgent and I would appreciate a response by any kind soul!

*It's so Childish to see some students defending the school blindly,, No one is attacking the school, we are trying to point out the weaknesses of the school.
*Only the students taking the comp exam will know what is the exam about ???

*Value MD is not for chearleading its for Constructive critics