Well i got into MUA and St. Eusatius for Jan, and i need to send in my deposit and start preparing to go ASAP. I am having a tough time picking between the two. I figured i'd post here to get some input to maybe help me weigh the pros and cons of each school. Any sort of help would be much appreciated.

I have never even been there but I'd choose St. Eusatius for sure. You don't want the ** going on with this place where everyone seems to lie to you and then turn around and teach you ETHICS.

What sort of ** are you talking about? Inquiring minds want to know...
How do we know you aren't just a disgruntled student who flunked out or something? Details, please!
I would consider MUA-Nevis over St. Eustatius (though I think St. Eustatius is an ok place from what I've heard). MUA-Nevis is owned by the same people who run Saba, which seems like a big positive going for it.

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Saba Forum Moderator
Saba University School of Medicine, MSIV
Interests: Pediatrics, Psychiatry

I am a student at MUA. As has been stated above, yes there are problems with different information coming from different places. If you want to practice in New York or CA, you need to go to a school that has already got approval there. Don't ever take the word of the students or staff that it will be done by "X" time.

Dr. D has been forthcoming with responses, and does not "blow smoke". His last assessment "A site visit is expected in 2006 is my understanding; i have no idea when. Again, can't see the head office wanting to delay this for any reason other than making sure all ducks are in a row." does not state that anything has been filed.

Knowing what I know about MUA, I'd probably still choose it over most other schools (except the "proverbial" Big 5). You will get out of school what you want to get. If you study hard, you will do fine anywhere you go.

I would expect that all of these schools in the Caribbean have tension, and since it is the end of the semester, frustrations cause people to make statements in the heat of the moment.

Just my 2 cents worth. I'm not an expert.

grass is always greener on the other side,
ull run into statia students during clinicals, least i have done several with them, their experience on the island is remarkably very similar... almost like parallel universes, same sort of stories, same characters, same time, diff island... quite ironic..

u might want to also consider visiting both islands if possible to see which one would be easier for you to live on, money may be an issue but it might be worth the trip to sit in a class or two, check out the islands, talk to current students in classes... its a big decision and an enormous financial commitment, u need to be sure of ur decision...

other things u need to look at is class sizes, board pass rates (on first attempt), where u want to get licensed/do residency, is it possible RIGHT NOW at either school..(dont hold ur breathe for future possibilities or lack thereof), perhaps see if the schools will provide u with contact emails of current students in clinicals so that u can ask clinical students what their impressions are..

its hard to compare two schools when uv only attended one of them.

I don't care what you think of me or perceive my motives behind posting my statements on this forum personally. If you think that I'm some disgruntled student or ex-student then so be it. But be reminded that there are people out there that want to be in this honorable profession to actually do some good and actually help people, not just by means of medicine or for personal gain.
It's good to be inquisitive as you obviously are by your questions above but sometimes it's also good to take someone's words for it also. For the ones that don't want to listen to what I am saying, it's because of people like YOU these people are able to get away with the things they get away with. I hope that you decide against MUA primarily for your education and futures' sake. If you do decide to come here then good luck to you.

hello,

I am a current student at MUA. I have just got into reading these posts. To all the students coming here, let me give you my two cents. First off, the profs here are really amazing people. They have your interest in mind and want to see you do well.

The problem here is with management! The owners are just not being honest with the students or the staff. We have been promised the world and recieved nothing. From the day I arrived here, I heard nothing other than the NY visit. It wasnt planned, it was "SCHEDULED" and now I see that that was abosuletly a lie. The tuition was even raised due to it.

In addition, talk of a new building going up to accomedaite the rising number of students is yet again another dream. As far as I remember, that was also in the works for a LONG time too and has yet to happen. The med one class has 74 students crammed in a small room where the A/C is constantly breaking down. And the word on the street is that the next med one class is just as large if not larger! where are we all going to be?

So, as an incoming student, you have to understand the frustration and anger being felt my the majority of the students here. From my understanding, roughly 35% of all IMG residencies are in NY. That is a huge number to bypass especailly if u are a CANADIAN! so canadians, heads up with that.

AT the end of the day, u need to look at your needs. In my opinion, this school is for those students who have potential hook ups in the states and need not worry about finding their own clinicals. For Canadians, I would say to consider another school with NY and even Cali certifications. You just cant afford to eliminate 35% (ny) AND 15-20% (cali) of your residency options in addition to all the visa headaches.

So there you have it folks. Hope my two cents helped. if not, keep the change ; )

btw, my transfer papers are in the works. see, wanted you to have all the fact

Where are you going to transfer to, MDEVIL? What is your number one reason for transfering? Is it the lack of NY clinicals?

Shoot me a PM if you don't want to say publicly. I'm genuinly curious, because I would likely applied to MUA had I not been admitted to Saba already. If something were to happen with Saba, God forbid, I could end up at MUA. I'm not trying to discredit students or anything, nor am I trying to defend or slam MUA. I do recall that Saba students used to say some of the same things several years ago...perhaps this is all part of the growing pains of a younger school?

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Saba Forum Moderator
Saba University School of Medicine, MSIV
Interests: Pediatrics, Psychiatry

Class size is advertised to be 40 to 50. I have been here for a year. Every Med 1 class has been larger than 50, and do continue to get larger. This would not be a problem except for 2 things. 1. As stated above, in the year I have been here, that "new" building has been "planned" No foundation work or land clearing has been done as yet. and 2. Until it is built, there is no room to accomodate more students.

Is that 2 cents EC or US?

ditto

hey Wolfvgang22,

I totally didnt mean to dishearten u about MUA. All i am saying is that u consider the facts.
My reason for leaving is simple. I am sick and tired of hearing promises that are never realized. The dishonesty makes me question the direction the school is heading in and to be honest, THIS SCHOOL IS BEING MANAGED TO MAKE MONEY! Not to look out for you or me in the slightest way. I mean how in the world am i ever going to be able to set up my own clinicals while studying for step one and step two? Not to mention dealing with the constant relocations required in the clinical processes.

Furthermore, why in the world should I being paying $7000USD to someone during my clinicals who is doing nothing for me? it doesnt make sense.

I came to MUA to become a doctor, not to learn politics and it seems that's all we deal with here. For the love of God, they dont even put toilet paper in the bathrooms cause they say we were using too much of it during the rain season. Another perfect example would be the shuttle buses students take from res to school. They are old, over crowded and an overall pain. It took them 2 months to replace a broken window on one bus!

The majority of students here ended up here cause they applied to Saba and were told that MUA is just as good. That is how this school is growing so fast. Unless management reconsiders their approach, they will realize soon that more and more people are going to leave.

As for where I am going...I have applied to St. Matthew's seeing as they are the only ones willing to take my credits (so I dont have to go back to Med1) and have NY approval.

I hope I was of help. let me know if you need anymore info. Infact, i can send you pics of the campus, buses, res. or whatever would help u in making a choice.

Take care and i wish everyone in this confusing rat race the best.
MY FINAL ADVISE --> DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE U ACCEPT!!!! or you'll end up like half the people here, who are just to far into the basic sciences to have an escape!