Hey TMCMAN!!!!!! (aka. TANK!!!)

This straight A student that transferred to Ross (and is incredibly handsome, maybe a little vain too).... is that me??? Let me refresh your memory my friend...it goes a little something like this: Half of our pre-med 2 was spent in the back of the class reading National Lampoons and the other half was spent correcting the profs exam keys. Really the only time we paid attention was if we were in the mood to correct their mistakes. Oh how I long for the good old days.
(this next paragraph is for you TMCMAN and a reply to the transfer question)
Yes, I am now at Ross... but I was told that they will not take transfers anymore from Saba & MUA (or anyone else whose curriculum is different for that matter which means only SGU and AUC transfers.) The reason is, Ross has as of this semester gone to an integrated curriculum that is delivered as "problem based learning" as opposed to traditional didactic method. For example, all 1st and 2nd semester classes at Saba (which is the same as MUA) are taken at Ross over 2 full semesters, i.e. you have 2 semesters of each: anatomy, physio, genetics, biochem, neuro, etc... The relative amount of material is about the same but the schedule is coordinated such that the topic at hand in anatomy corresponds to the lecture in histo, physio, biochem, neuro, etc... so if anatomy was doing cardio, histo would teach histo of heart/etc, physio would do their cardio bit, and so forth. In the 1st 3 weeks or so of semester 1 you get the basics of biochem, genetics, physio, etc, so that from there on it is more of a systems based approach where you learn structure, function, mechanism, and pathology of the system at hand. The PBL portion of it is a weekly meeting in groups of 8 with one prof per group. You are presented a patient case 1/2 of which relates to everything covered to date in the semester and the other 1/2 requires deductive reasoning. The case is revealed in segments thereby requiring group discussion of current and expected patient presentation. It really keeps you on your toes with respect to material you covered way back when. All that said, a transfer student from MUA/Saba would be caught in an odd place as was the case with me because I completed med 1&2 at Saba (premed1&2 at MUA). Genetics and Neuro are in med3 at MUA/Saba whereas med1&2 at Ross. Also, I already had physio and psych which are med1/2 and med3 respectively at Ross. I get dizzy just thinking about it. So what they had to do for me is give me both genetics and neuro as independant study classes. For you and I, this is a blessing and what we have done all along. But for the profs involved it is a nightmare... they write special exams just for me, I have to write 10 essays for each class which they have to grade, and they need to put up with my anal scope of questions which is usually far beyond what they teach in the normal class.
Straight A's are great and all, but Ross has no idea what an A from MUA means. I was told that my acceptence was based mostly on a 98 on my physio shelf, MCAT, a strong recomendation from the pharm prof at Ross which was the dean of students while i was at Saba, and THEN 95's and above from premed1 to med2. All in all , I think the move was good. I must say though... I LOVED SABA!!!!!!!! It is my favorite of the 3. Tiny, friendly, beautiful island and school. The 2 huge factors that lead to me leaving were 1) Dr. ***(the owner) and Dr. *** (drunk Saba dean) are the most vile human beings on the planet (coincidently drinking buddies.) Although any carib med school is a business first this man treats his as if it were a sweatshop full of 5yr olds named Chin, and if you cross him he'll have you on toilet detail (ie crap rotations) quicker than you can say cremasteric reflex. 2) Although Saba now has Cali approval it will be some time before they set up rotations there and therefore (as is the case in many states) you will have a very tough time getting a residency spot in many states because of lack of familiarity with Saba UNLESS you know somone. This is of particular importance if you want to get into a more competetive resid. like orthopedic surg and radiology. Saba just isn't matching many people into surg (other than pre-lim) and the few that do match (eg yale-radiology from saba) know someone very high up. Regardless of quality of education, bottom line is that physicians in the states "know" or have "heard of" Ross more than most schools (other than SGU and AUC.) Not to contradict myself, but at the end of the day if you knock the socks off the USMLE, resid. coordinators will be a little more likely to listen while you explain exactly what/where MUA/Saba is during your interview. Ross or SGU just make it a little easier getting to that interview. It is also unheard of for MUA/Saba students to transfer to US schools either for 2nd year or clinicals. At Ross we have an average of 10-12 per class transfer (my neighbor just got into Tulane for Sept.)
I will also add that what we learned in premed1&2 at MUA has proven to be PRICELESS. Eventhough MUA's neuro prof is a bit eccentric (he also taught part of premed1) and the cell bio prof makes the subject tedious and irritating at times... it was those same quirks that in retrospect made histo, genetics, and neuro a breeze. As I stated, I am at Ross now and taking neuro and genetics with about 225-250 in my classes. The reason I have been in the top three in every class I have taken since premed is not so much my personal study habits (which I learned and perfected in premed2 thanks to cell bio) but rather the fact that these profs said gave us a good preview of what is important. In basic sciences I have found that the key to success is a strong foundation. If you build this properly everything else is just the next logical thing you would deduce and therefore requires very little "studying." The premed program at MUA helps you build this foundation. That said, Saba is **** jewel.
If Saba were an elementary school student Dr. **** would pick him first for kickball during lunch recess. It gets the first stab at money, profs, and clinicals (eventhough some MUA and Saba clinicals are together.)
My advice...go through MUA premed---> transfer to Saba for med1-5 and lay low while there, take my advice, I am a person that won't stay quiet if I don't agree with something... this does not fit into Dr. ***** business plan---> and finally, only if you want something competetive, consider transfering for clinicals to a US school.

So TMCMAN... how have you been??? How is the family??? How is El Paso (name changed for anonimity)??? I hear most of our group didn't make it, some recruit for other schools (ie nyc fat guy), and some were finally diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenics (ie hatian fat guy.) Oh well. I am hoping to see our third academic muskateer (cali boy) over break. I swear, my friends and family are getting a full tour of the carib visiting me at each new island. My family is great, ***** will be here over break... wedding will be between clinicals and resid. I've chosen to match the year after you so I can wait for ideal clinical spots to open and more importantly so I can do research before I interview as do most US applicants (this is if I don't transfer to a US school for clinicals which is still up in the air.) What is new with you?
Best Regards,
Neil
ps. tell those that are left I said hello (****** etc...)

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