Was Ross disorganized when it came to clinicals as they are with applications, i mean they lost my transcripts 3 times before they finally got a grip and did not lose it finally. So i was wondering, when it came to clinicals are they as disorgainzed and do they stress you out as much, or is it a smooth operation.

Also how do your rotations send your grades and progress reports to Ross, is it done directly or is it a hassle too, plus who decides whether you can do all your rotations at one site, Ross or you and is it possible. I really cant afford to travel around and dont want to be flying all around. Also did Ross take care of ECMFG , transcripts , and LOR promptly and send them out promptly or did they give you a hassle when it came to applying to residencies.

I only want honest unbiased answers, thats why i like responses from Keith and those like them , they seem pretty straight forward, no offense to MictchDc but Mitch u seem to sugar coat Ross wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much, i mean its good to have the realistic view of Ross to prospects, Ross isnt perfect nor is any other med school, every school has its faults and you tend to sugar coat Ross a bit too much Mitch. i think instead of doing that all students should make the administration of Ross SUPER AWARE of their faults so they can fix them and be aware of them. Like how Ross admissions and finaid counselors NEVER freaking answer their phones, respond to messages or email back. How Ross is disorganized as heck and keeps losing crap, How Ross needs to upgrade its selectivity and focus more on academic and facility upgrades like SGU constantly does instead of keep focusing on selling the damn school to make the maximum profit and make it like some product to buy and sell and buy and sell. Also Ross needs to be aware of its faults, and the only way is thru students' voices, remember the more Ross reforms, the better reputation the school gets, which benefits both the students and alumni and shows that Ross is working more towards becoming a primiere carib. school and cares for students, and this causes applications to sky rocket high for Ross due to these reforms, so voicing concerns of students benefits all. And i still want to know who runs the NJ office, man i swear that place is the worse run operation i witnessed in my life!
This is not a attack on Ross , MitchDc or any Ross students, i will be attending Ross 80% sure, i just think it will make prospects like me to decide on Ross with more confidence if they reformed on their deficiencies and focused on their academics and catering to their students as much as the care about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Hey FutureStudent,

I can understand your frustration and I think you should voice your concerns to the Ross Admininstration people. Unfortunately, Dean Wagner is no longer at RUSM so I don't know if the know Dean will look at this forum or not. Have you considered running for the SGA or class offficers once you're here?

In MitchDC defense, he's right on the money most of the time. RUSM is not as bad as many people make it out to be. To be honest, I don't know how he has been able to refrain from being 'jaded'. It's quite an accomplishment, really.
The stress you've already experienced in your application process will increase tenfold once you're here. However, you need to keep things in perspective to survive medical school. In addition to the RUSM 'drama' you will experience here, the academics will transform you and your friends into something else. If you can't take it, there's always a daily 2:30pm departure flight from Melville airport. Maybe things are wonderful at SGU and the other schools but I like the education I'm receiving here. Maybe you should consider the other schools since you obviously is already very negative about RUSM and I don't want you to make a mistake in coming here. From what I hear, SMU is very nice since they're in the Grand Cayman and they don't have alot of students. AUC and SGU are also good medical schools and maybe they can accomodate you better. Good luck.

I think I already answered this question in another posting somewhere, but I will try and recap:

"Was Ross disorganized when it came to clinicals as they are with applications, i mean they lost my transcripts 3 times before they finally got a grip and did not lose it finally."

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I have hit and miss success with Ross administration during clinicals as with the basic sciences. I set up most of my own clinicals, so I avoided many problems, but I hear occassional nightmare stories from my classmates.
Once again, things pretty much stay status quo the whole way through Ross. Some departments are better than others. YES, I had multiple times when things were supposedly "sent out" by the Ross clinical department, and never received by the clinical site. I had to have one elective fax my evaluation THREE times to Ross, in addition to mailing it twice (didn't make me or Ross look very good). HOWEVER, I can relay 2 good things:
1) I had to have my application for medical licensure in to my residency program within a VERY short time frame, so I UPS'd the form to Dean Perri for signature/seal. She UPS'd the form back almost immediately and it was in to the program early.
2) 2 recent emails to the registrar's office were answered within 24 hours
Like any school, it is hit or miss (though Ross seems to have more misses than hits)

ONCE AGAIN -- It wasn't a fun 4 years (but medical school usually isn't), it gets a little bit better in clinicals (mainly because you are back in the US), stresses will get replaced with other stresses -- but in the end -- It is worth it, because I am sitting here with a copy of my diploma and in 10 years I will probably forget about Ross (or maybe just repress the bad parts).

"Also how do your rotations send your grades and progress reports to Ross, is it done directly or is it a hassle too,"

Mail. Sometimes you have to pester them to do it.. though this isn't Ross's fault. I did an ortho rotation at a US school, and it took them 6 months to do the eval and mail it. US students have the same problem.

"plus who decides whether you can do all your rotations at one site, Ross or you and is it possible"

Mostly Ross will deceide, but they are open to some requests (ie. doing all your rotations in the Baltimore area). You can always turn down the schedule they send you in hopes of getting rotations closer to one another, but you may have to wait. HOWEVER. this is the cart before the horse. Do your first two years and then worry about clinicals. As every senior student can attest to: you WILL get clinicals, and for the most part you will get them in the area you want. You CAN set up your own clincals (I only did 1 rotation in all my clinical years at a "Ross Site"). You have to work to set them up however, and connections do help.

"Also did Ross take care of ECMFG , transcripts , and LOR promptly and send them out promptly or did they give you a hassle when it came to applying to residencies. "

YES. Actually, they were very organized and strangely enough methodical. I actually had my application in before most US students. HOWEVER, a lot of the effort is put on you in applying to residencies. This has nothing to do with Ross as they had all theri stuff in at the required time. For example, you have to fill out a 14 page application on-line in applying to the match (as do US students). Some people wait a LONG time before doing this, others do it quickly --> applying to residency is 1/2 effort driven.

-K

I agree with futurestudent. There are some things that need to be rectified in regards to the school administration's handling of student clerkships, transcripts, etc. During stressful times, the last thing you need is for the school to lose documents and all that jazz.

However, I can luckily say that my transcripts were never lost and I get return phone calls from the school within 1-3 days. I have never had any problems with the school so far. Yes, school officials do not pick up the phone at the NJ office. When that happens, dial "0" for the operator and ask that you get directed to this person/department. And if you still don't talk to the person you need to, keep calling the operator. I think there needs to be something done with this.

I interviewed with Dr Clutter. If I had any help with administrative matter, I would call him. He's helped me with "little" things and I wouldnt be surprised if he helped me out with anything else.

I think you should join SGA and voice your opinions. Also, get a couple of fellow students who share your opinions to help you. I will be more than happy to help you out to make any changes that will make Ross better for current and prospective students.

what i have learned:

ross academics - worth $180,000
ross administration - worth sainthood
ross NJ office - worthless, should all be fired

the opportunity to practice medicine given by ross: priceless

Yes, Daniel, I think that's mostly true. While some people say that I've never stated any downfalls of Ross, I have stated several times that the support staff in New Jersey is really a problem. Since Devry has A LOT experience in this (dealing with 50,000 students), I feel confident that this should improve.

If you call up and speak to the director of the department, things are done immediately. If you speak with the people who picks up the phone, you're in trouble.

FutureStudent, the reason that RUMed suggested you go elsewhere is that we just don't need more complainers here. While feedback is good, pointing out flaws to academic professionals who know of more flaws than we do does little good. Constructive feedback is good and whining is bad. While I don't know your academic background I'm fairly confident in stating that I have more academic, professional, and leadership training and experience than you do. I know how to get things done and make changes for the better.

Why do you speculate that Ross University doesn't spend money on academics or facilities? This is, respectfully, an ignorant statement. Particularily while there are two new large buildings being built right now, when the University just bought a $250,000 patient simulator that can simulate anything a patient will present with (the only Caribbean school to have one, and few US schools), while the University just installed a new laptop computer lounge, and already has a lot of excellent faculty and is constantly working to recruit more. Ross is also now the only foreign school to be owned by a US University which is accredited in the States. They are constantly upgrading and improving the curriculum to better prepare us a well trained physicians and for the USMLE exams. Again, I suggest you do a but of research before you make such comments again.

If you'd rather spend an extra $100,000 by going to SGU and living in Grenada, that's fine. They spend a fortune on 100 page color catalogues, advertisement CD's, fancy exteriors to their buildings (the interiors are plain), and things that look good on the outside. Like RUMed, I've heard that its a good option. Ross spend money on their academics, high technology classrooms, high quality faculty, and their students. I hear SGU does too. I assure you that SGU makes a lot of profit.

Yes, Ross has its faults, but no more than any school. There is an active SGA here who do a good job at communicating constructive feedback to the admin. The administration on the island is excellent and very open to the student voice. Again, the support staff in admissions and financial aid, could use a lot of help. Tim Foster admits that they are extremely understaffed there.

Best of luck in your search!

MitchDC

__________________
MitchDC/MD
RUSM 2006 Graduate

MitchDC and RUmed, i am not whinning, i havent been to Ross yet to whine, (trust me i am the last one to be a whinner-- i been financially and independent and living on my own since i was 16, so i know what it is to have a hard life and working hard and not complaining but striving to achieve my goal, i just dont like to put my head the other way when i see something wrong, i like to speak out and hope on solving problems that i see)
Just to let you know, i chose to attend Ross because i think its academics are good. I am just merely pointing out what needs to be changed and hoped that some current students like you can relay this message to the administration. I dont understand why current Ross students always avoid the issue and get mad and upset and start taking it personal when someone comments on Ross's faults and points out its mistakes. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG with pointing out the school's weaknesses and for students to tell the administration about their weaknesses and stay on it, thats the only way the school would improve, if no one speaks out or constantly points out these fustrations of the NJ office, admissions and finaid still losing stuff and not being prompt, then nothing will change, it wont be a top priority by Mr. Foster to change.

People like you MitchDC and RUmed contribute to the problem by the way you keep on taking it personal when someone points out weaknesses at Ross, every school has weaknesses, the key is to try and help improve these weaknesses to make the school a better one. I will not just say stuff to insult Ross, for from now on I am considered a Ross Med student too and proud of it! I decided to invest alot of $$$ and time in this school and decided to trust it with my future, so i dont post about its weaknesses to insult its current students or administration, i am merely just hoping for improvements. I mean there is obviously a problem with the NJ office, a very visible one, even my friend who is a MIII at Ross (currently at Jackson Park Hospital) almost missed 2 clinicals because the NJ office, had his clinical evaluations lost 3 times, experienced being told that he has a clinical set up 2 times by Ross and when he got to the hospital the staff at the hospital would say they havent heard from Ross. Small things like this that can be easily improved smear the reputation Ross has as a Medical Institution. So RUmed and MitchDC, Ross is my med school just as it is yours now. I have as much school spirit as you two, i am just used to speaking out when i see problems, not getting offended, taking it personal, attacking those who point it out, or deny the issue or try to bench it aside. You two almost seem like you get a commission by trying to sugarcoat the school.

Ross is a fine Medical Institution with 1000s of MDs practicing in the US. With the voices of its past, present and prospective students, Ross can boost up its reputation from the underdog of carib med schools, to the undisputable best Carib. Med School. Tim Foster although i am sure wants to improve the University, doesnt always know of all these little flaws that occur, the only way he and the top dogs in charge of the university can improve these problems is by students speaking up, not one or two students, THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY, we are not getting our education for free, its not asking alot to just ask for a bit of improvement for your money, example: not losing transcript 3 times, answer the phone at the NJ office more often and return messages, and work on improving the NJ staff and Ross's facilities in general both administrative and academic. I hope this message clears things up and shows the purpose i had with posting my first message.
Good luck to current Ross students with finals and good luck for all the prospects!!!

Futurestudent,

Your accusations are one of the most absurb ones I've read since I've been participating in vaious Ross forums. In fact, I'm still shaking my head while typing this! You've only been visiting this forum recently so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt but I'm anything but one of the student who 'sugarcoat' RUSM. I can't recall how many times I've complained about this university and its various problems. On top of this, you also claim that I always attack those whose views are negative toward RUSM. Have you read other posts here? The truth is that you're the only one who is attacking anybody on this forum. I don't recall anybody ever said anything harsh to you before you start lashing out at MitchDC. This is a classic case of biting the hand that feeds you. Nobody denies that Ross is problem-free, to do so is just ignorant. Please, don't get all melodramatic and get off the 'soap box' you're on. If you want to complain, why don't you email the Ross administration people, their email addresses are readily available on the main website. If you can't find it b/c you're having problems with the website, let me know and I'll help you out anyway I can. At your convenience, of course.

p.s. Based on the students I've seen here, your personality vs. theirs, and your other posts, I still think you're making a mistake in coming to RUSM. You'll better served elsewhere as I'm sure you'll make a fine physician one day. As for me, I hope they will also improve the clinical science division as I've also heard some bad stories about it. And yes, I've posted complaints about this in the past as well as emailing/ speaking to Dr. Grell and Dr. Rios. Stay safe and best wishes!

Relax RUmed, i had no intent to "lash out" on you , MitchDC or anyone, i am just merely trying to make my point how I wish we can all work together on improving Ross for us and for the school's own repuation. I am sorry if you and/or MitchDC misinterpreted my intentions. Its all cool buddy, we are all striving for the same goal, and have the same obstacles to face to reach our goal. I am just merely trying to get students: past, present, and future to voice all their concenrns to Ross administration to make the Ross experience as pleasant as possible for current and future students. So sorry RUmed if you took it the wrong way, no wrong intention intended.

Futurestudent,

This will be my last posting to you in any shape or form. I'm taking the time off from my studies to reread your previous posts to make sure I didn't 'misinterpret' anything you've stated. Undeniably, you did accuse MitchDc and I as people who 'sugarcoat' the university in bold/capitalized format. I DID NOT misinterpret any of your posts. Your intent are as clear as day and you should stand-by them or apologize instead of diverting something you started as a 'misunderstanding' on my part. You want to become a doctor so you should learn to take some, if not all, the responsibilty/accountability when you have made a mistake instead of passing it off as someone else's fault.