Lots of heresay [bolded].

Let me ask, who in the Clinical Dept did you speak to concerning the ACGME sites? Do you believe them?

Because I meet all those criteria you mentioned...as does nearly all of my original batchmates who were able to go straight through. Remember, lots of people fail 1st or 2nd or 3rd or 4th or AICM...very few make it through unscathed without having to take the COMP or back in my day, a bridge semester between 4th and 5th for those who didnt have a GPA above a 2.9.

For those who made it straight through unscathed...something like only 70-80 people out of a starting class of 300+...everyone, by definition, had a good GPA. So if people with a 3.6+ GPA, 230+ Step 1, willing to travel anywhere cannot get timely ACGME cores...exactly what is the criteria the person you spoke to in the Clinical Department is using?

I think it is unfair to blame it entirely on Ross. The school cannot predict a sudden decrease in the USMLE first time pass rate that occured in 2003, followed by a sudden rise in the USMLE first time pass rate that occured in 2005.
I think they (Ross) are trying their best to accomadate everyone...but I admit it is occuring at a slow pace.

The standards are not that high. To be assured an ACGME position....the following factors are enough to get you there:

GPA > 3.5 and/or Step 1 >200 and willingness to travel (bonus)....I know several people with these criteria who have had no problems in recent years (2005).

I would agree with you if they knew the inevitable 2-3 months prior...but 1.5 years is, IMO, unacceptable. Why? Because Ross can solve the bottleneck in less than 8 weeks if they wanted to. How? The UK.

It may take individual students longer to affiliate with a UK hospital but as an institution, if you look at the various UK hospital websites...it takes about 8 weeks. Plus, its not like Ross has no history with any of the UK hospitals....because students in the past have gone there.

We all seem to agree that SGU Clinicals are far superior to Ross...but because of the foresight and UK affiliations, as of right now, even AUC has a huge edge over Ross. Take a look at the AUC hospital affiliations in the UK and you will see what I am talking about.

As with anything, hardwork often pays off. We say that all the time here when prospective students ask for secrets to medical school success. Indeed, working hard is a virtue. That being said, do you think SGU and AUC Clinical Departments have some magical powers that we dont know about? Not likely. More likely than not, SGU and AUC just works harder for their students.

That right there has got to be the worst argument I've ever heard. Ross can't give you your cores before step II so you argue that you don't really learn that much on those cores anyway. That's pathetic.

I agree that Ross should do more. But I am sure you know that in the "real world" things cannot be done so easily. There is a lot of bureaucracy and red tape...that needs to be taken care off. After the acquisition of Ross, remember that Devry has a role in some (if not all) of the decisions that have been or will be made.

On the comparision with AUC: I knew about the affiliations AUC had in the UK before I started medical school. If you notice, AUC has a substantially less number of US hospitals (plus less variety, to pick a state) than compared to Ross...that compensates for some (if not all) of the UK affiliations.

In the end....make the most of what you can. For new students: Do a thorough research of each schools and try to match it with your future goals. All 3 schools can really do it for you...but each has something special (or not) to offer!

I am comparing clinical experiences that some of the caribbean school students get with the BOARD specific high yield material that is emphasized in US medical school rotations.

It is not an excuse at all..you will see how much you learn when you get there (clinicals)...

Agreed. The standards are not that high...I was just illustrating a point that having all the right criteria...and even beyond the criteria does not guarantee you timely ACGME cores. It is not an issue of ability of the student....rather, the availability through formal affiliations obtained by the University.

You may know students who meet the criteria who have had no problems...but I have met students, and have experienced firsthand, those who also met the criteria who had problems.

Further, I question if the University even uses these so-called criteria...or it just lip service? Do they just jumble and place people at nearly any open slot without placing to much thought into it?

Because if they do use GPA, Step 1 and willingness to travel to rank students in placement into ACGME Peds cores....I see no reasonable explanation why the 3.6+, 230+ people had to wait while your friends with 3.5+, 200+ got spots. You'd figure your friends would have been bumped.

More likely is the lazy phenomena. A student is placed according to geographic location first. Everyone is sent to NY unless you specifically request Chicago, Cali, Baltimore, etc. Students are placed into rotations...without being informed of ACGME status...and thats why so many people rotate unknowingly at non-ACGME Peds sites. For those who request, ACGME Peds, its first come, first serve. And once your placed, you're forgotten.

yes you can and I would hazard to guess that most of us do all our 3rd year cores within one calandar year- I started May 29 of this year and will finish May 11,2007(actually with 6 rotations - they schedule Family here in the 3rd year.
no you don't have to jump hoops- like i said in an earlier post- you may not get the 1st choice in clinical centers(I didn't and in fact originally had a "clinical center" that is made up of 4 different hospitals - 2 in westchester, 1 in the bronx, and 1 in CT)- ,but was able to appeal and get a hospital in NJ. I personally did not want to commute that much, but my friends who are thre really like the hospitals and will be done in a year as well.
Many of our centers take ~ 40 students per term- 1 in NJ (the other 2 take ~25), 4 in NY(the other took 30 I think)- that accounts for, what ~ 280 students? My class was ~300, so there are probably 20 some students that are scattered about in Cali and the UK.
most of the people in my class (that i know of) really haven't had too much of a problem with getting things back to back, maybe a week between( I know some of thse who came from Cali to the East Coast had wished it had been a little bigger gap!).
Since I'm at a clinical center- I got to schedule most of my 4th year at the same hospital (except the 12 weeks I'm doing unaffliated), so that was a nice bonus!

__________________
GI Elective [x].......Wards [x]
Wards [x] ............Night Float []
MICU [x] .............CCU []
Wards [x] ............PGY 1 1/2 []
Elective!![x]..........Move Complete[]
VACATION!!!! [x]

U also have to factor in that Ross in one semester has MORE students than 3 semesters at AUC. There's no need to have a billion clinical sites when the ones in the US aren't even filling up, let alone the UK

__________________
Finally beat Super Mario Bros within 7 mins.