What do people do for fun on the island? Is there intramural sports? How often do people party? Watch movies? Go to a better place to eat? .......etc?

Or is there just no time to do any of that stuff?

search, search, search- this topic has been covered many, many times.

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Ok i ll do that also

But anyone want to make a more recent comment?

recently sga has been very mobilised in their attemp at building community and engaging the student body socially . E.g after the mini , theres a fun day with many activities , food , bbq and music and even free scuba lessons and other beach activities . There is also " music on the lawn " where students can come and just lay on the grass on a sheet , have some bbq and listen to live music..

There are usually SEVERAL sports activities during the semester which pits semester against semester in a " friendly " game of football , soccer and volleyball .

Additionally , there is a real opportunity to grow culturally as the various cultural groups on campus usually put on good fashion shows . Of special note is the Indian group which usuallu donates proceeds of its date auction to charity . There is also a talent show .
To my pleasant surprise even faculty have turned up , enjoyed and even parcticipated in these social functions.

Ross also sponsors several outings to the nice waterfalls , emerald pool , roseau , "market day " and together with amsa , there is usally medical outreach to carib territory etc

Students also indivually get together and unwind . Recently , there have been a few after mini parties where basically anyone is invited . This is usually at a students house and some students bring beer etc

There are also some parties sponsored by other campus groups e.g bsa , isa , olas etc .. OLas usually hosts the much delighted CRuise after the mini where u can get off the island for a few hrs after the mini...

Many students also just relax at home with a movie , go to the beach or fully equiped gym or if they are not in the mood , they can play pool , look at a movie on a huge screen in the sga office , play ping pong or play videogames on a huge screen tv . The only drawback is that the local dominicans who work at Ross usually hog the pool table and are quite rude sometimes ( one time they told a student to lower the tv so that they can listen to their music ..maybe they should be informed that the facility exists to cater for ROSS students who pay 11K a semester and not for the local staff who take advantage.. i'm trying to give a balanced view so I had to add this )

So in summary, its not ALL about just studying non stop . Even though studying makes up around 80% of the averafe student's activities , there are many ways to stay sane.

( The issue about staff taking advantage of the recreational activities oferred to STUDENTS in the sga lounge should really be addressed ..its hard when after a long week of studying , a student just wants to play pool for 20 mins and the locals are hogging up the table )

When I was at Ross I wondered with 400 to 450 people entering per term and paying huge amounts of tuition to go to the school, where the money was going? The school has very minimal facilities and I cant image the professors salaries cut into the budget that much. I wondered why the school hadnt built more facilities like a proper cafeteria, dining hall, dorms, more fast food restaurants.....etc,.which would all undoubtedly attract more students.

I asked one guy at the school about this (a student) and he said he was guessing its probably because the country probably didnt allow this bc it would take away from the money the locals made off the medical students. The schools contributes approximately 40% of the countries GDP. I think Dominque is milking Ross.

But Ross is still a very decent school outside of the problems of living in a 3rd world country.

VERY minimal facilities? Interesting comment as Ross has facilities which at least rival and more realistically far surpass those at many/most US medical schools.

While some people are impressed by cafeterias, dorms, dining halls (repeat for cafeteria), dorms, or fast food restaurants I (and many students) most definitely would not be. In fact, ALL of these things you mentioned are things that most undergraduate schools (and some Caribbean schools) do to bring in ADDITIONAL INCOME. Most undergraduate students realize this and rarely (and even petition not to) use the dorms, cafeteria, etc. We ALL know that you can ALWAYS save money in undergrad by NOT eating, living, etc on campus. If Ross wanted to make more money they would offer all of these services - then students would complain about how Ross wants to make more money by making them live in dorms (as most Caribbean schools do) and eat in on campus halls.

The fact is that by the time you get to graduate school you don't need that kind of hand holding (the kind required by those who have never lived away from home). You can buy your own groceries and manage finding your own food. To help the school Ross has arranged for the shacks (food court) to exist, has brought a Subway to campus, and Portsmouth has numerous other restaurants in the local area. Students (who are adults) are also welcomed to drive or take a taxi away from campus to Roseau where you can go to other very nice restaurants. There are also TONS of affordable housing options around campus that eliminate the need for a HUGE dorm option. However, to make some feel better the school has opened Ross University Housing for their first semester (but does not require living there).

Anyways, just my opinion on the matter. Ross has very nice academic facilities (since that is what you pay for) that surpass most US medical schools and even provides some services that wouldn't be expected at many US medical schools. I guess Ross could sell those services like a couple other Caribbean schools, but why should they?

-M

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MitchDC/MD
RUSM 2006 Graduate

Who are you kidding, there are a lot of things wrong with Ross' facilities....food being the biggest in IMHO. The school takes in tons of money from student tutions (consider 400 students per term x 3 terms a year x 4 years till graduate x 35k a year = 400x3x4x35,000 = $168 million dollars a year). Devry bought Ross for $350 million dollars for a reason.

The shacks (literally they are shacks made of hurricane scraps) probably cost them under $1,000 to make.

But from what I hear and saw Ross offers a solid education and decent rotations leading to decent residencies in most cases; which will lead to an acceptable outcome for most of its students.

My understanding is that the shacks are primitive buildings built by locals in a public alley on the north edge of the campus. The shacks are not owned or operated by Ross, and they are merely the locals trying to make a buck.

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Moderator - Ross University Forum

Dru, the area in which the shacks are built was actually donated to the people of Dominica by Ross University with the plan that the food court vendors could purchase one of the spaces for a very fair price from the government and the individual would own that space forever.

-M

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MitchDC/MD
RUSM 2006 Graduate

and dominica suffers . It really would have been nice if the locals were a bit more grateful . Its not that Ross don't want to do more . When subway came to the island , some of the locals were upset ( the claimed Ross violated the contract which stated that food services ( as well as Housing ) needs to be provided by the locals .

The locals were so selfish and narrow minded that It didnt occur to them that SUBWAY is actually OWNED by a LOCAL who unlike the local vultures actually invested a lot of $$$$$$$ to provide a decent , clean food service that has class , standard and quality .

Mitch , you need to realise that while Ross provides SUPERB facilities for learning , and campus life , its hands are tied in a way . When they came to dominica , the deal was that they would NOT be allowed to make money from housing and food services . Its not because they wont want to make money . Your arguement doesnt make sense and is incorrect .

This " contractal " agreement was made when the shcool had a small student intake . With a population of well over 1100 students as of current , I think Ross should be given a lil more flexibility to make things better for the students without whom Ross and the ungrateful locals would be nothing.