no i doubt it- Marshall has a expiration date on their MCATs and they pretty much told me that I would have to take them again to be considered for transfer- pity because i know people with your stats that have gotten into drexel and since you hold NC residency you would probably get into ECU.

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

Thanks for your response Rokshana. Wonder if it'd be worth it to take the MCAT considering now its only a 3-4 hour exam?

And Drexel has some 11 open spots this year...GOSHHHHHHH someone's gotta fill it! Only other thing, I would be done with cores and a bunch of electives come next May when they would be doing their acceptances... Dunno if I could stand repeating 3rd year after doing Kings IM and St. Mary's Surg...

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Ross University School of Medicine, MS4

Step 1: 260/99
Step 2CK: 236/98

Plastic/Reconstructive or Trauma Surgery, are you ready?

well, if the integrated plastics is really your thing- i would talk to some PD and get a feel about it. I have a friend who really wanted ortho and everyone told him to transfer (his step I score is borderline for ortho, gpa is great, no connections) and he decided that it was worth transferring and repeating 3rd year- and he got in -SUNY upstate (so another place to look). He sees it as a way to really rock step II! Ortho is still competitive, but now he has a better chance.

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

But SMU, AUA, MUA and other schools simply have too many problems with licensure. If I were in the position to transfer, Ross and AUC would be the best options if they still accept transfers. Going to the minor schools should be a last resort... Rotations are such a small issue compared to unrestricted licensure, not to mention federal loans!

To be honest with ya, I'm not even that sure about plastics. So I was gonna try just for categorial general, and then go from there. You think its worth going thru all that hassle or is Gen Surg gonna be fairly accessible from Ross...?

PS best of luck on the CK!

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Ross University School of Medicine, MS4

Step 1: 260/99
Step 2CK: 236/98

Plastic/Reconstructive or Trauma Surgery, are you ready?

GS is "accessible" from Ross unless you want to go top tier programs, which are a problem from any foreign med school. I am in the same boat as you but am a fourth year, w/o MCATs, and w/o a **. I tried contacting various schools but most of them require a MCAT - they wouldn't budge on the MCAT issue or that's what they told me.

I did consider takin MCAT but after looking over some of the material, it seems like I would have to dedicate at least 2-3 weeks of hardcore studying for it. My sis just took it so I have all the books and what not - but I do not have time nor the motivation to dedicate straight 3 weeks studying to it. I am currently studying for step 2 and it's not fun.

If you want to do integrated plastics, you will need to be a US grad. There are about 90 spots, I think, and these are very hard to come by - even for US grads. My buddy's younger brother was recommended that he take a year off between MS 3 and MS4 if he wanted integrated plastics. He had a 99 on step 1 and attends UCSF. Integrated is the hardest field to match into if you look at the recent NRMP stats.

On the other hand, GS is fairly attainable from Ross. You have an awesome step 1 score and I am sure you will match into GS - maybe even into a top tier institution if you play your cards right.

I will get off my soapbox now. Hope this was helpful!

I have a bunch of questions, but I'll limit it down to two..lol..anyways...does anyone know why the attrition rate at Ross is so high? Is it because the courses are hard or is it because people are not studying hard enough? Second, I read a post that was posted in 2004, and the person talked about (I think in her class) close to 60% attrition rate before taking the first USMLE. Does anyone know their class attrition rate from after 2004?!?!?!?

Your question about attrition assumes only two possible reasons for a student leaving Ross. While some people do fail because of an academic shortcoming on their part, many, I suspect, leave because of the difficulties posed by life on the island. It is hard to be in the right frame of mind to study effectively when the local atmosphere is not exactly conducive to it.

The locals who staff the Dominican Ross campus are often decidedly unhelpful in situations such as trying to check out a book from the library or helping to enforce a campus policy that is being broken to your detriment. It is hard to properly enumerate the reasons why life is difficult for a student in Dominica without sounding like a whiner, but trust me, it is much harder to be a student here than in a comparable institution in a developed country.

Its not impossible, but extremely difficult at best. I know two people who did transfer.

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But when I start to feel that pull, turns out I just pulled myself-Weezer

Ah, you don't want to deal with patients- Words of a wise pathologist

PGY-1 Pathology Resident at VCUHS.

i WONDER..i've been reading alot of posts on different threads, and I want to know (from those who graduated and did their rotations recently)...how hard was it to get their rotation spots? Is it only difficult if you want it at one specific location and only at that location, or is it difficult to place students from Ross into rotations because the school lack the capacity to take that many students? Is there any kind of strategy to go about ensuring rotation spots?