Forget Ross, Go to SMU or SGU
Ever since DeVry bought out the school and the new dean came aboard, things have steadily gone downhill there. Yes, plenty of money has been dumped into the place with new facilities and a new dormatory (which is something like triple-over budget and has taken double the expected time to build) are being built, but the price paid in higher tuition and an administration that now centers on failing-out as many students as quickly as it can is simply not worth it. The dean has only 2 priorities in life: 1. to see that ross gets AVMA accreditation and 2. to take any student who has less than a 3.0 GPA and make their life a living hell.
Ross fails out so many students because it stuffs its courses full of unnecessary information, what I call "fluff". It makes it very difficult to concentrate on what's really needed in order to make it through clinics and to pass the board exams; much less pass the courses! Add to this the almost daily/nightly blackouts and having to study with candles and lanterns, the incredible racism and violence towards students there, the bugs in the food at the stores, the centipedes in your bed, the rampant animal abuse all over the island (dogs are hit by cars for sport, poisoned for fun, routinely shot by the police, and most are skin n' bones), and finally, a dean who is entirely unapproachable and hell-bent on ruining people's lives and it's a wonder that I made it through six semesters there. There are scores of good people who should have made it and didn't because they simply couldn't take it anymore; either the island got to them or the dean, or both. One of ross' dirty little secrets is the incredibly high suicide rate amongst those who didn't make it there. There are constant attacks on students and the dean does a great job of covering it all up. There is a new security force on the campus all done-up in nice new green shirts, but they're a joke. They run at the first sign of trouble and WILL NOT side against their friends or relatives who are committing the crimes against students. The police are the most corrupt force I've ever seen. There are roadblocks set-up at the beginning and the end of each semester, and they only pull-over students; letting locals go by. They're checking for current insurance and licenses (it's a way for them to make money off of students) and I had one classmate go to jail overnight for having a license that was a few days expired.
And, yes, there was a student murdered there, D.B., and even with the F.B.I. down there to help with the investigation, and even with a $100,000 reward posted for information, the case is as yet unsolved several years later.
There are many professors there who consider themselves "gate keepers" and it's their personal mission to fail-out any student whom they personally deem not worthy of the profession, regardless of performance on exams. I ran into one unfortuanately. She teaches Small Animal Medicine, posts regualarly on VIN, and considers herself a "gate keeper" even though she's never set food outside of the university environment. I came up short in the class by 2.5 points and even though I passed the final exam, she recommended that I be excused.
Now I'm at SMU and loving it!!! Although, it's sad at times, when professors here constantly tell me that I should have never been dismissed from Ross and that they made a grave mistake, as I really do know my stuff. It's all good though. I'll have a much better chance of making into the school that I want for clinics. Ross tells its students that most of the 16 or so affiliated schools for clinics have rigorous GPA minimums, which is a lie. Those minimums are self-imposed by the administration. I didn't find that out until I got to SMU and they told me that no such minimums exist. Nice.
Now, quality professors, who are fed-up with the administration, and the dean in particular, are starting to leave the school in droves. In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before SMU and SGU become the premier vet. schools in the Caribbean and DeVry is looking to sell-off Ross to the highest bidder.
My advice to anyone considering going to Ross is DON'T. Look hard at SMU and SGU first before you commit to such a violent and corrupt island and a school that truly only wants your money, and then for you to quickly go away.
Last edited by calmustang; 06-26-2007 at 02:16 PM.
Reason: spelling error
|