Thread: Cant decide..please help!

Hey guys..I am having problem deciding between SABA and St. Matthews.
I've done the research and still am unsure which would be a better choice for me. My primary concern is to come back to NY and of course do well..Which school is better? Please give some feedback and examples if possible. I tried looking up hospital affiliations in NY and there seems to be very few..so please help me make a decision, I only have a few days!

Saba hands down due to cali approval.

Anything else? Cali approval is great..but which school would have better preparation for the USMLE? or which one has a better atmosphere? which is affiliated to better rotational programs?

Originally Posted by Alexia1819

Anything else? Cali approval is great..but which school would have better preparation for the USMLE? or which one has a better atmosphere? which is affiliated to better rotational programs?

let's see there is a de facto Big 4 discussed on this forum , SGU, Ross, AUC, and Saba....hmm.....

cali approval is not just great...it is currently the standard that more and more states are using for IMGs...currently SMU grads cannot get licensed in ~12 states...what will that be in 4 years if they do not get off the disapproved list?

I second rokshana (not only because she is the ultimate member... I'm headed there in May)

The common argument: I don't want to practice in cali or any of those other states anyawys is questionable.... according to rokshana we're talking about close to 1/4 of the country... right now.... according to the sentiments of some people on vmd, at this rate the cali list will be adopted by all 50 states and Guam by the time we graduate.

Since I have to pay my tuition shortly I will remind you (and myself) of why to choose Saba:

Basically I'm in unknown land like you. There are not a lot of variables you can control. Not being in the US/Canada introduced most of those. Now it's in your best interest to limit any possible road blocks in the future. I think going to a 50 state school tops this to-do list.

As far as USMLE prep goes.... here's one thing thats not a variable. Going to saba doesn't put my first time step 1 pass rate at 90, 75, 50 or whatever percent they have! I'll have pretty much the same chance at both schools (you could argue here about which island has an environment more conducive to learning or good professors etc. I'm pretty sure they read the same books at both schools)

Now to NY clinicals and residencies.... (keep in mind I live in ny area) besies tons of hospitals and a huge % of all residencies here are some other things ny has: high cost of living, terrible infrastructure, and last but definetly not least probably the highest concentration of elite us md schools in the country/world (cornell, nyu, columbia, mt. sinai and close by downstate, nymc...) Folks have said international and do students get 'not so nice' places there. Also if anyone speaks for ny or has so called affiliations, it's SGU (notice the vague language here... THERE IS NO EVIDENCE, these are thoughts)
If i go to NY, great, if not, also great, but I won't have to worry about any rules someone comes up with about who does what clerkship where for how long bla bla bla in order to get a license. Remember this system is not static it will likely change....

This got long winded, if you would like to read about why to attend st. matts I suggest you post the topic in that forum and I'm sure you'll hear some good reasons. I for one say stick with the 4...

Originally Posted by Alexia1819

Anything else? Cali approval is great..but which school would have better preparation for the USMLE? or which one has a better atmosphere? which is affiliated to better rotational programs?

I think you need to research the implication of Cali approval...its not just 'great' but means everything...

Does Saba have a lot of rotations in NYC...nope!
I'm from NYC and that was something that I looked into.
The very 1st tier of schools are SGU/Ross/AUC/Saba...there is absolutely no question that if you get accepted to one of these that you should go.

This is how I'd rank them.

1. SGU: no doubt. beyond all the general info about SGU, I personally know many people in the NYC area that have been incredibly successful

Ross/AUC/Saba, I group together because its not clear to me if there is a distinct advantage among them. If federal loans are an issue than you'd have to rank Ross & AUC above Saba.

If you want to be back in NYC for rotations then SGU/AUC/Ross have more spots then Saba.

I personally rank MUA & AUA in the next tier of schools. Simply because of NY approval & the fact they are not on Cali's disapproved list like SMU.

Between MUA and AUA, AUA has many more NYC rotations then MUA...however I'd still choose MUA over AUA because they've been around longer and they've shown that they can match quite successfully.

Lets be clear...its about residency...all this effort is to get the best residency that you possibly can...So from that point of view, why would
you choose SMU and immediately cut your chances in a bunch of states.

Just a question: Is it true that St. George University has purchased hospital sites in NY? (I read this somewhere I forgot...) What do you guys think about this case if it's true?

Originally Posted by ngoctranly

Just a question: Is it true that St. George University has purchases hospital sites in NY? (I read this somewhere I forgot...) What do you guys think about this case if it's true?

absolutely true...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/ny...=5070&emc=eta1

what do I think of this? its AWESOME for SGU students...and continues to
show that SGU is the leader of the pack

Thanks guys..you've been very helpful!

no matter where you go, u will still have to work hard

would recommend SABA and a lot of individual hard work