Thread: Saba vs. Ross

Hi, I have saved a great deal and not not need much in the way of loans. Is there any real advantage or disadvantage in attending Saba vs. Ross. Interested to hear from any transfers to Saba who might have been at Ross. Thanks, Lonnie

If you don't need loans then I would suggest Saba. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the island and I felt the education was great. If you need loans, I would look at AUC or Ross. I would prefer AUC over Ross because of the "weeding out process" that Ross does. Both are Cali approved. Don't let the horror stories that get posted on here from time to time deter you from either school. Sometimes Medical students freakout and act as if the world is ending. You will be there soon enough and probably do the same at least once. Realize that if you want to be an MD then there is no exam or professor that can stand in your way. Hope this helps.

Wud up,
I'm currently attending Saba and I think it's a great choice. I was accepted to Ross as well but decided after tones of research on both schools, that Saba was my best bet. I am Canadian and that weighed in heavily on my decision since Ross has a history of virtually no Canadian residency matches while Saba grads have been extremely successful with matching in Canada. Saba has classes sizes that are 1/4 the size of Ross's and the tuition is almost half compared to Ross. I'm sure island life at Ross is more exciting but Saba has no crime to worry about and we're here to study anyway right? The only place that Ross might have an advantage is clinical exposure. At Saba there isn't any clinical stuff until 4th semester. I don't know when you start with clinical stuff at Ross but that might be something to look into. Anyway, good luck with med school! Peace out

It really depends.
In my opinion both schools are using a weed out system.

I'm 1st sem here at Saba. Saba is taking in many more students
then they have in the past. Our class started with 101. We'll be down to around 80 students after 1st sem. The current 2nd semesters are getting killed as well. They have approx 80 students and a large chunk will not make it to 3rd. Currently in 5th semester, there are 30-40 students.
Recently, it seems as if only 50% of the students make it to 5th sem.

However compared to Ross, its still a fraction of their incoming.
Ross has 400+ students that enter in 3 times a year. I've heard from the 400 that only about 50% of them make it ON TIME to 5th semester.

Ross has US stafford loans. Saba does not.
If you're paying out of pocket, Saba makes a lot of sense.
Tuition: $9120
Living costs: $1000/mth (including cheap rent)
So you could make it thru on $13,000/semester.

I'm just guessing here, but Ross would be in the $20,000+/semester.

To pass a course at Ross: 65%
To pass a course at Saba: 75%

Dominica is NOT as safe as Saba.
Dominica costs more in terms of flights from the US.

HOWEVER: Ross certainly has some advantages. They have individual state approvals (as well as SGU) that Saba does not (i.e. New Jersey) and one can do clinicals there. There is no other caribb school other than Ross and SGU where one can do clinicals in NJ.

Ross have 7000+ graduates, so one could assume networking and getting alumni help would be easier compared to Saba.

Personally, if money is an issue, go to SGU/AUC/Ross.
If money isn't an issue, go to Saba.
In the end, it'll be about Step 1 scores. I haven't seen enough evidence that SGU/AUC/Ross graduates get more quality residencies compared to Saba, yet their tuition is 2-3 times as much.

Thank you for this thread...
Ya I am in between choosing between SGU, saba , and SGU...I calculated for each school the tuition for all 4 years:
SGU; 231,735
Ross: 163,625
Saba: 93,500

It is such a difference!! is really SGU is that much better that I have to pay 138,235 extra for it..I did not read much about SGU getting rid of student and having only 50% getting an Md..It is a huge price but if it mean I become an Md and I don't have to have the stress of getting weed out it might be worth it...
I have GPa of 3.7 but after reading all the threads I am worried that Saba weed me out and I will end up with no Md but SGU help me out to study better and pass the USMLE..

you guys I really need your help to figure out which school is best to go..Ross gave me entrance to MERP!!! is it worth it to go there or go to Saba MD or SGU..
I still have not hear from SGU yet...but they told me they will give me an interview soon..I have not submit for saba yet but I have pretty good idea that they will let me in since my only issue with my application form is verbal part of mcat and saba does not require mcat for canadian students..

It would be nice to hear from you guys
Thank you
Mehrnoosh

Originally Posted by tanthalas

It really depends.
In my opinion both schools are using a weed out system.

I'm 1st sem here at Saba. Saba is taking in many more students
then they have in the past. Our class started with 101. We'll be down to around 80 students after 1st sem. The current 2nd semesters are getting killed as well. They have approx 80 students and a large chunk will not make it to 3rd. Currently in 5th semester, there are 30-40 students.
Recently, it seems as if only 50% of the students make it to 5th sem.

However compared to Ross, its still a fraction of their incoming.
Ross has 400+ students that enter in 3 times a year. I've heard from the 400 that only about 50% of them make it ON TIME to 5th semester.

Current Ross class sizes are about 300/sem, 70% of my class made it on time to 5th.

Ross has US stafford loans. Saba does not.
If you're paying out of pocket, Saba makes a lot of sense.
Completely agree
Tuition: $9120
Living costs: $1000/mth (including cheap rent)
So you could make it thru on $13,000/semester.

I'm just guessing here, but Ross would be in the $20,000+/semester.

To pass a course at Ross: 65%
To pass a course at Saba: 75%

Dominica is NOT as safe as Saba.
I would def argue against that. I have not heard of one student getting injured from a local (or even fight amongst students) for that matter. There are a few petty thefts every now and then. Police don't carry guns in Dominica b/c they don't need to. Not sure about SABA.
Dominica costs more in terms of flights from the US.

HOWEVER: Ross certainly has some advantages. They have individual state approvals (as well as SGU) that Saba does not (i.e. New Jersey) and one can do clinicals there. There is no other caribb school other than Ross and SGU where one can do clinicals in NJ.

Ross have 7000+ graduates, so one could assume networking and getting alumni help would be easier compared to Saba.

Personally, if money is an issue, go to SGU/AUC/Ross.
If money isn't an issue, go to Saba.
In the end, it'll be about Step 1 scores. I haven't seen enough evidence that SGU/AUC/Ross graduates get more quality residencies compared to Saba, yet their tuition is 2-3 times as much.

Those are my inputs, good luck with your decision. Oh lastly if you are Canadian then I would say SABA as they are more recognized in Canada. Ross and SGU are most recognized in the US.

Originally Posted by Noosh

Thank you for this thread...
Ya I am in between choosing between SGU, saba , and SGU...I calculated for each school the tuition for all 4 years:
SGU; 231,735
Ross: 163,625
Saba: 93,500

It is such a difference!! is really SGU is that much better that I have to pay 138,235 extra for it..I did not read much about SGU getting rid of student and having only 50% getting an Md..It is a huge price but if it mean I become an Md and I don't have to have the stress of getting weed out it might be worth it...
I have GPa of 3.7 but after reading all the threads I am worried that Saba weed me out and I will end up with no Md but SGU help me out to study better and pass the USMLE..

you guys I really need your help to figure out which school is best to go..Ross gave me entrance to MERP!!! is it worth it to go there or go to Saba MD or SGU..
I still have not hear from SGU yet...but they told me they will give me an interview soon..I have not submit for saba yet but I have pretty good idea that they will let me in since my only issue with my application form is verbal part of mcat and saba does not require mcat for canadian students..

It would be nice to hear from you guys
Thank you
Mehrnoosh

with a 3.7 undergrad GPA you must have bombed your MCAT. Advice....study like crazy for 3-4 months, take the MCAT again and go to a US school.

I did killed myself studying for mcat trust me..The last time I tired I got:
bio 9
physics 9
verbal 2

My verbal is not going to get any where any time soon, so I am almost giving up on mcat and I could not apply anywhere in Canada since there is a cut of 7 for each section..I did my mcat 4 times and each time I did really well in other section but fail the verbal since I only get done 4 passages out of 7. I am not a speed reader that is for sure :.....( I kept doing mcat and keep crying for 3 hours each time I got the score..Is about time to move on and go to med school..I will go depress if I do mcat again and see another fail verbal section...But thank you for your idea and care

the depressing part is that I can get 3.7 GPA in micro and biochem degree and do my masters but I just have not been able to pass the verbal reasoning and that is basically kiss goodbye to Canada so sad

But I am not giving up I will become doctor to prove that mcat is STUPID

Hey guys I am running out of time..Ross gave me until March 24th to put the deposit I don't know what to do...
Which school??
Ross Merp program, Saba, or SGU???

Call SGU telling them that you got accepted by Ross. They might let you know your status with SGU. I doubt you'll get directly into the MD program since Ross only offers you Merp.
If you fail to put deposit and no other school you want to go to, just reapply, they'll accept you again. The only draw back is you'll lose a term or maybe even a year.