Hi there,
anyone who is planning to attend SABA sept 04. I have been to SABA for three semesters and then transfered to ROSS. The reason being was that I met many students who were graduating from the basic science and who were in the process of writing the USMLEs and most of them did not find that the school, contrary to what it says, prepared them enough for the board exams. I knew two people who aced their basic science classes and repeated their USMLE twice. They told me that only 20 % of the class did pass their USMLE on the first try, but with very poor grade! So never believe what the school tells you about its accomplishments and its quality of education and so forth. Sometimes, they like to exagerate and a lot! And I am not saying that the school does a bad job in MD education. But I can certainly say that it is not at all comparable to Ross or even AUC. My best friend and my cousin attended Ross before me and they encouraged me to transfer and I did. I first decided against Ross and for Saba mainly for tuition costs. But now I am saying it is a lot worth it to pay more and get a better education and good preparation for the board exams. How students succeed at the board exams will determine whether the quality of the MD school is comparable to the US MD schools. Don't forget this important component in studying medicine in the Carribbean or at any foreign MD school. You know that you are going back to the US and will need to pass all the board exams in order to practice. And I am telling you that SABA definitely doesn't prepare you for that task! I have written USMLE-step 1 and did incredibly well, something that I would not have dreamed of doing if I was still at Saba! Please think about this. As someone who have been to both schools (saba and Ross) I definitely see the difference even with respect to labs and lectures. Even though the classes are bigger at Ross, classes are well equiped (very important in medicine) and you get to see presentations very clearly as opposed to Saba were they use pictures and projectors, which only gives you a poor image. Also, at SABA you have to bring or purchase all your lab materials, gloves, microscope and the inetrnet (in libray and computer lab) is so slow that you can easily spend 30 minutes to download only one site. So basically, get a computer and get internet and be prepared to pay up to $ 600/month. Just to give you the math, even though tuition is higher at Ross, my expenses are only $ 1000 higher at Ross because of all the hidden expenses that they don't tell you about at Saba. Also, Saba's library is open only from 2 to 11 and the lab computer closes at 11.
At Ross, all lab materials are free of charge and you can use the labs and microscopes on your free time to study and stuff. The computer lab is open 24 hours and internet is high speed. At Saba, lab time is only during your class and you are not allowed to use it afterwards because other students from other semesters are using it. There is only one lab at Saba. Using the lab to study is a very important component in your MD education because sometimes you need to review some parts of for example a cadavre and you can't do that which is really compromising especially when you have an anatomy lab exam in a week. You would basically have to rely on the books, which are not illustrated thouroughly. These are the many flaws of this school and they are very important to consider, trust me.
I am not rying to discourage you hear but just giving you a realistic perspective of the school. Always communicate with students who have been there and not the administration because they will tell you all kinds of *****to sell their school!
Here are some of other people who have been to SaBA and transfered to Ross just like me: *****@hotmail.com, *****@hotmail.com, *****@hotmail.com and I have more if you need more proof!
Anyway, let me know if you have any questions....take care guys, Catherine (catoo1999@hotmail.com)


[Edited by Mod for containing personal info and foul language. Edited portion indicated by "*"]

I don't know how long it's been since you've been to Ross, but the library isn't open 24 hours a day and lab materials are not free. Students have to purchase their own gloves, microscope and other lab materials. But other than that, Ross is a good school and I'm glad I came here. Devry is really starting to put alot of $$ into the new classrooms they've built along with the technology that is inside. The only thing bad is the island but it's only 16 months of your whole life so it's not that much of a big deal.

This is one of the very few negative posts I have ever read about Saba.

I am curious as to what current students and recent alumni have to say about this post.

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Saba Forum Moderator
Saba University School of Medicine, MSIV
Interests: Pediatrics, Psychiatry

I agree Wolfygang; I have thumbed through previous messages and not found the black rain cloud hang so heavily over the school's merit. Cathy, if what you're saying is true, then can you please post a hyperlink directing those who are interested in the number of times and or scores of Saba students taking the USMLE compared to Ross or AUC schools.
Also if any alumni or previous graduates would like to reply, I think it would shead a bit of light on this matter. Perchance you could answer the questions about:
1-How many times you took the USMLE Step I
2-Did you feel adequately prepared
a. did you study you buns off
b. did you feel the school helped more than your personal studying
3-Did/do you feel endowed with the basic knowledge you need to practice
medicine as a 3+4 year student/ as a resident?
I don't mean to sound harsh, but I do feel it is necessary to say that technology is a bit over-rated in some scenarios. Your first USMLE step is applications of the basic science skills you've learned. In what case do you need more than books, scapels, microscopes and the bare essentials to learn? Sure the internet is great, but did you every think about what people did to study without have the www at its fingertips? I'm not bashing the net, but I am saying elbow grease goes a long way when you need it to; books aren't a novelty, but a resource to rely upon when you're power's knocked out and all you have is a candle and a match. Besides, if you know you need something (other than money) why can't you try to make it out of things you have? Necesssity gave birth to ingenuity, and ingenuity is the mother of invention.
Sorry, those last few remarks may be diverting from the topic, but some previous students should get in on this post.

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Each Breath you take today is sponsored in part by God.

I have received emails from this author and others anonymously which try to persuade me and others from not attending SUSOM. They do their best to come off as sincere, but I can not help but feel some resonating angst from their written voices. They are clearly working with some ulterior motives...

Like Wolfygang, I have been a regular attendee to this forum and have found very few posts with harsh opinions of the university. That is not to say that SABA is without faults—it will be a difficult island to live on for some—but this sudden influx of negativity is suspicious. They come at a time of promise and progress... California has just finished their site inspections and further campus expansions are in the works.

Personally, I will arrive on SABA in September with doubts and some apprehension, but I have come to the conclusion that these will never be remedied until I immerse myself into a medical student’s life. After which, I believe my uneasiness will subside and be replaced by excitement for a limitless future.

I was just thinking to myself the other day that i never here anything bad about saba then suddenly today i read something..lol.

This post is a joke. Passing step one is not hard. An intelligent person could spend 5-6 months reading NMS/BRS books with no lectures at all and pass it. I don't know what this persons agenda is, but I can guarantee you that a reasonably intelligent person who wants to be a doctor has not excuse for not passing step one after fininshing the first five semestes on Saba. If you can't pass it, you should seriously consider another career regardless of where you went to school. And the number of 20% passing is not true. More like 80-90%. Of the people I finished fifth semester with, only one person failed.

Is it true about the mentioned fees or charges that one has to pay?

Cathy12,

I have been trying to decide between Ross and Saba. So, thanks for your post. To be frank, all these carrib. schools have pretty much the same negative comments written about them at some point or another. Thus, the decision process hasn't gotten any easier.

By the way, your post count currently reads 3, but I can only find one post under your call sign/user id. Can you explain this?

I am actually glad that someone said something negative. I was wondering how come there was no negative comment about Saba ( in the education point of view). The school can't be perfect either. I am sure there are students who failed the step 1 on their first try. I just wish that the stats could be known instead of people guessing. Also, it would be nice to have some alumni insights also.