SO WHAT’S THE LATEST STAFFORD LOAN EXCUSE.

1.We are waiting on the paper work. (Yea, yea, it was sent 12th class, must get hand carried over the wall of china.)

2. They are waiting on the paper work. (Who is they? You know they? Oh, O.k.)

3.I have no idea? (Secretaries)

4. We have done everything, and now it is up to the st. lucien goverment.

5. Yes we were approved, and we are working everything out with the banks right now.

6. There not available now, but in 4 months you’ll be in the money.

7. We are working very hard on it, and it’s on it’s way.

8. Stafford loans? Did I say Stafford loans? I said Sanford and Son Loans.

Wow, that show was a long time ago...

9. You are a Canadian (and not eligible for the Stafford loan), so we dont have to tell you the status.

10. You are st. lucien (and not eligible for stafford loan) so we don’t have to tell you, Oh yea, by the way, you are not eligible for a medical license either.

They told me of the Stafford Loans were approved and that it will be ready for Jan 2004 term! I was relying on the loan and was excited of the possibility and sent them my $800 seat deposit (stupid me!!) .... they cashed it and now I have decided on Ross due to its superb reputation and no games or lies!!!!!

I agree with you, that was a very stupid move on your part . Everyone has always said not to rely on these loans until they are actually available and to make alternative plans just in case. Everyone also said to attend a school based on its present status and not on its future status. That includes the loans and state approvals. I clearly remember stories about people enrolling at Saba based on their upcoming California approval a couple of years back, but they still haven't been approved there.

Spartan themselves have maintained silence about the Stafford loans because they know how long and unreliable the process is. For all we know they might never get them even though they're one of the very few who are eligible to apply for them. Not too long ago, people around here were complaining about the Spartan admin staying quiet on the Stafford issue. When I called, they said absolutely nothing about Staffords and took a wait-and-see approach. Somehow people have interpreted that to mean Spartan is advertising it??

I agree that you made a stupid mistake, but I disagree that it was Spartan's fault.

Ross is a very good school, but if you're attending for it's "superb reputation and no games or lies" you're in for a very big surprise. Over the years, Ross has become notorius for its bad reputation of games and lies. The school has always suffered from negative publicity. I don't think it was always deserved and I think that it reflected poorly on all Caribbean Medical Schools, but its had anything but a "superb reputation". But its also a good example of a Caribbean School who has shown success despite all of the adversity surrounding it, hopefully schools like Spartan can do the same. Are you sure you didn't mean St George when you made the above comment?

As far as attending Ross for the Stafford Loans, just be prepared that the Staffords will loan a maximum of $9250 per semester, which will not even cover tuition. Unless you plan to swim there, build a hut, and eat bananas and crabs, you will likely need an alternative source of money to cover the costs of the remainder.

Sorry for the sarcasm, but point is that Staffords alone should not be the reason. The best reason to go to Spartan is for the low costs. If money is not an issue, there are many potentially better alternatives available, including Ross. But don't enroll at any school with great expectations because than you'll just write another similar post in the near future about how "stupid" you feel for believing that. Whichever school you decide to attend, go into it with little or no expectations and you won't be disappointed, and you might even end up with more than you expected .

I can not agree that Spartan themselves had maintained silence on the Stafford loan. I personally had asked about it and was given similar expectations.


And with little or no expectation, then what you are really saying about Spartan is for prospective students to expect, for example,
- a 10 to 25% pass rate,
- a less than truthful answers occasionally(?) from the front office,
- no improvement in management and facility resources.


What I dont understand is that if the pass rate is so low, why does not Spartan allow students to decel so that eventually they will learn the material? Or do they?

So..... mr. Questions, you are willing to call a potential student ($3500.00) stupid, even though he or she may not know the system as well as you do. But not call the source stupid for putting out premature borderlined on false information. How do you know if they are really eligible?

The D.O.E. loan process is not un-reliable and it does not take 6-7 years. It very straight forward.
Any fool knows that.

Going to spartan for it’s low cost is not a good reason to choose a medical school. Look at all the un necessary stress and uncertainty students feel. Look at all of the negative publicity that must be dealt with (and getting worse), look at the poor negligent management of the students by it’s deans, and disrespect from it’s host country. Telling students to expect little to no expectations in their medical school, is extremely ignorant.

If Spartan did announce that Stafford were currently available than I agree that it would be wrong of them. But that was not the case from my understanding. People (I think youself included) got mad at them for not releasing information about the Staffords. The most they said was "we're in the process". If they ever do say that they're finally reinstated for Staffords, it's fairly easy to verify from that point. If that happens and we find that it's a lie, I'll be the first to openly complain about it. Until then, like many of us have always said, don't expect it and make alternative plans, and if it happens than that's just a bonus. But to enroll in a school with the hopes that it will be available is not a wise move in my opinion.

I didn't say the prospective student was stupid, I simply agreed with him that paying the deposit because he assumed the Staffords would be available was a stupid move. Myself and many others have always said that people should attend a school based on its current status and not its future status. By going against this advice than I think he can only blame himself.

Now he's planning to attend Ross with unrealistic expectations of going to a school with a "superb reputation and no games or lies". Just read any Ross Forum and you will quickly learn differently. I'm not saying Ross is a bad choice, but it surely isn't the way he descibed it. Based on his statements, I advised him to lower his expectations a bit to avoid further disappointment, not specifically for Spartan or Ross, but for any school. If you go to any of the Caribbean Medical Schools with very high expectations, you're bound to discover at least some sort of disappointment. For the most part, they all have the means to get you where you need to go, but maybe not with the smooth ride that was expected.

Again, the "expectation" comment was a general comment mostly in response to the great expectations he had for Ross. So the answer to your question is "no", that is not what I was saying. I was just trying to tell him not to set himself up for further disappointment by believing everything that is told to him without verifying it. That goes for Spartan, Ross, or any other school.

But your statement is a great example of how the rumor mill gets going. A student trying to make a point earlier used an unofficial number of "25%" for the pass rate and you turn that into an even worse "10-25%"?? Soon it will turn into 10% and I still don't know where that number (or any others) came from . NOBODY HAS ANY OFFICIAL OR VERIFIABLE PASS RATE NUMBERS for any foreign medical schools, but especially a place like Spartan which has not been collecting this information from it's students and alumni. Anyone who claims differently (whether it's high or low) is either making it up or giving their opinions.

And another number which hasn't been verified is the 219 total practicing physicians which the CT article claims have graduated from Spartan. While I admit that the number might be true, although very unlikely, I stress that we will need a more reliable source than that article before accepting it. Yet no one has been able to provide a reliable source? Instead they spread the rumor as if it was a verified fact?? Again, please provide a reliable source for this number and than I will gladly discuss it. But until then, it's just a rumor like the one about St George and AUC graduates being banned in Iowa (same unreliable source you're using) .

AUC,St Georges alleged banned in Idaho,I verified that AUC,St Georges and Spartan all ok in Idaho.
Thanks