Thread: Thinking SMU

Hi, I've read a lot of posts here and I feel confuse. There is so many pros and cons. In general the tone is pretty negative toward SMU. I understand there is a lot of attrition drop out and delay in the termination of the program in most of the Caribbean schools as SMU. I know SMU is California DISapproved, but they are many unapproved schools and people still get residencies while graduating from those schools. I'm thinking here Aureus, AUSOM, Spartan, Xavier etc.

How is SMU worst than them since SMU has NY and Florida approvals and they dont?

My main question if we still get residency while attending SMU in 35states/50 and Canada why is SMU that bad?

Thx

1. SMU has no loans. You'll have to pay for everything from your own, or your family's, pockets. (The "big 3", SGU, Ross, AUC, offer title 4 federal loans). When the loans were lost in 2009, the school was dealing with the worst, bottom of the barrel, highest interest rate private lender in the world. When even THEY didn't want to deal with SMU but they would deal with other schools, something REALLY stunk. The loan companies review attrition rates and people who default on loans. Many people must have been defaulting.

2. The disapproval you mentioned. There is no guarantee you will be able to practice in 35 states. When I started at SMU, there were 6 states that followed CA's list. While I was on the island, it jumped to 15. Who knows how many more. (The "big 5"- SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba, and AUA allow you to practice in all 50).

3. There's been a lot of talk on here about huge failure rates among people on the island. I cannot attest to that since I left the island in 2008. I can however tell you that of the 97 people that I started with, I could only pick 11 people from the match list...meaning that of the 97 people I started with who should have matched into a residency last year, ELEVEN succeeded. I have no idea where the others are.

Ok, ok, this is long enough. Don't go to one of the lower schools. SGU, Ross, AUC will give you title 4 loans, practice in all 50 states, and they are 99.999% guaranteed not to close any time soon. SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba, and AUA will let you practice in all 50 states. Why would you want to go anywhere else? Grades low? MCAT low? Retake it. Take come city/county county college courses and up your GPA. Do a post bacc program. ANYTHING to avoid the other schools.

Will you get a residency in the lower tier schools? Sure you can! You can also survive being hit by a bus.

And I must emphasize, I am not a hater, I was not kicked out of SMU, they did nothing wrong to me. They gave me a great chance to get going, pass step 1 on the first try, and transfer out to a better school when the loans were lost. I am trying to give you advice as someone who has been through it. I am telling you what I should have done from the start. That said, I am thankful for the chance SMU gave me. In retrospect, I should have gone with one of the big 3 from the start.

As far as those other schools you mentioned, please, don't even send them the money for the application; they don't deserve your hard-earned $$.

Originally Posted by diabeticmedic

Will you get a residency in the lower tier schools? Sure you can! You can also survive being hit by a bus.

Wow. Well said.

Everyone on this forum will try to tell you that carib schools are what you make of them, which is true. If you work hard, you can succeed. But SMU will make the road as difficult for you as possible. Don't put your academic future in the hands of a school that will do everything it can to fail you.

SMU has (in no particular order): an owner who cares only to make money and fails students to get more tuition $$, a Dean with questionable morals and ethics, a woefully inept Orlando office, a rented office space with no permanent campus, NO LOANS, teachers who harassed students for their personal beliefs, teachers on insane power trips intent on humiliating students, unethical and mysterious standards that vary from student to student, rampant drug use (Adderall, Ritalin, Marijuana, etc), extremely unhappy student population, unstable curriculum with constant changes, rising tuition costs, extremely expensive living costs, rumors of cheating, and well...you get the picture.

SMU is not a good choice.

Originally Posted by md201x

Hi, I've read a lot of posts here and I feel confuse. There is so many pros and cons. In general the tone is pretty negative toward SMU. I understand there is a lot of attrition drop out and delay in the termination of the program in most of the Caribbean schools as SMU. I know SMU is California DISapproved, but they are many unapproved schools and people still get residencies while graduating from those schools. I'm thinking here Aureus, AUSOM, Spartan, Xavier etc.

How is SMU worst than them since SMU has NY and Florida approvals and they dont?

My main question if we still get residency while attending SMU in 35states/50 and Canada why is SMU that bad?

Thx

dont THINK TWICE and ever go to this school. if you already have a negative vibe and have read a lot of bad things about this school, then you should go with you gut and know that people dont come on here to screw around with ValueMD. Go to another school or do something else with your life. SMU should not be a choice at all.

I've talked to 8 former students so far.......not all here.......7 suggested I go elsewhere......I am accepted at SMU, but also just got into AMA, AUA, Windsor, I'm headed to one of those three. I'm not down with a school that is not providing financial aid and who will change criteria to grades and education endlessly. Also, every student I have talked to told me that more than half their class fails out by the time they get to 5th semester! Before step 1! OUCH. And I heard 50 % is more on the generous side. maybe closer to 60-65%?

I was really interested to SMU for the tuitions, the length of the program, the list of people that got into residency and because of the island that seems really nice.

Since I might stay longer and pay much more than what planned, to me the choice is obvious.

With all the comments and my searches on this forum, I'll pass my turn.
So bad for SMU.

It must seem odd that every time a new semester is about to start you get people creating new accounts just to bad mouth the school. It's starting to look like some marketing campaign.

Originally Posted by kishkash186

It must seem odd that every time a new semester is about to start you get people creating new accounts just to bad mouth the school. It's starting to look like some marketing campaign.

We're students, whose daily lives are dominated by schoolwork. You think we wake up one day and say, "Hey, I'd like to devote what little precious time I have to devise a marketing campaign against a school I love?" Nope! What has inspired many students to return to the forums is a deep sense of injustice and being wronged by SMU, and the desire to prevent other people from getting caught in the same horrible situation. We've been complacent for too long, and now, students are finally speaking out against the corruption of SMU.

What's far more interesting to me is that SMU actually does go on these forums secretly, or has students go on for them, to try to bolster their reputation. I've caught two different users now who were clearly affliliated officially with SMU, yet refused to identify themselves as school officials. Once I called them out on their profile pages, they both stopped posting. SMU is deliberately avoiding putting any officials on these forums because they know how bad the public thrashing would be. Instead, a supposedly honorable and professional institution is slinking behind anonymous usernames to try to discredit naysayers and boost their own enrollment. The Dean of Basic Sciences as well as the Dean of Student Affairs do monitor these forums, and its sadly no surprise that they are okay with dishonesty.

Hi kishkash186
They are real people thinking on attending SMU. They are real people trying to gather information on SMU. The tone of this forum is quite negative toward SMU. Maybe the people that have positive thinking on SMU just don’t bother to post or they are no positive thinking. My question was posted for 18days, if you had something positive to say about SMU, why didn’t you say it? The balance is actually on the side of ...not going to SMU...

Why should I go with SMU despite all we can read on this forum? Is it a good idea to attend SMU?

I’m willing to pay 200k and to work hard to earn that degree but is the school biased? Will they make everything they can to have extra funds from me by helping me to fail? Am I going to have my rotations easily or will I have to wait and fight for them. Am I going to get a residency spot if I graduate from SMU? Am I missing something if I decline SMU’s offer?
Whether I am truly interested in SMU or not is irrelevant, these questions are being asked by most prospective SMU students. Your 2 cents might help a real fellow to decide.

Let us assume this fellow is me...

Share with us.
Thx

The Dean of Basic Sciences as well as the Dean of Student Affairs do monitor these forums, and its sadly no surprise that they are okay with dishonesty.