Hello all SMU Students:

As you know SMU is making every attempt to secure the Federal Stafford Loan
program for our students. This year the congress is taking up the
reauthorization of the higher education bill. This is the time to secure a
change in the wording of the bill so as to include SMU. We desparately need
your help and your willingness to locate your house and senate members of
your district. If you would look on the excell file and locate the members
from your district and then fill in the names and your name of the supplied
letters and by following the instructions.doc send them electronically to
your district members. This should not take more than 30 to 45 minutes and
is rather painless. It could do wonders to help us show congress that this
is a serious and important concern.

We sincerely hope each of you will do you part to help SMU and in turn help
yourself.

Sincerely,


PLEASE READ

Attached is a kit to contact Congress about Stafford Loan eligibility. The
file called "Instructions.doc" provides a good overview of how to identify
your member of Congress and contact your elected officials by email. There
are two draft letters for the students to use. One is for House members and
the other should be used with the Senators.

Also, we had discussed identifying students and graduates in "high value"
areas of the country to encourage them to contact legislators who are very
important to solving the loan eligibility problem. Attached is a
spreadsheet called "Ed & Wk Zip v2.xls" that has a list of all of the
zipcodes of the members of the House Education and Workforce Committee. In
particular, the highest value targets among those would be students living
in the districts of:

John Boehner (OH-8)

Buck McKeon (CA-25)

Joe Wilson (SC-2)

Bob Inglis (SC-4)

Hopefully, university administrators and student committees can work
together to identify students and graduates in those zipcodes and encourage
them to contact the targeted legislators. I am particularly interested in
the male student I met in Protland who said he lived in West Chester, OH
45069. This is the district of Chairman John Boehner. That student was
excited to help in a key role and promised to send a letter to Chairman
Boehner after his exams were completed. We need to follow up with the
student.

We have a different set of targets for the Senate. The highest value target
in the Senate would be students with ties to Wyoming. Next best is
Tennessee, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Senator Mike Enzi (WY)

Senator Lamar Alexander (TN)

Senator Edward Kennedy (MA)

Senator Christopher Dodd (CT)

Senator Judd Gregg (NH)

Senator Bill Frist (TN)

Senator Tom Harkin (IA)

Senator Richard Burr (NC)

Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD)

Senator Johnny Isakson (GA)

Senator James Jeffords (VT)

Senator Mike DeWine (OH)

Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM)

Senator John Ensign (NV)

Senator Patty Murray (WA)

Senator Orrin Hatch (UT)

Senator Jack Reed (RI)

Senator Jeff Sessions (AL)

Senator Hillary Clinton (NY)

Senator Pat ******* (KS)

Please emphasize the importance of sending me a copy of any letters sent so
I can follow up with the appropriate staff. Send them to my email address:
rogerm@prestongates.com

or fax them to me at: 202-331-1024.

Also, please let students know that if they plan to be in the Washington, DC
area at anytime and would like to help lobby Congress to contact me. I will
arrange appointments, prepare them for the meetings and attend with them.

I look forward to continue working with the St. Matthew's University
community to solve the loan eligibility problem.


Preston | Gates | Ellis &

Rouvelas | Meeds LLP



Washington, DC 20006

__________________
SMU SOM: 3.9130434782608695 and holding
Aug - Trauma Surgery - Orlando
Oct - Emergency Med - St Louis

DRAFT Letter to House of Representatives

Dear Congressman __________:

I am an American student at St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine. St. Matthew’s, which is located on Grand Cayman Island, is a fully accredited medical school recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as meeting the same rigorous academic standards as medical schools in the United States.

I have met the same competitive admissions standards as other medical students studying at medical schools in the United States. I receive my medical education from U.S. Board certified physicians – just like every other medical student in the United States. Before I continue my medical education by participating in required clinical rotations at hospitals located in the United States, I must pass the same medical licensing exams that every other medical student in the U.S. must pass. Finally, upon graduation, I will pass the very same rigorous medical licensing exams that every American medical student must pass before I practice medicine in the United States.

As you know, obtaining a medical education is very expensive. Just like other students at medical schools in the United States, I will have accrued a very large debt from my student loans when I graduate.

However, there is one very significant difference between my debt and the debt of the other graduates of medical schools in the U.S. My loans must be made through private financial institutions, and consequently are at much higher interest rates because federal law does not permit the use of Stafford Student loans at my medical school.

As a taxpaying U.S. citizen, I object to this discrimination. I should have the same access to student loan benefits as other citizens of our country. Although my medical school is not located in the United States, American students around the world have access to Stafford Loans to pay for their education at foreign medical schools: Stafford loans are given to U.S. students studying at medical schools in Mexico, Russia, Poland and the Philippines to name a few.

St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine on Grand Cayman Island meets every criteria in the Higher Education Act to qualify for the loan program except one – the school was not in existence by 1992. The law grandfathered older foreign medical schools, but not mine. My school meets all of the academic criteria for eligibility, and I am receiving a quality medical education so that I can meet the healthcare needs of our country.

I respectfully request that you end this discrimination and correct this problem when Congress considers H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act to amend the Higher Education Act.

Please let me know how you intend to address this issue.

Sincerely,

__________________
SMU SOM: 3.9130434782608695 and holding
Aug - Trauma Surgery - Orlando
Oct - Emergency Med - St Louis

DRAFT Letter to Senators

Dear Senator __________:

I am an American student at St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine. St. Matthew’s, which is located on Grand Cayman Island, is a fully accredited medical school recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as meeting the same rigorous academic standards as medical schools in the United States.

I have met the same competitive admissions standards as other medical students studying at medical schools in the United States. I receive my medical education from U.S. Board certified physicians – just like every other medical student in the United States. Before I continue my medical education by participating in required clinical rotations at hospitals located in the United States, I must pass the same medical licensing exams that every other medical student in the U.S. must pass. Finally, upon graduation, I will pass the very same rigorous medical licensing exams that every American medical student must pass before I practice medicine in the United States.

As you know, obtaining a medical education is very expensive. Just like other students at medical schools in the United States, I will have accrued a very large debt from my student loans when I graduate.

However, there is one very significant difference between my debt and the debt of the other graduates of medical schools in the U.S. My loans must be made through private financial institutions, and consequently are at much higher interest rates because federal law does not permit the use of Stafford Student loans at my medical school.

As a taxpaying U.S. citizen, I object to this discrimination. I should have the same access to student loan benefits as other citizens of our country. Although my medical school is not located in the United States, American students around the world have access to Stafford Loans to pay for their education at foreign medical schools: Stafford loans are given to U.S. students studying at medical schools in Mexico, Russia, Poland and the Philippines to name a few.

St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine on Grand Cayman Island meets every criteria in the Higher Education Act to qualify for the loan program except one – the school was not in existence by 1992. The law grandfathered older foreign medical schools, but not mine. My school meets all of the academic criteria for eligibility, and I am receiving a quality medical education so that I can meet the healthcare needs of our country.

I respectfully request that you end this discrimination and correct this problem when Congress reauthorizes the Higher Education Act.

Please let me know how you intend to address this issue.

Sincerely,

__________________
SMU SOM: 3.9130434782608695 and holding
Aug - Trauma Surgery - Orlando
Oct - Emergency Med - St Louis

Hey JTP,

I'm on board. I'll take care of all the senators and reps in Pennsylvania. Although, you said a "kit" is attacted to your message to submit these docs to the appropriate reps. and sens. I don't know if I can't see it or what, but I don't see it on the post. E-mail it to me if you wish... smumed42@yahoo.com Great post!!

skidoc42

__________________
Chem: Univ. of Pittsburgh
St. Matthew's Univ. School of Medicine:
RH Council Ret.

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"When I'm done here and my time has past, I wish they bury me face down...so my critics can kiss my a**" ~The Legendary Coach Bobby Knight

ill do the nj thing as soon as i have time this week

__________________
MO
STUDYING FOR STEP!!!
ST. MATTHEW'S UNIVERSITY
DUM VITA EST SPES EST

better question...is there NJ? And if there isnt...i dont know when they are deciding, but if it is after the end of may...i wouldnt mind taking a trip down to DC to talk to congressmen if that can be arranged, either sebastian or Jp...just let me know..you can even give me a call.
Thanx

__________________
MO
STUDYING FOR STEP!!!
ST. MATTHEW'S UNIVERSITY
DUM VITA EST SPES EST

skidoc,

the "kit" in our smu email accts. it basically pinpoints the specific senators according to state that will be most helpful. i was somewhat struck by thornton's use of the word "desperately", though he did misspell it, in describing the urgency of the situation. it has certainly been urgent for me since the key pullout, but this was the first time i saw it described as such for the whole school by the administration.

My apologies to all. I should have explained that this was an email sent by the SMU VP, . I just cut and paste the email info so that it was here for everyone's use as needed.

It would be a good idea (and a unifying one for all Carib med schools) to put some heat on the US Gov by writing letters and making phone calls. A lobbyist, too, would be extremely helpful and well worth the money to devise a strategy that will push these bills through. Any thoughts?

__________________
SMU SOM: 3.9130434782608695 and holding
Aug - Trauma Surgery - Orlando
Oct - Emergency Med - St Louis

I'll do everything that I can think of ...well lets just say I'll veto this.

Sincerely GWB

JTP thats an important point u raise, theres many schools affected by this issue... not just unique to SMU (ie saba, mua etc.. etc..) everyone should be lobbying for change.. there is strength in numbers... and as offshore students ... should make ur voices heard... at the end of the day when all the bashing is said and done.. everyones gonna end up working side by side doin rotations or residency with students/grads from other schools.. all gonna end up in the same place.. so its prudent that we put our differences aside and work together for an important cause such as this one... need to be fighting the bill instead of eachother...