Yeah, I am sure the same stuff went around about SGU...improvements will be made to St. Matts and they'll be fine.

I don't know who Dr. R is...sounds like you're an aggie. Yes, Dr. T was at A&M and Ross and SGU. He is quite a character!

__________________

Know your food supply

The ECVFG just approved an additional examination for foreign veterinary graduates to take (BCSE). I'm glad I will have Dr. T as an anatomy prof, as anatomy is one of the largest areas tested on this new exam.

Dr. R is the undergrad anatomy prof for biomedical science students. She has been there for years so he probably worked with her. And yes I'm an aggie.

I wish I found things easy. I have friends in vet school in the US and my impression is that an A here would be a C there, at best. What bothers me is that courses in the first couple of terms are getting easier every term.

The last coupel of terms the school has accepted quite a few students who have failed out at Ross, and they enter the 4th or 5th term with a clean record. It just does not seem right. It seems they are willing to accpet anyone who can pay, and then do anything to keep them here, never mind the quality of the program.

Profs are afraid of making their courses too hard because of complaining students. So far students have driven out 2 profs and now the dean has resigned (in protest?), although she is still here (I do not know what is going on!). Most courses for the second term had to be cancelled.

Yes, the new dean of students, Dr. T, seems to be concerned with "academic rigour", and even brought a friend to talk to us about how to succeed in vet school by working hard. I do not know about his class, but he might be fighting a lone battle. If he means what he says I would be surprised if he stays for too long.

So, yes, it is not very hard, so it is all up to us to work hard. There are board prep courses available, I suppose.

Sorry to paint this picture, but I am a disappointed with the program.

Wow, are you saying that the Ross students transfer right into 4th or 5th term? They don't have to start over? That really doesn't seem right.

Again, wow! Prof's afraid of students...sounds like a dream I had once. I would've thought that since there was already an established med school that they would have everything more in order. How many vet prof's are there?

Yes, Dr. T has high standards and expects a lot from his students. He will either try to change what's going on or burn out trying.

Either way, stick with it and get past the boards.

__________________

Know your food supply

I have been here for one week and my head is already about to explode from all of the rumors.

As for the Ross students, not all of them have easy transfers into upper semesters. One person in my class went through 6 semesters at Ross and he is starting all over with us. To me, that's not fair at all for him. From what I've gathered, you can transfer to a semester if you have met the previous course requirements.

As for the teachers who left, there are valid reasons for that. I think the students just wish they had that kind of power to remove anyone they don't like.

I have Dr. T right now and he is already pushing us. I definitely don't have any worries in the anatomy area. Histo could be harder, but so far it isn't bad.

To be honest, I feel that the education is just fine here. When I went to A&M for undergrad, they grilled us so hard on a daily basis that I still can't believe I got through the program. But in the end, I cannot recall a greater deal of material from my insane courses than I can from my less intense ones. So, I think SMU is just teaching us the essentials. That's fine with me if it works.

I really do see your point though. I've heard about the problems your class has been having. But in all honesty, I think you will be glad that Anatomy II has been postponed. You'll be able to work at the new surgical clinic for that I bet. The surgical clinic looks fantastic, by the way!


I know I haven't been here long, but I can say this: we've been given the tools and materials to succeed. Dr. T made a fantastic point on this. When students were complaining about having to buy books they never opened, he asked "Who didn't open them?". The material is there, and it's our responsibility to learn it.

I am very optimistic, but I too continue to have some reservations about the education here. The school is brand new and we're going into uncharted territory. However, if you feel that you are not learning as much as you feel that you should, I would consider transferring to SGU. They have a 96% pass rate on the NAVLE, so you can't go wrong there! That is what I have decided to do if the school does not meet my expectations.

Do they take transfers at SGU? That is what worries me; we do not know what the pass rate is here. It does not matter; I just hope I get out before it all goes to hell.
Out of just over 10 full time instructors and over the course of one year, 2 have left, the dean has just left (there was a good-bye party last week, but she is back this week-her last, it seems), the word is out that 2 more are leaving after this term, and one more, who is openly counting his days, the term after that. Any way you cut it, there is something wrong here... and for god's sake, could we get larger bathrooms, with toilets that flush, and a "lab" with running water?
Sorry for the venting.. must get back to the books and learn on my own..

As of yet, not 1 person has been allowed to transfer into SGU (at least to my knowledge...but I am almost positive). A few have started over here who had "problems" or simply left other schools for personal reasons and couldn't get back in. Mainly from Ross but at least 1 I know of from Colorado State, 1 from Texas A&M, and 1 from I can't remember.

I would say stick it out, but if you're really, really worried get the best grades possible and look into starting over at SGU. If you really have good grades maybe look into transferring back to the US. We (SGU) lose quite a few students to this. Some start over in the US but Kansas and Louisiana and I think 1 went to Oklahoma; all of whom only having to repeat 1 semester or no semesters and usually transferring from and into the 2nd year. Actually, now that I think about it, some of the persons grades weren't really that exceptional, just above 3.0. Many were probably 3.5 and higher.

Good luck!

__________________

Know your food supply

The dean has left, or has she? She keeps popping back in after everyone thinks she's already off the island. I did not expect to see her yesterday. I'm losing my optimism. This school has issues, lol. The surgical clinic is nice at least. Hopefully we'll have someone there to teach us. LOL

First, kudos to HowdyAg07 for trying to set the record straight about ross transfers. It's refreshing to see someone who's willing to investigate the rumors, to find out what's actually true, and then to write the facts. Yes, what happened to D.R. was very sad, especially given his good, almost angelic nature. He should have been placed in a higher semester. I offered to trade my spot in a higher semester for a much lower one if the administration would simply put him somewhere other than 1st semester, but they didn't bite. Dr. T told me that they are working on a policy whereby in the future, all transfers will be offered placement no higher than 2nd semester, and even then, they will have to take placement exams to receive credit for any classes they skip at SMU.

The last coupel of terms the school has accepted quite a few students who have failed out at Ross, and they enter the 4th or 5th term with a clean record. It just does not seem right. It seems they are willing to accpet anyone who can pay, and then do anything to keep them here, never mind the quality of the program.

So, you would have us start all over, after 6 semesters down in that hell hole. That seem about fair to you? The classes we passed, they mean absolutely nothing, is that about it? YOU try failing a class and then having to REPEAT THE ENTIRE SEMESTER. I can assure you, it's very taxing both physically and emotionally.

I know one has to start over at SGU, and I have several ross friends who have done so, but there has to be some sort of happy medium when it comes to those who have made it into the upper semesters; in my humble opinion, they should be allowed to have at least half of the credits that they have already earned to transfer. When I investigated transferring to SGU I was told by a student heading there that one has the choice of transferring all of your credits and starting in an upper semester, or starting over, which they highly recommended. I heard later that this was pure rumor and not the case at all.

"Clean Record"??? Are you kidding me? My grades transferred, and some are even lower than what appear on my ross transcript. Where do you get this from? Or, are you just making it up? Excuse me, and all ross transfers, for having the guts and willpower to try and continue our education. There are now 16 of us ross-u-gees here now, and with the way things are being run down on st. kitts these days, more are sure to come. You better get used to it. We all ran into a dean who's only 2 priorities in life are: 1. to see that ross gets AVMA accreditation and 2. to take any student who has less than a 3.0 GPA and make their life a living hell. YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT WE WENT THROUGH DOWN THERE. We're trying hard to forget our time on 'the rock' and to fit-in as best we can as SMU students, but it's rumors like the above and attitudes like yours that make it impossible to forget.

As far as your "anyone who can pay" comment, I invite you to look at our bankbooks. You will surely see that we are flat broke and most of us sold anything that wasn't bolted down at home in order to get here. PLUS, the hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans that we incured while at ross were through the federal student loan program, which allowed us to defer payments for a few months but refuses to recognize SMU as an eligible FELP school. (congress had a hand in that as well) What that means to us is that we cannot defer our loan payments due to still being in school; we have to send those loans into forbearance, which means that the interest on those loans now compounds. So, it's actually costing us more to go here than you. This is money that WE DO NOT HAVE and will have to repay, along with our normal student loans, when we graduate. Maybe you have the money, which is why you can complain so vigorously about us, but we do not.

"Nevermind the quality of the program".....Nice. Forget the fact that nearly every single ross transfer, including myself, has already passed the PAVE before arriving here. Yep, that must surely lower SMU's reputation, to have such low-quality students join their student body. Again, you sound as if you think it was a cake-walk down there. BTW, the very first exam I took here at SMU was a "faux board" exam to give students a taste of what the board exams will be like, and, unofficially, to see how the ross transfers stood-up against the SMU students academically. I guess I was just plain lucky to place 5% ahead of the class average; I guess we all were.

Profs are afraid of making their courses too hard because of complaining students. So far students have driven out 2 profs and now the dean has resigned (in protest?), although she is still here (I do not know what is going on!).

There are reasons why these professors left and there are reasons why the dean left (they broke the rules), reasons that would hold water at ANY US vet. school. It had much less to do with students complaining that courses were too hard and more to do with individuals standing up for what was right. I suggest you stop listening to rumors and start doing some investigating. I know why the dean left, but this isn't the proper forum for such discussion and she deserves a little dignity, even if she broke the rules herself.

Yes, the new dean of students, Dr. T, seems to be concerned with "academic rigour", and even brought a friend to talk to us about how to succeed in vet school by working hard. I do not know about his class, but he might be fighting a lone battle. If he means what he says I would be surprised if he stays for too long.

Dr. T was an outstanding professor at A&M, Ross, and from what I understand, at SGU as well, and his integrity is second to none. His resolve is unquestionable and I do believe that he is here for the long run.

Sorry to paint this picture, but I am a disappointed with the program.

As they say at A&M, "Highway 6 runs both ways, both into town and out", if you're so disappointed with the program, what's keeping you here?

Given the age of the school, and the administrators having to work-out some pretty big kinks, I feel that as a whole, the program is outstanding.

Ross fails out so many students because it stuffs its courses full of unnecessary information, what I call "fluff". It makes it very difficult to concentrate on what's really needed in order to make it through clinics and to pass the board exams; much less pass the courses! Add to this the almost daily/nightly blackouts and having to study with candles and lanterns, the incredible racism and violence towards students there, the bugs in the food at the stores, the centipedes in your bed, the rampant animal abuse all over the island (dogs are hit by cars for sport, poisoned for fun, routinely shot by the police, and most are skin n' bones), and finally, a dean who is entirely unapproachable and hell-bent on ruining people's lives and it's a wonder that I made it through six semesters there. There are scores of good people who should have made it and didn't because they simply couldn't take it anymore; either the island got to them or the dean, or both. One of ross' dirty little secrets is the incredibly high suicide rate amongst those who didn't make it there. I applaud anyone who went home a failure, who faced emotional and financial ruin, and who pulled themselves up off the floor and decided to finish what they started, be that at SMU, SGU, or anywhere else. Friends, family, and spouses all telling you it's time to quit and to try something else, and yet you keep going. It's much harder than you think.

Conversely, all of the fluff is eliminated here, without sacrificing the quality of the education. You are truly getting what you need to know, no more and no less. There are still quite a few wrinkles to be ironed out, but this is fantastic program that's still in its infancy, on an incredible island, and I feel quite lucky and proud to be here. Having Dr. T here is simply icing on the cake. I am confindent that in the years to come, SMU and SGU will be the premier vet. schools in the Caribbean, and DeVry will be trying to unload ross to the first bidder. Be proud of being a student at SMU; being a pioneer is always difficult, and usually well-worth it.