calm down.. you will be fine.. remember the latin culture is much slower and definitely not time focused as is ours.
you are in for a completely different world and way of doing things
you should be concerned about learning spanish because all the things you study at UCE will be in SPANISH and in order to pass the tests you have to study the professors coursenotes memorize them and take the exam to pass the course. Spanish is also so wonderful and necessary in the big urban areas. You will have a better CV if you speak it.
If you, like others, cant tolerate Spanish you should go to another school and live in another town! (IMHO)
miramar is very near the hotel
it is the barrio near the sea at the end of the malecon.
I lived there 25 years ago, so things are different and you will find out when you get there.
barrio means neighborhood and malecon is the waterfront street.
Email the hotel or call it and make sure they know youre coming.
I will be there in november if you want me to help you. I will probably stay at HJ two nights. You should definitely go to SPM before you study there. Flights are reasonable and so is it reasonable to visit there before
paying your money. It might not suit you. It will be a total culture shock to you if you have no experience in the third world. I am not assuming i know you i am just telling you my experience.
The email for UCE should get you a response. keep trying. they were very receptive to me when i went there early this year to pay for my friends tuition.
remember i graduated there in 1980. It is interesting to me but not unreasonable that all those other UCE grads are not in this forum/web site.
Many left UCE very very angry. Things are better there now im told so
look forward to learning spanish and medicine.

email me anytime
gl

Forget about INTEC, go to a DO program and get an education!

1. Yes UCE sucks at written confirmation of anything. I pretty much had the same problem when I was applying. I would imagine that no matter what you will have to take pre med classes such as dominican history and orientation to the university. I don't really view that as a big problem because I'd rather be learning spanish in classes like those than in classes of consequense. Everything will probably work out when you get here.
2.No you dont have to have anything to show the hotel when you arrive. Just tell them that you are going to study at UCE and they should take care of you. I know the manager and could help you out.
3.No I didnt know spanish when I came here. There were a couple of us that didnt speak it when we came and now we range in compentency from fluent to can't really say anything. It all depends on you. All of my teachers have let me use an english/spanish diccionary. My spanish is at the level to where I can understand most of what I hear but not everything, and can say just about whatever I want.
As far as the loans go, it depends on how many credits you have when you come into the university. I would imagine that you would come in as a 3rd or 4th semester student so you would get either 1,425 or a little over 2k after tuition. You also have to buy a medical plan that costs 400 dollars and is good for a year. I forgot how much the hotel is...something like 450 dollars a month with breakfast included, or 600 with all meals included. Get the breakfast only plan, the other meals arent that good. Please feel free to give me a call anytime at 809-352-0253 and I would love to help in any way possible.
Martin

Thank you all for your information on UCE. I feel much better now !!!!!!

just to let you all know that, UCE admissions seems to be nice and fair in the beginning. but the reality is that they just want to make money out of American students. They will say something, and they will deny it the next day. They will make you take pre-med courses , NO MATTER how many pre-medical certificates or degree's you have. The funny part is that their excuse is that " our government has changed " . WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME.
Please don't take their word for anything!!!!

I've been trying to warn people of this same policy. Get everything in writing with an official signature stipulating exactly what it is you're trying to certify. This way when they lie to you you can show them a piece of paper and tell them flat out they are liars. Chances are they're still gonna do what they want to do but at least you'll have the moral satisfaction, as opposed to sitting in an office like a dummy and saying "but you told me that..." Medical school is a business down here. If you were an MD practicing for the past 20 years and you decided you wanted to go through medical school all over again just for fun, here in the DR they would still make you take a few pre-medical courses. What's more they wouldn't even consider you a graduate student while you were taking those courses. Be very careful, they know that once you're down here on the island settled in and with an apartment you're not likely gonna go fly home and pack up for a few classes. If they had told you that you were gonna have to take those classes while you were back in the states you probably wouldn't have come or would have tried to find away around it, taking them at a local college. But once they have you in the DR they've got you hooked and they know it. This is why you're unlikely to get any unhappy letters from the school until you're already in the country. Your best defense in terms of convalidations is to know the schools curriculum like the back of your hand. By this I don't just mean which classes pre-med consists of at UCE but what the course descriptions of those classes are. If you know taht you can remember the classes you took as an undergrad and see which ones are equivalent, sometimes the names are different here but the subject matter is the same. If you go to the admissions office with this information they might convalidate a few extra courses for you. But generally speaking they are very obstinate with regard to convalidating, they want you to take THEIR classes. Unfortunately that's how it is. If there's anything else I might be able to help you with, please don't hesitate to drop me a line, I know very well what you're going through and how disheartening an experience it can be.

Take care and God Bless.
Ozzie.
ojmdc@aol.com

Hi Nasi & Ms Kittencan you pls pm me.I have to ask you a few questions about UCE.
Pls pm me with your email.My email is sdomingogirlmd@yahoo.com
Thanks
sdomingogirlmd

do u have to know spanish to attend uce? can someone post the website add.

Thanks

If you really want a med education, forget about INTEC and go to Univ of Miami med school!!!

Hello,

I agree with you, each school has the right to determine its curriculum. The problem arises when they don't want to recognize the work you've already done that's obviously applicable to some of their courses. For example, if I hadn't gone and spoken with the deans of the departments and ultimately the rector of the university I would still be plucking away at spanish one and algebra. If you don't go out there and do the footwork you'll not get the transfer credits you deserve. The schools are more eager to have you repeat the courses here than to give you credit for them. They operate on the assumption that you're not going to pursue the matter further and just accept their decision. If you don't have the personality to be confrontational with them to a degree and demand what is right, then you're not likely to get it. That's what isn't right and what is exploitative of these schools. They can have all the bogus classes they want in their pensum but if I've already taken them then I expect to be given credit for it. As you say, this is why it's crucial to get things in writing, particularly when it comes to something like this. You should also consider that you might later on be able to negotiate for more credits though you shouldn't count on it. This is the country of "el mas vivo" you've gotta fight for every little minutia, nothing is given to you, not even those things you deserve. To avoid getting here and finding yourself in the position of having to retake phonics make sure you have clear with the university what courses you will be taking, and shop around. If you're going to consider UCE also consider INTEC and UASD. See which will give you higher standing.

Take Care and God Bless.
Ozzie.