Things you will need at Windsor MED 1 / Island Tips :

Study

• Make sure to Study at LEAST 4-5 hours a day.
• Make a schedule...and cover every subject every day. (2 to 3 hours a day.)
• Study actively ...make charts, graphs over what you read in the textbooks.
• Take notes that you can use again for the USMLE. Make binders for each subject and organize your notes.
• Save Kaplan till the end of the semester as a review.
• Most importantly...be around people that are here to study. Stay away from the party crowd at all costs.
• The weekly exams count for 30% your grad and the final is 70% and covers all topics over the semester. So do well on your weekly exams its your bonus.
• Make sure to attend all classes no matter how you feel.....Taking days off will take you off track.
• Sleep 6-8 hours on a normal sleep schedule...they don't give the USMLE in the middle of the night.
• You are competing with US grads for residency spots not the people in your class.

Technology

• Laptop – yes everything is on power point! (Mac or PC)
• Small Printer – The school does print things for you in BW but the copies are bad and color really helps – printing paper and cartridges are a must.
• "Jump Drive" 1+ GB (Tech Deals site LINK )
• External Hard Drive 350+ GB (Trust me you will need it for movies and USMLE review material)
• Movies (DVD’s), Video games, ect… (There is a movie theater in St.Kitts but its like a “Dollar movie theater” )
• Surge protector (APC Brand)
• Vonage,Skype..ect ( When you get internet you will want to call home)
• Some Basic School supplies (pens, highlighters, note cards) expensive on the island
• Box of Ear plugs or noise canceling headphones...You can get the ones that construction workers use at home depot.

Books

• BOOKS : Additional books for med one
  • BRS Anatomy, Physiology, Embryology and or
  • Moore Clinical Anatomy
  Good Site to search for the cheapest books LINK

• If you can get the whole BRS series it will be very,very useful.
• Good Sites for PDF books LINK

Food/Supplies

• Water filter – Brita (bottle water gets real expensive real fast)
• Spice Mixes (Indian/Paki)
• Snack Bars
• Drink Mixes (Ice T, Cool Aid,ect...) not cheap on the island.
• Protein Shake mix (If you work out) (3 gyms on St.Kitts)
• Do not bring canned items..they weigh down you luggage too much.
• Britta water Jug...Clean water is a must! (Extra filters)
• First Aid Kit with medicines (Tylenol, Hydrogen cortisone, ect…) If you have allergies than bring extra medicine, just in case.
• A Battery powered Alarm clock.
• Flashlight (Just in case the power goes out)
• Unlocked Tri-Band phone (You can buy sim cards here from Cable & Wireless. International In coming calls are free.)
• You favorite toiletries – (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, ect…) very expensive and hard to find at times.
• Backup toothbrush
• Foreman Grill or similar (makes your life easy)
• Small coffee maker (optional favorite coffee/filters)
• Good pair of Flip-Flops (One/Two) You will not wear shoes after your first week here.
• Shorts, Tees and One pair of nice clothes for parties.
• Sunscreen (SPF 15 < )
• Sunglasses (Must) Bring an extra pair if you tend to loose yours. It's very hard to find a nice pair here at a reasonable price.
• Hats

Banking

• You can use your US or Canadian ATM cards here. Just check with your bank as to the ATM fees. Wells Fargo charges me 5 us per transaction.

• Remember to always pay in EC Dollars. You can pay in U.S. Dollars but exchange rates vary greatly. So, exchange money as soon as you come to the island.

Transportation

• H – Buses (Buses with green license plates) are much cheaper than Taxis. You just have to ask the driver if he is going to your part of town.
• If you have to use a Taxi use TIGER he is the cheapest and gives students the best rates.
• You can rent scooters for 250-300US per month.
• Cars run around 300-400US per month.
• If you buy a car pay no more than 4K other wise you will have a hard time selling it.
• Try to avoid renting scooters from Big Banana! Several students have had major issues.

Groceries

• Places to get Groceries…in order to comparability to US grocery stores : IGA, RAMS (near school), Super Foods (Near ROSS nursing school) , RAMS (Downtown) (cheapest), CC Super foods, Value Mart.

Housing

• Best places to live in order Frigate Bay, Golf View (near Marriot Casino Hotel) Lime Kin (Near ROSS nursing school) and Bird Rock. School has housing in all three locations but the Frigate bay area fills up fast. And mostly girls are placed there. Most of the guys are in Lime Kin or Bird Rock.

Airline

• The cheapest airfare to St.Kitts is always on AA.com.
• Also sign up for the AAdvantage Program program. If you go back every break you should have enough miles for a free ticket. I also have the AA credit card and charge everything on it so I have managed to get two free tickets so far.

• If you are flying to St.Kitts your first time out than try to avoid Puerto Rico. Sometime if the time between your arrival and departure flights is short you luggage will not arrive until the next flight or next couple of days. If you still want to take the PR flight due to cost than pack 3-5 days of extra clothing on your carry on.

Shipping

• If you want to ship something like a scooter or a bicycle from the States you need to use Tropical Shipping. Some of the students ordered bikes from wal-mart and had them shipped directly to Tropical. They had their bikes down here in about 1 weeks. They also do barrel shipping from US and Canada.

Luggage

• Buy some decent luggage. Costco or Sams Club has a lifetime warranty on their luggage. Trust me you will wear it out if you have some cheap stuff. Also if you can manage purchase a good backpack or small duffel bag. You should be able use the bag to carry at least 40-50 lb of stuff. You do not have to check in your carry on which is in addition to your laptop bag.

U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs' Overseas Citizens Services
You thought you were just bringing home a ceramic monkey, but instead you've picked up a concussion, 73 stitches, and a trial date in a Moroccan drug court. Luckily, you have the U.S. Department of State's Overseas Citizens Services on speed dial. Their case officers can assist in handling robberies, medical emergencies, missing passports, and pretty much any other sort of calamity that could ruin a family vacation. 202-501-4444

If you are a current Windsor student please add your tips.

Thx for the tips. That is really helpful. I had a question about the cafeteria. Is there any cooking involved?

They do cook hamburgers and veggi burgers at the caf as well as selling soft drinks. But I don't eat there, I go to KFC or SUBway for lunch and sometimes when i dont have time i go to a bakery thats near by the school. Some kids are on a budget and they make food at home and bring it to school.

thank you

bring with you a strong willed mind to keep your sanity while you are in the island. weaklings dont last in the program for a variety of reasons, theyll give up easily. i knew someone who packed his things after taking a shower and left the same day back to where he came from.........at least he tasted something in st. kitts, a nice cold shower. plus, dont expect for US standard education, US standard facility, and US standard faculty........you will just be frustrated like me. im swimming right now in a muddy and lurky water, cant wait to get out of it and see what lies ahead..........i hope it wont be muddy anymore.

__________________
FOLLOW THE AlgorithM ....

1. walk with beach stuff, snorkels if you can

2. Sams club freezer bags packed fulla meat and cheese

3. Some cash for a car, the smartest thing new students can do is buy a car and then sell it later when you leave. Renting gets expensive.

4. Birdrock is the cheapest rentwise, frigate bay is expensive. Living in town is do-able but lots of kids are "scared" . A car + Cayon is the best mix, cheap and they have a 24 hour gas station out there.

5. A usb stick, black friday is coming. Get a 2gb stick, a laptop, a digital camera. Vonage is a must for you from the US, Canada, and the UK

Back on St.Kitts.

Just add First aid 06 or 07 to your list. I use it as an outline to guide me to what basic concepts are covered in USMLE. I take notes in mine as I go thru the semester.

Also in anatomy the BRS is very, very useful. Buy one!!

All your electronics will work here without a special adapter. But, make sure that you bring a surge protector.( not a cheap one)



thanks

Add memory stick or " Jump Drive " to your list. A 2 - 4 Gig drive will do fine. Many students trade movies and programs that require the larger drives. Also an external Hard Drive comes in very, very handy. If you have Kaplan or Pass videos.

Well back on the island again. This semester I brought with me two books Pathology BRS and and Clinical Microbiology made ridiculously simple 4th ed.

Add fluorescent light bulb's to your list, electricity is expensive on the island and every little bit helps. Try to get the brightest possible.

what is lurky water? I've heard of dark and MURKY, but never lurky. For a "third world" I've seen worse...biggest thing to bring is resolve, a person can stand in horse manure up to their chin for a long time, if that is what it takes to get them where they want to be, but all the other stuff listed will help hold you up.