Today the students met with the new owners in a question and answer forum. The turnout by the students was very profound which shows we all have the same concerns about the schools future. Just by the fact that the new owners organized this session shows much promise. The session lasted about 1.5 hrs and the majority of the questions were answered. The new owners stated they were not aware of some of the major problems that continue to exist and promised change asap. I usually take the realist perspective and conclude from the forum that all promises may not be kept initially because there is much work to be done. I will say this though, they were as honest as possible and this can only bring positive change down the road.

If anyone has any other comments about this.. feel free to give your feedback.

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Chris

life experience

I am a student for the September term. What did they say about loans? It is an important issue for all of us.

If you're gonna put your money into the hands of the old guys, or the three new guys, definitely the three new guys. they have experience, connections, they are all Doctors and have been working in the health organization for some time now, Also they do not tolerate excuses, as they have already laid off everyone working for Xavier working in Worcester, and have hired new coordinators working in NY...that is all, but overall i'm optimistic

as of right now...all possible financial aid options and avenues are being pursued by the new board.

until then, they are working on a deferment plan for tuition for the remainder of this semester (may - august), and have said there is a high chance of something being in place for september.

I have the check from my loan with Xavier, that I recieved from TERI when I applied for Winter Semester. They only gave me 9,000 for last semester.
I haven't recieved my reimbursement yet for this semester. And the registrar here is knocking on my door every second for money. What do you say to that?
Maybe choose a school with more professionalism?? think about it. goodluck guys!

if someone can post a little bit more detail on what happend in the meeting with the new owners would be appreciatable.

thanks

I arrived late to the meeting so I wasn't able to witness all of what went on. The setup was, that before the meeting started, the current students would write down questions on index cards to be answered by the new owners. Each index card was categorized into specific areas including: immigration, faculty, housing, school facilities, etc.. It was mostly for getting a baseline idea about what the current status of the school is from the perspective of the students. So, most of the answers to the questions were promises.

In one part of the meeting they asked the faculty to go into another room so there wouldn't be any fear on the part of the student elaborating on faculty specific questions. The meeting seemed optimistic because this approach was definitely proactive. They kept the index cards of questions, which there were many of, and i'm sure are compiling them into a list of trouble areas to fix. Newer schools have to start out like a business and in any business you have to cater to the clients (students). Hopefully, like other businesses, they will invest financially to see long term gains in the future.

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Chris

life experience

Are the new owners American doctors or are they foreign doctors?

Does this mean that GMC is no longer the owner of Xavier and Dr. B is not the owner anymore?

How many current students are actually there on the island?

Did the new owners say anything about clinicals (i.e. whether all clinicals must be done through GMC in Atlanta, or can students complete clinicals in other cities, such as N. Y. or Chicago, etc)?

The new owners are American doctors currently in practice. Dr B. is still the CEO of GMC and I believe he is on the executive board of Xavier too. He spoke at the meeting about the types of clinical rotations offered by GMC. GMC has their main clinical sites in Atlanta, but I believe students can rotate in Chicago too as long as they pass step 1 prior to rotating. Until the school gets NY approval I don't think GMC will rotate students in their NY locations due to >12 week rule. There are currently around 175 students on the island spread through premed1-MD4.

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Chris

life experience

school does have rotations for 12 weeks in NY if you wanan do.