Hi steph,

I have a really big problem. Please read below.

Today I got a package from SGU, and I was all excited I thought I got into MEd school. However I was quite disappointed. It wasn't a rejection letter. I wish it was! In the package, there was a letter saying that I have been provisionally accepted into the English Enhancement Track in the school of medicine which will start on jan 15 2001. And it says that the board of admisions has determined that my opportunity for success in the school of medicine would be enhanced by my placement in the english enhancement track. It says that the english communication skills cource will design me to enhance and develop my cummunicative ability for the study and practice of medicine. Also, it says that while I am completing the Assigned English Medical Communication program skills course, I will participate in the Alternate Program, which is a decelerated program in medicine which will allow me meaningful participation in the english medical communication skills program.

When I got this letter I was going to cry out from anger and I immediately thought about calling them and tell them how insulted I am to get such a thing in the mail. I never said in my application to SGU that I need programs to enhance my english. In the package, there is the financial Aid application, and I am supposed to send out my 1,000 dollars on before Oct 10....and guess what.....only to start this stupid program of 10 credits.

I can't believe what they did to me!!! I don't know why the hell they ask me to do such a thing when I never asked it...and I would die to take english courses while i am in med school!! I do admit that english is my second language, and I do admit that I have a slight accent, however I CAN communicate very well, and I don't think that I need any stupid communicating programs.

In my application to SGU, I said that I was a science tutor where I used to tutor student things that THEY don't understand!! and I also said that I had a one year hospital work in the ER where I worked with doctors and patients side by side. How can those people in SGU say that I have a lack in communication with people?!!! I am soooo angryyyy!!!


I wanted to call those people in SGU and to show them how insulted and angry I am, but the office was closed...fortuantely for them of course.

For everyone reading this email, I would like to hear some advise on what I shoudl tell those people in SGU before I make a call tomorrow. I want to tell them that I needt to start medicien without such a stupid program. How can I explain to them how insulted and offended I feel?

Please send me your comments today as soon as you finish reading this post. I really need your advise.
I am glad that I let out some of my anger in this post. I hope you bear with me.

Thank you,

Samer

My guess is that they send this to every rejected applicant for whom English is a foreign language. It's a money maker and funnels "dedicated" (desperate?) folks into their program. Don't be insulted, and don't waste your energy with a call. Just recycle the package and move on.

Calm yourself. I know SGU and I have visited it. It seems to me from what you say there must be a misunderstanding. If you wrote what I read in your query, you indeed do not need any language enhancement. Your writing is better than most of my US born students!

SGU has an office on Long Island. I forget which town now. There must be somewhere in the literature you have for them the phone number and address. Be polite; people make errors. Gently point out to them why you think there is an error. It is possible--I don't know--that somewhere on the application is a question about your first language, or a checkoff as to whether you need enhancement; perhaps you checked a box in error. Careless errors are commonplace both on the applicant's side and the med school's side. When I graded tests I always made errors, sometimes giving more credit than I should have, sometimes less. If a student asked me about it, I would look. If I was wrong, I corrected it. (Of course, nobody complained if I gave them more credit than was due!) As a future physician, you should display more tolerance for other people's mistakes. Think what a patient might say to you if you made a misdiagnosis, or gave the wrong treatment, or excised the left kidney instead of the right. SGU's putative error is trivial in comparison.

what you forgot to mention is that your verbal was exceedingly low which is why you were given provisional acceptance. it is obvious to me from your posts that you are not a native english speaker. if you think it is so bad of them to ask someone who did terrible on the verbal section of the mcat and who is not a native english speaker to get some extra help and counseling so that they become a better doctor then dont go to SGU.

I saw this same guy's posts on the SGU forum about him having a terrible verbal score on the MCAT. He also said his interview didn't go so well. I think SGU is doing him a BIG favor by accepting him and he should take advantage of the english improvement course they put him in. I am so glad that SGU maintains high standards in their admissions process as compared to other foreign med schools! I guess he can always go to ROSS or AUC if he wants to get in with no "hassles".