Ross in September v. waiting January for St Georges

[swan02]

Hi everyone,

I am waitlisted for St Georges for the August class, but since class starts tomorrow, and the admissions office claims that the waitlist has not even moved one spot, I highly doubt I'll be starting there tomorrow I am accepted for the january class for St. Georges (I applied really late - in June...)

Now, my other choice is to go to Ross for med schl. I got accepted into their septermber class. However, from reading the posts here and also looking at the residency match lists for both schools, it seems like St georges is definitely more successful. I eventually would really like to do my residency in California (i'm leaning towards family practice though ofcourse, right now I don't have much of an idea) and it seems like st georges has more success with placing their students in california residencies, i guess mainly because they have more affiliations here.

I would really like to get whatever input I can from you guys. Is it worth it to wait to go to St Georges in January, or is the difference between the two schools miniscule? Should I start in Sept at Ross?

If you were in my situation, what would you do? What would be the main pros and cons of starting Ross in Sept v. waiting January for St Georges?

Thanks.

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[Brian Pavlovitz]

That does seem rather odd. Although, I've heard of people getting down there right AFTER classes start because they were notified so late about their acceptance! Maybe you'll be there later this week!


Anyhow, I really can't give any info about Ross's program. I hear it's good, but I don't know specifically if their graduates are able to get into California or not. I know that SGU students can. Perhaps you should talk to someone at Ross directly--do they have a list of alumni available? This way you'd be able to see if people are practicing in the area you want.

If all else fails, starting in January isn't all that bad. The educational program at SGU is very good, so you really wouldn't be hurting yourself if you waited. The weather in Grenada is much nicer then, anyway!!

Good luck!

Brian
MS-3, SGUSOM

 

[swan02]

i'm really really pissed off at st georges right now. This whole time I was made to beleive I was waitlisted #19....so the admissions lady would tell me that basically if 18 people declined, I was in. And that didn't seem too unrealistic....

Today when I called, she finally told me that St. Georges accepted more people than they had spots for (she said they have 325 spots and their pamphlets mention they have 250 spots per class?), so basically the waitlist won't move until all those extra people take up the declined spots. She said she didn't know exactly how many people they accepted beyond the 325, but it was a "significant number."

What the heck.....I thought I had the right to know this information a month ago when I thought I was basically in because 18 people declining their spot is quite reasonable (US waitlists, post-baccs, etc...)

URGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[erichaj]

I went to Ross. Now, I'm a board certified Family Practice Physician.

If you are pissed now at those schools, wait until you go there.
They are not what you or I would call student freindly. However, if you work hard both places will get to the final end point of M.D.

I can't say which is better. If you are intrerested in Family Medicine, you can get into that from either school. California is also possible, but it not the school as much as it is the state.

Just remember on thing:

when you go to these programs, IT IS EASIER TO GET IN BUT YOU HAVE TO WORK YOU ASS OFF TO GRADUATE. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm sure you are a hard worker but just keep that in mind.


Good Luck,

EH.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

i'm really really pissed off at st georges right now. This whole time I was made to beleive I was waitlisted #19....so the admissions lady would tell me that basically if 18 people declined, I was in. And that didn't seem too unrealistic....

Today when I called, she finally told me that St. Georges accepted more people than they had spots for (she said they have 325 spots and their pamphlets mention they have 250 spots per class?), so basically the waitlist won't move until all those extra people take up the declined spots. She said she didn't know exactly how many people they accepted beyond the 325, but it was a "significant number."

SGU has been accepting a large number of students in recent classes, and I'm not quite sure why (exept, of course, that it's more money for them). In Grenada, space is tight enough, but there is only room for a certain number for terms 5 and 6 in St. Vincent (somewhere around 250 I think?).

I'm not sure why they would accept so many more than they actually have room for, either. It does suck, but you'd probably get in for the next term.

As erichaj said, you do have to work your butt off, and the administration at times seems more interested in money than their student body, but by and large my experience with SGU has been positive so far. I'll be starting rotations in a few weeks in NYC, and I get to do all of my core rotations in one place, which is nice. I think they do try to accomodate most students.

 

[swan02]

Thanks for all your help guys. But I feel that you are the best people to ask this question, since many of you have already attended caribbean schools.

So if you all were in my situation....what would you do? Go to Ross now in September, or wait another semester for St. Georges and start there in January.

(St. Georges accepted me for january but the class was full for August).

 

[awdc]

You will be able to practice in California whether you graduate from Ross or SGU so that shouldn't be an issue. I think the things going for SGU is that I think it's on a somewhat more developed island and appears to have (slightly?) more graduates in more competitive residencies. The only con I can think of is the increase cost of going to SGU.

It's tough for any of us to put ourselves in your situation because we don't know a whole lot about you. I know in my situation, SGU's price tag was out of the question, as was the fact that I would have nothing to do if I waited around. It's really a decision you need to decide for yourself within the context of your circumstances, responsibilities, family, etc.

 

[swan02]

i guess my main concern is the type of residency I get....will I be at a significant disadvantage in landing a California residency being a Ross student v. St Georges student, provided I put in the same amount of work at both schools?

I am not as concerned about the living conditions, etc, because I was raised in a small town in India - so living in a third world country is not as big an issue. I'm quite used to power outages, water shortage, mosquitos, insects, weird toilets, you name it! (possibly worse arrangements than caribbean)

I don't have any family that I support, and am basically just looking at the academic part. I would lilke to get on with my education as soon as possible, but I don't want to do it at the expence of making a wrong decision academically....ie. I don't want it to effect my residency situation.

as far as cost is concerned, I heard that at the end, st. george's and ross do not end up being that much different in terms of the money.....st george's is just more expensive living wise due to on-campus housing, etc....even so, I'm willing to take out the loans to attend st george's...

my main concern again is that if it is worth waiting for or not.....


anybody else have any suggestions?


p.s.....I've turned in my deposit for Ross (finally)....now I'm debating where I should end up eventually....

 

[Havelock]

SGU is the best of the Carribean, everyone knows it. Ross is a close second and I think it would be a better choice in your situation. If you start at Ross this semester you will be done with your basic sciences and in the US by December 2005. If you wait and go to SGU in January 2005 you will be in Grenada until December 2006. That is a whole year's difference. You will save time and money. If you apply yourself you can have almost any residency in Ca, and surely a FP one. Ross has good affilitiations with Kern Hospital in Ca. Either way you can't go wrong, I would rather not wait.
Good Luck

1st semester Ross Student

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

Yeah, it's hard to tell you where you should go. We have students that do clinicals in a few California hospitals, but it sounds like Ross has some relationships with Kern. I think that is important.

How do Ross students do as far as passing the USMLE? I imagine it's on par with SGU. It sounds like living situations won't be a problem for you (I have heard that Grenada is a bit more developed).

I guess you just have to decide if you want to wait around until January. As far as timing, you spend terms 1-4 in Grenada, and then terms 5 and 6 on another island, St. Vincent. So, you're actually down there about a year and a half.

 

[dbiddy808]

First of all..........ask yourself why you want to do family practice? Do you know the realities of being a family doctor in america? Unless you have alot of experience with this field and are in love with it, you should probaby reconsider.

That being said.......if you want to do family practice in california you could probably go to just about any of the cali approved schools and have no problem at all. Remember, the european and australian schools are excellent and cali-approved. And family practice is not competitive. Very few american grads want to go into this field as it is not lucrative and there is alot of financial, social and burocratic bullsh*t associated with a primary care physician.

Best of luck.

 

[swan02]

hey dbiddy....thanks for your advice.....

yeah, I'm actually not sure if i want to go into family practice, as I'm looking at residency from an outsider's perspective....but it seems the most doable right now...I'll only know what I really want to do once I do my rotations...until then its all guesswork....my brother's actually a third year Internal medicine resident at Loma Linda and most of my exposure is through shadowing him..

my main concern is getting back to California for residency since my entire family is settled here and i'm quite close to them....(family practice just seem easier to get...hehe)

that said...what would you do in my situation (again this is a question i'm throwing all over the place to get some advice from other people)

 

[swan02]

hey brian, thanks for the info...i'm glad i got inputs from both ross and sgu students. i was a little confused by what you said regarding terms 1-4 and 5-6. so if i start in january, am i on the island for a year, or for a year and a half?

also, overall....at the end of the 4 years....do you end up applying 6 months later for the match to be on the same schedule as US studetns?

i'm basically trying to see when i'll start my residency if i start in january at sgu (provided everything goes smooth)...

 

[swan02]

SGU is the best of the Carribean, everyone knows it. Ross is a close second and I think it would be a better choice in your situation. If you start at Ross this semester you will be done with your basic sciences and in the US by December 2005. If you wait and go to SGU in January 2005 you will be in Grenada until December 2006. That is a whole year's difference. You will save time and money. If you apply yourself you can have almost any residency in Ca, and surely a FP one. Ross has good affilitiations with Kern Hospital in Ca. Either way you can't go wrong, I would rather not wait.
Good Luck

1st semester Ross Student

hey...thats some solid advice....i think the time lapse is definitely significant....going back...would you have rather gone to SGU?

 

[Leukocyte]

Again, you are the only one who can answer your question.

That being said, I was in the same situation 3 years ago. SGU or Ross. To tell you the truth, I was more impressed with SGU back then. But I ended up choosing Ross because:

1) SGU was waaaaaaaay more expensive than Ross. I cannot afford to take extra loans.
2) I would have spent more time in the Carib., had I went to SGU.

So, If MONEY and TIME are not an issue, I would recommend going to SGU. But if you go to Ross, you will not be making any mistakes either.

Good Luck.

 

[swan02]

1) SGU was waaaaaaaay more expensive than Ross. I cannot afford to take extra loans.
2) I would have spent more time in the Carib., had I went to SGU.

Good Luck.

hey, thanks for the advice....


how much more money does SGU end up costing you at the end of the 4 years as compared to Ross?

also, would you know if students who start in the same batch (say Fall 2004) at either schools match at the same time by the time they finish school?

 

[Havelock]

hey...thats some solid advice....i think the time lapse is definitely significant....going back...would you have rather gone to SGU?

Now that I am here at Ross and everything is going well, I am happy I decided to come here instead of waiting to go to SGU. They wanted me to do the MPH program there, so I would have actually been starting the MD program in Jan 05. By coming to Ross I will be starting my 3rd semester in Jan. 05 as opposed to my first at SGU. I like the professors here for the most part and the classrooms are top notch. There needs to be some improvements but they have the most important things covered well. I have my shelf exam tomorrow and local final on Thurs., so my happy feelings may go sour

 

[dbiddy808]

I think you need to know that you are not at as much of a disadvantage as you may think being a caribbean student/grad than you think. Most specialties are available to caribbean grads (Internal med and all of its subspecialties, general surgery and all its subspecialties, anesthesia, path, emergency med, PM&R to name a few).

Sure, many of the residencies in california are very competetive for most specialties, but practicing is another matter. You should be able to sacrifice a few years in order to set yourself up for practice in california.

If you are dead-set on getting into california, then pathology and internal medicine would be sure-bets.

 

[Brian Pavlovitz]

hey brian, thanks for the info...i'm glad i got inputs from both ross and sgu students. i was a little confused by what you said regarding terms 1-4 and 5-6. so if i start in january, am i on the island for a year, or for a year and a half?

also, overall....at the end of the 4 years....do you end up applying 6 months later for the match to be on the same schedule as US studetns?

i'm basically trying to see when i'll start my residency if i start in january at sgu (provided everything goes smooth)...

The terms are a bit confusing. You'd still spend the same amount of time in the Caribbean, and typically would start your rotations sometime in mid may after taking the USMLE. It would go something like this:

Term 1: Jan.-May
Term 2: Aug.-Dec.
Terms 3 and 4: Jan.-late June (the longest block of time on the island)
Terms 5 and 6: Aug.-Dec. (in St. Vincent)

The advantage for you is that you could, in theory, wait to take the USMLE until June or July, and start rotations in Sept. However, most students study after the holidays and take the exam in early spring. I believe if you did this, you might be considered as taking a "leave of absence", but I'm not certain of this.

I'm not too sure how this impacts your residency start date; I imagine that unless the program has multiple start dates, you may have to wait until the usual July 1.

It all sounds very confusing, but you wouldn't spend any more time in the Caribbean than I did (I started in August). Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info.!

 

[Sharky]

Swan, don't take the easy way out. Wait and go to SGU. It is a better school than Ross. Just look at the kind of things happening to Ross as posted by another person in another thread.

To/ The moderator of this forum:

Is it ok to share the horrible experiences of some of former Ross's students in this forum?

THE EXPERIENCES INCLUDE:
Documents from the US Dept. of Educations(Freedom of information Act)

ECFMG(How some individuals within ECFMG were involved in serving Ross University back in the 90s.).

Stories of Ross students who were unfairly treated by the schools, from late 80s to late 90s(the list includes africans and asians students, and also white studens with disabilities .

Documents showing the hx.of Ross Univ. and how the school managed to get around the regulation of the Dept. of education.

The issue of Ross University and the Government of Domnica.

I hope it is not a violation of this forum to share these documents with prospects Ross's students. Thanks in advance.

 

[iamhotok]

I didn't know that sgu is getting so popular , now they have waiting list just like those big us med. schools? wow. impressive.

does anyone know when Ross started to increase its student enrollment?

 

[Leukocyte]

Swan, don't take the easy way out. Wait and go to SGU. It is a better school than Ross. Just look at the kind of things happening to Ross as posted by another person in another thread.

Sharky, Why is GSU a better school than Ross? Have you been to Ross/SGU? Do you know who Cohen is?

SGU has been operating since 1977. Ross has been operating since 1978. More than 4000 MDs graduated from Ross since, and are practicing in all 50 states. Please contact the Ross alumni office, and try to talk to a Ross grad, and get the REAL deal.

Now, there are people who "failed out of Ross" in the past because they could not handle/go through the Ross curriculum. Many of those are bitter, and want to show their frustration by posting stupid remarks that have no basis or foundation. But now Ross has impoved its admission criteria, and fewer of those "likely to drop-out" people are admitted.

So please people, if you do not have basis/proof for you arguements, do not miss-lead others by posting silly things.

 

[Sharky]

Sharky, Why is GSU a better school than Ross?

Isn't that a given. I mean all I hear is the big three with 1. SGU, 2. Ross, and 3. AUC.

I believe most would agree with me that SGU is a better school than Ross.

 

[swan02]

hey sharky,
did you attend SGU? i've also heard of horror stories from Ross....personally, i do feel that ross is not as student friendly as SGU...but, i do think I might be better able to handle the curriculum than the average student because I did the Finch AP program and have already taken a bunch of med schl courses...I obviously didn't make the gpa cut to get into finch, but i got a lot of experience....my big concern again, is how much the school's own reputation would affect my residency?

 

[Sharky]

hey swan,
No I don't attend medical school in the caribbean. However, it is my understanding that SGU is the place to go if you had to go to the caribbean.

 

[awdc]

swan,

The thing is, everything has been changing a lot at Ross lately so I would take opinions regarding Ross more than a few years back with perhaps a bit more caution than usual. Everything from facilities, deans, administrators, quality of students, the area around campus, etc. seemed to have changed. SGU is on a slightly better developed island which would probably mean that it is more student-friendly but other than that, I'm not sure if there's any basis for much of anything else unless someone else can point to some other differences. Having said that, I've already spelled out my beef about the financial aid dept at Ross in another thread.

 

[erichaj]

Here is a thought;

When I was at Ross, I wondered if it would not have been better to have taken a USMLE step 1 review course before attending. That way I knew the important stuff to study while at Ross and I would know the basics cold by the time the USMLE step 1 had come along. I did not do that and most people don't. But, you have the opportunity to do that. This could increase your USMLE step one score.
So what it you fall 4 to 6 months behind. A higher step one score will increase your chances in getting residency. That is a fact.


Anyway, that is just something I thought you might want to think over.

EH.