Antigua Veterinary program

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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TorchWorker

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Who else got into the inaugural vet class at Antigua? They told me only ten students are being selected. Super small class. I think it will be awesome to have such a small group for the first ever semester. Let me know if you got in. I would like to talk with some other students and see how they are preparing and bla bla. We have to be there by Jan 3, so I am in a mad rush to finish this semester and wrap up my whole life here. I found out two days ago I was accepted. Lots of plans to make...
 
I got an email from them about a week ago. I was wondering if I should apply there but I have hesitations due to this being its first semester. Has anyone else heard anything about this place? I'd like to get people's opinion on it before I apply...
 
They will graduate with a degree from VA-MD, and have to take the NAVLEs like the rest of us.
 
It seems a bit shady to me. A lot of the med students there have issues with the admin. Furthermore, there are only a max of 7 spots (5 being average) PER YEAR at VA-MD from students from AUA.This will largely depend on 2nd year enrollment (withdraw,dropping,deferring etc)
My advice, do A LOT of research on your own.
 
I think it is pretty above-board actually. All the vet schools are scrambling for money (Virginia and MD both cut their state funding I think for VAMD) and they have a budget shortfall to meet. It is why we admitted extra out of state students this year. I think the idea is that some of the Antigua students won't make it through the curriculum there, thereby whittling down the number to 5 or less, and that some of our students will drop before then. The class ahead of ours lost 5 people last year, though I don't know if they got any recycled students or not. Personally, if I couldn't go to a AVMA school I would consider this the next best thing, since the Antigua students get to take the NAVLE and get a degree from VAMD instead of having to jump through the hoops other grads of foreign schools go through. Can't speak for what the admin down in Antigua will be like through.
 
I must be missing something here. How do the students get a degree from VAMD by going to Antigua?
 
I think your right. And hence my confusion.
 
yeah, that place you pulled up was scary as crap!
 
Whooooa. I've never even heard of that school - check out their application though. Makes VMCAS look even more ridiculous than it actually was!
 
I did. Seriously considering going. Scholarship and get to start & finish earlier. I'm an older career switcher so it's important to me to get going ASAP. Going to visit on the 16th to make sure it's the right place for me. Small class size sounds awesome!
 
Can the caseload at VMRCVM support more students on clinics in this lousy economy? More generally, how does the ratio of cases to students affect quality of education?
 
I'm a bit worried that the requirement for the "qualified" students isn't listed anywhere so you would need to contact the school. The question is, what happens to the students that are not admitted to VA-MD? Can you apply the following year? How will other AVMA schools look on AUA transfers since its a brand new school with no street cred? What about financing? AUA says there will be no loans through them and they are not eligible for US based government loans (FAFSA etc) What happens to students when they cannot get loans through private lenders? Or worse what happens if students can get the first year loan but not the second because of the changing finanical climate? All things to think about.

I suppose I'm just a bit critical because it's a new school but the med program there has had quite a bit of trouble (students not getting into clinicals in a timely fashion, lack of administrive support etc). This is just all based on some reading I have done as I was initially interested but since then have thought it over.
To each their own.
 
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from my understanding does this school have rolling admission so we can apply basically whenever...not that i'll be applying this year (hopefully next) but was just curious.
 
Hi,

So I wondered about this program too. It almost looks too good to be true, but I was told the AUA students would have to maintain a really high GPA to be considered as a transfer student and that VA-MD have the right not to accept any students if they don't feel like it that year. If no one transfers the students keep going at AUA and do what the other Caribbean schools do get a degree from AUA with clinics done at US unis (no agreements in place yet).😱

If there could be more information about what VA-MD actually wants from the AUA students to be accepted I would feel better about the program.🙄

Then the financing...so apparently NO Financial aid is available, not even the loans offered by other Caribbean schools. 😕

On this note, there is a HUGE thread of really disgruntled students at the AUA Med school complaining about how they get a loan to cover just the tuition but not enough to live on, and how they are experiencing SERIOUS setbacks to their careers with delayed placements on clinical rotations.😱

The response from AUA admin to these posts is pretty scary...it seems they can't do anything about or don't care about it, which is worse because then they come across as a bunch of money grabbers with little regard for the students and their careers.😱

To the person traveling on the 16th, would you post a report on here when you get back please? I would love to learn more about where the faculty are coming from at such short notice (it only opened in October!), and the other concerns above.Thanks 👍
 
http://www.valuemd.com/american-university-antigua-aua/

This is what scares me about AUA. I have read many of the threads and am amazed at the lack of regard of the school for the delays to progress through the MD program and the financial situations of the students from the day they enter until the day they leave.

Would love to hear what anyone thinks after reading some of the threads.
 
I am going to AUA because it will allow me to relocate to begin my grad education (big change = good), and then I can return here to tech to finish. I will be able to graduate from here (VA-MD), and the first semester will be paid for at AUA. This is an ideal situation for me. The only scary part to me is not knowing exactly what I need to do to convince tech to accept me after AUA. I will do my best, then take the examination.

I applied to Ross because I did not have all the pre-reqs for US schools. When I found out about AUA two months ago, I applied right away. They did not have a vet website up yet with pre-reqs, so I didnt even know I didnt have all of them. They accepted my application anyway and reviewed it, and I guess my thousands of hours of animal, vet, and lab experience convinced them to accept me under the condition that I complete the missing courses eventually. I would go to my Ross interview, but I will be in Antigua by that time. The situation at AUA is too ideal for me right now to pass up, even though I have to be there in less than a month.

US schools arent worth waiting for in my situation because my grades are bad. If I pass up this opportunity, it may be two or three years before I can realistically apply to VA-MD or other US schools. So, because of my particular situation, AUA is worth it. I am a bit worried about a few things, but I am going. I think that encountering problems in the first semester will actually provide enhanced educational and problem solving opportunities anyway. Having a nice smooth program is nice, but dealing with problems teaches people how to deal with problems. Not that anyone wants to encounter them, but hey, Im goin to AUA and we will see what happens. If you arent ready to run head on into some difficulties aside from the curriculum, you should probably wait until the vet school is more established.

I am personally excited to go settle the wild west of AUA vet school. Yee haw
 
I don't think I could be as brave as you TorchWorker. I would be mroe nervous about not being able to gain a spot once I had to move on to tech. What pre-req's were you not able to finish...if you don't mind me asking. Anyhow, good luck and please keep us updated.
 
With your determination you will be fine TorchWorker. Just out of curiosity when you say your grades were bad does that mean they just weren't all As? This will help the rest of us figure out if we have the goods to apply? By the way when do they expect you to take the prereqs you're missing? How are you financing it even if the tuition for the first semester is free if you don't mind me asking? Thanks
 
I hear it again and again - "But I haven't been to the beach since my first week here!" I know there's no time for that. But... damn.

Antigua.JPG
 
This school seems a bit sketchy, especially since there's no guarantee that you'll ever get back into the States, it's new, unstable, no loans, and not many students at all - not even beginning to touch on the Medical school problems.

I've been to Antigua and it is beautiful -- but a bit more third world country than Grenada.

I'm just curious why someone would choose to go to a school like this rather than just going to a more stable veterinary program like SGU or Ross?

If someone's main reason for going to Antigua over SGU or Ross is that you get to go to VA-MD, it doesn't sound very convincing that they would follow through with letting all their students get into VA-MD. You would probably have a better chance at just transferring from Ross or SGU. And that can be done, but I wouldn't come here on the basis that you are going to transfer.

I digress with my point, what I'm trying to say is be extremely cautious with stuff like this. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true.

Also -- Maybe I just couldn't find it... But if you don't get into VA-MD, where do you do your clinical year?

Torchworker, it sounds like you are ready for whatever is thrown at you. I wish you luck and I hope everything works out great for you! Please let us all know how you are doing down there.
 
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Tech signed an agreement with Antigua that they will accept 5-7 students upon completion of 4 semesters at Antigua. These students have to pass an exam to show their worth. As far as I know, tech does not have to accept any if they do not feel they are ready for the program. But there is also an extra semester at tech to "fill the holes" if there are any. So tech knows that there may be holes, and they have signed an agreement to accept students who are ready enough. Antigua wants to expand their vet class, but cannot do so until they prove to tech that they can train us up well.

Some of the ten students at Antigua will either drop out or not make it into tech. No question. That will not be me. My success will ride on my success. Antigua is putting the future of their veterinary program in the hands of us ten students. If they do not produce any students worth Tech's time, their program will self-destruct. For this reason, Antigua will be giving our extremely small class every ounce of support they have in order to ensure our success. Our success is theirs, especially in this first class. Everything they have in invested in the program is on us and these next four semesters. They know it. They will make more money in the future if we succeed. Bottom line. That reassures me. They told me this directly (minus the money part). They are paying for our first semester. They need us there, and they need us to do well.

I have no proof that I will get into tech, but if I do everything I can do learn as much as I can, I will get in. My grades are bad, so it is more worth it to me to go to Antigua. I got in the first time I ever applied to vet school. It will save me at least two years of finishing graduationg requirements, finishing vet school pre reqs, and retaking courses to improve my grades. That means that if I dont get into tech right away, I have two years to struggle before it wasnt worth going to Antigua. That may not be the case for everybody.
 
so you go to Antigua for 5 short semesters (like Ross), and then join the second semester of second year at Virginia tech (basically transfer) and get your degree from Virginia tech. That's the attraction over Ross or SGU, as you still get a US DVM.

The transfer has been agreed in advance so that AUA students would get preference over other schools and AUA have set their program to mirror that of VT. BUT I also heard that VT may not take any students from the program depending on their GPA. The school also wants students to take a board exam before they are considered for transfer...I didn't know one existed for 2nd year vet students?

So you're right hopeful, with no loans for the program too it seems like a lot of money and time to gamble on something that only MAY work out, and a lot of time sitting around waiting for a transfer or at worst a degree from a new caribbean school if doesn't work out.

It seems there's too little info on something so new that even the two schools don't know enough about their agreement to be taking students in already. If it was free to attend that would be one thing but to have to pay more than other schools already... That's the shady part.
😕
 
Hi Torch, I think we posted at the same time! I understand where you are coming from, are you just going to take a year out of school to give this a chance and see how you do? It might be worth checking to see that you can still finish your degree if the AUA program is going to be that tough that they are already expecting people to drop out? You can re-take some classes to improve your grades and maintain your loans even if you don't finish on time, maybe even take some summer classes too and apply to the US next fall.

I read the AUA course load online (I'm interested in the program too but need more than promises to give them my money just now!), it looks pretty intensive. The med students are saying they need a GPA of at least 3.0 to maintain their loans for just tuition and who knows what GPA VT want from the AUA students?? too many unknowns but otherwise really tempting!!!! Darn it!
 
IsTeach: I have been taking classes constantly through summer and the school year for two years now with no break. I am ready to do something new. Antigua expects a few to drop out because they are accepting students who have worse grades than US schools accept. Since they teach the same curriculum, it can be expected that some people cant take it. All caribbean schools have students drop out. I dont think this means it will be overly difficult.

What leads you to believe that the Antigua curriculum will be more difficult than other caribbean schools? I have only been able to find the course listing so far on their website, and it seems fairly standard, unless I havent done enough comparative analysis. I do admit that I have been a bit more optimistic about this venture than I realistically should be, so alternate opinions are very helpful to me. Especially now since I can still go to my Ross interview and cancel with Antigua, not that I am actually considering that.
 
TorchWorker said:
I do admit that I have been a bit more optimistic about this venture than I realistically should be, so alternate opinions are very helpful to me. Especially now since I can still go to my Ross interview and cancel with Antigua, not that I am actually considering that.
Click to expand...

TorchWorker, did you actually apply to US schools? I am only curious because some do offer grade forgiveness, particularly if you show a strong recovery in GPA in the sciences, a high science GPA, and a high last 45.

I know people who have been accepted with failing grades on their transcripts.
 
Hi Torch,

I didn't see that the curriculum was more difficult compared to other schools, it just seems more rushed with three semesters a year and a requirement to sit a board exam after 4 or 5 semesters? I still don't get that it seems a bit early to ask students to take an exam they would normally take in 4th year?

Anyhow, I think you have an amazingly diverse background, and first hand knowledge about the profession that both set you apart from the run of the mill applicant. Don't be afraid of not succeeding in the US or other accredited international schools.

AUA may work out great too, and I'm tempted too!! but I understand that people are afraid (me too!) because its new and already has a bad rep with the med students there. I just don't want to be left stranded at some point in the program after all that hard work and spent money (like some of the med students are now), and right now they are not providing any convincing guarantees that that won't happen.
I think I would feel a lot better about taking the risk if we could get US loans for the program or if the VT affiliation was stronger....you know maybe they could spell out what they want rather than starting a program where the goal posts keep changing depending on what suits either school that semester or year?

Just a thought. Do you think Ross might move your interview forward if you told them you had been offered a place elsewhere to start in January?

Anyway I wish you the very best of luck with whatever you decide, and please keep the rest of us chickens posted!!
 
Hi TorchWorker,

I just wanted to say that I think glassblowing is so cool and I think it's awesome that you do that! I'm hoping to take a class on it soon 😀

Also I don't really have much input on the original topic as this is the first I'm hearing about the program, but I wish you luck with everything!
 
IsTeach: It is my assumption that the exam will be specifically designed by VA-MD to assess the knowledge of the students they might be accepting. I dont think it will be a 4th yr board exam or anything like that. If it is, they will operate with the understanding that we are not 4th yr students. One of the reasons Tech decided to affiliate with Antigua is because Antigua had no preexisting vet program. There is a quote from the dean of Tech's vet school saying that they have the unique opportunity to influence the curriculum from the very beginning, before the program even begins. AUA, though new, will basically be an extension of Tech's program. The partnership runs fairly deeply.

The program does seem intense because it works in trimesters, but so do other Caribbean schools like Ross. We will all be living together in 2-3 houses reserved for the new vet students on the island. The faculty there are already doing everything they can to mold us into a close and familiar group in order to support our success. They are mirroring Techs program, and while it is a fresh start for Antigua, it is not for Tech. Their program is not being thought up out of the blue. While they do not offer loans, the money to pay for our free first semester has already been allocated.

I agree that some of these unknowns are unsettling, and I cannot provide a rational argument against them unless I start telling the future. Really I think I am just excited by the unsettled nature of the thing, and if it comes down to it, I will complete my course work and transfer somewhere else if Tech wont take me. My goal is to use the opportunity to take part in a program which exactly mimics Tech's in order to satisfy their requirements. AUA knows exactly what Tech wants because Tech basically formed their program for them, and once we get there, we will also know exactly what we need to do in order to succeed... probably ...


SumStorm: I have not applied to US schools because I did not have the requirements completed. I only applied to Antigua because they did not have a website up yet and I applied before they posted their requirements. I had already applied to Ross because they have fewer reqs than US schools. Going to AUA saves me about two semesters of out of state tuition at Tech to finish my undergrad degree. I would have to finish graduation requirements as well as vet school requirements. Then I would need to go back and repeat a number of courses to raise my grades. I have two Cs in O chem I and II, and various other bad grades. While I was improving from system-hating art major to straight up science student, I did not get spectacular grades. So the raise in my performance was not good enough to turn any heads in a US admissions dept.
 
ckd816 said:
Hi TorchWorker,

I just wanted to say that I think glassblowing is so cool and I think it's awesome that you do that! I'm hoping to take a class on it soon 😀

Also I don't really have much input on the original topic as this is the first I'm hearing about the program, but I wish you luck with everything!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I always wanted to do it, so when I met a guy who did, I bugged him incessantly. After he let me watch him a coupe times and showed me how his shop and equipment worked, that was it. I just went from there and saved and bought, saved and bought. I didnt buy chips or a beer for a year, and it was really frustrating not being able to use any of the tools I had until I had everything together. Eventually, I had saved enough and gotten everything I needed, so I found an art teacher who taught a welding class. He let me set up my first bench in his shop under a big ventilation fan. I tried to duplicate what I had seen the other guy do, and I went from there. Classes are extremely expensive, and an apprenticeships are usually around 2000 bucks...and you just get to be their slave. But... the information is closely guarded and having someone teach you is incredibly valuable, instead of messing everything up and learning from expensive mistakes. I practiced in my dreams, so that helped me mess up less. I woke up most mornings after rolling around in bed sweating, having glass blowing nightmares. Yes ma'am I am a psycho and I am proud of it.

Sorry, totally off topic
 
TorchWorker said:
SumStorm: I have not applied to US schools because I did not have the requirements completed. I only applied to Antigua because they did not have a website up yet and I applied before they posted their requirements. I had already applied to Ross because they have fewer reqs than US schools. Going to AUA saves me about two semesters of out of state tuition at Tech to finish my undergrad degree. I would have to finish graduation requirements as well as vet school requirements. Then I would need to go back and repeat a number of courses to raise my grades. I have two Cs in O chem I and II, and various other bad grades. While I was improving from system-hating art major to straight up science student, I did not get spectacular grades. So the raise in my performance was not good enough to turn any heads in a US admissions dept.
Click to expand...

Ah...ok.... an undergrad degree isn't required here, so I never thought of it as part of a pre-req. I can see how a moderate raise instead of a strong one may be problematic though. I, like others, would find it nerve racking...but only because I have seen a lot of programs 'go wrong' and I am not so convinced that experiencing additional problems in a difficult field of study is really necessary (but maybe I had enough problems first semester that problems in school would have been horrible; my first semester was marked with bee sting anaphylaxis, flu, falling down a half flight of stairs, a minor flooding of my home, and a >25% cut in family income (even after receiving financial aid.) Any more drama and I might have torn my hair out
 
Well, it is time for the inaugural class of AUA CVM to speak up for those of us applying to or accepted to AUA CVM. I have read the posts from Dec 2009 and a few were worried, a few were unphased and a few ran for the hills! Will current students please post your 1st year experiences. I have been accepted to AUA and I was looking at Carib schools so that I would hopefully be exposed to things I would not be exposed to in the states. I hear at the other 3 schools the 1st year students get hands on experience, does this hold true for AUA? I did not even see a requirement to get my rabies vaccination? Any input from you guys and gals would be greatly appreciated! OH, and please talk about funding??? I am worried that I will not be able to get loans to cover all the expenses!

Thanks
 
eventualeventer said:
Can the caseload at VMRCVM support more students on clinics in this lousy economy? More generally, how does the ratio of cases to students affect quality of education?
Click to expand...

I doubt it would be an issue in the small animal rotations. They were VERY busy when I was a fourth year. There were MANY 16-18 hours days + call that we would have begged for an extra student. Equine not so much...but it tends to come in spurts.
 
Just bumping this thread....Any news from current AUA veterinary students? How are things going?
 
I would be interested to hear about this also. Any feedback would be much appreciated
 
Bumping this thread again. Any feedback from current students? Torchworker, did you enrol?
 
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