- Joined
- Jun 10, 2010
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 0
Hi everybody, I have gotten into SGU's Charter Found. Program, as well as Spartan Med school in St. lucia, beginning in August 2011.
I'm in a pickle trying to decide, and really need fellow SNDers input.
bottom line: i want to get a decent residency in something like Internal Medicine, or Surgery (general).
If you don't know about SGU's CFP, its a pre-med one semester program where you take 5 classes and must maintain a 3.2 (now a 3.5 actually). If you maintain high scores and get a recommendation from the director, you enter the next semester MS1 at SGU. However if you don't, they refund your money and you kiss SGU goodbye.
I'm worried about having to make a 3.5 at SGU's CFP. While they would refund money, it would also waste a semester and leave me uncertain about whether im getting my MD or not.
I also find that I would perform much better at a school that has small class size and great prof to student ratios like spartan (7:1). Spartan has a bad track record in terms of these forums but I feel that is mostly due to lack of current students and faculty being engrossed in online forums. It seems that all the bad press about Spartan is from old articles that are linked across valuemd and SDN. From what I have heard and learned from several doctors is that Spartan is actually now under new management, and will be NY approved by the time we graduate (g-d willing) in 2015.
So i guess I'm asking what do you think? If I work my ass off and do well on the boards and steps and usmle etc etc and have good grades, will I still be able to match decently out of Spartan vs. SGU? I'm leaning towards starting the MD at Spartan this August, but being a NY born and raised citizen, I do want to live and do a residency in NY as well, which currently might not be viable, however I suspect Spartan will gain NY accrediation within the next year at least (they were recommended for ny approval in dec 2009).
I'm just opening up the table for comments and everyone's thoughts. As for the other caribbean schools, I stuck to SGU and Spartan and I'm gonna choose between one of emm in the end. What are your thoughts?
I'm in a pickle trying to decide, and really need fellow SNDers input.
bottom line: i want to get a decent residency in something like Internal Medicine, or Surgery (general).
If you don't know about SGU's CFP, its a pre-med one semester program where you take 5 classes and must maintain a 3.2 (now a 3.5 actually). If you maintain high scores and get a recommendation from the director, you enter the next semester MS1 at SGU. However if you don't, they refund your money and you kiss SGU goodbye.
I'm worried about having to make a 3.5 at SGU's CFP. While they would refund money, it would also waste a semester and leave me uncertain about whether im getting my MD or not.
I also find that I would perform much better at a school that has small class size and great prof to student ratios like spartan (7:1). Spartan has a bad track record in terms of these forums but I feel that is mostly due to lack of current students and faculty being engrossed in online forums. It seems that all the bad press about Spartan is from old articles that are linked across valuemd and SDN. From what I have heard and learned from several doctors is that Spartan is actually now under new management, and will be NY approved by the time we graduate (g-d willing) in 2015.
So i guess I'm asking what do you think? If I work my ass off and do well on the boards and steps and usmle etc etc and have good grades, will I still be able to match decently out of Spartan vs. SGU? I'm leaning towards starting the MD at Spartan this August, but being a NY born and raised citizen, I do want to live and do a residency in NY as well, which currently might not be viable, however I suspect Spartan will gain NY accrediation within the next year at least (they were recommended for ny approval in dec 2009).
I'm just opening up the table for comments and everyone's thoughts. As for the other caribbean schools, I stuck to SGU and Spartan and I'm gonna choose between one of emm in the end. What are your thoughts?
