Disclaimer: I am a 3rd year Ross student doing clinicals in NY...with that said, here is my $.02
Pro's of Ross:
- only 16 months on the island broken up into 4 consecutive semesters with 3 week breaks in between each.
- 5th semester in miami, FL
- Remaining 2 years of clinicals guaranteed in the U.S., most likely in NY, NJ, Conn, Maryland, Chicago, or California.
-Cheaper than SGU.
Con's of Ross:
- island life is harsher, less amenities, dealing with things like power outages, issues with water, food.
- some rotations are at D.O hospitals. If you get scheduled into one of these, you can either do it, or request an ACGME spot, and either wait, do electives during the wait, or work with your advisor until you're happy. (note: I have all cores at ACGME hospitals with the exception of Ob/gyn. You are allowed a certain number of D.O. rotations as long as it doesn't exceed a number of weeks, varies by state. Pennsylvania does not allow much, New York allows much more..etc. So far, no one has been denied residency based on this to my knowledge.
Pro's of SGU: again, I don't go there, but it sounds like all cores are ACMGE and the island life has to be better than Ross. it is more well known than Ross at least in the east coast, from my experience. Possibly more difficult to get into.
Con's of SGU:
-more time spent down on the island. (2yrs I believe)
-more expensive.
Bottom line from my experience: it is really personal preference. BOTH schools are wonderful opportunities that we should be grateful for their existence. Both schools place 100s of MDs into US residencies. What is MUCH more important is your own USMLE scores, letters of rec, grades. I can't stress that enough. Your average US doc won't know SGU vs Ross vs AUC vs other caribbean schools. We are (to some degree) all grouped into off-shore med schools according to them, with SGU, ROSS and AUC being the big 3 in terms of placement and representation in the US. There has been wayyy too much bickering between students from these schools on message boards, and it seems to be only during 1st and 2nd year of school. Once you do your first clinical rotation, you realize that none of it mattered. hope that helps. best advice? pick one, go down there and STUDY, pass step 1, and you're already cruising.