How good is St. Mathew's University

[Rockney]

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Hi,

Does anybody knows how good is St. Mathew's School of Medicine in the Caymen Islands.

 

[drmikey]

In the few minutes of spare time I have this week I'll go on a response spree and answer as many questions as I can. There was a St. Matthews student who rotated at the hospital where I am doing my residency, however, I am in the ED and he was in medicine, so I did not get a chance to talk to him much. But the few conversations (medicine related) we did have he seemed like any typical med student (u.s. or foreign). From what I heard, this is a good school but it's not CA approved, and it's still fairly young. Maybe talking to someone who goes there can tell you if it's a good schol or not.

 

[J10sstar]

I will be attending St. Matts in August '05. So far I am very happy with my decision to attend SMU. The faculty, administration, etc. have been very helpful with any questions or problems that have arose during the application process. I guess I can give you the (+) and (-) of SMU in my opinion.

(+)
-very helpful administration, also take their students opinions into consideration
-recently signed an agreement with Kaplan; now students begin preparing for Step 1 in their 1st semester if I remember the email correctly
-on a nice/safe island that is very similar to the US
-school has purchased another dorm and is building more classrooms on the land they recently bought (very good sign that the school is in excellent financial shape)
-~85% 1st time Step 1 passing rate
-can do a MS/MD program
-can practice in any state except CA, KS, and TX
-lots of hospitals for rotations

(-)
-new school (opened in 1997)
-Not approved in CA (I don't care, but a lot of people do)
-grand cayman is expensive compared to grenada (SGU), Dominica (Ross), and St. Maarten (AUC)
-not as established as SGU, ROSS, AUC, SABA

As DrMikey has stated SMU is a very good school, but it is still fairly new school (opened in 1997). All and all I think in the next 5-10 yrs. SMU will be a fairly recognizable name when you think/talk about Carib. Med. Schools, especially once they acheive CA approval.

Hope this helps, feel free to PM me with ?s

 

[Rockney]

Thanks for the info. I was just accepted to SMU and was wondering if I should go here or wait for one of the CA approved schools to accept me for example SABA.

 

[mdmccallum]

SABA? Is that school well established? I think you need to do more research. I would recommend you going to one of the other 3 schools. At least they have over 20yrs of experience.

 

[Rockney]

SABA is 13 years old and is number 4 after the top three. It is the only school which is approved by california after the top three ones.

 

[mdmccallum]

Good to know.

 

[Kluver Bucy]

It's one of only a handful of schools, and the first one in nine years, to be disapproved by the state of California: http://www.medbd.ca.gov/Applicant_Schools_Unapproved.htm

 

[NRAI2001]

Thanks for the info. I was just accepted to SMU and was wondering if I should go here or wait for one of the CA approved schools to accept me for example SABA.

I was just wondering is SABA a safe school? Is it located in a safe area and surroundings? I m just wondering bc my little sister will be applying there.

 

[NRAI2001]

It's one of only a handful of schools, and the first one in nine years, to be disapproved by the state of California: http://www.medbd.ca.gov/Applicant_Schools_Unapproved.htm

I ve also heard that St. Mathews isn't CA approved, but it is working hard to become CA approved my buddy, a 2 nd year smu student, told me this. He also mentioned somethig about after three years of practicing u can then come to CA. I don't know if he meant three years of actual practicing or if he meant three years of residency. I think its after three years of any form of practice though, residency included.

 

[drmikey]

I ve also heard that St. Mathews isn't CA approved, but it is working hard to become CA approved my buddy, a 2 nd year smu student, told me this. He also mentioned somethig about after three years of practicing u can then come to CA. I don't know if he meant three years of actual practicing or if he meant three years of residency. I think its after three years of any form of practice though, residency included.

This is a false statement and it will mislead, and give false hope to many students. If you attend a school that is disapproved by CA, you will never be able to get licensed there. I know this for a fact because in my third year doing clinicals I became friends with someone who was from a school that was disapproved by CA. He cannot do his residency or get licensed in the state of CA even if his school gets approved. If you call CA medical licensing board, you can make a request and they will give you a report as to why a school that they visited was disapproved. Unfortunately, my friend attended this school because he thought that after 7 years (med school and residency) this school would be more established and after the 7+ years CA and other states would approve of this school. Now, the only way he can ever practice in CA is by going back to a legitimate medical school. Fortunately, now there are these great websites and forums to guide you in the right direction. If you do research on medical schools, residency, licensure, etc., you'll be amazed at how much info. you'll have in less than a week. Attending medical school will be one of your biggest events in life, so take the time and do this the correct way.

 

[lacarthic]

I am currently a third semester student and also from California. I also was accepted to AUC and Ross, did not apply to SGU but my brother is currently a 4th year student there.

I will give you what I believe to be the positives and Negatives about the school

(+)
-Great Administration and faculty including the deans
-Great Curriculum and courses are taught by very good profs (including some form Harvard)
-Even though the school is new they have grown tremendously over the last few years and got NY approval faster than all the other Caribbean schools(heard this, not 100% sure it is accurate)
-Admin cares about students and address their needs you are not another dollar sign to the school
-85% USMLE STEP 1 Pass rate
-Island life is the best out of all the caribbean schools and IT IS NOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE OTHER ISLANDS in fact i would say much cheaper than grenada i have been there and seen the prices for myself.
-COnstruction is about to begin on a brand new state of the art campus
-15% of the class does NOT fail like at other schools
-Masters program for those who wish to go back to Maine after 3rd sem
and finish basic sciences there.
-Kaplan USMLE Prep starting from 1st Sem

(-)
-CA APPROVAL, this was very bad although the school is know fighting it because their were numerouos
mistakes but this could take years
-The web site needs to look a little more professional
-There are 3 major clinical sites in the US where you can do your clinicals i wish there were more
-SMU is making a major transition to a better school on par with the big 3 but the people there now are at a crossroads but these are growing pains of a new school

That is all I can think of now, but do your research what is better for one person might not be better for someone else, SGU, ROSS, AUC and Saba are GREAT schools too so do your research talk to other students. If you want to know more about St. Matts just PM me and i Will be glad to share more info with you
-

 

[NRAI2001]

This is a false statement and it will mislead, and give false hope to many students. If you attend a school that is disapproved by CA, you will never be able to get licensed there. I know this for a fact because in my third year doing clinicals I became friends with someone who was from a school that was disapproved by CA. He cannot do his residency or get licensed in the state of CA even if his school gets approved. If you call CA medical licensing board, you can make a request and they will give you a report as to why a school that they visited was disapproved. Unfortunately, my friend attended this school because he thought that after 7 years (med school and residency) this school would be more established and after the 7+ years CA and other states would approve of this school. Now, the only way he can ever practice in CA is by going back to a legitimate medical school. Fortunately, now there are these great websites and forums to guide you in the right direction. If you do research on medical schools, residency, licensure, etc., you'll be amazed at how much info. you'll have in less than a week. Attending medical school will be one of your biggest events in life, so take the time and do this the correct way.

So u can never return to CA? What about the true FMGs that do med school in India, Africa, China, Europe? Must they complete med school again?

 

[Echick854]

I will be attending St. Matts in August '05. So far I am very happy with my decision to attend SMU. The faculty, administration, etc. have been very helpful with any questions or problems that have arose during the application process. I guess I can give you the (+) and (-) of SMU in my opinion.

(+)
-very helpful administration, also take their students opinions into consideration
-recently signed an agreement with Kaplan; now students begin preparing for Step 1 in their 1st semester if I remember the email correctly
-on a nice/safe island that is very similar to the US
-school has purchased another dorm and is building more classrooms on the land they recently bought (very good sign that the school is in excellent financial shape)
-~85% 1st time Step 1 passing rate
-can do a MS/MD program
-can practice in any state except CA, KS, and TX
-lots of hospitals for rotations

(-)
-new school (opened in 1997)
-Not approved in CA (I don't care, but a lot of people do)
-grand cayman is expensive compared to grenada (SGU), Dominica (Ross), and St. Maarten (AUC)
-not as established as SGU, ROSS, AUC, SABA

As DrMikey has stated SMU is a very good school, but it is still fairly new school (opened in 1997). All and all I think in the next 5-10 yrs. SMU will be a fairly recognizable name when you think/talk about Carib. Med. Schools, especially once they acheive CA approval.

Hope this helps, feel free to PM me with ?s

If you don't mind me asking, what was your GPA and MCAT score? Any additional experiences? Thanks!

 

[Skip Intro]

Just checking back in briefly to respond to this...

-Not approved in CA (I don't care, but a lot of people do)

(-)
-CA APPROVAL, this was very bad although the school is know fighting it because their were numerouos mistakes but this could take years

Just be clear, and understand on a fundamental level, that you cannot ever get a license in California if you attend the school during the time they are on the "disapproved" list, unless you are willing to repeat some of the undergrad med curriculum at an approved institution. This may not be important to you now, but may become so in the future (e.g., spouse, family, great job opportunity and [etc.] and you later wish to relocate there).

-Skip

 

[drmikey]

So u can never return to CA? What about the true FMGs that do med school in India, Africa, China, Europe? Must they complete med school again?

I graduated from a caribbean medical school, but I'm not on the licensing board for CA. I'm just here sharing my knowledge and trying to help anyone who might have any questions that might pertain to medical school, residency, and such. I personally think that a forum can answer some questions, but some need to be followed up. So if I wrote, "if you attend St. Matthews you will never be allowed to get licensed in CA", anyone who is considering attending this school should call CA's licensing office and find out from them, and not rely on what some people tell them on this or any other forum.

 

[NRAI2001]

I graduated from a caribbean medical school, but I'm not on the licensing board for CA. I'm just here sharing my knowledge and trying to help anyone who might have any questions that might pertain to medical school, residency, and such. I personally think that a forum can answer some questions, but some need to be followed up. So if I wrote, "if you attend St. Matthews you will never be allowed to get licensed in CA", anyone who is considering attending this school should call CA's licensing office and find out from them, and not rely on what some people tell them on this or any other forum.

Yes, i will indeed 👍