Living Conditions

[l2000]

Hi all,

This is my first time posting here - not to mention being a recent viewer of this forum. It is a tremendous resource.

Just a quick question for anybody who's attended one of the big 4 in the Caribbeans. First of all, I'd like to say that regardless of the conditions, if you want something like a MD degree, conditions shouldn't be a factor.

Now here is my question, maybe it was posted elsewhere but I wasn't able to find it 🙂. What kind of poor living conditions are we talking about? I am happy with being able to take a hot 10minute shower each day - is that possible without interruption? Secondly, which I don't think anybody has asked but some might ponder; how is the insect population? Are there spiders occasionally popping up here and there in your dorm?

Hope somebody can answer this!

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[RussianJoo]

Hi all,

This is my first time posting here - not to mention being a recent viewer of this forum. It is a tremendous resource.

Just a quick question for anybody who's attended one of the big 4 in the Caribbeans. First of all, I'd like to say that regardless of the conditions, if you want something like a MD degree, conditions shouldn't be a factor.

Now here is my question, maybe it was posted elsewhere but I wasn't able to find it 🙂. What kind of poor living conditions are we talking about? I am happy with being able to take a hot 10minute shower each day - is that possible without interruption? Secondly, which I don't think anybody has asked but some might ponder; how is the insect population? Are there spiders occasionally popping up here and there in your dorm?

Hope somebody can answer this!

at sgu the dorms are air conditioned, so is every building on campus, the power might go out once a semester for like 5min, same with hot water. but 99.99% of the time we have power hot water and everything even high speed internet in every room. bugs aren't a problem because you keep the windows closed and the AC on. We have maid service twice a week and they do everything some even do our dishes for us. I don't think living conditions are a problem at any one of the top 4 carib schools.. yes they're third world countries but the value of a dollar hasn't dropped there that much so US dollars go a long way.

 

[l2000]

Thanks RussianJoo, that is very insightful!

What about Ross or other big 3? I think it has become widely accepted by this board that SGU has the been the best in terms of conditions.

 

[RussianJoo]

I think AUC has the best island out of the top 4 schools. they have the most tourism and the most modern island or the most like the US island.

 

[Top Gun]

at sgu the dorms are air conditioned, so is every building on campus, the power might go out once a semester for like 5min, same with hot water. but 99.99% of the time we have power hot water and everything even high speed internet in every room. bugs aren't a problem because you keep the windows closed and the AC on. We have maid service twice a week and they do everything some even do our dishes for us. I don't think living conditions are a problem at any one of the top 4 carib schools.. yes they're third world countries but the value of a dollar hasn't dropped there that much so US dollars go a long way.

This is true. The dorms at SGU have pretty good living conditions. If you rent an off-campus apartment (as I had to during my second, third, and fourth semesters), its a different story. Apartments on the island can vary from pretty nice to roach hotels. My apartment, for the most part, was pretty nice, but it got its fair share of cockroaches, spiders, and other forms of insect life that I don't even know the names of. Its a tropical island. If you rent an apartment, you have to expect to share it with a few roommates from the arthropod tribe. Sometimes, there were power outages, but usually they lasted only a few minutes. In my apartment, there were water shortages from time to time, but they didn't last long either. For the most part, though, the living conditions were pretty comfortable, though not quite the same as what you experience in the US.

 

[MDPWR]

This is true. The dorms at SGU have pretty good living conditions. If you rent an off-campus apartment (as I had to during my second, third, and fourth semesters), its a different story. Apartments on the island can vary from pretty nice to roach hotels. My apartment, for the most part, was pretty nice, but it got its fair share of cockroaches, spiders, and other forms of insect life that I don't even know the names of. Its a tropical island. If you rent an apartment, you have to expect to share it with a few roommates from the arthropod tribe. Sometimes, there were power outages, but usually they lasted only a few minutes. In my apartment, there were water shortages from time to time, but they didn't last long either. For the most part, though, the living conditions were pretty comfortable, though not quite the same as what you experience in the US.

Hi Top Gun,

Why didn't you live the whole 2 year on Campus? Is the rent off campus really cheap in comparison to SGU Campus dorm.

Thanks.

 

[RussianJoo]

Hi Top Gun,

Why didn't you live the whole 2 year on Campus? Is the rent off campus really cheap in comparison to SGU Campus dorm.

Thanks.

after 1st term there's a lottery for who gets to live on campus.. some people don't get win, and move off campus for the rest of their time there.

 

[RussianJoo]

This is true. The dorms at SGU have pretty good living conditions. If you rent an off-campus apartment (as I had to during my second, third, and fourth semesters), its a different story. Apartments on the island can vary from pretty nice to roach hotels. My apartment, for the most part, was pretty nice, but it got its fair share of cockroaches, spiders, and other forms of insect life that I don't even know the names of. Its a tropical island. If you rent an apartment, you have to expect to share it with a few roommates from the arthropod tribe. Sometimes, there were power outages, but usually they lasted only a few minutes. In my apartment, there were water shortages from time to time, but they didn't last long either. For the most part, though, the living conditions were pretty comfortable, though not quite the same as what you experience in the US.

since you left the island the island there has been a lot more construction. there were a couple of hundred new apartment buildings that are build with in a 10min walk from SGU, and I have seen some amazing apts/houses that students rent with Viking appliances in the kitchen and the most modern electronics. One house had a large plasma tv and a pool table.. of course the rent was at least double compared to other apts but they were very beautiful, i didn't even know places like that existed on the island.

 

[Top Gun]

Hi Top Gun,

Why didn't you live the whole 2 year on Campus? Is the rent off campus really cheap in comparison to SGU Campus dorm.

Thanks.

At the time, like Russian Joo said, there was a lottery for on-campus housing. If your name didn't get picked, then you had to find a place off-campus. The amount of available housing on-campus housing was pretty limited at the time.

 

[Top Gun]

since you left the island the island there has been a lot more construction. there were a couple of hundred new apartment buildings that are build with in a 10min walk from SGU, and I have seen some amazing apts/houses that students rent with Viking appliances in the kitchen and the most modern electronics. One house had a large plasma tv and a pool table.. of course the rent was at least double compared to other apts but they were very beautiful, i didn't even know places like that existed on the island.

Oh, I'm sure there are very nice apartments with all the latest modern conveniences. Even when I was living on the island, there were pretty nice apartments. And of course, there were also a few places that I didn't even think were fit for humans to live in. Like I said before, apartments on the island vary in quality. I think, though, wherever you find an apartment on the island, you're bound to share it with a few bugs. Its a tropical island, so all kinds of insects and other arthropods thrive there, and can even get into nice apartments. They can fit into the small space underneath a door and get in.