MD at Ross University School of Medicine

[newton718]

Hello everyone, I have contemplated on my options with starting medical school and will be going to RUSM. I know about all the cons of going there so no need to flood the forum with reasons not to go there. I am a pretty strong applicant. I am waitlisted at 4 DO programs and 1 MD program. I am most likely not going to be able to attend due to the cycle ending. I applied very late into the cycle in December 2019 so I was not able to really maximize my chances of medical school. I am not considering a gap year due to personal reasons. I'm asking for any Ross students for advice going forward with RUSM. What to expect? Anything particular about the island?

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[Coffee&Scrubs26]

wow thats pretty great! I bet you’d get an acceptance to a US school if you apply early

 

[newton718]

wow thats pretty great! I bet you’d get an acceptance to a US school if you apply early

Thank you! I am sure I could however my app was rushed and I am unable to take a gap year for personal reasons. Hopefully it all works out going to a Caribbean school

 

[CaptainZeki]

I dont know your situation but heres a food for thought:
Does your personal reason trump you from considering the long-term impact (residency match rates?) of going to Carribbean? Does it trump you from applying now (early) for EY2021?

Ross is one of the better MD Caribbean schools to say the least.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello everyone, I have contemplated on my options with starting medical school and will be going to RUSM. I know about all the cons of going there so no need to flood the forum with reasons not to go there. I am a pretty strong applicant. I am waitlisted at 4 DO programs and 1 MD program. I am most likely not going to be able to attend due to the cycle ending. I applied very late into the cycle in December 2019 so I was not able to really maximize my chances of medical school. I am not considering a gap year due to personal reasons. I'm asking for any Ross students for advice going forward with RUSM. What to expect? Anything particular about the island?

SDN has an International Medicine Discussion Forum > Caribbean where you might find already-posted information that will answer some of your questions: Caribbean

 

[Cornfed101]

If you are waitlisted at 5 schools why not wait? There's still plenty of time to come off the waitlist

 

[deleted480308]

Hello everyone, I have contemplated on my options with starting medical school and will be going to RUSM. I know about all the cons of going there so no need to flood the forum with reasons not to go there. I am a pretty strong applicant. I am waitlisted at 4 DO programs and 1 MD program. I am most likely not going to be able to attend due to the cycle ending. I applied very late into the cycle in December 2019 so I was not able to really maximize my chances of medical school. I am not considering a gap year due to personal reasons. I'm asking for any Ross students for advice going forward with RUSM. What to expect? Anything particular about the island?

I bet if you shared your personal reason it isn’t quite as mandatory as you think and you could avoid the ~50% chance of never being a US doctor if you just waited and went to school next year (or got pulled off a waitlist this year)

this is a high risk, low yield maneuver

 

[Med Ed]

I am unable to take a gap year for personal reasons.

Please explain.

 

[Gambino.]

Echoing on what others have said, no matter what your personal reasons are it seems like you have a real shot at a US school and I highly recommend you at least give that another go as Ross has 3 admission cycles a year so you won't be losing out on much time anyways.

With that being said, if it is something you've already committed to doing and your questions have to do with day-to-day things or recommendations on what items to bring to Barbados, I can answer those for you as a current student.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

First of all, there's still plenty of time to come off a waitlist. At my school, they pulled people from the waitlist 1 day before orientation which is in July. Second, I don't know your personal life, but I can't think of any reason you couldn't wait another year unless you actually have someone pointing a gun at you saying if you don't go this year you're dead.

 

[newton718]

Can't get too specific but I have some family issues affecting my current living situation. Also financially difficult to live on my own and improve my app. Trust me a lot of thought went into this before making my decision and my final choice is to go down this path vs an alternative

 

[newton718]

Echoing on what others have said, no matter what your personal reasons are it seems like you have a real shot at a US school and I highly recommend you at least give that another go as Ross has 3 admission cycles a year so you won't be losing out on much time anyways.

With that being said, if it is something you've already committed to doing and your questions have to do with day-to-day things or recommendations on what items to bring to Barbados, I can answer those for you as a current student.

Yes please I would like to ask about day to day life and what to expect with the classes in Barbados in terms of how courses are organized and what to expect with blocks as well as taking the USMLE and rotating here if you are this far in

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Can't get too specific but I have some family issues affecting my current living situation. Also financially difficult to live on my own and improve my app. Trust me a lot of thought went into this before making my decision and my final choice is to go down this path vs an alternative

Find a job, go start another degree for a year so you can get living expenses, see if a friend will let you stay with them for a year, do anything to get out of your family issue, but for the love of God please don't go to the Caribbean.

 

[newton718]

If you are waitlisted at 5 schools why not wait? There's still plenty of time to come off the waitlist

I still am waiting of course. If I don't get pulled off a list once classes start I will be going there

 

[newton718]

Find a job, go start another degree for a year so you can get living expenses, see if a friend will let you stay with them for a year, do anything to get out of your family issue, but for the love of God please don't go to the Caribbean.

I have already considered a lot of other alternatives and I'm just not passionate for waiting and taking the long way if I don't get in this cycle

 

[Gambino.]

Yes please I would like to ask about day to day life and what to expect with the classes in Barbados in terms of how courses are organized and what to expect with blocks as well as taking the USMLE and rotating here if you are this far in

Term 1 deals with fundamentals. You have biochem, microanatomy, MSK/integumentary anatomy, embryo I, heme&lymph, as well as some others.
Grading is 21% x3 for 3 exams, 5% anatomy practical, 2% participation points for online quizzes and discussion, 30% final exam.
The exams are not separated by topic so if you covered biochem and embryology you'll have both on that test. 1st term is HP/P/NP. 70% is the highest possible passing score youl'll need to progess but fluctuates between 62-70% based on the Hofstee method. Historically, it was fluctuating in the 65-67% range from what I've been told but our last term was made a 62% due to COVID.

USMLE you take just as any other med student. There is no longer a pre-STEP exam you have to pass in order to sit for step 1, which is nice as most other caribs still have this requirement. Rotations you can find info on their website, they have core rotation tracks with hospital systems in NY, FL, etc. You can do all your cores at these hospitals and from what I heard a good chunk of students will do their electives here too, otherwise you'd apply for a clerkship at a hospital like anyone else.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Let this student make their decision. They or anybody else do not need YOU to tell them what to do with their life.

@newton718 I get you man. I know where you're coming from. As long as you don't mind the thought of potentially matching into a primary care spot, getting the MD sooner means you get to work sooner and get paid sooner.

I got into SGU for August. I want you to seriously think about applying to SGU because SGU will refund your tuition after the first term if you do end up matriculating into a US program. It's a win-win situation for someone who is in your exact situation if you are considering the Caribbean. I don't believe Ross has something like that.

I'm all for letting someone deal with their own issues their own way, but that doesn't mean if I see someone about to commit suicide, I'm gonna let them. And What's your problem with people giving advise anyway? What happened to freedom of speech? Are you still salty about that other thread you made about SGU earlier? We told you what we thought about your choice, and you still decide to move forward. That's your personal choice. Now, let us show someone else the options as well and let them choose for themselves (like you did actually). If they still choose to move forward, then that will be their personal choice as well.

 

[Coffee&Scrubs26]

Let this student make their decision. They or anybody else do not need YOU to tell them what to do with their life.

I got into SGU for August. I want you to seriously think about applying to SGU because SGU will refund your tuition after the first term if you do end up matriculating into a US program. It's a win-win situation for someone who is in your exact situation if you are considering the Caribbean. I don't believe Ross has something like that.

Ironically, here you are telling OP what to do. Take your own advice and stop telling people what to do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Bro, relax

Bro, that was a metaphor. In case you didn't get it.

 

[gyngyn]

I recommend responding to OP's concerns instead of each other's.

 

[zNoodlez]

@newton718 I get you man. I know where you're coming from. As long as you don't mind the thought of potentially matching into a primary care spot, getting the MD sooner means you get to work sooner and get paid sooner.

I got into SGU for August. I want you to seriously think about applying to SGU because SGU will refund your tuition after the first term if you do end up matriculating into a US program. It's a win-win situation for someone who is in your exact situation if you are considering the Caribbean. I don't believe Ross has something like that.

Still wondering what your MCAT score is bud.

 

[newton718]

If you guys don't mind please take your argument elsewhere. Not here

 

[DrStephenStrange]

If you guys don't mind please take your argument elsewhere. Not here

Sorry, We're all good fam. The guy that started it went away. Now lets get back to the OP. I really hope you get off a waitlist soon, so you can avoid going through those extra barriers and uncertainties associated with being from a Caribbean med school. I still think you should reconsider, and I'm not gonna keep pressing you on that though. So good luck on whatever you choose to do.

 

[Med Ed]

I still am waiting of course. If I don't get pulled off a list once classes start I will be going there

Out of curiosity, what is Ross's cost of attendance this year?

 

[newton718]

Out of curiosity, what is Ross's cost of attendance this year?

I believe it's 25k a semester. They gave me 150k scholarship so that helps if I do end up going there

 

[deleted480308]

I have already considered a lot of other alternatives and I'm just not passionate for waiting and taking the long way if I don't get in this cycle

Passion isn’t always conducive to good decision making.

 

[Gambino.]

Out of curiosity, what is Ross's cost of attendance this year?

Charged 26.5k this term. Tuition was 24k, insurance 900, and the rest were fees. Not charged housing this semester for obvious reasons so saved over $4k. Thankfully they changed it so after 1st term you can live off campus starting in the fall.

 

[newton718]

Term 1 deals with fundamentals. You have biochem, microanatomy, MSK/integumentary anatomy, embryo I, heme&lymph, as well as some others.
Grading is 21% x3 for 3 exams, 5% anatomy practical, 2% participation points for online quizzes and discussion, 30% final exam.
The exams are not separated by topic so if you covered biochem and embryology you'll have both on that test. 1st term is HP/P/NP. 70% is the highest possible passing score youl'll need to progess but fluctuates between 62-70% based on the Hofstee method. Historically, it was fluctuating in the 65-67% range from what I've been told but our last term was made a 62% due to COVID.

USMLE you take just as any other med student. There is no longer a pre-STEP exam you have to pass in order to sit for step 1, which is nice as most other caribs still have this requirement. Rotations you can find info on their website, they have core rotation tracks with hospital systems in NY, FL, etc. You can do all your cores at these hospitals and from what I heard a good chunk of students will do their electives here too, otherwise you'd apply for a clerkship at a hospital like anyone else.

Thanks so much. Does Ross actually use cadavers in the lab?

 

[Gambino.]

Thanks so much. Does Ross actually use cadavers in the lab?

No, they use Secrtra tables Sectra Terminals for medical education | Sectra Medical

Rather useless $150,000 paperweight IMO. I just used complete anatomy which was provided to us and our lecture slides. Visited the lab outside of scheduled hours before the practical to familiarize myself with the images from the table though as they like to pull questions from that.

 

[zNoodlez]

No, they use Secrtra tables Sectra Terminals for medical education | Sectra Medical

Rather useless $150,000 paperweight IMO. I just used complete anatomy which was provided to us and our lecture slides. Visited the lab outside of scheduled hours before the practical to familiarize myself with the images from the table though as they like to pull questions from that.

How many of those tablets do they have? Seems really cool

 

[Gambino.]

How many of those tablets do they have? Seems really cool

4 or 5 I think. They break people into groups of 3 per table. I think university of las vegas implemented them a couple years ago too.

 

[newton718]

Term 1 deals with fundamentals. You have biochem, microanatomy, MSK/integumentary anatomy, embryo I, heme&lymph, as well as some others.
Grading is 21% x3 for 3 exams, 5% anatomy practical, 2% participation points for online quizzes and discussion, 30% final exam.
The exams are not separated by topic so if you covered biochem and embryology you'll have both on that test. 1st term is HP/P/NP. 70% is the highest possible passing score youl'll need to progess but fluctuates between 62-70% based on the Hofstee method. Historically, it was fluctuating in the 65-67% range from what I've been told but our last term was made a 62% due to COVID.

USMLE you take just as any other med student. There is no longer a pre-STEP exam you have to pass in order to sit for step 1, which is nice as most other caribs still have this requirement. Rotations you can find info on their website, they have core rotation tracks with hospital systems in NY, FL, etc. You can do all your cores at these hospitals and from what I heard a good chunk of students will do their electives here too, otherwise you'd apply for a clerkship at a hospital like anyone else.

What's the requirement for high pass or honors pass? Is USMLE at a testing site in Barbados or in the states?

 

[Gambino.]

What's the requirement for high pass or honors pass? Is USMLE at a testing site in Barbados or in the states?

HP=85%. USMLE is done in the states.

 

[BioPlum]

HP=85%. USMLE is done in the states.

Shoutout to you for actually answering OP's questions. It almost seems like the same people are just WAITING for anyone to post in the Caribbean forum to attack them for their personal choices...even when they state that they've already considered the negatives of attending.

 

[deleted480308]

Shoutout to you for actually answering OP's questions. It almost seems like the same people are just WAITING for anyone to post in the Caribbean forum to attack them for their personal choices...even when they state that they've already considered the negatives of attending.

Attack has a very specific conotation that I don’t think is accurate here.

Full disclosure though, I absolutely do watch for threads like to make sure the OP has heard the risks one more time and to make those reading the forum in the future also see the risks.

 

[Gambino.]

Shoutout to you for actually answering OP's questions. It almost seems like the same people are just WAITING for anyone to post in the Caribbean forum to attack them for their personal choices...even when they state that they've already considered the negatives of attending.

I don't think they come from a place of malice. No one should recommend going Caribbean, people that choose to go should do so after hearing don't go. With that being said, after someone has already chosen to go and just wants details I don't think continuing to say the same thing over and over instead of answering the question is beneficial to any party. In fact, I think the more hard information out there, the better so people can at least make more informed decisions. It only gets annoying when people start asking questions that are very clearly listed on their website (e.g. the grading rubric is on the RUSM site so I think he wasn't doing his due diligence in scouring the site for all possible info before asking).

 

[Gambino.]

On a follow-up to my last post for anyone wanting more hard info here's a stat from my last semester. My incoming class was 180 students but our first exam had 260 students, which means 80 people had to repeat the semester. The prior semesters class was ~420 students per my roommate which would indicate ~20% fail rate however we don't know the amount of students that took the remediation exam and passed or the amount of prior repeaters that were dismissed for failing twice in a row. Estimates from that semester say that about 40% of their class didn't pass and had to repeat/failed out for failing their repeat attempt. On the bright side to that, they did change the curriculum in our semester to make it easier and got rid of MPELS. MPELS essentially divided your grade % based on topic from the exams so even if you passed overall with a 70%, if your biochemistry grade was a 50% then you'd still fail the semester. Utter BS and glad they got rid of that. Will update when we take our first exams for this semester to see how our class numbers changed.


UPDATE: 1st mandatory review session had ~240-250 students. Don't know repeat rate of 2nd semesters but thought of to be normally around 20% which would put our 1st term pass rate at 80%. Again, sadly no hard numbers but 80% pass rate is what we think makes sense.

 

[hopefulDOcter4321]

On a follow-up to my last post for anyone wanting more hard info here's a stat from my last semester. My incoming class was 180 students but our first exam had 260 students, which means 80 people had to repeat the semester. The prior semesters class was ~420 students per my roommate which would indicate ~20% fail rate however we don't know the amount of students that took the remediation exam and passed or the amount of prior repeaters that were dismissed for failing twice in a row. Estimates from that semester say that about 40% of their class didn't pass and had to repeat/failed out for failing their repeat attempt. On the bright side to that, they did change the curriculum in our semester to make it easier and got rid of MPELS. MPELS essentially divided your grade % based on topic from the exams so even if you passed overall with a 70%, if your biochemistry grade was a 50% then you'd still fail the semester. Utter BS and glad they got rid of that. Will update when we take our first exams for this semester to see how our class numbers changed.

Would you be able to comment on the prep time you get for studying for Step 1? Or just studying for boards in general? I was told that during your 3rd year there is free time built in essentially allowing you to study up to 6 months (until you're ready) and then start rotations after.

 

[Gambino.]

Would you be able to comment on the prep time you get for studying for Step 1? Or just studying for boards in general? I was told that during your 3rd year there is free time built in essentially allowing you to study up to 6 months (until you're ready) and then start rotations after.

6 months? lol that sounds ridiculous. Your introductory clinical rotation at Cleveland clinic is supposed to start within 45 days of completing your last semester. You can take step 1 before, during, or soon after the rotation depending on when your start date is. So in essence you should have at least like 6 weeks of dedicated if you take it before or a bit longer if you choose to take it during or after.

I think I've heard of some of the non big-3 schools giving those weird half year to year long dedicated times but sounds pretty stupid and counterproductive to me.

 

[hopefulDOcter4321]

6 months? lol that sounds ridiculous. Your introductory clinical rotation at Cleveland clinic is supposed to start within 45 days of completing your last semester. You can take step 1 before, during, or soon after the rotation depending on when your start date is. So in essence you should have at least like 6 weeks of dedicated if you take it before or a bit longer if you choose to take it during or after.

I think I've heard of some of the non big-3 schools giving those weird half year to year long dedicated times but sounds pretty stupid and counterproductive to me.

I see, is this even true for those in the accelerated program? Like the current accelerated class of 2023 would essentially be done with their last semester in late July/August (around 16 month curriculum) which would almost 1 year ahead of the normal class of 2023. Would being in the accelerated program allow for more dedicated study time?

 

[Gambino.]

Would being in the accelerated program allow for more dedicated study time?

No. Might help you match a year earlier depending on what semester you started though.

 

[wanttopass123]

No. Might help you match a year earlier depending on what semester you started though.

I've been researching schools and currently Ross seems to be at the top of my list for Caribbean. Would you be able to comment on your daily study routine, do you study for boards + school stuff? I know Ross does a ranking system, how difficult is it to be in the top rankings; is it very competitive? If you don't mind saying, what is your GPA/Ranking? I've also heard that there is old test banks / questions that has been floating around that sometimes ends up showing up on the actual exam. I personally like to have as much practice as I can with the material and this would be a very nice thing to have even if it doesn't show up on the exams.

 

[Gambino.]

I've been researching schools and currently Ross seems to be at the top of my list for Caribbean. Would you be able to comment on your daily study routine, do you study for boards + school stuff? I know Ross does a ranking system, how difficult is it to be in the top rankings; is it very competitive? If you don't mind saying, what is your GPA/Ranking? I've also heard that there is old test banks / questions that has been floating around that sometimes ends up showing up on the actual exam. I personally like to have as much practice as I can with the material and this would be a very nice thing to have even if it doesn't show up on the exams.

Daily study routine is panopto lectures at 2x speed, write my notes so I don't have to go back to the lectures and powerpoints, do practice questions of the previous days lectures, review my notes, and use things like youtube/BnB to reiterate knowledge. I haven't started studying for step 1 yet, will probably start after this semester.

You're looking too far into rankings imo. No PD gives a s**t about your pre-clinical school ranking, they care about step scores and letters. Would it look nice to be top of the class? I guess but that isn't what will get you a residency coming from a carib school. No offense but I'm not giving out personally identifiable information like my class rank/GPA. Not so much that I care if you know it but more so that I'd rather have some anonymity on this forum to speak my mind without worrying about admin putting me on their "list." I'm only second semester, I passed 1st semester (it is only HP/P/F first semester no GPA) and was around the middle of the pack. Top class rankings would mean scoring 85%+ overall which is normally done by about 5-10% of the class depending on semester.

Getting a hold of old test questions is a good way to get kicked out of Ross. We hear stories every term. Ross reuses questions from a test bank that they rotate through so it is a big offense if they get leaked. There have been lots of people that get kicked out for being a part of google drives with stolen answers and getting kicked out of a carib for academic honesty is literally game over, no other big carib will take you for cheating. You're provided practice questions which are similar in scope to the test from the teachers, they like to use BRS/Lipincott for practice problems.

 

[amgi]

Thanks for taking your time I'm concerned how this COVID situation will affect tha fall and winter semesters. I know fall will be held online but no idea if winter 2021 will continue online.

 

[te3aa46]

Term 1 deals with fundamentals. You have biochem, microanatomy, MSK/integumentary anatomy, embryo I, heme&lymph, as well as some others.
Grading is 21% x3 for 3 exams, 5% anatomy practical, 2% participation points for online quizzes and discussion, 30% final exam.
The exams are not separated by topic so if you covered biochem and embryology you'll have both on that test. 1st term is HP/P/NP. 70% is the highest possible passing score youl'll need to progess but fluctuates between 62-70% based on the Hofstee method. Historically, it was fluctuating in the 65-67% range from what I've been told but our last term was made a 62% due to COVID.

USMLE you take just as any other med student. There is no longer a pre-STEP exam you have to pass in order to sit for step 1, which is nice as most other caribs still have this requirement. Rotations you can find info on their website, they have core rotation tracks with hospital systems in NY, FL, etc. You can do all your cores at these hospitals and from what I heard a good chunk of students will do their electives here too, otherwise you'd apply for a clerkship at a hospital like anyone else.

Hey is there any way I can message you @Gambino.

 

[soundofwonder]

Hey @Gambino. Thank you for helping out with the questions so far. There's really so much great information you've provided thus far! I'm planning to begin Ross in January 2021. I was wondering if you could share, generally, what the schedule is like for the semesters you have done?

What time do you start and end classes throughout the week?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gambino.]

Hey @Gambino.

What time do you start and end classes throughout the week?

Literally whenever you want. You have clinical skills once a week and anatomy 1-2x/week but other than that attendance even when island to lectures is not mandatory as everything is recorded on Panopto. The in-person lecture times vary but tend to start around 8-9am and the lecture gets uploaded within 15min of class ending but since we are online right now, all lectures are made available before the week even starts.

First two semesters you can expect an average of 3.5-4hrs of lecture a day in addition to clinical skills/anatomy. The hours ramp up beginning third semester where you can expect 4-7hrs/day of lecture.

 

[Somotor@123]

@Gambino.
Hi Gambino thanks for the eloquent responses. Do you feel that the slides are enough for the exams or do you supplement it with textbook usage for every class?

 

[Gambino.]

@Gambino.
Hi Gambino thanks for the eloquent responses. Do you feel that the slides are enough for the exams or do you supplement it with textbook usage for every class?

Mainly slides as that's where the exam material comes, along with first aid. Later semesters BnB as well as others become more important especially with step 1 getting closer.

 

[Somotor@123]

@Gambino. Do you mind reflecting on the living conditions in Ross housing? I saw some reviews in another thread and they don't really fill themselves in glory. Do you really get kicked out in between semesters? And also are you forced to look for a different housing if one of the roommate leaves? I have asked this on another thread but is yet to receive a response. Thanks