Safety in the Carribean????

[NRAI2001]

Truthful answers only please, dont post in defense of your school. Just wondering bc my little sister is applying to several carrib. schools.

Can you rank the following in safety, on campus and off campus:

SGU, ROSS, St. Mathews, SABA, AUC.

Any additional comments will also be appreciated, especially those including housing, food, facilities.

THANKS.

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[Kennysdn]

st. maarten and grand cayman are probably the easiest to adjust to (out of those you have listed-just my opinion).

 

[NRAI2001]

st. maarten and grand cayman are probably the easiest to adjust to (out of those you have listed-just my opinion).

Is grand cayman a school? Does it have US rotations?

 

[dbiddy808]

ONE big thing saba has going for it is safety. It is a very small community and everyone knows everyone. I am a Saba grad and never felt unsafe at all. I'm sure there is crime there, but I would bet it is safer than most places in the US or canada.

I don't know much about safety on Grand Cayman (home of St.Matthews) other than that a friend of mine grew up there and never mentioned it being shady at all. He's a normal-sized white dude and never mentioned anything at all about it being unsafe.

St.Maarten is a fun place, but the backstreets of Phillipsburg are pretty shady and I would not think they would be safe at night unless a person had "street smarts". Since saba was boring as f@ck, I spend quite alot of time on St.Maarten and never had any troubles, but there were times where I was on guard.

And I'm sure everyone who is familiar with caribbean medical schools has heard stories about Dominica and Grenada. I'm sure that if you kept to your self and are vigilant you would be ok there, but you would have to be careful.

 

[NRAI2001]

ONE big thing saba has going for it is safety. It is a very small community and everyone knows everyone. I am a Saba grad and never felt unsafe at all. I'm sure there is crime there, but I would bet it is safer than most places in the US or canada.

I don't know much about safety on Grand Cayman (home of St.Matthews) other than that a friend of mine grew up there and never mentioned it being shady at all. He's a normal-sized white dude and never mentioned anything at all about it being unsafe.

St.Maarten is a fun place, but the backstreets of Phillipsburg are pretty shady and I would not think they would be safe at night unless a person had "street smarts". Since saba was boring as f@ck, I spend quite alot of time on St.Maarten and never had any troubles, but there were times where I was on guard.

And I'm sure everyone who is familiar with caribbean medical schools has heard stories about Dominica and Grenada. I'm sure that if you kept to your self and are vigilant you would be ok there, but you would have to be careful.

O ok, thanks for the post.

 

[Mom2five]

Truthful answers only please, dont post in defense of your school. Just wondering bc my little sister is applying to several carrib. schools.

Can you rank the following in safety, on campus and off campus:

SGU, ROSS, St. Mathews, SABA, AUC.

Any additional comments will also be appreciated, especially those including housing, food, facilities.

THANKS.

We lived in Dominica with 4 kids. I felt as safe as anywhere. You just can't be stupid. Lock your doors, as a woman don't be overly friendly with men...use common sense. We had a car which helps. Having to walk after a late night studying can be scary. Ross does run transportation from the library in the evenings. Best to be with someone else if you decide to walk. The campus is gated and has security guards at the entrances. One day they wouldn't even let me on (I forgot my ID) and my kids were on the campus in school! It was annoying but I guess serves its purpose.

 

[NRAI2001]

We lived in Dominica with 4 kids. I felt as safe as anywhere. You just can't be stupid. Lock your doors, as a woman don't be overly friendly with men...use common sense. We had a car which helps. Having to walk after a late night studying can be scary. Ross does run transportation from the library in the evenings. Best to be with someone else if you decide to walk. The campus is gated and has security guards at the entrances. One day they wouldn't even let me on (I forgot my ID) and my kids were on the campus in school! It was annoying but I guess serves its purpose.

From what i ve heard (a buddy of mine who goes to ROSS told me this)Dominic isn't too safe, outside of the campus?

 

[Mom2five]

From what i ve heard (a buddy of mine who goes to ROSS told me this)Dominic isn't too safe, outside of the campus?

We went all over the island. I often drove around by myself...went shopping etc. You just can't be stupid. We had family come down, our Moms, his brother and his four kids and we tried to do everything on the island...visit all the waterfalls, hike, ride the rainforest Tram, whale watching, Scuba diving, sailing, waterskiing, swam in the river, etc. Suprised that a guy would say it wasn't safe. As a woman I'd understand. On every island guys look at you and say stuff. Guys were always flirting but I kept myself safe. Dominica doesn't have as many tourists but is trying really hard to market itself as an eco-tourism spot. I mean the Black Pearl was there!!! Pirates of the Caribbean II filmed some scenes on the island just recently! One of my friends got to meet Johnny! Dominica's most exciting moment ever! Side note...anyway lots and lots of families go there with their children. We have friends that work for the school and have been there for 3 years with their kids. Lock your doors, be careful at night, etc. Just like you would in the U.S. St. Martin is a fun island and has much better shopping but I think Dominica was a more fun experience for our family. St. Martin is more like the U.S. and doesn't require quite the adjustment that Dominica does. Again, living on any island is hard. The power goes out in St. Martin too. Chicken gets boring for every meal, etc. My bro and sis inlaw came for 1 week and later went to Hawaii and they liked Dominica better. As a tourist it is an exciting/different place. Living there is frustrating...dealing with customer service issues etc "ya mon have your car done tomorrow" week later still not done...ugh! That's what got old. No school is perfect...all islands have their pros and cons...but I wouldn't write Dominica off just for safety...choose another reason. You need to make sure that you realize that it is NOT the U.S. I hated hearing students complain...no one made them go there. Many people will never leave the island...think about them...it's so snobby to complain within earshot of locals. At home say what you want but please keep negative comments to yourself...that's why the world hates U.S. tourists...we are so rude. ok, off my box now.

Bottom line, look at other issues to decide...you Can be safe in Dominica by using the same common sense you'd use in any city.

 

[NRAI2001]

" Suprised that a guy would say it wasn't safe. As a woman I'd understand. On every island guys look at you and say stuff. Guys were always flirting but I kept myself safe........."

I m not scared, and I m not concerned for my own safety, its for the safety of my sister.

 

[Mom2five]

" Suprised that a guy would say it wasn't safe. As a woman I'd understand. On every island guys look at you and say stuff. Guys were always flirting but I kept myself safe........."

I m not scared, and I m not concerned for my own safety, its for the safety of my sister.

Got it...he was referring to your sister's safety (your friend)...one other thing...my sister in law lived with us and worked at the bookstore on campus. She often walked to work from our house, had to go down some paths that were not open areas etc. She did NOT feel comfortable. Nothing ever happened but she didn't feel safe walking around all alone. (We lived more of a distance than you have to though since we had a car.) She doesn't always feel safe in the U.S. walking around alone either. She runs, sometimes on trails and sometimes is concerned as most women are. Being married and having a car made me feel safe. These may have been unjustified but I felt fine. Also, it is in Ross' best interest to keep their students safe and I think they do what they can. Women will do better to not be overly friendly with the male locals. They get satellite TV and have an assumption that U.S. women are sex crazed.

There is lots of housing across the street from Ross and you'll have to check but they were in the process of buying some property on the campus for housing when we left a year ago.

I drove to the airport (hour drive on crazy, hilly, drop-off, winding roads) by myself many times and some thought I was crazy. You can get a cell phone. I think you are able to be very cautious if you want. Many opportunities to get groups together, hire a driver, and go hiking see a waterfall etc.

If I was by myself I don't know what I'd choose. I liked the choice for our family because it was different and a good experience for the kids. Some people really hated it...others loved it and miss the island.

 

[Mom2five]

Things I hated:

got sick of the food (or lack of variety) this also because I was cooking for a big family, hated my oven, doing dishes (no hotwater at kitchen sink), laundry major pain for big family, hot and humid and AC expensive (again issue for big family), hated the complete lack of customer service, expensive to travel there (no jet service/night flights), power outages, rent was not cheap (single students living together can live affordably). We did really well for about 8 months and then the homesickness settled in and we found ourselves getting really frustrated with island living. A single student will be able to afford to come home more often which helps. It is hard to adjust to a different culture while trying to figure out how to make it in med school. Dominica is NOT for everyone. Research it extensively! Even knowing what to expect you can still get annoyed at things. Some students though I swear never looked up anything about the island.

For us the biggest thing that makes us second guess our decision is the costs. We bought a car, all the plane tickets, cost of food, etc. It added up quickly and we still haven't totally recovered.

The thing I most loved was that I met some of my best friends ever. Boot camp will do that for ya!

There all other good things but I don't want to sound like an AD for Ross. I wouldn't recommend it for just anyone. Depends on so many factors...personality, how much you want to sacrifice to be a doctor, etc etc etc.

 

[NRAI2001]

Things I hated:

got sick of the food (or lack of variety) this also because I was cooking for a big family, hated my oven, doing dishes (no hotwater at kitchen sink), laundry major pain for big family, hot and humid and AC expensive (again issue for big family), hated the complete lack of customer service, expensive to travel there (no jet service/night flights), power outages, rent was not cheap (single students living together can live affordably). We did really well for about 8 months and then the homesickness settled in and we found ourselves getting really frustrated with island living. A single student will be able to afford to come home more often which helps. It is hard to adjust to a different culture while trying to figure out how to make it in med school. Dominica is NOT for everyone. Research it extensively! Even knowing what to expect you can still get annoyed at things. Some students though I swear never looked up anything about the island.

For us the biggest thing that makes us second guess our decision is the costs. We bought a car, all the plane tickets, cost of food, etc. It added up quickly and we still haven't totally recovered.

The thing I most loved was that I met some of my best friends ever. Boot camp will do that for ya!

There all other good things but I don't want to sound like an AD for Ross. I wouldn't recommend it for just anyone. Depends on so many factors...personality, how much you want to sacrifice to be a doctor, etc etc etc.

THANKS a lot for taking the time to write such long posts. You meantioned doing your research, what other things should my sister research? My sister is kinda spoiled and is really "girly", if you know what I mean. I don't know how she would bear with out the amenities that we take for granted in the US. She is not what I would call a strong person physically or mentally. When we go on vacation (camping, away from the US, anywhere....etc) she gets really dehydrated quickly, hungry, can complains quit a bit..........etc. Overall even though she pretends that she isn't she is kinda frail.

I think i could handle it bc I grew up helping my dad on the farm and I workout and run a lot, but her I don't know. She hasn't really been exposed to too many physical stresses (hard labor, hot temperature..etc) She also kinda lacks street smarts, and sometimes thinks that she has more power than she really does (will go up to a group of guys and yell at them if they say anything to her, episodes of road rage with some people i would consider to be a bit sketchy...etc) and tends to loose her temper quickly.

She is really good looking also, so that might not help either.

 

[NRAI2001]

O yea, I found out earlier today, that she got an interview with ROSS, so this is especially pertinent.

 

[Mom2five]

O yea, I found out earlier today, that she got an interview with ROSS, so this is especially pertinent.

Well, congrats to her on the interview. Lots of girly girls go down there...just takes some longer than others to stop trying to keep the make-up on (it sort of melts off!) I'd consider myself girly but pretty much gave up some of that in Dominica. I never blow-dried my hair...it is way too hot. I did wear make-up sometimes when I couldn't stand not feeling a little fixed up. I tried to dress cute.

I don't know what your sister's financial situation is but I'd suggest maybe visiting the island if she can. At the very least she could have an interesting vacation if she decides its not for her. Some students have actually arrived at the airport and left immediately cause they were so freaked out. The airport has no AC and it feels like you have entered another country...whoops, you have! It's hard to say how she'd do. Your attitude really determines if you make it or not. I could give her very specific advice...I could write a book for sure! People with families seemed to do better. It's hard being away from family and being somewhere so different than the U.S. I think if she could handle it that it would help her be a better doctor...I am not picking on anyone, just think that my family has had our "perspective" widened, little more compassion for people. It really feels like you accomplished something...not only to get thru med school but managed to live in a different culture.

We picked Ross over AUC 'cause we thought we couldn't afford to live on St. Martin and we thought clinical options looked more promising with Ross...whether these things are true I really don't know.

One classmate of my husband's took his sister down to Dominica to enroll her (he has already finished his time on the island). So I guess he felt it was safe enough for her.

Research: Pretend you are going on vacation there and buy one of those guidebooks (mine was on Dominica and St. Lucia...from Barnes and Noble). Search the internet for 'dominica real estate' and diving sites, hotels, etc. You'll see pictures and the more you know the better.

Go to www.liquidguru.com and see lots of pictures of the island taken by a Dive Master that works at Cabrits (the dive shop next to the school). That was my favorite thing...getting certified...it was like $250 and all your dives are in the ocean! In the U.S. (at least in Missouri where I'm from) you spend your time in a swimming pool and then go dive in some lake for your final dive. Lots of students go diving. When we were there after the big tests there would be a party on the beach right near the school with free food/drinks and you could try scuba diving for free, go sailing, kayaking, etc. I even went water skiing once. The boat kept stalling and when my sil was skiing the driver had me take over while he went and pounded on the engine! It was crazy. I think the student ass. funded these events.

She can feel free to email me. I'd be glad to talk to her. I know the school will give you former students to talk to if you ask. Not like anyone is going to say "NO WAY...don't go!" But she may get some info that will help her make up her mind.

 

[Mom2five]

And she probably wouldn't do too much cooking...there are these little restaurants (nicknamed the shacks) right on campus that locals run and serve just about anything. For a single student it is affordable. Salads, chicken, mexican, indian, vegetarian meals, traditional Dominican food, pizza, etc. Have to be a little adventurous at first but there are some yummy things. Fresh juice shack is very popular. There is a few chinese restaurants very near as well.

While I enjoyed my time on the island I knew I would be leaving eventually and was SOOOOO glad when I was back on U.S. soil. It's weird how excited you are to be back home. You go to Walmart and can't believe there are 100 different choices of ketchup. It actually takes awhile to be able to shop...the choices are overwhelming. The stores in Dominica are not known for their variety.

 

[Mary2009]

Mom2Five, thanks for posting all of this info, it helps so much! I have my application in at Ross right now and am waiting to see if I have an interview. I am excited and scared at the same time to go down there so it helps to have a first hand account!

 

[Mom2five]

Mary2009...thanks...we really saw more of the island than most students because we had a car and had lots of family come visit so we would take them all over exploring. It does help to go see some things. You can get real down and negative just studying all the time and never leaving the immediate campus area. Also, the classes are big so you will make some really good friends.

 

[NRAI2001]

Yea thanks mom