Saint James School of Medicine

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Dr.Luke

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AUA is next on the chopping block :)
 
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That's very extreme. Have you pressed charges at all?
 
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Just the campus. Their US subsidiary is in Park Ridge, Illinois. A lawyer should certainly be consulted if the experience is, in fact, true.
 
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gyngyn said:
Sadly, much of the potential litigation cannot be prosecuted in the US.
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The exact reason for not going to medical school there in the first place.
 
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I started MD 1 with 70 regular people on Zoom, and according to my friends, now only 10-15 stayed in MD 5, not even talking about whether they are going to pass the COMP, and step 1.

5 people will move on to become doctors out of those 70.
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This isn't good. For St. James to do this and not even have federal aid is a problem. At least with schools like AUA and SGU, not saying that they're "ok" is that Federal Aid does have a strict pass rate, enrollment, etc., requirements. However, St. James doesn't have this requirement, so five students staying out of 70 is just poor quality, in my opinion. Where were most of your classmates from?
 
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stethan said:
This isn't good. For St. James to do this and not even have federal aid is a problem. At least with schools like AUA and SGU, not saying that they're "ok" is that Federal Aid does have a strict pass rate, enrollment, etc., requirements. However, St. James doesn't have this requirement, so five students staying out of 70 is just poor quality, in my opinion. Where were most of your classmates from?
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US and Canada
 
On a different note, the school is in the process of building a new campus and expanding their resources. They recently revised their MD5 program to include AMBOSS and USMLE-RX. I would say they are taking steps in the right direction to address student concerns.

It seems this is a very one sided conversation. As a current student as SJSM, i can say that the school is what you make of it. Obviously they are only out for making money, but realistically, the degree is real. That is assuming you can make it that far.

What do you expect from a school that has a 2.0 GPA minimum and No MCAT scores? They are literally the community college of medicine. You have to put work in to get the degree. I know a lot of people who have graduated from this school and are successfully practicing medicine in the united states.

The other comparison you can make is this school is like "Last Chance U" but for medical school.

Also, I have no direct affiliation to administration or the student government. Personally, I wouldnt recommend this school to anyone unless it was literally your last resort. I only came here because I didnt want to take the MCAT again after having been out of school for so long. My MCAT scores were expired.
 
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FutureDevilDoc said:
Well this is a very interesting threat.

It seems this is a very one sided conversation. As a current student as SJSM, i can say that the school is what you make of it. Obviously they are only out for making money, but realistically, the degree is real. That is assuming you can make it that far.

What do you expect from a school that has a 2.0 GPA minimum and No MCAT scores? They are literally the community college of medicine. You have to put work in to get the degree. I know a lot of people who have graduated from this school and are successfully practicing medicine in the united states.

The other comparison you can make is this school is like "Last Chance U" but for medical school.

Also, I have no direct affiliation to administration or the student government. Personally, I wouldnt recommend this school to anyone unless it was literally your last resort. I only came here because I didnt want to take the MCAT again after having been out of school for so long. My MCAT scores were expired.
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That's not what I would classify as a last resort.
 
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xffan624 said:
That's not what I would classify as a last resort.
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I say last resort in regards to the standard you don't have the GPA or MCAT scores to get into an American school or other Caribbean schools that require them. This school also doesn't require you to have a degree.
 
Don't they require 90 credits or college equivalent? I'm not referring to the Premed program.
Just students who enter the MD.
 
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I read on there site or somewhere that ~70 of there students get matched this year. If no one is left behind to continue then where these numbers coming from. I doubt that 70 numbers but I am sure its not 5 students either. They have Graduation Ceremonies like last month, not sure they were all matched though..
 
marsmddo said:
I read on there site or somewhere that ~70 of there students get matched this year. If no one is left behind to continue then where these numbers coming from. I doubt that 70 numbers but I am sure its not 5 students either. They have Graduation Ceremonies like last month, not sure they were all matched though..
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It should be pointed out that this is a Caribbean medical school, and therefore they do not follow American or Canadian laws. On the island, they do not need a "search warrant.' This island has crazy laws, for example, you can get sentenced to 10 years in prison for defending yourself in a physical altercation. The laws on this island are insane. When traveling to any country, you should always review what their laws are.

My advice to anyone reading this thread. Do your research. Look into the school and talk to multiple people who actually attend the school or have graduated from the school. A lot of people don't realize that they have three different programs. They have a 5, 6 ,and 7 semester custom program for students. The match numbers do not account for the people in those programs. I strongly advise anyone and everyone to not look specifically at match numbers. The bottom line, you have to pass Step I and Step II along with being a genuinely decent human being. I have meet with many US EM program directors, and they all have said the same thing. They don't care where you went to school, or what your step scores are. What they are looking for is people who are going to be good doctors and have strong letters of recommendation from rotations. They want people who are liked and get along with other specialties. I went to SAEM online meet and greets, and I have 8 program directors personal cell phone numbers.

Bottom line, if you want to go to a Caribbean medical school, you have to be willing to work your ass off and put yourself out there. Dont get roped into drama, and don't get caught up in the island life. If your goal is to be a physician, the only person stopping you, is yourself. There is no need to blame the school or other people.
 
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FutureDevilDoc said:
It should be pointed out that this is a Caribbean medical school, and therefore they do not follow American or Canadian laws. On the island, they do not need a "search warrant.' This island has crazy laws, for example, you can get sentenced to 10 years in prison for defending yourself in a physical altercation. The laws on this island are insane. When traveling to any country, you should always review what their lawas are.

My advice to anyone reading this thread. Do your research. Look into the school and talk to multiple people who actually attend the school or have graduated from the school. A lot of people don't realize that they have three different programs. They have a 5, 6 ,and 7 semester custom program for students. The match numbers do not account for the people in those programs. I strongly advise anyone and everyone to not look specifically at match numbers. The bottom line, you have to pass Step I and Step II along with being a genuinely decent human being. I have meet with many US EM program directors, and they all have said the same thing. They don't care where you went to school, or what your step scores are. What they are looking for is people who are going to be good doctors and have strong letters of recommendation from rotations. They want people who are liked and get along with other specialties. I went to SAEM online meet and greets, and I have 8 program directors personal cell phone numbers.

Bottom line, if you want to go to a Caribbean medical school, you have to be willing to work your ass off and put yourself out there. Dont get roped into drama, and don't get caught up in the island life. If your goal is to be a physician, the only person stopping you, is yourself. There is no need to blame the school or other people.
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FutureDevilDoc said:
It should be pointed out that this is a Caribbean medical school, and therefore they do not follow American or Canadian laws. On the island, they do not need a "search warrant.' This island has crazy laws, for example, you can get sentenced to 10 years in prison for defending yourself in a physical altercation. The laws on this island are insane. When traveling to any country, you should always review what their lawas are.

My advice to anyone reading this thread. Do your research. Look into the school and talk to multiple people who actually attend the school or have graduated from the school. A lot of people don't realize that they have three different programs. They have a 5, 6 ,and 7 semester custom program for students. The match numbers do not account for the people in those programs. I strongly advise anyone and everyone to not look specifically at match numbers. The bottom line, you have to pass Step I and Step II along with being a genuinely decent human being. I have meet with many US EM program directors, and they all have said the same thing. They don't care where you went to school, or what your step scores are. What they are looking for is people who are going to be good doctors and have strong letters of recommendation from rotations. They want people who are liked and get along with other specialties. I went to SAEM online meet and greets, and I have 8 program directors personal cell phone numbers.

Bottom line, if you want to go to a Caribbean medical school, you have to be willing to work your ass off and put yourself out there. Dont get roped into drama, and don't get caught up in the island life. If your goal is to be a physician, the only person stopping you, is yourself. There is no need to blame the school or other people.
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stethan said:
Don't they require 90 credits or college equivalent? I'm not referring to the Premed program.
Just students who enter the MD.
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So glad, I passed on this when they asked me for my security deposit.
 
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I read that they get there accredition extended till 2025 from ACCM.
Is that correct?
 
They were on a temp extension in 2022, but now they got permanent extension till Dec 2025.
At least they good till 2025 now.
 
I was the whistleblower against this sham business. I gathered and presented my evidence to the FTC back in 2020 and signed a declarations back in 2021. My evidence as an admission advisor there in 2019 couldn't be refuted by this family business. You can check out my reviews on Google under St. James. Students who match are graduates from a 5 year span. The FTC undercovered a 35% Step 1 pass rate. And that's only counting students who passed the NBME. Most students never make it to MD5. With only needing 90 credit hours and no mcat score, majority of students are set up to fail. This place is so bad it makes a used car dealership look like a holy temple.
 
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How are students still being recruited. Where are they mostly from?
 
I would say a good 50/50 Canadians and Americans, with age demography of 20s to 60s.
God knows how the older ones going to pass the step exams, but the school keeps passing you if you are "average" but the average is like 40% NBME. But the school probably want to milk the money out of you until you hit the step exams.
 
TopNepNep said:
I would say a good 50/50 Canadians and Americans, with age demography of 20s to 60s.
God knows how the older ones going to pass the step exams, but the school keeps passing you if you are "average" but the average is like 40% NBME. But the school probably want to milk the money out of you until you hit the step exams.
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Here's a link to an announcement from the FTC. 35% Step 1 pass rate and 65% Match rate Match rate is about average for IMGs but a lot lower than the reported match rates for the big 3 (SGU, Ross and AUC) which are comparable to the USMG match rate.

www.ftc.gov

Federal Trade Commission Takes Action Against For-Profit Medical School for Using Deceptive Marketing to Lure Students

The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against a for-profit medical school in the Caribbean and its Illinois-based operators, alleging they deceptively marketed the school’s medical license
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov
 
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Highlander455 said:
Match rate is about average for IMGs but a lot lower than the reported match rates for the big 3 (SGU, Ross and AUC) which are comparable to the USMG match rate.
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Best estimates (as they are not forthcoming with the actual data) indicate that at least 40% of those who start school at Ross, SGU and AUC do not match. A significant proportion are never allowed to sit for USMLE (much less match).
 
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When they run out of Canadian/US students they'll shift their focus to India and Southeast Asia like a lot of the much lesser known schools do.
 
gyngyn said:
Best estimates (as they are not forthcoming with the actual data) indicate that at least 40% of those who start school at Ross, SGU and AUC do not match. A significant proportion are never allowed to sit for USMLE (much less match).
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Yes, but got to compare apples to apples. 65% of SJSM grads match vs about 95% of big three. If you get through at one of the big 3 you've got as good a chance of matching as a US grad vs SJSM which is closer to overall IMG average. Also, if you believe the first time USMLE stats for the big 3 you've got a lot better chance of passing USMLE at SGU, Ross or AUC than 35% at SJSM.
 
Highlander455 said:
If you get through at one of the big 3 you've got as good a chance of matching as a US grad vs SJSM which is closer to overall IMG average.
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The attrition for US MD matriculants is between 1 and 3%. It is somewhere around 40% at the "better" Caribbean schools.
At the point that one is deciding to attend, these are the stats that matter. Everyone wants to think that they will get through.

If your only choice is one of these offshore schools, then you are right. Some are much worse than others but none of them are comparable to US schools.
 
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No argument there. US is definitely the best choice if one can get in. If you can't and choose Caribbean, then one of big three gives you best shot.
 
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Gambino. said:
When they run out of Canadian/US students they'll shift their focus to India and Southeast Asia like a lot of the much lesser known schools do.
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Some of them are already doing this, as if you frequent other countries, advertisements and websites there, you'll notice their ads pop up left and right. For instance I was in Turkey, visiting back home for a bit and then I noticed the ads popping up on computers.
 
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Hi there! Are you in school at St. james now?
 
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Gambino. said:
How much was awarded to each student? 1.2mil spread across all past and present students sounds like it could get diluted pretty quickly.
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Yeah it was between 100 to 200 for me.
They only refund students enrolled between May 2016 and Summer 2021, not all past and present students.

www.ftc.gov

Saint James School of Medicine Refunds

FTC Sends Payments to People Who Attended Saint James School of Medicine
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov
 
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