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Anyone hear anything good or bad about St. Matthews on Grand Cayman?
St. matthews?
- Thread starter lenape1
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A friend of mine just arrived there 2 weeks ago... I talked to him about it recently. He said it's paradise... with all the amenities of America, but in a tropical paradise setting. Very expensive though. Teachers/lectures are supposed to be pretty good. Students nice and motivated. Sounds o.k. to me. Caveat: I'd probably go to SGU or Ross first if I could. Good luck!
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The only thing I know (and this is just personal anecdotal hearsay - so take it only for what it's worth) is that they have taken a LOT of Ross drop outs in the past year. Many of those students left Ross due to some policy changes that were imposed at the last minute affecting their class, which may have prolonged their stay on Dominica. Also (and here's the anecdotal hearsay part), I know personally that many of those students were the weaker students of the class.
What you should look at/really need to know about St. Matt's is their first time pass rate on USMLE Step I. If they are willing to share this information (and it is comparable to the other "reputable" Caribbean schools), then it shouldn't be a problem. St. Matt's moved from Belize to Grand Cayman not that long ago after a history of problems in the former location. So, they do not have a long history at their new location - i.e., it may be hard to judge the quality of the current program until more students fully matriculate, graduate, and move on into the post-grad years (by which, you can get a rough estimate of how they are considered by the programs grads are accepted into).
Long story short, do your homework before you make any final decisions. Personally and from what I've seen, it really doesn't matter where you go in the Caribbean provided you are able to do all of your clinicals in U.S. teaching hospitals. Likewise, a good student first-time pass rate on Step I speaks volumes about the proficiency of the school and how stringent (or lackadaisical, as the case may be) the school is about advancing students who, in reality, actually need remediation.
Good luck in your pursuits.
-Skip
MSIII RUSM
What you should look at/really need to know about St. Matt's is their first time pass rate on USMLE Step I. If they are willing to share this information (and it is comparable to the other "reputable" Caribbean schools), then it shouldn't be a problem. St. Matt's moved from Belize to Grand Cayman not that long ago after a history of problems in the former location. So, they do not have a long history at their new location - i.e., it may be hard to judge the quality of the current program until more students fully matriculate, graduate, and move on into the post-grad years (by which, you can get a rough estimate of how they are considered by the programs grads are accepted into).
Long story short, do your homework before you make any final decisions. Personally and from what I've seen, it really doesn't matter where you go in the Caribbean provided you are able to do all of your clinicals in U.S. teaching hospitals. Likewise, a good student first-time pass rate on Step I speaks volumes about the proficiency of the school and how stringent (or lackadaisical, as the case may be) the school is about advancing students who, in reality, actually need remediation.
Good luck in your pursuits.
-Skip
MSIII RUSM
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I am third year student at SMU. I nearly almost went to Ross but changed my mind at the last minute. I did my first year in Belize and was there during my first semester when the whole Sersland clan was overthrown. It wasn't an easy first year, but got through it. As far as faculty, I don't really know any of them right now; they really didn't do themselves any favors when they decided not to offer positions to their Iranian faculty--they were the best teachers to be honest. I went to Maine for semesters 4 and 5 and was very happy with my experience up there and would highly recommend it if you go.
Now, would I recommend the school overall?? Hard to say. There are many Ross folks coming over; many disgruntled over changes going on there. However, that said, Ross does have an advantage of being much more established; SGU is even better. Rotation-wise, those schools I suspect are much better too. I am doing my third year in England. You get little or no support regarding setting up year 4; at least that's what I am hearing from those ahead of me.
Pass rates for boards aren't spectacular. It seems they are struggling to have a first time pass rate over 50%, but they claim its higher. I am not sure if other schools require you to pass a Step 1 shelf exam to be eligible to sit the boards; that would certainly weed out the weaker ones. SMU doesn't have any such requirement.
I would certainly look hard at Ross or SGU before considering SMU. While a nice island might make life easier, remember that you're their to get an education (which isn't cheap, might I add). Hope this helps.
Now, would I recommend the school overall?? Hard to say. There are many Ross folks coming over; many disgruntled over changes going on there. However, that said, Ross does have an advantage of being much more established; SGU is even better. Rotation-wise, those schools I suspect are much better too. I am doing my third year in England. You get little or no support regarding setting up year 4; at least that's what I am hearing from those ahead of me.
Pass rates for boards aren't spectacular. It seems they are struggling to have a first time pass rate over 50%, but they claim its higher. I am not sure if other schools require you to pass a Step 1 shelf exam to be eligible to sit the boards; that would certainly weed out the weaker ones. SMU doesn't have any such requirement.
I would certainly look hard at Ross or SGU before considering SMU. While a nice island might make life easier, remember that you're their to get an education (which isn't cheap, might I add). Hope this helps.
Wow that is pretty low. Take a close look at SGU although it is extremely expensive, they have a pass rate of 90% and approval for licensing in all 50 states, something only Ross and SGU have in the Carribean.
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SMU is too young and still undergoing growing pains, not only from the youth of the school but the recent turmoil and move (they were -- simply said -- kicked off thier previous island). Consider it, at best, as your third or fourth choice for Carib schools. Look elsewhere first; if that does not work, then maybe consider SMU.
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They weren't kicked off, but the former president, Jeff Sersland, has many connections with the Belize gov't and was making it very uncomfortable for the school to be there, and even started up MUA-Belize. Cayman opened up and was supposed to be the pancea of attracting good faculty; from what I've heard down there is that they still don't have any. Personally, I wonder what the school's spending priorities are...oh well, maybe they'll learn someday. The Maine campus is good and the faculty are decent, but the previous three terms before getting there are frustrating. The lack of a real anatomy lab, for instance, is such an obvious thing to fix and many students come out of anataomy with a poor appreciation of it (it certainly doesn't help during surgery). If you're going foreign, SGU should be at the top of your list. As was said previously, go with those with high pass rates; they are doing something right. At the moment SMU is taking on as many students as possible to make the $$$.
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IMO, the list of choices should be:
1. SGU
2. Isreali schools (don't if you feel in danger)
3. Ross/AUC (don't if you want to live comfortable and avoid shady admin)
4. St. Chris/Saba (don't if you want to practice in cali/NM)
5. East Europe/ireland/australia (don't if you have to have US clins)
6. SMU (don't if you don't like what you read above)
7. This is not an exhaustive list, I apologize if I forgot someones schools, this is just the schools that I could remember off hand.
1. SGU
2. Isreali schools (don't if you feel in danger)
3. Ross/AUC (don't if you want to live comfortable and avoid shady admin)
4. St. Chris/Saba (don't if you want to practice in cali/NM)
5. East Europe/ireland/australia (don't if you have to have US clins)
6. SMU (don't if you don't like what you read above)
7. This is not an exhaustive list, I apologize if I forgot someones schools, this is just the schools that I could remember off hand.
I would put Flinders in Australia and Trinity and Royal College in Ireland very high on the list and on par with SGU because they have such excellent and successful placement records and connections with the U.S. I wouldn't put them with the Eastern European schools at all.
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irish/australian schools are great schools, stafford loans, approval in all states, no problems at all getting residency, been around for years....i would say that they are clearly sharing the top spot with SGU, then the isreal schools, and then all the rest is pretty much up to the individual. no way on earth that st chris, saba, eastern europe, smu, etc are even close to irish/australian schools.
clinicals are available in the states from these schools. even if they weren't they would still be awesome places. remeber, thousands of people get residencies without 1 day of clinical exp in the US. it helps for lots of reasons, and i want as much as i can get too, but it is in no way essential.
clinicals are available in the states from these schools. even if they weren't they would still be awesome places. remeber, thousands of people get residencies without 1 day of clinical exp in the US. it helps for lots of reasons, and i want as much as i can get too, but it is in no way essential.
