Psycho Doctor said:
My gf is thinking of applying in a couple years and is pretty clueless, so thought I'd ask. How difficult is it to practice in the states after graduating from a Caribbean school?
i am a ross grad, and i am familiar with sgu as well. i was given the opportunity to "audit" first semester at sgu before i applied to and knew about ross. i was given this dubious honor because i must have been a borderline applicant to sgu, and they required i get a 3.0 gpa in my audit semester.
i found some surprises at st georges that i wasn't aware of from the brochure. first, as a consequence of the academic pressures brought on by a condensed schedule of classes, many students, with senior faculty approval, "decellerate" or drop one class in order to survive the semester and must retake it at a later time. by my estimation roughly 20- 30% of my class dropped either biochem or anatomy first semester when i was there. i witnessed this first-hand at sgu, when several of my friends were failing biochem or anatomy. as an audit student, i was not permitted to "decell", so i was forced to compete with a significant portion of my class who where taking a lighter class load than i was. second, i personally found it impossible to meet with one of the anatomy professors at a time when i badly needed help. female students had no problem meeting with this faculty member (who had a reputation of being friendly with female students, and in fact dated one openly during my semester) but since i don't wear a skirt, my name was mysteriously removed from his appointment book. in the end, i did not make my 3.0, but found out about about ross upon returning to the states and applied and attended there.
i found ross to be more than adequate in terms of teaching quality, and resources available to students. while the coursework was challenging and highly competitive, i didn't feel the need to drop any classes in order pass. i never had a problem meeting with instructors, and didn't find a "harvard of the caribbean" conceit that was so apparent from many of the students and faculty at sgu. it is fair to say that both schools will suffice for a motivated medical student, and both places require students to pass in house "comprehensive" exams before being allowed to sit for steps. but i have to say i felt i was treated fairly at ross,and i was never required to prove myself with an "audit" semester. i also found the students at ross to be more friendly and relaxed than at sgu, a quality noticed by a friend of mine who stayed at st georges and who i've remained in contact with. i found the faculty at ross to be highly competent, and thanks to the opportunity given to me by ross, i was able to accomplish my goal and am now in residency.
one other important point.. when i attended, ross was quite a bit cheaper to attend than sgu... this may not seem important now, but you'll be happy when it comes time to pay off those student loans.
👍 and by the way, all of the carib schools are english speaking. they are designed for u.s. students who were unable to gain admission to u.s. medical schools.
