There is no doubt in my mind that Ross University is a fantastic school. However, after a personal visit and researching some surrounding issues, I chose St. Matthew's. I am in no way trying to advocate my school over the others. You will make the best decision by keeping an open mind when research SGU, Ross, and SMU.
St. Kitts is in a major transitional phase. For a very long time, the island grew sugarcane and that was their primary export and means of economic survival. However, as the demand for sugarcane decreased, St. Kitts shut down their sugar cane farms and turned to tourism instead.
Now with tourism at the forefront, St. Kitts is experiencing a lot of contstruction. A very nice hotel and golf course has been built, and more hotels are in planning (or some might already be there since last summer when i visited).
When an island in the caribbean embraces tourism, it takes a lot of adjustment. They have to be taught how to effectively deal with their customers, which are primarily American. American culture is very different from caribbean culture, therefore it takes a while for everything to fall into place. Grand Cayman, however, has been in the industry for years and has developed an very amiable relationship between their country and its visitors.
It is my belief that an increased crime rate at St. Kitts could partly be due to the changes currently being made in their country.
Max Power said:
All you need to think about is the cost, an extra exam, and the idea of living in a foreign country.
I have to disagree here. I think you should look at the whole picture in order to arrive at the best decision.
While Grenada (SGU) and St. Kitts (Ross) may not have the greatest living conditions, there is no doubt that you will receive a very high quality education. The professors at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine even boast about Ross's surgical program, which brings me to another point.
Whether you attend SMU, SGU, or Ross, you will receive more hands-on experience than most US veterinary schools. This can be attributed to PETA, which lobbied for legislation to be passed to restrict the use of terminal surgeries in US veterinary schools. In the 70s, students would do several surgeries on a perfectly healthy animal, and then euthanize it in the end. Now that they can't do that, they use other models, like styrofoam bones. While it is unfortunate for the animal, this type of experience is extremely important in your veterinary education. And you're likely to save more lives in the end because you won't make as many mistakes.
SGU, SMU, and Ross are not affected by PETA, so terminal surgeries are a part of the curriculum.
Finally, in order to provide some balance, I will list some disadvantages of the school I attend:
1. St. Matthew's currently runs out of leased office buildings. It originally started in Belize, but relocated for several reasons (stability being a primary one). Some students do not like this because owning your own facilities reflects stability. However, SMU has been purchasing land and a veterinary surgical clinic is expected to be completed in the summer. You can see pictures of it under construction at
www.stmatthews.edu.
2. SMU does not have as many clinical affiliations as St. George's or Ross. However SMU is a very new school, so it's only a matter of time until we gain more clinical affiliations. Currently your clinical year can be at North Carolina State, University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University, or the University of Florida. 2 more clinical sites are expected to be released soon. A new website will be launched around May 1st so it might be announced then.
3. St. George's and Ross are more established than St. Matthew's, which implies that the educational level might be higher there. But several transfer students from SGU and Ross feel that St. Matthew's is equivalent. I guess only time can tell.
Hope this helps. Sorry for writing such long posts. Have a great day!
