Has anyone heard anything good, bad, etc. about Ross University for med school?
Hi Nomad. The only info I have is second hand. It came from students who were visiting St. George’s at the same time I was. They had visited Ross just prior to visiting St. George’s. There advice was to not even both with visiting Ross. They said the setting was less than great and that the facilities really lacked a lot. They didn’t have time to say more because we had started the tour. But they were VERY much unimpressed. I’m not sure what the USMLE pass rates are and haven’t spoken with anyone who actually attended. Hopefully you can get something more thorough from others who have visited or attended.
about the valuemd site, enter with caution: they spend half the time bashing each other’s schools!
Kathy
With any site, be it ours, SDN or Valuemd, you just have to read with caution. There are those who post with very accurate information, and those whose posts are less than accurate. I am by no means an expert on foreign med schools, but I have done my fair share of research on the topic. It seems the important issues among those who post a lot on this subject are:
1. USMLE Scores
2. 3rd & 4th year clerkship sites
3. Residency Placement.
4. Licensing Issues (Can you practice in the state of your choice)
I’m sure other important issues exist; it’s just these concerns seem to arise most often. Personally, I would make sure any schools you are considering applying to be able to provide you with this information. Any school not willing to provide you with this information should raise concern immediately!
“Caveat Emptor”
For ANYONE considering an offshore school, of course you must check it out thoroughly for yourself. Many different factors make each a better choice for each individual. For me, it was education for my older son Adam (not available at some of the schools on smaller islands) and his fear of hurricanes, which seems justified this year. In any case, the school must be on the lists I listed previously and you want to know that its graduates are doing well and getting licensed. I checked all of these things myself before committing to the school I ended up choosing. You will find all sorts of conflicting information on various websites, that why it is crucial that you check out the information yourself.
Kathy
I worked as the Internal Medicine Residency Program Coordinator at a medical school in Atlanta for some years. Ross was the only school filtered out for medical schools. This program has a high foreign medical grad rate but they definitely didn’t want anyone from Ross. My advice is if you plan on practicing medicine in the U.S., make sure you can get into a residency program because you can only get your medical icense after doing a first year internship.
Hello all, after hearing the reports about Ross I’m wondering if there are other options besides the Carribean. One tough priority: I require financial aid, even if it is only loans. What, besides Ross, are my best options for offshore?
All the funding for medical school is via loans. For many of them, the loans are TERI and MEDACHIEVER, which are bank-funded, credit-based loans. I don’t know about Ross, but American University of the Carribean is eligible for US federal financial aid (one of the few offshore schools).
Kathy
bjg,
Regarding your question about other foreign schools, there are many. Some US students have gone to the med school in Mexico (down side, all Spanish education, in Mexico for 5 years, so no US clinicals, etc), there are also schools in Europe. The school I will be attending in January is 3o miles outside London.(You can check it out at www.stchris.edu) There are others in eastern Europe as well.
Kathy
Cuba offers free meical school to US citizens but the conditions over there take some getting used to from what I hear. Plus I have heard of difficulties of being able to stay in touch with the US. On the other hand, I hear it is a wonderful health system (because it is socialized). Docs over there make $20 per month.
The “Big Three” Caribbean Schools (AUC, Ross and St. George’s) are all currently approved for Title IV FFELP funding. Basically this means that Stafford Loans are available. These are the only Caribbean schools that are approved for federal Title IV loans. Remember the tuition at these schools is quite high so you’ll most likely still need a good chunk of “private loans”.
Kathy,
I would love to chat to you more about how you found St Chris, if financial aid is avail, where your clinicals will be etc etc.
I’ve lived overseas a good amount so the UK isn’t a stretch for me.
Could we email off line, or perhaps a phone call?
Barb–in Houston
Barb,
I’d be happy to email off site with you. I no longer have a phone as we’re close to moving. You can email me at gahrahstah@yahoo.com. I check my email at least once a day.
Kathy