BREAKING NEWS: Caribbean Medical University (CMU) Administrative Misconduct and Abuse

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MDesquire

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FOR THOSE OF YOU CONSIDERING APPLYING OR TRANSFERRING TO CMU YOU WILL WANT TO READ THIS!

I was accepted at CMU in January as a transfer student. I paid a $100 application fee and a $1000 seat deposit. I was put in Touch with Dr. S****. H****., the Clinical Coordinator who operates under his LLC called the H**** Medical Group. I spoke with Dean R*** J****** personally before I was accepted and it was clear he had not read an iota of my application. In fact he placed me in the wrong clinical semester, and was promptly corrected by S. H. who explained to him that Clinicals Start in MD5 at CMU. It was not reassuring to see the Dean so unfamiliar with the clinical curriculum.

I engaged in several conversations with S. H. over the course of several weeks regarding scheduling my clinical rotations in Chicago for this summer. Since I was accepted in January he said I should expect to receive tuition bills and that I should just ignore them. He asserted that I could enroll at any time as an MD5 and that I would not be assessed a late fee. As May approached and my full tuition was coming due, I requested reasonable assurance that once I had paid my tuition in full that I would be placed in Chicago. Dr. S. H. stated that he could not provide this assurance and that I would have to speak with Dean R. J. again, the Academic Dean. I contacted Dean R. J. and he said that he had concerns about my eligibility to apply my prior credits. I had been given assurance by ECFMG rep in Philadelphia that my credits were applicable toward the credentials requirement and I brought this to Dean R. J's attention. Just a day or so later, I got a demand from the school to sign a statement agreeing to a leave of absence. They said that it was necessary to avoid a late payment on tuition. This assertion directly contradicted the assurances I received from Clinical Dean S**** H*****. I copied the correspondence between myself and S**** H**** pertaining to this matter, and heard no reply. I explained that I was reluctant to sign a leave of absence agreement, because I wasn't even technically enrolled in their school. how can I take a 'leave of absence' if im not even an official matriculant? It was rediculous.

A few days later, I get a letter from Dean R*** J****** that they have terminated my candidacy for, inter alia, arguing with the administration, 'dictating policies', and failure to submit documentation of my test scores, which my email records showed had already been submitted. There was no mention of the initial reason for the delay regarding the ECFMG credential issue. The letter indicated that they would be refunding my seat deposit. Its been over 45 days and I've received nothing. S**** H***** refuses to return my calls or emails. A total scam.

I am left to conclude the following. The CMU administration is run very poorly. There are major disconnects between their financial officers and admin on the island and Clinical Dean S. H. Dean S. H. made assurances that were not upheld by the admin even when it was brought to their attention. Furthermore, it was clear from the email exchanges that Academic Dean R. J's decision to terminate my candidacy rested solely on the fact that I had attempted to assert my rights as a student. For those of you who may be new to Foreign Medical schools, taking leaves of absence reflects poorly on your academic caliber and might be a point of criticism when you apply for residencies. They will want to know why you were forced to take a leave. In general it is not favorable. The fact that this school was willing to jeopardize my candidacy for residency in order to satisfy their internal billing departmental policies highlights a major conflict of interest. I am forced to conclude that you cannot trust what Dr S H**** asserts, nor can I trust Dean R J****** to administer justly. Dean R. J. is a retaliatory Dean who has a vague at best grasp of the curriculum and clearly subordinates the interests of his students.

In addition to the issues I discuss above, Dean S. H. also attempted to sell me a story about how the importance of Greenbook over Bluebook rotations are a myth. That is a bold assertion and not backed up by any evidence. Greenbook rotations which are performed at ACGME accredited Hospitals with Residency Programs in the specialty that one is performing their clerkship in are mandatory in order to be licensed in many desireable US States. S*** H*** attempted to deceive me. I suggest you confirm this with your state licensing body if you aren't sure what a 'greenbook' rotation is and its respective importance. Apparently, CMU has very little offerings in the way of greenbook rotations.

In all I see the termination of my candidacy as a blessing in disguise, because I'm glad I was able to discover how totalitarian and irreverent this administration was prior to tendering the $50k it would have cost me to complete my degree there. No doubt the horror stories you hear from students whose transcripts are withheld, etc are from renegade and corrupt administrations like CMU. To think that Dean R. J. sits on boards that decide how moneys are allocated to poor and underserved areas in the Caribbean is incomprehensible. The man apparently hasn't a shred of compassion in him. He had zero regard the detrimental reliance he creates for his prospective students that he arbitrarily terminates. I must assure you that I have suffered significant damages as a result. I had uprooted my family of four in order to relocate to Chicago from abroad. Both my wife and I left our jobs. I communicated this to Dean R. J. and S. H. and there was no reply. Nothing. So much for compassion. He promised a refund of my seat deposit. That was a lie. No moneys were returned.

By the way, should you ask either Dean R. J. or Dean S. H. where they obtained their MD degree from and they will not disclose this information. That should have been a large enough red flag from the start. Anybody out there in SDNetwork land can back up an answer to this question with evidence? I attempted to contact ECFMG and they couldn't provide this information. Nondisclosure of their degree granting body is a clear conflict of interest for prospective students who want to perform due diligence on their administration. They should be upfront and open, unless they are hiding something. No other admin with whom I spoke had been so secretive about their credentials. Im sure further investigation would uncover the rationale.

So to all you prospective students who are considering CMU... consider the following. This school accepted me without so much as reading through my application. They took my $1000 without hesitation and immediately began billing me for full tuition before the ink was dry on my seat reservation check. They materially breached a valid academic contract and caused my family thousands in damages. They made assurances that my $1000 would be returned and have made no affirmative effort to return it.

Should you be so desperate as to have no other choice but to enroll here, and I feel sorry for you if that's the case, but certainly do not judge you by any stretch, you should be forewarned that should you attempt to assert your student rights, or so much as be assertive in front of the administration, they may in Putin-esque fashion retaliate against you, and possibly pull the rug right out from under you. And they wont think twice. Personally, I would never put myself under such a dictatorship. I know too much about for profit medical schools and their tactics to shake students down for additional revenue.

Curious how many others out there were scammed out of $1100 like i was? I doubt I am the only one. Hopefully more of you will come forward. And as a final word to this new topic, I am near certain that some proCMU voice is going to come out of the woodwork to try and discredit me or tell me how I am the only one who has been screwed. If its the former, hunker down because I will post legal dockets to back up my assertions, and will not stop until you are exposed for the propaganda artist you are; or if the latter, and even if it proves true that I am the only one who has been scammed like this, one victim is enough to tarnish the reputation of an upstart school like CMU.

It is sad that I had to resort to a public forum to have my victimization heard, and the CMU admin could not make so much as a minimal effort to rectify this through the normal channels of communication. BEWARE, and Caveat Emptor to all prospective students. I will update this post if CMU ever decides to return my money or if it takes a civil action to get them to budge.

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UPDATE: CMU has hired Attorney A.B.S*** from the B*ll Law LLC firm in Chicago Illinois. Essentially they are asserting the following:

The promises made by Dean R.J. to refund my CMU seat deposit ($1000) in the class was an ILLUSORY PROMISE. What does that mean? In legalese, it means it was a statement that is NOT enforceable legally. Its like if I were to post on this message board that I am going to give $1M to the first person who responds to this post. Its a nice thought, but it can never be enforced legally. In other words Dean R.J. never had any intention of returning a dime, and the statement was a blatant and deceptive lie. Since I went public with this matter on several online medical student forums, CMU has hired legal counsel and offered to return the $1000 deposit ONLY if I would remove all publicity about their scandal, and agree to a release and waiver for all the other damages I have suffered as a result. Apparently, they don't want this information getting out to their prospective student base and are willing to pay an attorney to broker the deal. They can muster up the money to pay to preserve their reputation in the court of public opinion, but they can't muster the money to return an applicants money after illegally revoking their offer of admission. What a scam! They will not acknowledge the damages they have caused our family. They still have not acknowledged any wrongdoing. Their attorney asserts that "CMU has the right to revoke to revoke admissions for a number of academic and non-academic reasons. CMU’s policy allows the school to change admission policies at any time, without notice." Essentially what Attorney A.B.Sh** of B*ell Law LLC is asserting is that between the time that CMU accepted me, billed and received my $1000 deposit, and the time I was due to matriculate, they had a right to change their academic policies such that I was no longer qualified to pursue their program. And she asserts that CMU may change their policies at any time and to any extent. Those are bold statements to make. What their Attorney fails to recognize is what is called detrimental reliance, or reasonably foreseeable burdens that a prospective student will incur as a result of their academic enrollment contract. Sure, I suppose CMU may retain the right to change its policies on a whim, but they do not retain the right to cause a prospective student damages when he uproots his family and leaves his job in order to attend their program. Furthermore, a change in academic policy needs to be justified to some degree. CMU will have a difficult time in my case justifying the fact that the very regulatory body that approves FMGs for US residency, the ECFMG, in no uncertain terms approved my eligibility to matriculate any foreign medical school including CMU. And this was brought to the attention of Dean R.J. well before he revoked my offer of admission.

CMU has also threatened to counter sue. Thats right. First they take my money, and then when I have no choice for recourse but to file suit, they attempt to deter me from filing by threatening a countersuit. That is malicious. This appears to be routine practice for CMU. Accept as many students as possible, take their money, and then arbitrarily revoke their deposit and hang them out to dry. Then if they try to recover their damages, bury them in legal expenses. Its a scam and odds are they've been perpetrating it for a long, long time. And for the select few like myself who actually know about the law and fight for justice, they have attempted to pay me off to keep quiet about it and eliminate their exposure to future suits. This school administration treats their students as numbers and revenue, and dehumanizes them. They attempted to perpetrate an academic fraud by forcing me to agree to a leave of absence retroactively without any rational justification and in conflict with thier assertions that their clinical transfer admissions were 'rolling' and that I could matriculate at any time without penalty. When I attempted to assert my rights and avoid the LOA, they revoked my acceptance without notice in retaliatory fashion. I will be posting all legal dockets and references to court hearings etc so you prospective medical students can be in the know. I intend to continue this and other threads and blogs to expose this school for what it really is.
 
Not sure if you are for real?? Why were you transferring and from what school and for what reasons. An IMG that has transfers on their record diminishes the possibility of matching, FYI. Though interesting story I can only say we are hearing your side. Believe me I do not support CMU but somethings sounds a bit unusual...
 
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Have a look at the following thread (assuming the Sdn network permits me to link to another forum)

http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...re-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff.html

My credibility cannot be proven anonymously here on the Sdn forum. I am due to file complaints with several government regulatory bodies next week. As soon as any of these complaints are verified with official claim numbers and published, or as soon as there is an active law suit in Cook County IL against CMU, I will post this as well to confirm the truth about all that I am asserting. The official record doesn't lie. In the meantime, if you want a litmus test? Call up the B*ll Law LLC firm in Chicago IL and tell them you have a legal matter against CMU. Ask to speak with A.B.S***. She will tell you that she can't represent you. And that's because she represents CMU in this matter. Please be patient, and I will post all matters of public record to corroborate my assertions. Not to dismiss your line of questioning, you will find many disclosures about my relevant curricular history on the VMD link I provided. You will also find numerous debased personal attacks by blind defenders of CMU. They have done a poor job at discrediting me. I agree with you, there are two sides to every dispute, and I have done my best to present mine and CMU's side (per their attorney) in the most accurate light. The defense they are asserting will be corroborated by the official record if this matter goes to trial. You can also read actual settlement offers by CMU's attorney at the link I provided.
 
I'm not sure the point of posting the information shared here...

I'd recommend you look at Del Caribe's excellent post, starting at this reference point, about what you should consider when choosing a particular school. In it, he lists CMU as a "Tier 6" school.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...s-other-than-the-big-4.1085424/#post-15510344

This is probably the best starting place for those considering certain programs over others.

-Skip
 
To the OP, I do feel sorry for your situation and wish things were different for you. However, sometimes in life we just need to move on and write off certain events. I'm not on CMU's side but the truth is that you chose CMU and you decided to give CMU $1100, despite knowing that CMU is a low tier caribbean medical school that is not accountable to any accrediting body. CMU also has a history of administration issues. You knew all that going in. Now, I've read your entire ValueMD thread to completion. If you're so intent on exposing CMU (and I don't blame you) then I suggest that you forego the $1100 and let these online forum threads remain to warn potential students.

How much precious time have you used in writing and responding to these online forum threads and working on your legal case? Shouldn't you be using that time to find another school and start your rotations ASAP?

I hate to say it but a lot of these low tier Caribbean medical schools are sleazy and don't bother to uphold minimum levels of professionalism.
 
I'm not sure the point of posting the information shared here...

I'd recommend you look at Del Caribe's excellent post, starting at this reference point, about what you should consider when choosing a particular school. In it, he lists CMU as a "Tier 6" school.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...s-other-than-the-big-4.1085424/#post-15510344

This is probably the best starting place for those considering certain programs over others.

-Skip

The point is purely cautionary. Prospective CMU students need to get everything Clinical Dean S*** H**** states in writing. They should understand that greenbook rotations are critical for licensure in many jurisdictions, despite what Clinical Dean S**** H**** asserts. I appreciate Del Cariber's post. I found a lot of valuable info here on Sdn. Thanks.
 
OP may save a lot of people trouble and money by being so public.
 
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To the OP, I do feel sorry for your situation and wish things were different for you. However, sometimes in life we just need to move on and write off certain events. I'm not on CMU's side but the truth is that you chose CMU and you decided to give CMU $1100, despite knowing that CMU is a low tier caribbean medical school that is not accountable to any accrediting body. CMU also has a history of administration issues. You knew all that going in. Now, I've read your entire ValueMD thread to completion. If you're so intent on exposing CMU (and I don't blame you) then I suggest that you forego the $1100 and let these online forum threads remain to warn potential students.

How much precious time have you used in writing and responding to these online forum threads and working on your legal case? Shouldn't you be using that time to find another school and start your rotations ASAP?

I hate to say it but a lot of these low tier Caribbean medical schools are sleazy and don't bother to uphold minimum levels of professionalism.

I appreciate your words of sympathy. I have moved on to a large extent, however, financially the sting resonates. I appreciate your taking the time to read this and the VMD thread. I realize they are detailed. While you may be right about CMU not being a credible academic institution, they are still required to adhere to US legal standards regarding contracts and promissory estoppel. Yes, this thread is extended to expose them, and be cautionary (over 2000 views and counting between all of them), however, I have no intention of settling on $1100. My family and I will be financially reeling for months maybe even years. We have a very strong case against them. Most of these matters are settled before a lengthy, expensive trial ensues. I don't suspect this will be any different. The other party is playing chicken and we are about to escalate this matter and hit them where it hurts. Once we are made whole, I will be in a much better position to resume my medical education. "Sleazy" might be too soft a descriptor for how CMU has attempted to evade liability and run off with our family's money. Scandalous might be more appropriate.
 
Honestly, $1,100 is nothing. Yes, you can sue on principle (i.e., not "principal"), but really? At this point in my life, I trip and stub my toe... and $1,100 falls out of my pocket. You want to get to that point in your future. Not dwell on this.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned. Pass the information to others. And, move on. That's my advice. You're going to spend a lot more than $1,100 in blood, sweat, and tears pursuing this.

Think of all the kids 10's of thousands of dollars in debt... and nothing to show for it. Some of them over $100k in debt... no degree... not doctors... just the albatross of that debt hanging on their shoulders. Those are the ones who you can reach with your message. $1,100? Fart in a wind tunnel.

(Of course, this is just one man's perspective. I'm not suggesting to you what you should actually do.)

-Skip
 
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I went to the CMU website and checked out their forum. There were all these American kids in the forum who were moving to Curacao to start MD1 on Fall 2014. Reading their posts full of naive excitement made me sad. If they only knew the massive amounts of debt and disappointment ahead of them.

However, the information is ready and available for them. A simple google search would inform them that low tier Caribbean schools are a terrible choice. I suspect that most of those incoming MS1 students know the deal but think they will be the exception, the top 1% of their class with outstanding STEP scores and letters of rec. Poor kids. Sometimes people just have to make mistakes and learn from them, just the way life works.
 
Honestly, $1,100 is nothing. Yes, you can sue on principle (i.e., not "principal"), but really? At this point in my life, I trip and stub my toe... and $1,100 falls out of my pocket. You want to get to that point in your future. Not dwell on this.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned. Pass the information to others. And, move on. That's my advice. You're going to spend a lot more than $1,100 in blood, sweat, and tears pursuing this.

Think of all the kids 10's of thousands of dollars in debt... and nothing to show for it. Some of them over $100k in debt... no degree... not doctors... just the albatross of that debt hanging on their shoulders. Those are the ones who you can reach with your message. $1,100? Fart in a wind tunnel.

(Of course, this is just one man's perspective. I'm not suggesting to you what you should actually do.)

-Skip

Skip, I appreciate your opinion, and I would not consider myself a litigious person. My family and I however are outraged and deeply impacted. Its not the $1100 that we are dealing with. We uprooted from abroad for this opportunity, my wife left her work, I spent three months getting all my immunizations up to date. Our family has been in limbo, doing our best to cover and gain entrance into another school. We have two small children who have suffered through this. Our in laws traveled with us solely to help us transition. Its been taxing on both our immediate and extended family. The bleeding continues. The total damages well exceed $10,000. And the lack of concern and the rapidity with which CMU 'lawyered up' is deserving of further scrutiny. I think there may be more than meets the eye here. That is the decision to threaten under duress of financial sanctions that I agree to a LOA may relate to an ongoing regulatory fraud. There is a palpable disconnect as I mentioned between the finance and admin offices. There is a reason why that is, and it will eventually be exposed.
 
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This was already discussed on VMD at http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff-6.html. Both users medlaw and medlaw-wife were permanently banned from the forum for breaking TOS and the thread has been closed by the moderators. Now MDesquire showed up under different name on this forum with a "Breaking news" that he was dismissed from another medical school. I'm not sure what you want to achieve by putting out your frustration on various discussion boards but I can inform that there were over 500 applications for the upcoming semester out of which 240 were accepted to the program however you were the ONLY ONE this semester who was revoked admission due to substandard academic record and behavioral problems. As we have stated on the VMD forum, we as any other medical school have a right to revoke admission and instead of waisting your time and energy, draw conclusions from the fact that already 2 schools dismissed you and move on maybe into a different career.

Skip-junior
Our students are proud studying at CMU and with over 70% Step1 passing rate, they are on the good track to obtain an MD degree and become a successful physicians.

Skip-intro
Your tier chart is based on the NCFMEA accreditation and CA/NY approval which doesn't make any sense in choosing a medical school because they are not mandatory even though we are on the way to get both additional accreditations next year. Thousands of graduates are licensed in U.S. without those accreditations so if someone is willing to pay 3-4 times more (200-400k) just to graduate from a NCFMEA or CA/NY listed school, is mostly welcome however when your Tier 1 schools were established, they had no accreditation whatsoever so they would be on your Tier 10 list at that time, yet their graduates had saved lots of money on tuition and now are fully practicing physicians.
You are fully aware that each school from the "tier list" have graduates in residency and licensed, yet misinform future students of loosing money there. CMU is proud of following a growth of AUA, with over 700 students in the program, many transfer students from other schools due to a fact that our students have recommended the program to others. They study at CMU because of the following reasons:

1. Reasonable tuition rate and no extra/hidden costs
2. Are trained by U.S. faculty members
3. Have 3rd biggest campus in the Caribbean with 3 dorm complexes
4. U.S. and Canadian Financial Aid
5. Over 70% USMLE passing rate
6. Curacao is the safest and most established Caribbean island
7. Clinical rotations with no waiting time
8. Approved by WHO/Avicenna, Ministry of Health and Education, IMED/ECFMG, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Canada's Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities, MCC, CaRMS and General Medical Council.
9. Premedical Program for High School Graduates
10. Friendly administration that truly cares about the students, not seeing them as just numbers in the accounting sheets.

Prospective students are smart enough to either visit our campus or talk to our current students to make a decision about attending our program, rather than listen to frustrations of one dismissed student.
 
This was already discussed on VMD at http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff-6.html. Both users medlaw and medlaw-wife were permanently banned from the forum for breaking TOS and the thread has been closed by the moderators. Now MDesquire showed up under different name on this forum with a "Breaking news" that he was dismissed from another medical school. I'm not sure what you want to achieve by putting out your frustration on various discussion boards but I can inform that there were over 500 applications for the upcoming semester out of which 240 were accepted to the program however you were the ONLY ONE this semester who was revoked admission due to substandard academic record and behavioral problems. As we have stated on the VMD forum, we as any other medical school have a right to revoke admission and instead of waisting your time and energy, draw conclusions from the fact that already 2 schools dismissed you and move on maybe into a different career.

Skip-junior
Our students are proud studying at CMU and with over 70% Step1 passing rate, they are on the good track to obtain an MD degree and become a successful physicians.

Skip-intro
Your tier chart is based on the NCFMEA accreditation and CA/NY approval which doesn't make any sense in choosing a medical school because they are not mandatory even though we are on the way to get both additional accreditations next year. Thousands of graduates are licensed in U.S. without those accreditations so if someone is willing to pay 3-4 times more (200-400k) just to graduate from a NCFMEA or CA/NY listed school, is mostly welcome however when your Tier 1 schools were established, they had no accreditation whatsoever so they would be on your Tier 10 list at that time, yet their graduates had saved lots of money on tuition and now are fully practicing physicians.
You are fully aware that each school from the "tier list" have graduates in residency and licensed, yet misinform future students of loosing money there. CMU is proud of following a growth of AUA, with over 700 students in the program, many transfer students from other schools due to a fact that our students have recommended the program to others. They study at CMU because of the following reasons:

1. Reasonable tuition rate and no extra/hidden costs
2. Are trained by U.S. faculty members
3. Have 3rd biggest campus in the Caribbean with 3 dorm complexes
4. U.S. and Canadian Financial Aid
5. Over 70% USMLE passing rate
6. Curacao is the safest and most established Caribbean island
7. Clinical rotations with no waiting time
8. Approved by WHO/Avicenna, Ministry of Health and Education, IMED/ECFMG, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Canada's Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities, MCC, CaRMS and General Medical Council.
9. Premedical Program for High School Graduates
10. Friendly administration that truly cares about the students, not seeing them as just numbers in the accounting sheets.

Prospective students are smart enough to either visit our campus or talk to our current students to make a decision about attending our program, rather than listen to frustrations of one dismissed student.
 
This was already discussed on VMD at http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff-6.html. Both users medlaw and medlaw-wife were permanently banned from the forum for breaking TOS and the thread has been closed by the moderators. Now MDesquire showed up under different name on this forum with a "Breaking news" that he was dismissed from another medical school. I'm not sure what you want to achieve by putting out your frustration on various discussion boards but I can inform that there were over 500 applications for the upcoming semester out of which 240 were accepted to the program however you were the ONLY ONE this semester who was revoked admission due to substandard academic record and behavioral problems. As we have stated on the VMD forum, we as any other medical school have a right to revoke admission and instead of waisting your time and energy, draw conclusions from the fact that already 2 schools dismissed you and move on maybe into a different career.

Skip-junior
Our students are proud studying at CMU and with over 70% Step1 passing rate, they are on the good track to obtain an MD degree and become a successful physicians.

Skip-intro
Your tier chart is based on the NCFMEA accreditation and CA/NY approval which doesn't make any sense in choosing a medical school because they are not mandatory even though we are on the way to get both additional accreditations next year. Thousands of graduates are licensed in U.S. without those accreditations so if someone is willing to pay 3-4 times more (200-400k) just to graduate from a NCFMEA or CA/NY listed school, is mostly welcome however when your Tier 1 schools were established, they had no accreditation whatsoever so they would be on your Tier 10 list at that time, yet their graduates had saved lots of money on tuition and now are fully practicing physicians.
You are fully aware that each school from the "tier list" have graduates in residency and licensed, yet misinform future students of loosing money there. CMU is proud of following a growth of AUA, with over 700 students in the program, many transfer students from other schools due to a fact that our students have recommended the program to others. They study at CMU because of the following reasons:

1. Reasonable tuition rate and no extra/hidden costs
2. Are trained by U.S. faculty members
3. Have 3rd biggest campus in the Caribbean with 3 dorm complexes
4. U.S. and Canadian Financial Aid
5. Over 70% USMLE passing rate
6. Curacao is the safest and most established Caribbean island
7. Clinical rotations with no waiting time
8. Approved by WHO/Avicenna, Ministry of Health and Education, IMED/ECFMG, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Canada's Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities, MCC, CaRMS and General Medical Council.
9. Premedical Program for High School Graduates
10. Friendly administration that truly cares about the students, not seeing them as just numbers in the accounting sheets.

Prospective students are smart enough to either visit our campus or talk to our current students to make a decision about attending our program, rather than listen to frustrations of one dismissed student.
You shouldnt be advertising a 70 % pass rate on the step 1 as if it was a good number, that is terrible
 
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This was already discussed on VMD at http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff-6.html. Both users medlaw and medlaw-wife were permanently banned from the forum for breaking TOS and the thread has been closed by the moderators. Now MDesquire showed up under different name on this forum with a "Breaking news" that he was dismissed from another medical school. I'm not sure what you want to achieve by putting out your frustration on various discussion boards but I can inform that there were over 500 applications for the upcoming semester out of which 240 were accepted to the program however you were the ONLY ONE this semester who was revoked admission due to substandard academic record and behavioral problems. As we have stated on the VMD forum, we as any other medical school have a right to revoke admission and instead of waisting your time and energy, draw conclusions from the fact that already 2 schools dismissed you and move on maybe into a different career.

Skip-junior
Our students are proud studying at CMU and with over 70% Step1 passing rate, they are on the good track to obtain an MD degree and become a successful physicians.

Skip-intro
Your tier chart is based on the NCFMEA accreditation and CA/NY approval which doesn't make any sense in choosing a medical school because they are not mandatory even though we are on the way to get both additional accreditations next year. Thousands of graduates are licensed in U.S. without those accreditations so if someone is willing to pay 3-4 times more (200-400k) just to graduate from a NCFMEA or CA/NY listed school, is mostly welcome however when your Tier 1 schools were established, they had no accreditation whatsoever so they would be on your Tier 10 list at that time, yet their graduates had saved lots of money on tuition and now are fully practicing physicians.
You are fully aware that each school from the "tier list" have graduates in residency and licensed, yet misinform future students of loosing money there. CMU is proud of following a growth of AUA, with over 700 students in the program, many transfer students from other schools due to a fact that our students have recommended the program to others. They study at CMU because of the following reasons:

1. Reasonable tuition rate and no extra/hidden costs
2. Are trained by U.S. faculty members
3. Have 3rd biggest campus in the Caribbean with 3 dorm complexes
4. U.S. and Canadian Financial Aid
5. Over 70% USMLE passing rate
6. Curacao is the safest and most established Caribbean island
7. Clinical rotations with no waiting time
8. Approved by WHO/Avicenna, Ministry of Health and Education, IMED/ECFMG, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Canada's Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities, MCC, CaRMS and General Medical Council.
9. Premedical Program for High School Graduates
10. Friendly administration that truly cares about the students, not seeing them as just numbers in the accounting sheets.

Prospective students are smart enough to either visit our campus or talk to our current students to make a decision about attending our program, rather than listen to frustrations of one dismissed student.

All prospective students, I highly recommend that you don't attend CMU based on the response of the CMU administration. First of all, NCFMEA accreditation will be mandatory for all Caribbean graduates of the 2023 graduating class onwards if they want to match in the US (to abide with ECFMG guidelines). How convenient that you didn't mention that. Second, many states follow the CA approval list. So the fact that CMU does not have CA and NY approval means that CMU graduates cannot apply for residency in several American states. That puts CMU grads at a significant disadvantage. Especially since the majority of IMG friendly residency programs are in New York.

70% USMLE passing rate is bad, not good. US MD schools have an over 95% USMLE passing rate. Second, what is your attrition rate? I'm sure it's very high, like most low tier Caribbean schools. What is your match rate? Can you provide a match list and contact info of CMU grads who matched in 2014?Somehow I doubt you will provide us with any contact info. Who knows if any CMU grads even matched in 2014.

You said CMU has US and Canadian financial aid? Does that mean CMU can provide Title IV federal loans like the Big 4 schools? I highly doubt that.

Also, how would you like to explain the upcoming residency crunch to prospective CMU students? the fact that there are more and more US MD/DO grads and a near stagnant number of PGY 1 positions in the match?

This is a buyer's market. YOU have to convince the prospective CMU students to give their money to your school. You can start by answering my queries in a honest straightforward fashion. You say that CMU will get NCFMEA and CA/NY approval next year but that's just your word, you could very well be lying to attract the money of prospective students.

What is the average MCAT and GPA of accepted CMU students?

Also, you said the OP (medlaw) had substandard academic records. Could you show us those substandard academic records? The OP disagrees so I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you showed it to us. Let's see if you're lying or not.
 
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abra kadabra

This was already discussed on VMD at Prospective Students Beware of CMU Administrative Retaliation and Ripoff - Page 6 | Caribbean Medical University (CMU). Both users medlaw and medlaw-wife were permanently banned from the forum for breaking TOS and the thread has been closed by the moderators. Now MDesquire showed up under different name on this forum with a "Breaking news" that he was dismissed from another medical school. I'm not sure what you want to achieve by putting out your frustration on various discussion boards but I can inform that there were over 500 applications for the upcoming semester out of which 240 were accepted to the program however you were the ONLY ONE this semester who was revoked admission due to substandard academic record and behavioral problems. As we have stated on the VMD forum, we as any other medical school have a right to revoke admission and instead of waisting your time and energy, draw conclusions from the fact that already 2 schools dismissed you and move on maybe into a different career.

Skip-junior
Our students are proud studying at CMU and with over 70% Step1 passing rate, they are on the good track to obtain an MD degree and become a successful physicians.

Skip-intro
Your tier chart is based on the NCFMEA accreditation and CA/NY approval which doesn't make any sense in choosing a medical school because they are not mandatory even though we are on the way to get both additional accreditations next year. Thousands of graduates are licensed in U.S. without those accreditations so if someone is willing to pay 3-4 times more (200-400k) just to graduate from a NCFMEA or CA/NY listed school, is mostly welcome however when your Tier 1 schools were established, they had no accreditation whatsoever so they would be on your Tier 10 list at that time, yet their graduates had saved lots of money on tuition and now are fully practicing physicians.
You are fully aware that each school from the "tier list" have graduates in residency and licensed, yet misinform future students of loosing money there. CMU is proud of following a growth of AUA, with over 700 students in the program, many transfer students from other schools due to a fact that our students have recommended the program to others. They study at CMU because of the following reasons:

1. Reasonable tuition rate and no extra/hidden costs
2. Are trained by U.S. faculty members
3. Have 3rd biggest campus in the Caribbean with 3 dorm complexes
4. U.S. and Canadian Financial Aid
5. Over 70% USMLE passing rate
6. Curacao is the safest and most established Caribbean island
7. Clinical rotations with no waiting time
8. Approved by WHO/Avicenna, Ministry of Health and Education, IMED/ECFMG, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Canada's Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities, MCC, CaRMS and General Medical Council.
9. Premedical Program for High School Graduates
10. Friendly administration that truly cares about the students, not seeing them as just numbers in the accounting sheets.

Prospective students are smart enough to either visit our campus or talk to our current students to make a decision about attending our program, rather than listen to frustrations of one dismissed student.
 
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MDesquire dropped out of TWWOOOO medical schools (i think both US Top tier) and a law school.
I feel like that was something very important that should have been pointed out.
Something seems really fishy.

No, I believe one of the schools he dropped out of was CMU and let's be honest, CMU is the lowest you can go when it comes to medical schools, lol.
 
Skip-intro
Your tier chart is based on the NCFMEA accreditation and CA/NY approval which doesn't make any sense in choosing a medical school because they are not mandatory even though we are on the way to get both additional accreditations next year.

Well, first off, you incorrectly state that this is "my" tier chart. It is clear that I referenced another poster's methodology (with appropriate link), and while I do believe it is a good starting place (as I said), there are many other factors that go into choosing the right "non-traditional" pathway into medicine for the individual. I've never said otherwise in my over 2,600 posts on this forum.

With regards to your other assertions, however, I think it would be prudent for most students to wait until you actually do have approval before making a decision to attend a school that currently does not. While it might not make any sense to you as a school administrator trying to recruit students, your position is, in fact, a bit bizarre to many of us as is your somewhat tortured logic as to why you would feel that this is not a significant and important milestone in a school's charter. The ability to secure licensure in all 50 states represents a de facto imprimatur of quality of that education.

So, instead why don't you tell us how many medical license boards is CMU currently not approved? That's what forum members really want to know. Perhaps you'd be willing to post a list of states where your graduates can and cannot get a permanent license to practice medicine. Perhaps you'd also like to post a list of recent graduates and their residency placements, so individual students can confirm anything you say here.

Prospective students are smart enough to either visit our campus or talk to our current students to make a decision about attending our program, rather than listen to frustrations of one dismissed student.

Agreed. And, yes, we are not that stupid, malleable, impressionable, or gullible to think that there is only one side to a story. In that regard (and if you are truly a representative of the school), your post here was entirely unnecessary.

There is an old saying, "Give certain people enough rope and they'll figure out a way to hang themselves." I suggest that you simply address this poster's concerns privately and/or through the legal system, and perhaps be extra careful what you choose to share here. Otherwise, you're likely to just get more and more rope handed to you...

-Skip
 
MDesquire dropped out of TWWOOOO medical schools (i think both US Top tier) and a law school.
I feel like that was something very important that should have been pointed out.
Something seems really fishy.

Any careful reader will note that the blogger who goes by "CMU" just joined this forum yesterday--and CMUs comments should be taken with due skepticism. For any viewers who have read the ValueMD thread, it completely discredits what CMU is attempting to assert. There is no point in repeating myself it is all published on that thread--please read it if you are seriously considering trusting CMU admin with $100k of your hard earned money.

@skip: CMU cannot publish any of my academic records, less they would be in violation of federal law. But in good faith I can disclose that I graduated Cum Laude from an Ivy with a 3.8 science GPA. I scored a modest 30 on my MCAT. I passed all my preclinical medical school coursework at a top tier US school. My medical school was so fiercely competitive that the administrators decided not to issue grades. I withdrew from one course in order to pursue clinical research for which I was published as a co author. I completed that withdrawal in the subsequent semester. I passed my USMLE Step 1 on my first try. I completed a law degree. I was published as a law student by my State Bar Committee. I have been recognized in two additional publications in medical journals on toxicology and neonatal medicine. I consider myself very much a regular guy who has been blessed with wonderful academic opportunities.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge that the accounts medlaw and medlaw-wife (doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who these respective names might refer to in this scenario) were permanently banned from the ValueMD forum for being multiple accounts for the same individual. My wife had stepped in when I was temporarily accused of 'trolling'. I was personally attacked numerous time by several CMU goons, and the moderators merely edited their posts with "user doesn't play nice". But yet I was the one banned? Because nothing says 'sneaky' and 'clandestine' than medlaw turning around and making an the account 'medlaw-wife' to completely deceive the ValueMD community. Really? It must be reassuring to all readers on these forums that ValueMD can censor bloggers at whim without due process. Thank goodness for sites like SDN. Lets see how far this thread goes and how diligent the monitors are. The CMU goons have already showed up to subvert the thread and distract readers from the important aspects of the tort and offense.

Incidentally, I would encourage all readers to ignore Audilover who is attempting to subvert this thread forum by making it into a personal attack and defaming my character. I did not "drop out of two medical schools and a law school". If you read the ValueMD thread, my relevant academic history is disclosed by yours truly. I did attend a top tier US school and I was dismissed for academic reasons, not because of any misconduct or violations of student code. I disclosed all relevant academic history to the CMU admin. Recall CMU didn't cite any misrepresentation as a grounds for revocation, the cited being 'argumentative', and 'dictating policy'. Please I encourage you to read the thread.

http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...re-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff.html

I in fact asked ValueMD to lock the thread because it is unAmerican to let CMU goons take shots at me and spew lies without my being able to respond.

To all prospective CMU students, its important to understand how CMU defense is attempting to frame this tort as an expulsion. I never stepped foot in a CMU classroom or clerkship. I was a prospective student who was rightfully accepted, tendered my money and got ripped off. Remember this case isnt' about my academic potency or caliber. CMU ratified that when they accepted me and took my deposit. This is about the way the Administration was fraudulent, retaliatory, illusory, and now litigious. You'll note in response to these threads and the thousands of viewers that have read them CMU responded by hiring an attorney at the B*ll Law LLC firm in Chicago IL. That was after promising me refund back in June and never delivering on it. Just moments ago their attorney has now conceded to refunding me $1000 seat deposit and $75 application fee (I had admittedly made a mistake about it being $100) for a total of $1075 IF and ONLY IF I release them of all liability and give them authorization to contact ValueMD and remove my threads. These threads make a difference. If they didn't, CMU wouldn't be asking their lawyer to remove them. They will remain as a cautionary measure.

I will not be accepting CMU $1075 contingency offer. I will not be censored. But I will tell you all this much. Come Monday morning, I will be filing a complaint with Zachary T Fardon, and the Attorney General for the Northern District of Illinois, Easter Division who oversees all commercial activity in Cook County Chicago where CMU regularly conducts its business. I may not have to go through the expense of filing an action against CMU to recover. There are government regulatory bodies who will do that on my behalf, and exact stiff penalties from CMU if indeed they are found to be falsifying academic records and possibly fraudulently retaining moneys from unsuspecting applicants. They call it restitution, and the government regulatory bodies will see to it that I am made whole. This matter is about to heat up.
 
You know, I don't know why so many (if not all) of these low tier Caribbean medical schools behave in such sleazy underhanded ways. If you surf through the ValueMD forum, you will find many cases of schools (not CMU but others like it) withholding transcripts and even passports when the student tells the school he/she plans on transferring/leaving (any action by the student in which the school loses income). Sometimes the school prevents students it doesn't like from taking the Step tests by withholding important documents. Such behavior is not acceptable.
 
@skipJr - thats the whole point, they operate in sleazy ways because nobody ever holds them accountable. I was told CMU's check would be coming from a Canadian bank. Do you find it odd that CMUs offices are based in Chicago, IL yet its bank accounts are in Canada? And I can assure you that its primary accounts--the ones where it will accept 240 alleged incoming student tutions (approx 2,4M), of which 30% statistically will never make it, will remain offshore. Whether or not i'll ever be able to enforce a judgment is a separate matter entirely.

@audilover - And I'm not one to spread rumors about others when I don't have proof. At the very least I will quote my source before I knowingly put someone in a false light. Its truly remarkable to see who exactly is behind the libel. Well, in this case, take a look at Audilover's post from June 23 2014:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/why-disclose-past-medical-schools-chiropractic.1080672/

It should come as no surprise that Audilover who falsely accused me of dropping out of two medical schools and law school, has admitted his desire to conceal a critical aspect of his application.

I want to personally thank SDN for creating an excellent portal whereby we all are held accountable for our posts. Well done.
 
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Also note that audilover mentioned in his post that he was applying to out of country MD programs. There is a chance he may have applied to CMU and even received a acceptance letter. Therefore he maybe a biased party
 
Sorry but, expecting a third party to assume liability for one's family and inlaws choosing to uproot seems unreasonable. Only someone who can afford such a decision should make it.
 
You know the more I think about it, the real question is who is behind the screen name CMU? They base themselves in Chicago where CMU has its primary place of business in the US are asserting that they represent the administration, but do not disclose in what capacity. And their account was created just days ago seemingly for the sole purpose of responding to this thread. That if anything is what is fishy here.

Audilover's example above illustrates how CMU operates to protect its image: misrepresentation of facts and reliance upon individuals who rely upon their misstatements to disseminate their propaganda (notably without doing their due diligence and research). Case and Point of why these threads need to persist. Audilover need not admit mistake for not reading the VMD thread, lord knows that thread is voluminous. however, the fact that he didn't take responsibility for propagating a defamatory statement is a much bigger issue in my humble opinion. His admission is perhaps deficient.

My academic history for reasons I've stated ad nauseum is irrelevant here. I was accepted in Jan 2014 by CMU. Nothing changed about my academic history between Jan 2014 when I was accepted and June 2014 when my acceptance was spontaneously revoked. What changed allegedly was CMU's internal policies. Essentially what they are asserting is that they "reserve the right to revoke offers of admission at whim" without any reason other than the fact that they've changed their policies. Imagine, hypothetically, if what CMU asserts was actually true... (enter the twilight zone)...

It would mean (much like their promise to return my seat deposit) that there acceptance letters are actually illusory promises that are not legally enforceable. It would mean that there would never be actual acceptance letters, just the absence of a rejection that imply an acceptance. So seemingly all applicants who didn't get rejected could continue to pursue their matriculation up until the point at which they pay their tuition. Imagine that? So essentially, the student could literally show up to the first day of class and find a notice on the front door of CMUs academic building that their offer has been revoked, and oh by the way, their admission fee and whatever portion of their tuition that they've paid us is forfeited. But CMU of course wouldn't state it in those exact terms. They would say they "have exercised their right to revoke admission to a 'substandard' applicant" and that the promise of a refund is just an expression of sympathy and that legally they aren't required to refund anything so their written and signed promise of a refund was merely illusory. Thats why Zachary T Fardon, the Attorney General for the Northern District of Illinois, Easter Division is going to want to hear this matter.

The official revocation letter I received from Dean R J whose name sounds like Paxon, clearly cited me as 'argumentative', and 'dictating policy' to the CMU admin. He was referring my refusal to participate in a falsification of academic records (retroactive leave of absence without a compelling reason), and my insistence that they speak directly with the ECFMG office in Philadelphia who had asserted in no uncertain terms I was 100% eligible to be pursue a foreign medical degree and sit for USMLE Step 2. Dean R J whose name sounds like Paxon attempted to convince me that I would not be eligible for ECFMG certification or a US residency. He was 100% wrong about that and confused about ECFMG policies and their interpretation (much like he had been mistaken about MD6 being the first clinical semester at CMU). I think is safe to assert that Dean R. J whose name sounds like Paxon is likely guilty of administrative negligence. His board of directors and investors can hold him financially responsible for any damages that they have to pay out in light of his negligence and retaliatory abuses.

Laslty, what does it say about blogger CMU who alleges he represents CMU admin and tells me to pursue another career and base that conclusion partly on their alleged dismissal? I find it interesting that when I didn't make the cut at the US medical school I attended, my dean suggested I complete the MD degree through the military or through a Caribbean school. In fact, I've done my research and 100% of the physicians who were dismissed from my alma mater and still went on to become successful physicians completed their degrees in the Caribbean. A WORD OF CAUTION TO ALL PROSPECTIVE CMU STUDENTS: What the CMU admin is essentially implying is that if you do not agree to be complicit in all of CMU's administrative abuses, and if you should at any time assert your rights as a student looking to protect your own academic interests, not only are you unfit to matriculate at CMU, but you are unfit to practice medicine. Enough said. I will update the blog once the proper regulatory bodies have been invoked.
 
@MDesquire, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you transfer into a more reputable Caribbean medical school like SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba??Even if you had graduated with a degree from CMU, you wouldn't have been able to apply for residency or practice in several states.
 
Sorry but, expecting a third party to assume liability for one's family and inlaws choosing to uproot seems unreasonable. Only someone who can afford such a decision should make it.
@jakeislove On a theory of promissory estoppel, if the detrimental reliance was foreseeable, than liability is imputed upon the party that breached. They know that. Which is why their defense is that they didn't breach. Their defense is that it was an proper exercise of their 'rights' to revoke an offer of admission in the manner which I asserted. I appreciate your opinion and contribution. The in-laws didn't actually uproot. They merely accompanied us to help us get settled. Whether or not that was foreseeable may ultimately be up to a jury to decide. I think its a collateral point. The bulk of the damages is related to our relocation expenses, leaving respective jobs/lost wages, obtaining medical clearances, vacating/selling our home, and all incidental expenses associated with attempting to cover--motel/hotel expenses, transportation expenses, etc once we were in the US without a carrier.
 
@MDesquire, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you transfer into a more reputable Caribbean medical school like SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba??Even if you had graduated with a degree from CMU, you wouldn't have been able to apply for residency or practice in several states.

I know someone dismissed from a US medical school, they were rejected by 6 Caribbean schools before finding a place. The 3 you listed were among those afraid to accept a 'problem student', despite a passing step 1 score. Regardless of the reason, being kicked out during 3rd year is a red flag.
 
@SkipJunior With all due respect, this thread was invoked to communicate a serious administrative abuse perpetrated by CMU and not intended to be an advertisement for any other institutions. While there may be merit to your assertion that the other schools you mention are more reputable, I would prefer to respectfully decline an answer. I have never dealt with either of those schools' respective administrations and thus I can't comment if they conduct their administrative affairs with integrity or not. What I can tell you is that my decision to apply to CMU was largely based on the assurances that Clinical Dean S**** H**** whose name sounds like Fonda which turned out to be completely worthless.
 
@SkipJunior With all due respect, this thread was invoked to communicate a serious administrative abuse perpetrated by CMU and not intended to be an advertisement for any other institutions. While there may be merit to your assertion that the other schools you mention are more reputable, I would prefer to respectfully decline an answer. I have never dealt with either of those schools' respective administrations and thus I can't comment if they conduct their administrative affairs with integrity or not. What I can tell you is that my decision to apply to CMU was largely based on the assurances that Clinical Dean S**** H**** whose name sounds like Fonda which turned out to be completely worthless.

no worries, I understand. If I would advertise for any school, it would be a US MD/DO school, and even then, only if I was getting paid, lol.
 
@jakeislove Congrats to your friend for having the determination to see his MD through and finding an alternate carrier. Hopefully he learned from his experiences and was able to exercise better judgment moving forward. I agree with you, a dismissal during the third year is a red flag by pure definition. All flags disregard rationale, less they wouldn't be flags, and they'd be briefs. However, it is the duty of a school that assesses an application fee to read all application materials and the specific submissions that they request. If a student wishes to talk at length about a 'red flag' it no longer becomes a red flag, and instead becomes a humanizing aspect of their character. However, as I explained, my academic caliber or admission qualities bears no relevance to my grievance against CMU. It does not excuse their administrative abuses, if that was what you were implying.

@SkipJunior I appreciate your understanding, and I don't fault you for asking. Maybe you can send me a private message and I can discuss such collateral matters without digressing.
 
OP.....are you really suggesting that you had great grades with no issues, passed step 1 on the first try.......and then voluntarily withdrew?
 
sb247, please see the ValueMD thread below that was created on the subject, I explain in greater detail my curricular history at my former medical carrier. Im suggesting that it makes no difference in this matter. All transcripts were disclosed to the CMU admin prior to my acceptance. They knew what they were getting. Only when I refused to be complicit in their scheme to shake me down for late tuition fees and falsification of an academic record did they become retaliatory and revoke my seat and acceptance.

http://www.valuemd.com/caribbean-me...re-cmu-administrative-retaliation-ripoff.html

And here is some new information that was recently discovered. The Clinical Dean S*** H*** runs a business called the H**** Medical Group. That business entity was founded in 2012. It was responsible for providing many assurances in writing that proved to be false. As I alluded to before, there is a disconnect between the CMU Finance Department and S*** H*****. There is no accountability. Furthermore, S***** H**** for whatever reason chose to change rename his corporation just days before this tort broke. It no longer is called the H**** Medical Group, Inc, it is now called Pearson College Inc. And guess who helped incorporate that entity.... thats right the Bell Law LLC in Chicago, IL. The same firm that is attempting to censor me and withhold my refund unless I agree to a release and waiver. Its all a matter of public record. One can easily search this on the following search engine under file number 68555922 . Select "Corporate" in Step 1, and Select by file number in Step 2.

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/business_services/corp.html


What this means is that the H**** Medical Group is doing business under an old and obsolete name. That may be an infraction of the law. You'll also see that the president of Pearson College Inc is none other than D*** G***, a Dentist. Because nothing speaks to IMG MD clinical values like a Dentist at the helm who apparently holds a practice in California, a state that CMU students can never even practice in. And the location of his corporate offices? Yep, conveniently located next to the Indian Consulate in Downtown Chicago, the body in charge of immigration for the majority of Indian students who will require a J1 or other visa to enter the US to perform their clinicals. I looks like a money mill, and the Financial practices of CMU appear to be predicated on the detrimental reliance created by this separate legal business entity that hides behind a false name and employs a law firm as their registered agent who no doubt has been instrumental in masterminding every legal scheme to profit at the student's expense. I discovered an invoice that had been backdated by CMU to represent an initial invoice that was sent in January. Even though the latter invoice was sent in June, it had a date in January to make it appear as if the late penalties were assessed in January and not in June. Thats fraudulent. And that has been forwarded on to the Lisa Madigan and the Illinois Attorney Generals Office Consumer Fraud Bureau. The paper trails that CMU Finance Dept furnished were damming. They point to gross financial abuses and misconduct. They are riddled with errors and inconsistencies. If they were ever audited, I'm sure there would be numerous incidents of overpayments, wrongfully assessed fines, etc. Could be a basis for a class action against CMU.
 
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OP are you seriously trying to tell us you graduated with a 3.8 GPA from an Ivy and had a 30 MCAT and went to CMU for crying out loud? Sorry dude, but just by making that decision to go to CMU after your supposed Ivy League education shows that you need a degree in common sense stat.
 
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I fail to see the significance of this tirade. CMU is an unvetted and poorly-regarded school. Why is anyone surprised that they have deceptive recruitment/admissions practices? If you're truly taking legal action against the school, parading your case about on a public forum seems unwise at best.
 
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@bedevilled ben My comments are predicated on diligent investigation and fact--more didactic than hate-filled speech (unlike the many personal attacks that have come from CMU defenders on ValueMD). It speaks to the abuses and retaliatory behavior of an institution that has defruaded me and presumably many others. If you have a look at my original thread on ValueMD you will see that there were others like GIinthesky who came forward and corroborated my assertions about the CMU admin. This is a cautionary thread. CMU doesn't want me making these disclosures. They have attempted to buy my silence. The more I investigate and disclose, the more cautionary this becomes for other prospective students. Unfortunately, a legal course of action may be necessary to resolve the matter. And there is nothing that is ostensibly unwise about publishing that information on an anonymous forum. Free speech is protected here. In the meantime the marketplace will be the trier of fact.
 
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@bedevilled ben My comments are predicated on diligent investigation and fact--more didactic than hate-filled speech (unlike the many personal attacks that have come from CMU defenders on these forums). It speaks to the abuses and retaliatory behavior of an institution that has defruaded me and presumably many others. If you have a look at my original thread on ValueMD you will see that there were others like GIinthesky who came forward and corroborated my assertions about the CMU admin. This is a cautionary thread. CMU doesn't want me making these disclosures. They have attempted to buy my silence. The more I investigate and disclose, the more cautionary this becomes for other prospective students. Unfortunately, a legal course of action may be necessary to resolve the matter. And there is nothing that is ostensibly unwise about publishing that information on an anonymous forum. Free speech is protected here. In the meantime the marketplace will be the trier of fact.

What are you talking about?! Seriously. Who's personally attacked you (here) and who's defended CMU?

I starting to think about this being nothing more than, as Shakespeare put it, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

If you want to consider that a 'personal attack', so be it. You've made (and belabored) your point. Go exorcise your demons elsewhere. You're starting to become annoying.

-Skip
 
Agree with Skip. I've yet to see a single credible post here in defense of CMU. You're starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist, and nothing you have brought up is news to anybody that's done their due diligence when it comes to investigating Caribbean medical schools.

You are not Deep Throat, you are not rooting out corruption, and this is not a scandalous affair reaching the highest offices in the land. You got screwed by a profit-driven off-shore diploma mill because you didn't do your homework. Learn your lesson from it and move on. If your purpose was to draw attention to CMU (and yourself), you've done that most admirably.
 
@skip
RE: personal attacks on Sdn - duly noted and edited supra. There were multiple personal attacks directed at my by CMU students on the ValueMD thread, some just shameful.

RE: Who has defended CMU? The blogger who calles himself "CMU", uses the official CMU copyrighted logo, claims to be academic administration from CMU and alleges falsely that I was expelled from CMU thereby justifying the illegal retention of my seat deposit.

And no, I would not regard your quoting Macbeth in Act 5 Scene 5 as a personal attack. I just however fail to see its relevance in this situation. I have made it a point not to be emotional and just stick to the facts. Your dismissive and offensive comment supra does not dignify a response. I wish you a good day Skip and only the best of luck in whatever pursuits you deem to be meaningful. Thanks for taking a moment to read this cautionary thread. I sincerely appreciate your many insightful comments.
 
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@bedevilled ben - CMU broke the law. My family and I are suffering a hardship because of their breach and abuses. Your attempts to trivialize the offense is concerning. I did my homework, and I protected myself. I have a case. I just never in a million years thought the CMU admin would stoop to such a degree of blatant bad faith and dishonest dealing. Hence the invocation of regulatory authorities and the prospect of a suit. I am outraged. And I think the 2000+ viewers of this and the valueMD threads are as well.
 
@bedevilled ben - CMU broke the law.
Thus far, I fail to see how. Despite your Shakespearean stanza name-dropping and unnecessarily-florid prose littered with legalese, back-dating a leave of absence does not constitute falsifying your educational records. The school is not legally obligated to allow you to matriculate, you are a student at their whim and fancy. If you piss off the administration, or they get a whiff that something smells fishy about your application, they are perfectly within their legal right to invalidate any offer they've extended to you. Your seat deposit does not have to be returned to you. It says so very clearly right on their admissions policy website: "...a non-refundable tuition deposit in order to reserve a seat in the class."
@bedevilled ben
My family and I are suffering a hardship because of their breach and abuses. Your attempts to trivialize the offense is concerning.
No, you and your family are suffering because you made poor uninformed choices in the past, and now you must accept increased risk in order to become a physician. There was no breach and no abuse. The school has policies that benefit them and limit their risk and you undoubtedly agreed to those terms when you applied. I'm not trivializing it, you're over-exaggerating it. A few thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of attendance. If your finances are cutting so close that this makes or breaks you, then you need to stop and regroup before continuing on. There are tons of hidden costs in medical education.
@bedevilled ben
I just never in a million years thought the CMU admin would stoop to such a degree of blatant bad faith and dishonest dealing. Hence the invocation of regulatory authorities and the prospect of a suit. I am outraged. And I think the 2000+ viewers of this and the valueMD threads are as well.

That's funny. In your comment that you posted on FindTheBest, you say:
DO NOT TRUST CMU WITH YOUR MONEY. THEY HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN A SCAM BY WHICH THEY ACCEPT STUDENTS, ACCEPT THEIR DEPOSIT TO RESERVE A SEAT, AND THEN REVOKE THEIR OFFER OF ADMISSION DUE TO "ARBITRARY CHANGES IN ACADEMIC POLICY" AND THEN POCKET THE MONEY. THEY ARE NOT AN HONEST INSTITUTION AND THEY ARE LITIGIOUS. You can find more information about this if you Search the ValueMD and Student Doctor Network forums abou their administrative abuses. They are well known in the student community.

Which is it? Are their abuses well-known and you just didn't properly investigate? Or did you just ignore them? Lastly, your accusation that CMU is litigious is just laughable. You need to stop kicking against the pricks on this one and just cut your losses. You've made your public declaration that CMU is dishonest. Time to move on.
 
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You shouldnt be advertising a 70 % pass rate on the step 1 as if it was a good number, that is terrible
If 70% is terrible for you than what is better? 19% the lowest of the Caribbean med schools or 45% which is the average of all of them.
 
If 70% is terrible for you than what is better? 19% the lowest of the Caribbean med schools or 45% which is the average of all of them.
The school I attend SGU is 98% pass rate
 
Thus far, I fail to see how.... back-dating a leave of absence does not constitute falsifying your educational records. The school is not legally obligated to allow you to matriculate..... If you piss off the administration, or they get a whiff that something smells fishy about your application, they are perfectly within their legal right to invalidate any offer they've extended to you. Your seat deposit does not have to be returned to you. It says so very clearly right on their admissions policy website: "...a non-refundable tuition deposit in order to reserve a seat in the class.".... There was no breach and no abuse.... The school has policies that benefit them and limit their risk and you undoubtedly agreed to those terms when you applied. I'm not trivializing it.....

When a student has not paid tuition, not matriculated, not registered, not so much has stepped foot in a classroom or building, he has only an option contract with that academic body. And at that point, US contract law preempts any rights a school has to revoke admission conditioned on a dismissal of a student from their program. A reservation is merely a deposit. Its sole purpose is to prevent the institution from giving the seat to another party. It vests no obligation on behalf of the institution to matriculate that student. In fact the only event that can effectively obligate the school to perform and deliver an education is full performance of all conditions necessary to matriculate which include, inter alia, payment of tuition in full, completion of all immunizations, background check, CPR certs, etc... I think you get the point. Only upon completion of those conditions precedent does the obligation to render education mature. And here, that never took place. CMU is stuck between a rock and hardplace. They breached. They operate in Chicago IL which holds them to adhere to IL statutes of contract law. They have a place of business, an office in Cook County. They could reasonably foresee being hailed into court in IL. They are exposed, there is no two ways about it.

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with an option contract at common law. CMU is a merchant of educational program, and is held to a high standard of good faith dealing. At common law, a party that has accepted consideration ($1000 seat deposit) to hold open a contract law may NOT revoke that contract. Period. Its irrevocable. There are rare exceptions such as impossibility (the school goes under) or illegality (the contract is inherently criminal) . It makes no difference that CMU states that the moneys are nonrefundable, because if you read more carefully you will also note they state that the moneys will be put toward tuition. Their provisions are based on the assumption that a student will eventually matriculate. There provision does not take into account a scenario where CMU moves to illegally revoke a contract. You cannot impute a provision specifically designed and geared for a specific purpose to absolve all liability of the party who breached. Once CMU breached, all ancillary provisions are moot. It had a legal duty to hold that contract open for one years time. That was the deal. I could have called up Dean RJ's wife and spread vicious rumors that he slept with a student, and it would have made no difference. That contract is irrevocable. That is also written on their published policy regarding seat deposits or did you conveniently overlook that? CMU cannot circumvent the law by stating "we have the right to breach an option contract." No party is above the law the USA. No contractually party has a 'right to breach'. Such a provision is prima facie unconscionable.

The only accurate statement I could extract in the 5 minutes I am taking to respond to your baseless and loaded diatribe is that, "The school is not legally obligated to allow you to matriculate." That assertion I agree with you 100%. However, by offering an acceptance and receiving consideration thereof from a prospective student, a legal theory of promissory estoppel prevents the school from denying liability for any detrimental reliance that was foreseeable. So the school can close its doors on whomever it pleases, but if in doing so and in anticipation of peformance it causes the other party damages... it must pay. What you call "legalese" is what formed the backbone of this country and its institutions. Maybe you should get educated on the law before you pontificate and post accusatory fingers. You've done a fine job of discrediting yourself.

And one more point to add... School policy on retroactive leaves of absence are discretionary. Some schools allow them, some schools don't. I could not find a single instance in which a school did not demand a compelling reason for doing so. The point to be had here is that all leaves of absence whether retroactive or not, are applied for while in an active, matriculated status at the academic institution. If the school does not have rolling admissions, and the student must commit to begin his coursework at a specific date, there is an option to defer his matriculation to a later semester or academic year. Note CMU acknowledged that they accept deferments.

HOWEVER, and here's the kicker... If the school has rolling admissions and matriculation for transfers into the clinical rotations portion of its program, which is EXACTLY what Clinical Dean S**** H**** whose last name sounds like Fonda asserted, and what numerous emails back and forth between myself and him corroborate, the student has no obligation to defer or take a leave of absence. The student has one year during which he may matriculate and become active at any time he so pleases. Such a candidate is not enrolled, not matriculated and merely has the option to act on their offer or not. After one years time if the candidate does not pay tuition, enroll and matriculate, the seat reservation is forfeited along with the deposit money, and the student will need to reapply.

The act of requesting a student to file a leave of absence under duress of financial sanctions is administrative abuse and misconduct. To retroactively apply a leave of absence to a point when the student was NOT ACTUALLY MATRICULATED is FRAUD! Period. You get it now BB? A retroactive application of a leave of absence is not in and of itself a falsification of a record, albeit if executed without a compelling reason to do so, many institutional administrations will argue it is. However, a retroactive application of a leave of absence to a time when the student was not even matriculated at the school is a falsification of an academic record. And additionally it necessary infringes upon the students interests for candidacy for a residency which constitutes a separate offense, that of a breach of fiduciary duty that an administration has for the welfare of its students.

You may be wondering why all the fuss about a backdating and retroactive application of a leave of absence in the first place? What did CMU really have to gain by this? What did they really care if I matriculated in January or June for that matter? As long as my tuition was paid, you may be wondering... why all the fuss?

Because CMUs policies clearly state that a student on leave is still required to pay tuition. My duty to pay tuition would have arisen the day the retroactive leave of absence was backdated to. A retroactive leave would have been used as a basis to impute a late fee and increase my expense to matriculate. And in the event that the administration wanted to revoke their offer and my seat because I was not amenable to the imputed late fees, it would be used a basis to assert that I was a matriculated student who was 'expelled' and was therefore not entitled to a refund of my deposit based on a theory of breach of an irrevocable option contract.

If CMU can convince a jury that I was an active, matriculated student in January when I tendered my $1000 seat deposit, they win and we can all go home. They however will not be able to do that. Not with the evidence that I have from them that proves otherwise.

CMU took a gamble. They were hoping to pocket another several hundred dollars and were betting that I was desperate enough to just pay it. Similar to what BB asserts, it was just a drop in the bucket, so it was insignificant. As if the prospect of having the letters MD after my name were worth me selling my soul for. CMU had no interests in my career pursuit. And their action in fact validate just how little concern they had for my interests when a few hundred dollars was hanging in the balance. That was enough for them to take a gamble and they lost. I guess when you have hundreds of desperate applicants vying for spots, and are being sold a dream, CMU can get abusive like that. Clearly, they weren't counting on this response though, less they wouldn't have offered to return both my deposit and application fee contingent on a release and waiver and non-disparagement clause.

CMU wanted to assess late tuition fees to line the pockets of their investors. And how did they go about doing this? They employed S*** H**** to make assertions that late fees would not be assessed in my situation and furthermore, that I should "ignore" any automatic invoices that I received from the school. Then in the same breath, they imputed late fees and contradicted their own executive. Worse, they attempted to use the threat of late fees in order to get me to seal my own legal fate and extinguish my rights to recover my seat deposit. Sneaky? A legal loophole of the worst kind. Thats as slimy as it gets. And I have to assume that those tactics are coming from ABS at Bell Law LLC in Chicago who is advising S**** H**** and CMU on their legal exposure. She knows I have a strong case, and she is playing chicken with me at the expense of the schools reputation and their students interest.

I need to tend to other business and cannot be counted on to respond to every comment on this thread. I implore you to wait until I can post more relevant information on the development of this case against CMU and ask respectfully to please refrain from subverting this thread into an advertisement for other Caribbean schools. I have asked that many times before yet CMU can't respect the sanctity of this very forum and its contributors. There is no wonder why then we shouldn't expect it to respect the law.
 
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Here's my N=1.

I have a 100% pass rate on all four parts of the USMLE (Step 1, Step 2-CK, Step 2-CS, and Step 3) on the first attempt. I'm board-certified in my specialty. And, I can practice medicine in all 50 states.

Since you continue to post here and want to make some sort of statement, CMU, how many of your graduates can say the same? I suspect that the answer to that question is zero.

-Skip
 
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This has been an interesting exchange. MDesquire, good luck on your battle, no matter the degree of incline. Tragedies have always been my favorite type of drama.
 
Here's my N=1.

I have a 100% pass rate on all four parts of the USMLE (Step 1, Step 2-CK, Step 2-CS, and Step 3) on the first attempt. I'm board-certified in my specialty. And, I can practice medicine in all 50 states.

Since you continue to post here and want to make some sort of statement, CMU, how many of your graduates can say the same? I suspect that the answer to that question is zero.

-Skip

We have several graduates that have passed all parts of USMLE at the first attempt so don't think you are the only one. Now tell us:
1. how many states DO you practice medicine in???
2. how much in total have you paid for you medical education???
 
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