~*~Ponce School of Medicine Class of 2011!!!!~*~

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I'm interested in getting any of your perspectives on this question. It seems from looking at the MSAR (medical school admission requirements) that over the past few years, everyone who has interviewed from "out of state" has received acceptance and matriculated. I'm in no way any less nervous about the process because of those statistics, but I'm wondering if that means there is good reason to believe that if you interview you will most likely be accepted or do you think, or maybe you've heard on campus, that they have interviewed more than previous years or this is a particularly high volume applicant/interviewee year?

MSAR statistics (2006-2007) - Non-resident 477 applied, 26 interviewed, 23 matriculated

I don't remember the exact statistics for the next year but it was about 28 non-residents interviewed and 30 matriculated so it would seem that the ones that didn't matriculate from the year before got in the following year. All things considered, would it seem reasonable to assume there is a high 90s percentage of getting in from the interview?
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I was wondering the same thing as you. The statistics seem favorable but I am still worried. I interviewed on Feb. 22 and I have still not heard anything. There are a few mainlanders that interviewed in March that have already been accepted as of last week. I called the school and I was told the same thing as ekimsurfer. The next committee meeting will be held next week and by the first week of May everyone should know whether they got in or not.
 
Is it possible to get a place in Monterrey for less than $1000??? All the listings I have seen are $1000 and above. Is it a good place to live (neighbors, cleanliness, tranquility, etc.)?

I'm going apartment hunting on Tuesday so I want to be prepared. Any advice?
 
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Can anyone tell me the name of the street where the school is? I'm trying to find it on Google Maps (just to see what is nearby :oops: ) and I can't find it anywhere! I'd like to know at least the area it is in. I was trying to do it by following the directions I used to get there and it didn't work. Thanks!
 
writesamuel said:
All things considered, would it seem reasonable to assume there is a high 90s percentage of getting in from the interview?
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Well, I happened to stumble across the MSAR reports for the last 3 years, (05-06, 06-07, and 07-08) and did the statistical analysis on the percentages for each of these years (54%, 89%, and 108% (weird 28/26 kids matriculated)) for mainland students interviewed and matriculated. Averaging these percentages gives you an average chance of approximately 84% but since the 07/08 year was a little weird I figure around an 80% chance of getting in which is pretty high. However, after interviewing and asking Sra. Colon about this year's applicant pool, she made it very clear that they had more applicants this year than any other year and therefore much more competition sooooooo...I definitely would not depend on the statistical chances of getting in even though they are in our favor. Just have faith in your abilities and know that there is someone else looking down on your life planning it so that it may unfold the way that it should. Now that I've preached enough, stay confident and think about everything we have gone through...this is just one of many obstacles we will face and overcome.
 
ekimsurfer said:
Well, I happened to stumble across the MSAR reports for the last 3 years, (05-06, 06-07, and 07-08) and did the statistical analysis on the percentages for each of these years (54%, 89%, and 108% (weird 28/26 kids matriculated)) for mainland students interviewed and matriculated. Averaging these percentages gives you an average chance of approximately 84% but since the 07/08 year was a little weird I figure around an 80% chance of getting in which is pretty high. However, after interviewing and asking Sra. Colon about this year's applicant pool, she made it very clear that they had more applicants this year than any other year and therefore much more competition sooooooo...I definitely would not depend on the statistical chances of getting in even though they are in our favor. Just have faith in your abilities and know that there is someone else looking down on your life planning it so that it may unfold the way that it should. Now that I've preached enough, stay confident and think about everything we have gone through...this is just one of many obstacles we will face and overcome.
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Don't worry ekimsurfer and nataly, I'm pretty confident you'll both get in... I still don't know anyone who hasn't and you guys won't be the exception ;-). See you there!
 
psm is located right next to the national guard station, on one of the "marginales" off of highway 2 (carreterra). the school is about 1 block away from where ave. munoz rivera runs into the 2. the school itself is about 4 block from this intersection. that may be why you can't bring it up on google maps. i've tried looking up where the school should be on google earth, and it's still pretty blurry. parque monterrey is a cluster of 3 apartment complexes, all gated. i would compare them to a college apartment complex in terms of safety. it's gated, with friendly neighbors, but i would still lock my door when i left. the worst thing you have to worry about is falling coconuts :eek: on the other side of the street. they have been known to break windshields of cars parked under trees. not to worry if you end up staying here, though. residents park inside.
 
Yo,

I don't know if its been mentioned, but if you want something a little more "in town" there's a complex downtown (hey Blue, where did we used to live man, I can't even remember now :) ). They are fairly nice, new and mirror Parque Monterrey's prices.

You will defintely get all the info you need from the class above you/former grads. Like this thread has been running, Ponce students and grads kinda make up their own "student advising". Blue and I can attest to that. In any case, good luck to all those that got accepted and to the ones waiting to be interviewed.
 
Well, I found out yesterday that classes start on July 30th. That makes my summer shorter than I thought it would be. Actually, it is only 2 days away from August but it still feels like we have one month less vacation time...
 
veromar122 said:
Well, I found out yesterday that classes start on July 30th. That makes my summer shorter than I thought it would be. Actually, it is only 2 days away from August but it still feels like we have one month less vacation time...
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Veromar, make sure you ENJOY your summer. Relax, have fun, go out. This will probably be the last time you will have two whole months off in the next four years. Congratulations on getting accepted. :thumbup:
 
here are some answers to some pm questions, just for everybody to know:

classes are 5 days/week, from 8 am till usually 3, sometimes later (like 5). classes are set up like high school; there is a room with desks that you sit in all day, and the professors just rotate.

i would say the classes are in spanish 80% of the time. the powerpoint presentations are in english 99% of the time, and the tests are in english 100% of the time. exams are given in blocks, usually every 1-3 months or so (it really did vary that much). i found that lectures in spanish made me pay attention more. spanish isn't my first language, so i had to focus.

i think the best way to find an apartment is to come down and scope it out. there are "noticias" everywhere, just find a place you like. that's probably less of an option for most people reading this forum, so i would recommend the housing list you supposedly get provided by the school. if that doesn't turn anything up, you could search for online classifieds (which could be a bit sketchy), or just pore over the forums. if you are looking for a car, i can help you there. pretty much every fourth year i know is selling theirs. the only problem is, we are all gone by the end of may!

this year we had 6 out of 70 or so that didn't match, and 4 of the 6 secured spots in the scramble. the other two are doing research. 70% of the matchees are going to the states, and the 30% that are staying here (of those that are staying, all ranked pr programs very highly).

keep em coming!
 
Hey Future PSMers!

I'm selling a '93 gray Mitzubishi Mirage with A/C, automatic transmission.

Running well (served me well running over the mountains to a San Juan rotation).

$1,100

Email me for more details if you're interested.

[email protected]

Cheers! Christopher
 
Hey Future PSMers!

I'm selling a '96 green Kia Sportage with A/C, manual transmission, 4x4.

Running well (has traveled the circumference of the island many times).

$2,500 or best offer

PM me for more details if you're interested.

Cheers! Dr. Blue

(I told you we are all selling our cars!)
 
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further answers to PM's

What are the facilities like, is their wireless on campus, do students usually study in the library or in their homes?

---there IS wireless on campus (but it doesn't always reach all the way into the classrooms; it's 'in the library though, and I think the student lounge. I would say about 1/3 - 1/2 of the students study in the library, but it could increase as the library has expanded and there's a 24-hour study room:idea: now that's even bigger. As library's go, it's still pretty small (and COLD) but I studied at home, as I know Dr Blue did too. 1st year a lot of people try out group studying...it wasn't so successful for me, but some love it.


Does the school provide you with the powerpoint lectures printed out or are they available on the web?

--PPT's are on the school server (sometimes only an hour before lecture, sometimes only AFTER lecture--it's hit or miss) and I think this is one of the weakpoints of the school: the amount of 'busywork' one is expected to do when what one SHOULD be doing is studying your ass off. Bueno....everyone strikes their own individual balance between showing up to lectures and blowing off the classroom for some individual studying. Remember: your PERFORMANCE (on the tests/mastering the material) is what should guide you, NOT what crusty administrators tell you. This really is--for me--THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION of the first 2 years of PSM.

Do most students come back to the US, and what do you think is the average pass rate for boards? and how well do you think the school prepares you for boards?

--ALL students who want to match in US-based residencies can. Since quite a few of PSM is from PR (I'd say around 50-60% in the most recent classes), there is naturally a high number who want to match in PR...and do. Our year's pass rate (4th years') was staggeringly bad (about 24/68 FAILED step 1) but has been better in recent years. Honestly, again, this goes to what I think is PSM's weakpoint. They would rather have you jump thru high-school-like hoops of "required attendance" to lectures than give you time to study on your own. :mad: That said, I do think the MATERIAL you need for step 1 is presented at some time or another. I just think the step 1 is so much harder than step 2, so much more material, that it's harder to study for. In short, i would say PSM does an "average" job on preparing you for the step 1. Somewhere between "good" and "bad" :confused:

Keep the questions coming; again, we would love to help you all in any way we can :thumbup:

Cheers,

Christopher
 
Hey guys!

This is my first post on sdn, but i have been watching the thread for a while and appreciate all the great comments. Thanks Dr. blue and Caetano-MD for some great insight into student life at PSM. I am still waiting to hear back from PSM, but I still have some questions that maybe you guys can help with.

Caetano-MD mentioned this, but i want to make sure. Is attendance mandatory like in high school? or is it like college where you are able to come as you feel necessary?

I dont know what kind of residency program I want to do yet, but must admit that surgery has always interested me. Do PSM students place into surgery residencies? and a follow-up question on residencies. Not that I think I will able to land one, but do students place into top tier residencies (ivies, hopkins, etc.)

Spanish is not my first language. I am a little nervous about the classes in Spanish. I have never taken a higher level science course in spanish. Is there any advice from people that were maybe in a similar situation.

I know there are more questions that I cant think of right now, and I dont want to get too ahead of myself because I am still waiting to hear from the committee. But i do hope that things work out and i end up studying in PR. Thank you in advance for your help.
 
Thanks Caetano-MD for all the insight!!! I also have the same question as jibjab19. I do speak spanish well, however I have never taken a higher level science course in spanish.
Thanks!
 
Well, I basically check this thread 3 times or so a day now that we are all waiting to hear back from PSM which I think is one of their weakpoints (organization). I enjoy the feedback that all of the current and past PSM students have said and thank them. As for jibjab19's questions, I too am interested in surgery and matching etc. and have done lots of research based around this topic and medical students in PR.
I am fluent in spanish, however, I would consider English my first language. That being said, I am MUUUUUCCCCH stronger in English that in Spanish and am somewhat skeptical about the classes taught in Spanish. One of my best friends in undergrad had a brother who graduated from PSM about 4 years ago and is now working towards finishing his Plastics residency at University Rochesters before doing a fellowship at UPenn. I have talked with him extensively about his experiences at PSM and so forth. What he has told me is go into PSM knowing that organization is definitely not a priority, don't get worried about the spanish aspect of everything, and study on your own as much as possible making Step 1 your priority if surgery or any other competitive residency is what you want. He also advised me to do everything in my power (ouside of making the best grades and getting the best Step1 score possible) to do an elective rotation at the place you would ultimately like to match if possible.
Now some of my opinions based upon my experience. I personally could care less about the lectures as I have already went to graduate school and understand the importance of studying on my own or in groups rather than depending on a professor to "teach" me material. If the classes are not mandatory (i.e. hurt your grade if you do not attend) then I will feel each professor out at the beginning and see what happens. As for the match and residency placements...I do extensive volunteering at migrant clinics and health fairs in South Florida where MD's trained in spanish are like GOLD. Therefore if surgery or some more competitive residency is your goal, I would definitely say if you score a decent board score and make decent grades you will 99.9% get a residency at a school like UM, UF, or USF over a non-spanish speaking applicant based upon the fact that you have been trained in a US medical school with the advantage of the bilingual clinical experience. Along those lines, I have googled surgery and PSM or Ponce just to see what came up and there are actually quite a few PSM alumni at ivies like Yale or Columbia doing residencies including a thoracic surgeon I found. Also, my friend matched at Univ. of Rochester for Plastics which is one of the hardest residencies to get in the nation. I think it all depends on where you want to go and what you want to do.
Sorry for the long post, but just sharing some of my thoughts/opinions. Now all I have to do is get in....:eek: :laugh:
 
Surgery:

There are lots of PSMers interested in surgery and lots who match into it. It is not a terribly difficult specialty (average step 1 score is 219 which is about national average, if I'm not mistaken) and getting into general surgery is VERY do-able. The harder goal are orthopedic surgery, ENT, plastic surgery, urology, etc. For those you will have to get above a 230 on step 1 and probably get honors (alpha-omega-alpha honors society).

We get into Ivy league schools, but honestly, the name of the game at the Residency level is not so much Ivy league as much as it is having a LIFE and matching strategically so you can make contacts and start to build up a practice. I turned down, for example, an interview at Yale because I just couldn't take any more New Haven winters (4 years of undergrad was enough) and I know a lot of other med students who think that way.

If you want an ACADEMIC career (i.e. working in a Med school, teaching, researching in a surgical field) then you SHOULD choose a "prestige" school. But if you're like 90% of med students choosing a residency, you just want to get on with life and start your training in a place where you love the residents. Surgery is not hard to place into. There are something like 200 surgery residencies and even if you are an average student (as are some of the past PSMers who matched in surgery), you have a good chance of matching (in general surg.).:thumbup:

Also (in case you havent' yet), pop into the "residency forums--surgery forums" on SDN and start to read, lurk, post, question. You'll get a VERY good education just from reading this site. :laugh:


A WORD FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T HEARD YET/ARE ON THE WAITING LIST:
My year, two good freinds of mine didn't get in until A WEEK BEFORE ORIENTATION--what was their secret? PERSISTENCE, and being "gently persistent" with phone calls, emails etc. PSM loves to have enthusiastic students, so GO FOR IT!!

good luck, future colleagues...keep the questions coming and EXITO!!!!

Cheers from Caetano
 
Thank you Caetano-MD and ekimsurfer for your responses. They were exactly what i was looking for. I will now hold all further questions until i hear from the committee. On that note, according to a previous post, I believe the committee met last night. I don't want to be too pushy and call, so as of right now i will wait for the mailman to come next week. BUT, if anyone has called, and they find the staff to be cordial in giving admissions decisions, I might go ahead and call. So if anyone has called please post. Thanks!
 
I called yesterday and today...no dice. I'm waiting for Sra. Colon to call me now as I count every minute waiting to hear back. I'm almost tempted now to just wait for the letter myself and not answer the phone...:eek: IF she calls that is...:laugh: PSM not call or let people know what the next phase in their life will be....NOOOOOOO......I can't imagine...haha. It's not like I haven't been waiting like everyone else for almost 2 MONTHS!
 
I called today and was told that the committee did meet the other day and today the president is approving all of the decisions. I was also told that the letters will be mailed next Monday. I also asked if they could tell me anything over the phone as of this morning and she said that she couldn't since the president had not approved them yet. Hopefully next week we will finally know.
 
the PSM class of 2005 matched 6 of its students in surgery (all of them in continental US) so it can be done coming out of PSM. that same year two or three guys matched in Orthopedics surgery.

Last year a female graduate matched into plastic surgery.

You only have to score high in the steps and get good LOR's
 
ekimsurfer said:
I called yesterday and today...no dice. I'm waiting for Sra. Colon to call me now as I count every minute waiting to hear back. I'm almost tempted now to just wait for the letter myself and not answer the phone...:eek: IF she calls that is...:laugh: PSM not call or let people know what the next phase in their life will be....NOOOOOOO......I can't imagine...haha. It's not like I haven't been waiting like everyone else for almost 2 MONTHS!
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ekimsurfer relax!! LOL. Medicine is a waiting game!!! this is only the beginning. When you take the usmle's you will have to wait over a month to get your score's and believe me that's freaking painful!! And lets not talk about the match !!! WOW, one month between ranking list deadline and match day!! Thats painful too!!!

So relax, enjoy your summer and drink a cold beer!!!
 
I just called Gladys Cintron at admissions today to ask about some stuff (i'm a 4th year psm student) and she said they were going to choose another group of 18 students on Monday and send out the results next week.

I also asked her what could students do to show their serious interest in the school: she said to email and call her and Dr Carmen Mercado expressing your interest.

Gladys Cintron: [email protected]

Dr Carmen Mercado: [email protected]

Good luck guys! Hope to meet some of you soon!

Cheers,

Caetano
 
mig26x said:
ekimsurfer relax!! LOL. Medicine is a waiting game!!! this is only the beginning. When you take the usmle's you will have to wait over a month to get your score's and believe me that's freaking painful!! And lets not talk about the match !!! WOW, one month between ranking list deadline and match day!! Thats painful too!!!

So relax, enjoy your summer and drink a cold beer!!!
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I threw a party last night so that was taken care of...:horns: ...I know it is a waiting game, but my situation was a little different. As of 3 days ago I was planning on going to Ross and moving my life (and paying about $8k of unecessary tuition if accepted to Ponce later in the summer) to start classes next week and didn't know if I was going to have to move down there or be going to Ponce and this week's "decision" was supposed to be the determining factor. I was able to get my acceptance deferred at Ross though until the Fall. I'm cool now...just anxious to know. Thanks for all of the posts, however, and everyone's willingness to help. This thread is very supportive and that is a good representation as to the character of PSM students.
 
Hey everyone I got an email today saying that I was accepted and that my letter is in the mail. Woo yeah! I am so excited!:D
 
nataly1313 said:
Hey everyone I got an email today saying that I was accepted and that my letter is in the mail. Woo yeah! I am so excited!:D
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Congrats Nataly!!!!!!!!

I guess I will be seeing you for the next 4 years if you decide to come to PSM. :-D
 
nataly1313 said:
Hey everyone I got an email today saying that I was accepted and that my letter is in the mail. Woo yeah! I am so excited!:D
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Congratulations,
All your efforts have finally paid off! :thumbup:
Just remember to enjoy your summer.
 
nataly1313 said:
Hey everyone I got an email today saying that I was accepted and that my letter is in the mail. Woo yeah! I am so excited!:D
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congrats nataly!!!! we are very happy for you!!!!
 
Thanks everyone. I truly appreciate all of your help and insight throughout this entire application process.
 
Congratulations Nataly. Is anyone having similar luck? I called today and was told that my application was being reviewed and the committee will be meeting again sometime in May. It's better than being rejected, but I'm disappointed I probably won't hear anything before graduation. :(
 
writesamuel said:
Congratulations Nataly. Is anyone having similar luck? I called today and was told that my application was being reviewed and the committee will be meeting again sometime in May. It's better than being rejected, but I'm disappointed I probably won't hear anything before graduation. :(
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Writesamuel,
When did you interview? I was also told the same thing but a few weeks ago. I, however, interviewed on March 5th so I'm wondering if (1) they haven't decided on applicants interviewed March and afterward (2) I have a rejection letter in the mail waiting to be delivered....:eek: :thumbdown: OR (3)they are waiting to see if anything better comes along before they start issuing acceptances to people they're not 100% set on. Whatever the case, all we can do now is wait.
 
I interviewed March 22, so maybe they haven't gotten to the March interviewees yet, at least that's my hope. I'm kind of worried as well because it's obviously late in the year to be getting an acceptance since we're not even on the waitlist yet. Good luck ekimsurfer, I hope we can both hear some good news soon.
 
I talked to Gladys Cintron at admissions today. She said yesterday they were moving their offices to another building but that today they were open. I guess it would be ok to call to ask about the status of your applications.

Good luck to all of you and if you have more questions, I would be happy to answer anything about PSM!

Caetano
 
An (unofficial) update on admissions/acceptances.

I talked to an administrator in Admissions Department on Friday who said that only about 20 students out of the entering class of 60-70 had been confirmed. More students had been accepted but, you should know that in Puerto Rico, many students prefer to go to the state school UPR in San Juan because it is a fraction of the price of PSM, which is private. Consequently, even though a PR-native has received an acceptance letter from PSM, he/she will usually wait to hear from UPR before accepting at PSM--because UPR is cheaper.

The bad news (or good news, depending on how you look at it): UPR doesn't send out its acceptance letters till about now (early June) :mad:. That means that PSM will wait till sometime in June to send out a second round of acceptance letters.:cool: Those of you on the "PSM waiting list" (I don't want to freak some of you out by saying that one exists; I use the term metaphorically) might get a LATE JUNE letter/email/phone call telling you you've been accepted. :hardy:My year, two students were accepted the Friday before Orientation!

This is just to give you a heads up! :thumbup:

Good luck, i'm off to my residency now (in the states). Please write or PM me with any more questions. It's such a pleasure telling you about the school. Cheers, Caetano-MD
 
I wanted to comment on the previous post with what I've heard from some of my fellow classmates. RCM-UPR stopped interviewing more than a month ago and all the acceptance letters have been sent. There must be a waiting list but if there is I know it doesn't have that much people because many have already confirmed. That's why it sounds strange to me that only 20 people have confirmed at PSM. Anyhow, best of luck to all of you who are still waiting to get that letter, I hope to see you in July!!!
 
Some cool news for those of you already accepted at PSM:

Congratulations on being accepted, future MD! You'll be studying at a school well known in many parts of the US for graduating excellent BILINGUAL physicians! Nice job!

so the cool news is that once you have confirmed that you are coming to PSM, this excellent student-run organization called Students Helping Students will be contacting you, to help "ease the transition" from college into Med School.

Students Helping Students (SHS) is composed of upper classmen/women who want to help out the younger students. SHS will be helping you by giving each First Year Student a personal Mentor, also by giving advice, workshops, helpful emails, killer talks throughout all the stages of your years at PSM. And it's so cool because there are no faculty involved, just older students who have been through the same stuff you'll be dealing with. It's the real deal! (I helped set it up a couple years ago, and we've handed it down to some really awesome students who you'll get to know!)

So keep posted...Cheers! Caetano-MD
 
Caetano-MD said:
Some cool news for those of you already accepted at PSM:

Congratulations on being accepted, future MD! You'll be studying at a school well known in many parts of the US for graduating excellent BILINGUAL physicians! Nice job!

so the cool news is that once you have confirmed that you are coming to PSM, this excellent student-run organization called Students Helping Students will be contacting you, to help "ease the transition" from college into Med School.

Students Helping Students (SHS) is composed of upper classmen/women who want to help out the younger students. SHS will be helping you by giving each First Year Student a personal Mentor, also by giving advice, workshops, helpful emails, killer talks throughout all the stages of your years at PSM. And it's so cool because there are no faculty involved, just older students who have been through the same stuff you'll be dealing with. It's the real deal! (I helped set it up a couple years ago, and we've handed it down to some really awesome students who you'll get to know!)

So keep posted...Cheers! Caetano-MD
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That sounds great! What else can we look forward to?
 
Quick question: psm stopped interviewing already right??
Thanks for your help...
 
Hey I've been accepted to PSM and I'm going Apt. Hunting tomorrow. I will probably be looking to buy and Apt. but I'm also considering renting. In order to buy an Apt, I will be needing roomates, so I'm looking for At least 1 or 2 roomates. I'll check this out again and include more details from my search tomorrow! I'm a 22 Male originally from San Juan, I did my bachelor on Florida.
 
I was in admissions on Tuesday morning and they were interviewing 3 US-based students. Today's Thursday so I don't know, but as of Tuesday...yep!
 
does anyone who has maybe attended Ponce or know someone who has, know about how much spanish is needed to attend? I am a spanish minor with a term abroad in spain and going to a medical internship in morelia, Mexico this next fall. I feel pretty comfortable speaking spanish and will probably be 10x better when I get back from Mexico, but I'm not sure if only first language students attend. Thanks! Also-is this a better school than St. George's?
 
durlinga said:
does anyone who has maybe attended Ponce or know someone who has, know about how much spanish is needed to attend? I am a spanish minor with a term abroad in spain and going to a medical internship in morelia, Mexico this next fall. I feel pretty comfortable speaking spanish and will probably be 10x better when I get back from Mexico, but I'm not sure if only first language students attend. Thanks! Also-is this a better school than St. George's?
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Spanish level: you have to be VERY GOOD at understanding spoken Spanish. About 80-90% of the lectures are SPOKEN in Spanish--and all material (ppt's, readings, texts, etc) are in English. As long as you can understand it VERY WELL, (and i mean, VERY WELL--if not, it's easy to not understand what's happening in the lectures and you get lost...fast), your spoken Spanish can lag behind b/c you dont really need it too much the first 2 years. You'll get plenty of practice when you get to your clinical years (year 3 & 4).

BETTER THAN ST. GEORGE?: I know a lot of people who went to SGU from Miami, and it wasn't their first choice simply because it's not a LCME accredited med school. PSM is a LCME accredited med school that happens to be in the Caribbean, so it often gets 'lumped into' the non-LCME accredited Caribbean schools. Honestly, I think most medschools are pretty similar--the AGME dictates curricula quite narrowly so there's not much room for screwing up, if you're a curriculum designer. I'm sure SGU gives you a pretty good education, but we had several transfers from there in my years at PSM, saying there were glad they left--but it was only a few people who told me this.

What you really want to know/find out, is how do their students do in terms of residencies. Ok here's the deal: every administrator/salesman at SGU or PSM or wherever will say, "oh, our students do great, they match very competitively, blah blah blah." It's a sales pitch. but here's what you want to ask--"Can I do an ELECTIVE ROTATION my 4th year in any specialty in any hospital of my choice? and if so, HOW MANY 4th year elective rotations can I do?"

You see, what really gets you a good residency, besides grades and step scores, is rotating at a place you want to go. Some non-LCME schools do NOT allow you to choose your 4th year elective rotation. This is key. By rotating at a place you want to match, you can impress them and make valuable contacts. It REALLY helps you match where you want to go.

So ask that question. PSM allows you 5 elective rotations (of 1 month each) during your 4th year. It helped me match and I only recognized this in hindsight. Check it out.

Cheers, Caetano-MD
 
So ponce costs about 27000 tuition and fees for nonresidents, but does anyone who went there know about how much they spent per year in total? Like how much I would need to borrow? Thanks!
 
Hey everyone. I am currently looking for a roomate to live with me in Parque Monterrey. The apartment looks very nice and clean. It is a gated complex with a pool and the apartment is already furnished. Please PM me if you want to see pictures and if you are interested.
Thanks
 
Has anybody been accepted lately? I called yesterday and they told me that I am on a tentative waiting list, has anybody else been told the same?
 
yeah has anyone heard or received anything at all from PSM? i also called yesterday and was told that they are still making decisions. they wouldnt tell me when they were expecting to finalize these decisions. are there any other mainlanders still waiting to hear from them? as of right now i have received no correspondence from the school. and seeing how it is already june, i would love to know what my status is.
 
jibjab19 said:
yeah has anyone heard or received anything at all from PSM? i also called yesterday and was told that they are still making decisions. they wouldnt tell me when they were expecting to finalize these decisions. are there any other mainlanders still waiting to hear from them? as of right now i have received no correspondence from the school. and seeing how it is already june, i would love to know what my status is.
Click to expand...

I have been on this ¨hold¨ list for about 3 months now. I decided to go ahead and backpack through S. America for a month or so. I´m in Bolivia right now and would also love to have some idea of when I should return. As for now, I am currently still in the same boat as many of you. I suggest just waiting until the end of June. That´s what I plan on doing. I think by that point it will be getting a little rediculous and things should be finalized. Good luck to you guys and let´s keep our fingers crossed.
 
Hey guys,

I heard from the office yesterday that some letters were sent out late last week. So maybe you have a letter on its way :D Good luck!!!
 
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