arrrghhh.....I hate these sort of threads. Almost as bad as DO/MD threads. Both sides are probably pushing the truth a little bit.
TTSD, you mention that Ross students aren't goint to school for the degree, money, prestige, etc. Are you trying to imply that a much larger % of US students do value these things more? Because I think the motivations for all medical students are similar, whether they go to their state medical school or Ross. I certainly don't think carrib students are on some special pursuit that US med students aren't. Greatful, how many Ross students actually do their core rotations alongside US med students? It seems most of the hospitals Ross students are sent to for their core rotations have affiliations with schools like SABA, UAC, and SGU. A few are affiliated with osteopathic schools to a limited extent(NYCOM and Touro). But someone who has actually done their core rotations is more qualified to comment on the students they were rotating with.
I do think in many cases the US system tends to push mediocre applicants into MS and post-bacc classes when it would probably be best to head off to SGU or Ross. Take an applicant with a 3.2 GPA(upward trend) and 28 MCAT. California applicant. Rejected everywhere on first attempt. Is it in his best interest to spend 2 years in a post-bacc or masters program and improve his MCAT score? Realistic best case scenario is that he spends $50,000(assuming private post-bacc or masters) and ends up getting into Finch/Nycom/Tufts/Drexel/etc, where he will take out $200,000 in loans. Worst case scenario is that he spends the money, wastes two-three years, and still doesn't get into a US school. If the applicant was motivated enough to bust his ass and get into one of these medical schools, he would also be motivated enough to get through Ross or SGU. And sure, it is a huge advantage to come from a US school like Finch as opposed to SGU/Ross, but this advantage is mitigated somewhat if the applicant ends up choosing primary care anyways. If the applicant had chosen Ross right after his US rejections, he would have saved $80,000($50,000 + $30,000) and 2-3 years. I'm not saying this would be the right choice for everyone; it just depends on the situation. But the idea that everyone should try 2-3 times to get into any US med school first is very questionable.
How does the US system turn these people away from Ross/SGU? Lies. Most premeds don't know that if you graduate from Ross/SGU/AUC and pass the USMLE step 1/2, you have a 100% chance of getting a US residency if you want one. There are even premed advisors at major universities who tell stories of SGU grads with no visa issues who graduated and were not able to match in IM/FM. Perhaps the advisor wasn't lying, but it's still sad that he was passing out information that can't be right. OTOH, Ross/SGU proponents are not always accurate when describing the chances for prospective students to match in a given field. Just because someone happens to match in ortho or whatever once every couple of years, that doesn't mean there is a reasonable chance that it can be done. If you are going to the carribean you can kiss Ortho, Uro, ENT, Optho, and Derm goodbye forever. I'm sure SGU students feel that their grads do have a decent shot at maybe Optho and ENT, but look at the numbers. They may get 1-2 a year out of a HUGE match class. When adjusting for size that would be the equivalent of a US school mathing one every 3-4 years. And as others have said, these people who match one of these 5 fields usually have really great board scores and a major connection somewhere in a particular program. I would never consider SGU/Ross if I wanted one of those five fields. Even EM and Anesthesiology may be on the fringe of untouchable for an SGU/Ross grad depending on the conditions in any given year(for ex, how many EM's did Ross get total this match.....2-3???)
