St Matthews University

[ElizabethK]

I will begin at St Matthews in May of 2001. I am looking for opinions from current or prospective students and graduates.

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[Andre]

Elizabeth:
Did you apply to SGU, AUC, and Saba?
Those are the only (3) that I will recommend, and in that order.
I have many friends @ Saba that I am regularly talking. Saba is OK, with a good curriculum and good teachers.. their clinicals and Residency placements are above average.
The post above is not correct..***BEGIN EDIT--the post he is referring to has been deleted--END EDIT*** he has an axe to grind (probably his brother failed @ Saba. otherwise transfer out is stupid)
Good luck at StM, you will surely NEED it !!!


[This message has been edited by Stephen Ewen (edited 10-23-2000).]

 

[ElizabethK]

Why do you say that I will surely "need help" at St Matthews? If you have a valid opinion, please share it. Your post sounded like a smart ass comment rather than advice from someone with important information to share. I was accepted at AUC and declined the acceptance. I was bothered by the crime on the island and stories from other students about problems with the administration. Also, my spouse will not be able to work there. AUC, however, remains my second choice. I am looking for legitimate comments, pro's, con's, and opinions on the school from students who attended or seriously considered attending.

 

[Andre]

AUC has thousands of Doctors practising in USA NOW...
StM has ZERO (zilch)
AUC has the most beautiful campus in the Caribbean.. dozens of teachers, Stafford loans.. plus a civilized touristic island.
StM is demolished by the Hurricane.
It is your money.. your future..
More good luck, you definitely need it..
PS. Safety on AUC? My wife lived there all by herself for 2-years, and never had a single problem, except a total of 10-days power cuts..

 

[TNT]

Eliz,

I would seriously consider trying to gain acceptance into an osteopathic school. Have you tried yet?? If you want to practice in America, this is your best bet. Good luck.

 

[jdm]

Elizabeth - St Matts looks like it's gonna be a good, thorough program. There is risk involved in going carribean and SGU, AUC, Ross are the established programs and you can't go wrong w/ them but the sun doesn't rise and set on them. The key is whether or not the school has contacts, good clinical rotations and will teach you to handle the usmles' with excellent scores. As for Andre: he's a one-horse cowboy. What he says about the schools he talks abt appears to be accurate but he says the same thing over and over again and says it VERY aggressively. He is a notorious poster on this board and those new to the scene here are caught unaware by his vituperations. Word to the wise: don't get sucked in by his "send me your email" schtick - there was alot of speculation that he might be a recruiter for AUC but I don't think it was ever resolved. Look around, talk to alot of people, go visit the school and listen to your own gut and heart and as long as you're prepared to work very hard things will work out for you - we all need a little luck in this life.

 

[dcolvin]

I too am facing the same dilema you are. I was just accepted to AUC and am deciding if that's what I want to do. I am also considering St. George's. My father's cousin is a practicing anesthesiologist who went to St. George's so I know you can do it through them. If you have any success stories from AUC I'ld love to hear them. My fiance's friends did nursing clinicals in Belize and spoke very poorly for the system and resouces there so I would highly recomend visiting there for yourself. (I believe that's where St. Mat's is?)

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Dave
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by dcolvin (edited 10-28-2000).]

 

[Andre]

Dave
Please try US schools again, including DO schools.
Then, only after then, you must think Caribbean.
The best is SGU, hence postpone AUC and apply to SGU first. (you need about GPA 3.3 and MCAT 27)
Second choice is AUC (my wife is MS3 there)
Success story? Look at SGU and AUC's thousands of grads already licensed and practising in USA. What else do you need?
To add to Shelby Rose's criticism of AUC, she is grossly exaggerating the transfers (only 2-3/semester) and US/UK clinicals (30-40 % stays in US, anybody who waits a few months can get them) She just started at SABA, being refused from AUC.
Good luck to you,
Andre

 

[Taylor DO]

I have been away for a few months, and I come back and sure enough Andre is still plugging AUC.

Andre, your wife has been a MS3 for almost 18 months now, when in god's name will she be moving on to her 4th year?

Moreover, if her clinical experiences have been so wonderful, why not tell the board where she is doing her clinical rotations here in the US? What hospitals? What cities? Who are the faculty members she is training with...?

I doubt you will answer this, which will only go to prove to the readers that you have a vested interest in shlepping for AUC. I find it disturbing that only 4 months ago, Saba was a poor choice in your eyes, yet from your post earlier in this thread, you have a new tune to sing.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Gentleman....

 

[stephew]

The bottom line is SM is a bit untested. That doesnt mean the people there aren't going to make it a success.

I advice the following to all considering overseas schools:

1)get pass rates obviously but then

2)fijnd out how many MADE it to the boards. There are carib (and other) schools that post brillo 95% pass rates but decline to tell you that only 50% make it to the boards.

3) be wary of residency lists. Many schools skew them by noting that say 4 people went to yale that year. What they dont tell you is ist was a Yale community hospital; now Norwalk is such a program and is fantastic...but its not yale. To say so is misleading. Do they mean Yale-New Haven or Yale-Norwalk? Norwalk is the community program and not what you were thinking when you heard "Yale".

I graduated from SGUSOM in 1999 and am doing a residency in rad-oncology at Johns Hopkins. If anyone has q's about caribs schools, SGU, or rad onc Im happy to email you.

All the best with St Matt's; it may be a diamond in the rough; ask the above q's.

Stephanie
SGUSOM '99
[email protected]

 

[blessed1]

Originally posted by ElizabethK:
I will begin at St Matthews in May of 2001. I am looking for opinions from current or prospective students and graduates.

Hello ElizabethK! I recently responded to a similar post as yours in the 'Everyone' forum however, I will reply to this since I have some first hand knowledge of St. Matthews University.

I attended SMU in January 1998. I was among the second class of students accepted ever! I returned home shortly thereafter due to REALLY, REALLY, POOR living conditions, lack of finances and much needed study materials. I went there under the belief that I would be living in a decent place, that I would receive financial aid and that it would not be a problem to have things that I needed from home to be sent to me. Unfortunately, it did not pan out that way. There were a few times that I actually feared for my life while there.

Please, please, please research this school very thorougly before attending! I know that I went there 2 years ago and things may have changed since then but I urge you to please, if at all possible, go there to assess the island/campus for yourself. For me, it was an unpleasant surprise. I do not however, regret the experience because it definitely strenghthened me and also showed me how I have taken so many things for granted.

Again, please visit the school (if feasible) before you go there in May 2001. I think that all decisions should be informed ones.

Sincerely,
Blessed1

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Too blessed to be stressed....