Sunday, December 27, 2009
US Congress told Ross University may be shortchanging taxpayers and students
TheDominican.net
Evidence presented to Congress suggests Ross Medical School on Dominica may be shortchanging U.S. taxpayers and students, officials allege.
Ross accepts U.S. students who may have difficulty qualifying for medical schools in the United States. The U.S. students qualify for federally backed student loans, which last year amounted to more than $150 million, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Saturday.
Fewer than one-third of Ross's students finish in four years, compared with nearly 100 percent at U.S. medical schools, and about 20 percent of the students fail to find a residency placement in the United States, which is key to obtaining a license to practice, regulators who accredit offshore medical schools recently told Congress.
Ross was opened in 1978 in the Northern town of Portsmouth in Dominica, and since then over six thousand students have graduated from the institution.
A Ross spokeswoman defended the school as a high-quality institution, comparable to U.S. medical schools.
"At a time when our country is in desperate need of quality physicians, they will help fulfill the unmet need and make important contributions to society," Rebekah Herbison said.
According to the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times:
• At Ross, fewer than one-third of the students finish in four years, compared to nearly 100 percent at U.S. medical schools.
• Since Ross, like other Caribbean medical schools, doesn't have a teaching hospital, it pays hospitals stateside for students' clinical training, with wide variations in quality.
• Students of foreign medical schools like Ross graduate with higher average debt, $235,000 compared to the average $158,000 owed by graduates of U.S. medical schools, according to an August report to Congress by regulators.
• About 20 percent of Ross graduates fail to land a residency, the key to a license to practice in the United States. If they cannot pay their student debts, taxpayers are left holding the bag.
Robert Ross, a commodities trader in New York, started the medical school in 1978, but by 2000, he had sold majority interest in both the medical school and an affiliated veterinary school in St. Kitts to a group of New York investors. Three years later, both schools were acquired by DeVry for $310 million.
Last year, DeVry, better known for its tech training schools, reported $165.7 million in net income after taxes. But the company also reported an additional $140 million in tax-free income from the Ross operations.
In a report to Congress in August, the group that accredits offshore medical colleges recommended that the schools raise their standards and improve reporting on everything from test scores to graduation rates to total cost.
A former Ross registrar, said he agrees with the need to stiffen entrance requirements, saying: "We want doctors but we can't give that kind of money to everyone who's chasing a dream of being an M.D.," he said. "We need to be a little bit more discriminating about who those tax dollars go to."
Evidence presented to Congress suggests Ross Medical School on Dominica may be shortchanging U.S. taxpayers and students, officials allege.
Ross accepts U.S. students who may have difficulty qualifying for medical schools in the United States. The U.S. students qualify for federally backed student loans, which last year amounted to more than $150 million, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Saturday.
 Ross Univesity is located in Portsmouth, Dominica. |
Fewer than one-third of Ross's students finish in four years, compared with nearly 100 percent at U.S. medical schools, and about 20 percent of the students fail to find a residency placement in the United States, which is key to obtaining a license to practice, regulators who accredit offshore medical schools recently told Congress.
Ross was opened in 1978 in the Northern town of Portsmouth in Dominica, and since then over six thousand students have graduated from the institution.
A Ross spokeswoman defended the school as a high-quality institution, comparable to U.S. medical schools.
"At a time when our country is in desperate need of quality physicians, they will help fulfill the unmet need and make important contributions to society," Rebekah Herbison said.
According to the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times:
• At Ross, fewer than one-third of the students finish in four years, compared to nearly 100 percent at U.S. medical schools.
• Since Ross, like other Caribbean medical schools, doesn't have a teaching hospital, it pays hospitals stateside for students' clinical training, with wide variations in quality.
• Students of foreign medical schools like Ross graduate with higher average debt, $235,000 compared to the average $158,000 owed by graduates of U.S. medical schools, according to an August report to Congress by regulators.
• About 20 percent of Ross graduates fail to land a residency, the key to a license to practice in the United States. If they cannot pay their student debts, taxpayers are left holding the bag.
Robert Ross, a commodities trader in New York, started the medical school in 1978, but by 2000, he had sold majority interest in both the medical school and an affiliated veterinary school in St. Kitts to a group of New York investors. Three years later, both schools were acquired by DeVry for $310 million.
Last year, DeVry, better known for its tech training schools, reported $165.7 million in net income after taxes. But the company also reported an additional $140 million in tax-free income from the Ross operations.
In a report to Congress in August, the group that accredits offshore medical colleges recommended that the schools raise their standards and improve reporting on everything from test scores to graduation rates to total cost.
A former Ross registrar, said he agrees with the need to stiffen entrance requirements, saying: "We want doctors but we can't give that kind of money to everyone who's chasing a dream of being an M.D.," he said. "We need to be a little bit more discriminating about who those tax dollars go to."
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// posted by TheDominican.net @ 10:35 PM
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It's backlash for that fraud election and the close relation with Chavez, the Americans are coming.
# posted by 
: December 29, 2009 2:45 AM
: December 29, 2009 2:45 AM
To the Editor:
In response to your Dec. 27 posting, “US Congress told Ross University may be shortchanging taxpayers and students” PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NOT NOW, NOR HAS THERE EVER BEEN any “evidence presented to Congress suggesting Ross Medical School on Dominica may be shortchanging U.S. taxpayers and students” as your posting suggests. The newspaper article, from which you draw these conclusions, presented a one-sided, negative point of view of Ross University that did not take into account the thousands of successful doctors who have graduated from our University over the past 31 years.
Ross University has a proven record of providing outstanding education to all of our students. Our results speak for themselves:
• A first-time, United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 exam pass rate of 93.3 percent, comparable with the 94 percent at U.S.-based medical schools.
• Nearly two-thirds of our students enter primary care, filling an enormous unmet need in the U.S.
• Ross University places more graduates into U.S. residencies than any other medical school in the world.
There were also many mischaracterizations in the article, including:
• Students who attend international schools are not doing so because they are unqualified to enter U.S-based medical schools; there are 42,000 applicants for 19,000 seats in U.S. medical schools. The people who attend Ross are talented students who just miss entrance into U.S. schools, not because of their ability, but rather by the shortage of seats at U.S. medical schools.
• Only 80 percent of Ross students gain residencies; this does not take into account that international students have an advantage over their U.S. peers in the ability to “pre-Match” for their residency. Ross students can, and often do, sign a contract for a residency prior to the residency Match, something unavailable to students at U.S. medical schools. When Ross combines pre-Match students with our residency Match students, OUR RESIDENCY PLACEMENT RATES ARE ON PAR WITH U.S MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
• Ross students’ debt; it is comparing apples to oranges to compare total debt for students who attend U.S. public colleges with students who attend private or market-funded schools like Ross University. While our students will generally have more debt than students who have attended an in-state, U.S. public school, Ross students do not graduate with more debt than their peers at private or public out-of-state medical schools.
• Student loan repayment; the United States Department of Education’s most recent report shows that 0.2% -- just 1 out of every 400 Ross graduates -- default on their federally-subsidized student loans.
We are proud of our students, our residents, and of our graduates. The more than 7,000 Ross alumni across the United States are serving their communities and healing tens-of -thousands of patients on a yearly basis. We should celebrate the success of these physicians who are providing the medical care our towns, cities, states, and country so desperately need.
Sincerely,
Thomas Shepherd, DHA
President
Ross University
630 US Highway 1
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Phone: 732-509-4600
In response to your Dec. 27 posting, “US Congress told Ross University may be shortchanging taxpayers and students” PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NOT NOW, NOR HAS THERE EVER BEEN any “evidence presented to Congress suggesting Ross Medical School on Dominica may be shortchanging U.S. taxpayers and students” as your posting suggests. The newspaper article, from which you draw these conclusions, presented a one-sided, negative point of view of Ross University that did not take into account the thousands of successful doctors who have graduated from our University over the past 31 years.
Ross University has a proven record of providing outstanding education to all of our students. Our results speak for themselves:
• A first-time, United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1 exam pass rate of 93.3 percent, comparable with the 94 percent at U.S.-based medical schools.
• Nearly two-thirds of our students enter primary care, filling an enormous unmet need in the U.S.
• Ross University places more graduates into U.S. residencies than any other medical school in the world.
There were also many mischaracterizations in the article, including:
• Students who attend international schools are not doing so because they are unqualified to enter U.S-based medical schools; there are 42,000 applicants for 19,000 seats in U.S. medical schools. The people who attend Ross are talented students who just miss entrance into U.S. schools, not because of their ability, but rather by the shortage of seats at U.S. medical schools.
• Only 80 percent of Ross students gain residencies; this does not take into account that international students have an advantage over their U.S. peers in the ability to “pre-Match” for their residency. Ross students can, and often do, sign a contract for a residency prior to the residency Match, something unavailable to students at U.S. medical schools. When Ross combines pre-Match students with our residency Match students, OUR RESIDENCY PLACEMENT RATES ARE ON PAR WITH U.S MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
• Ross students’ debt; it is comparing apples to oranges to compare total debt for students who attend U.S. public colleges with students who attend private or market-funded schools like Ross University. While our students will generally have more debt than students who have attended an in-state, U.S. public school, Ross students do not graduate with more debt than their peers at private or public out-of-state medical schools.
• Student loan repayment; the United States Department of Education’s most recent report shows that 0.2% -- just 1 out of every 400 Ross graduates -- default on their federally-subsidized student loans.
We are proud of our students, our residents, and of our graduates. The more than 7,000 Ross alumni across the United States are serving their communities and healing tens-of -thousands of patients on a yearly basis. We should celebrate the success of these physicians who are providing the medical care our towns, cities, states, and country so desperately need.
Sincerely,
Thomas Shepherd, DHA
President
Ross University
630 US Highway 1
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
Phone: 732-509-4600
Thompson Fontaine loves Dominica so much he created a website for all of us to stay in touch with our homeland, Gabriel Christian loves Dominica so much he is always concerned about the future of the island, Dr.Emmanuel Finn loves Dominica so much he takes time out of his busy schedule to contribute to the country of his birth, i think it is about time people bury the hatchet, this article came from an international press, it was not fabrication and does not mean anyone hates Dominica.
# posted by : December 30, 2009 8:56 AM
: December 30, 2009 8:56 AM
But Why are you bashing the Editor here?? This and several other related articles have been post all over the internet about the legitimacy of Ross University.
Why did you not answer them then??
Why did you not answer them then??
# posted by : December 30, 2009 3:02 PM
: December 30, 2009 3:02 PM
So-called schools like ITT Institute in the US have cheated taxpayers for years. They qualify people for loans and grants provided by the government, then push them through a sham school.
# posted by : January 1, 2010 9:35 AM
: January 1, 2010 9:35 AM
The problem is that many students think that the Caribbean medical school is an easy shortcut that will always get them to where they want to go. That is not the truth. You still have to do your research when selecting an institutions AND put in the work when you're there.
T. Hagen
AUA - Caribbean Medical Schools Liason
T. Hagen
AUA - Caribbean Medical Schools Liason
Everything about Ross University is a scam! The only reason Ross has a 93.3% passing rate for first time Step 1 takers, is simply due to the fact that they kick everyone out they "think" cant pass it on the first time! The school does not care for their students, only the US money they bring to them. They do not care about the well being or dreams of their students. Nor do they care about their students education! Professors often refuse to help students, and most are left to fend for themselves and hope for the best. The US government should take a closer look at Ross, and help the many students Ross takes advantage of! No school that willingly takes tax payers money should be aloud to accept 50% more students than they can handle, just so they can dismiss them on unfounded grounds. In an essence, steel from them and tax payers!
# posted by : January 19, 2010 1:52 AM
: January 19, 2010 1:52 AM
Ross is not a scam. Ross gives students, including myself, the chance to become a physician when entry to US schools is limited. However, there are many individuals who are not cut for the position. This is why Ross "kicks" students out, when in reality it isn't Ross that's removing students, it's the students lack of ability to preform to the high standards set in MEDICAL SCHOOL. The workload at Ross is demanding, however, it is NOT impossible, and the material is quite simple. The problem is that students DO NOT put the require work into learning the material, rather they base their knowledge off of "finding files" and "answering questions that MAY be on an exam". One professor has said,"We do not learn for school, but for life." Medicine IS about self learning, sorry to break the news to you. Ross just prepares you from the start. Once in practice you will CONTINUOUSLY be learning of new medical advancements, and if you aren't willing to self learn now, how are you going to make a credible physician? Regardless of the taxpayer money, students are still required to repay their school loans, even if declaring bankruptcy. As far as the US gov't is concerned, they're making plenty of interest off of those loans. Ultimately, physicians are dealing with human lives; wouldn't you want the most knowledgeable, trustworthy, and sane individual caring for you?
# posted by : January 25, 2010 3:29 PM
: January 25, 2010 3:29 PM
I see your point of students kicking themselves out by not putting the work necessary instead of ROSS doing the kicking. If they so know that they only have say 200 spots for rotation, why accepting 400-600 every semester? Some of those points brought up by the editors are quite legit. Like tighten the admission requirement rather than giving everyone a second chance to chase his or her dream. It is better to not accept and break the bubble and say 'we are sorry, we don't think you can be a good physician with these scores... sooner than them finding out after taking say 20k in loans after 1st semester.' Also about having high 1st time pass rate, lets not all forget that we are talking about PASS rate, we are not talking about 99% PASS rate here. So if you were to really compare the same 93% pass rate, how many % of that 93% are in the 99% or should I say 230+ on their STEP 1? Beware of the generalization there as well.
# posted by : January 26, 2010 9:38 PM
: January 26, 2010 9:38 PM
i'm currently applying to Ross, this Article raises many concerns that i never thougt of. I'm actually a little hesistant now...really a six year plan?
# posted by : February 10, 2010 5:35 AM
: February 10, 2010 5:35 AM
I'm a second semester student. It's worth it. But you do have to have some intelligence and work ethics. It's not hard, just a lot of work. If you're not smart enough, don't bother applying, you'll waste 25K USD. Ross will weed you if you're not smart enough to make the MD cut. It's the brutal truth. Sorry. I have had a couple of friends below a 3.0 and below a 20 on the MCAT. They didn't make it through first semester. >20MCAT, >3.2 GPA, or Grad work you'll do just fine. Ross and SGU are top foreign schools. This is where you want to be. If you're not going to get into a US school, these are your next best.
# posted by : February 14, 2010 12:28 AM
: February 14, 2010 12:28 AM
Had no problems getting threw ross while at the island. 5th semester was a total scam, making you report to clinics and just oberseving to do blood pressures and write 28 page HPI's instead of utilizing time that you can study for step 1. The school forces you to take the usmle step 1, three months after leaving 5th semester. Most review courses last 3 months and you really have no time to really review the material and do complete q-bank. If you try to take a extended leave to study, they academically dismiss you and they do not accept you back. Most of my classmates were kicked out because of this. see below for more
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:09 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:09 PM
My classmates and I were worried about step 1 scores because the score you receive reflects the residency program that will accept you. The school does not care if you pass or fail, they want you to take the step 1 exam on their deadline, regardless if you are prepared or not. If you don't take the usmle on the school's deadline, start looking for another school to transfer to because the dean will not care and say good bye to you in a heart beat. If you do take the usmle and fail , see below for more
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:10 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:10 PM
( which is most likely the case that will happen) you have another 2 chances on a limited time basis. The funny thing is the usmle and ecfmg has no time limit to study for step 1 but ross pressures you to take the exam within the yr you leave the island. If you do not pass by then , your dissmissed and they will not sponsor you to take the exam ( sign off that you attending med school to be considered for step1). Then your out of school, nobody will hire a med student, because your training does not prepare you for anything clinically to be hired for, and your stuck with the sallie mae loans that need to be paid back.Sallie Mae will not do economic forebarance.Ross notifies sallie mae immediately that your kicked out,and sallie mae comes down on you to start paying back the loans. The problem is you cannot find a job,see more below
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:11 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:11 PM
because med school qulifications are not useful in a clinical setting. This means you will have to pay back your loans immediately. If you do not have a career or experience prior to ross acceptance yo u will not be able to pay back the loan.
The reality is alot of students have to transfer, because ross has not prepared them for the usmle exam. In order to have a school that will allow us to study appropriately and to be able to pass the usmle, many student have to transfer to other schools and repeat semesters to be able to sit back in the usmle.
Bottom line, Ross and the Dean does not care about their students what so ever. They care about the money that each student brings in, and they do not care about the well -being, or training of the student. Everything they write above is to protect the incomes and their assets.
The students that do make it threw the island are extremely intelligent because they have to self study everything and make sense out of everything. The teachers at ross do not teach but lecture.... Bottom line. The courses on the island are designed to weed people out and not designed to learn for the usmle. For those on the island reading this start studying as soon as possible for the usmle from review books. The usmle asks teriary questions and everything is mixed up. Ross does not approach the material this way, and it is very frustrating learning medicine on your own. There is no point going to med school at Ross because when it comes to preparing for the boards your on your own, and kaplan among other review courses are your only source of help.
The only thing ross gives you is an oppurtunity, and that is where it ends. The rest is up to you, including teaching and understanding medicine. Honestly before you go to ross (on the island) go to barnes and noble buy the books and stay home and study for 1 yr . That is the only way to prepare for passing ross ( on the island ) and to be able to pass the usmle. trust nothing of their propagand and listen carefully to those who went there, and who have been threw this. If everyuthing sounds positive, be aware because the person your talking to is probably a politician for the school. Ask for the facts during interviews, - how many people fail each semester ? how many people from the orginal class ( not including transfers survive to make it straight into 4th semester ?) can you take tiem off to study for step 1. Why does ecfmg have no time limit to take usmle but ross does? How do you prepare your students if they do not pass step1 ? what do you do with these students?
Honestly you decide if this is the place for you ? From my experience and others that i know, you do not find these things out, until your off the island and your way to sucked in, into this maddness that has no end with bs that the school puts your threw to get their cash from sallie mae loans. Prospective students beware....if the school cared they would allow the students to study and remediate in programs so they can pass and do well.
i worked as a rn for 15 yrs prior to going to ross, and thank God i had this background to be able to make it threw. I am stating facts to you, and this is just the truth. If you don't want to believe me, Good luck and you will see for yourself.
The reality is alot of students have to transfer, because ross has not prepared them for the usmle exam. In order to have a school that will allow us to study appropriately and to be able to pass the usmle, many student have to transfer to other schools and repeat semesters to be able to sit back in the usmle.
Bottom line, Ross and the Dean does not care about their students what so ever. They care about the money that each student brings in, and they do not care about the well -being, or training of the student. Everything they write above is to protect the incomes and their assets.
The students that do make it threw the island are extremely intelligent because they have to self study everything and make sense out of everything. The teachers at ross do not teach but lecture.... Bottom line. The courses on the island are designed to weed people out and not designed to learn for the usmle. For those on the island reading this start studying as soon as possible for the usmle from review books. The usmle asks teriary questions and everything is mixed up. Ross does not approach the material this way, and it is very frustrating learning medicine on your own. There is no point going to med school at Ross because when it comes to preparing for the boards your on your own, and kaplan among other review courses are your only source of help.
The only thing ross gives you is an oppurtunity, and that is where it ends. The rest is up to you, including teaching and understanding medicine. Honestly before you go to ross (on the island) go to barnes and noble buy the books and stay home and study for 1 yr . That is the only way to prepare for passing ross ( on the island ) and to be able to pass the usmle. trust nothing of their propagand and listen carefully to those who went there, and who have been threw this. If everyuthing sounds positive, be aware because the person your talking to is probably a politician for the school. Ask for the facts during interviews, - how many people fail each semester ? how many people from the orginal class ( not including transfers survive to make it straight into 4th semester ?) can you take tiem off to study for step 1. Why does ecfmg have no time limit to take usmle but ross does? How do you prepare your students if they do not pass step1 ? what do you do with these students?
Honestly you decide if this is the place for you ? From my experience and others that i know, you do not find these things out, until your off the island and your way to sucked in, into this maddness that has no end with bs that the school puts your threw to get their cash from sallie mae loans. Prospective students beware....if the school cared they would allow the students to study and remediate in programs so they can pass and do well.
i worked as a rn for 15 yrs prior to going to ross, and thank God i had this background to be able to make it threw. I am stating facts to you, and this is just the truth. If you don't want to believe me, Good luck and you will see for yourself.
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:11 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:11 PM
because med school qulifications are not useful in a clinical setting. This means you will have to pay back your loans immediately. If you do not have a career or experience prior to ross acceptance yo u will not be able to pay back the loan.
The reality is alot of students have to transfer, because ross has not prepared them for the usmle exam. In order to have a school that will allow us to study appropriately and to be able to pass the usmle, many student have to transfer to other schools and repeat semesters to be able to sit back in the usmle.
Bottom line, Ross and the Dean does not care about their students what so ever. They care about the money that each student brings in, and they do not care about the well -being, or training of the student. Everything they write above is to protect the incomes and their assets.
The students that do make it threw the island are extremely intelligent because they have to self study everything and make sense out of everything. The teachers at ross do not teach but lecture.... Bottom line. The courses on the island are designed to weed people out and not designed to learn for the usmle. For those on the island reading this start studying as soon as possible for the usmle from review books. The usmle asks teriary questions and everything is mixed up. Ross does not approach the material this way, and it is very frustrating learning medicine on your own. There is no point going to med school at Ross because when it comes to preparing for the boards your on your own, and kaplan among other review courses are your only source of help.
The only thing ross gives you is an oppurtunity, and that is where it ends. The rest is up to you, including teaching and understanding medicine. Honestly before you go to ross (on the island) go to barnes and noble buy the books and stay home and study for 1 yr . That is the only way to prepare for passing ross ( on the island ) and to be able to pass the usmle. trust nothing of their propagand and listen carefully to those who went there, and who have been threw this. If everyuthing sounds positive, be aware because the person your talking to is probably a politician for the school. Ask for the facts during interviews, - how many people fail each semester ? how many people from the orginal class ( not including transfers survive to make it straight into 4th semester ?) can you take tiem off to study for step 1. Why does ecfmg have no time limit to take usmle but ross does? How do you prepare your students if they do not pass step1 ? what do you do with these students?
Honestly you decide if this is the place for you ? From my experience and others that i know, you do not find these things out, until your off the island and your way to sucked in, into this maddness that has no end with bs that the school puts your threw to get their cash from sallie mae loans. Prospective students beware....if the school cared they would allow the students to study and remediate in programs so they can pass and do well.
i worked as a rn for 15 yrs prior to going to ross, and thank God i had this background to be able to make it threw. I am stating facts to you, and this is just the truth. If you don't want to believe me, Good luck and you will see for yourself.
The reality is alot of students have to transfer, because ross has not prepared them for the usmle exam. In order to have a school that will allow us to study appropriately and to be able to pass the usmle, many student have to transfer to other schools and repeat semesters to be able to sit back in the usmle.
Bottom line, Ross and the Dean does not care about their students what so ever. They care about the money that each student brings in, and they do not care about the well -being, or training of the student. Everything they write above is to protect the incomes and their assets.
The students that do make it threw the island are extremely intelligent because they have to self study everything and make sense out of everything. The teachers at ross do not teach but lecture.... Bottom line. The courses on the island are designed to weed people out and not designed to learn for the usmle. For those on the island reading this start studying as soon as possible for the usmle from review books. The usmle asks teriary questions and everything is mixed up. Ross does not approach the material this way, and it is very frustrating learning medicine on your own. There is no point going to med school at Ross because when it comes to preparing for the boards your on your own, and kaplan among other review courses are your only source of help.
The only thing ross gives you is an oppurtunity, and that is where it ends. The rest is up to you, including teaching and understanding medicine. Honestly before you go to ross (on the island) go to barnes and noble buy the books and stay home and study for 1 yr . That is the only way to prepare for passing ross ( on the island ) and to be able to pass the usmle. trust nothing of their propagand and listen carefully to those who went there, and who have been threw this. If everyuthing sounds positive, be aware because the person your talking to is probably a politician for the school. Ask for the facts during interviews, - how many people fail each semester ? how many people from the orginal class ( not including transfers survive to make it straight into 4th semester ?) can you take tiem off to study for step 1. Why does ecfmg have no time limit to take usmle but ross does? How do you prepare your students if they do not pass step1 ? what do you do with these students?
Honestly you decide if this is the place for you ? From my experience and others that i know, you do not find these things out, until your off the island and your way to sucked in, into this maddness that has no end with bs that the school puts your threw to get their cash from sallie mae loans. Prospective students beware....if the school cared they would allow the students to study and remediate in programs so they can pass and do well.
i worked as a rn for 15 yrs prior to going to ross, and thank God i had this background to be able to make it threw. I am stating facts to you, and this is just the truth. If you don't want to believe me, Good luck and you will see for yourself.
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:11 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:11 PM
Had no problems getting threw ross while at the island. 5th semester was a total scam, making you report to clinics and just oberseving to do blood pressures and write 28 page HPI's instead of utilizing time that you can study for step 1. The school forces you to take the usmle step 1, three months after leaving 5th semester. Most review courses last 3 months and you really have no time to really review the material and do complete q-bank. If you try to take a extended leave to study, they academically dismiss you and they do not accept you back. Most of my classmates were kicked out because of this. My classmates and I were worried about step 1 scores because the score you receive reflects the residency program that will accept you. The school does not care if you pass or fail, they want you to take the step 1 exam on their deadline, regardless if you are prepared or not. If you don't take the usmle on the school's deadline, start looking for another school to transfer to because the dean will not care and say good bye to you in a heart beat. If you do take the usmle and fail ( which is most likely the case that will happen) you have another 2 chances on a limited time basis. The funny thing is the usmle and ecfmg has no time limit to study for step 1 but ross pressures you to take the exam within the yr you leave the island. If you do not pass by then , your dissmissed and they will not sponsor you to take the exam ( sign off that you attending med school to be considered for step1). Then your out of school, nobody will hire a med student, because your training does not prepare you for anything clinically to be hired for, and your stuck with the sallie mae loans that need to be paid back.Sallie Mae will not do economic forebarance.
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:16 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:16 PM
Ross notifies sallie mae immediately that your kicked out,and sallie mae comes down on you to start paying back the loans. The problem is you cannot find a job, because med school qulifications are not useful in a clinical setting. This means you will have to pay back your loans immediately. If you do not have a career or experience prior to ross acceptance yo u will not be able to pay back the loan.
The reality is alot of students have to transfer, because ross has not prepared them for the usmle exam. In order to have a school that will allow us to study appropriately and to be able to pass the usmle, many student have to transfer to other schools and repeat semesters to be able to sit back in the usmle.
Bottom line, Ross and the Dean does not care about their students what so ever. They care about the money that each student brings in, and they do not care about the well -being, or training of the student. Everything they write above is to protect the incomes and their assets.
The students that do make it threw the island are extremely intelligent because they have to self study everything and make sense out of everything. The teachers at ross do not teach but lecture.... Bottom line. The courses on the island are designed to weed people out and not designed to learn for the usmle. For those on the island reading this start studying as soon as possible for the usmle from review books. The usmle asks teriary questions and everything is mixed up. Ross does not approach the material this way, and it is very frustrating learning medicine on your own. There is no point going to med school at Ross because when it comes to preparing for the boards your on your own, and kaplan among other review courses are your only source of help.
The only thing ross gives you is an oppurtunity, and that is where it ends. The rest is up to you, including teaching and understanding medicine. Honestly before you go to ross (on the island) go to barnes and noble buy the books and stay home and study for 1 yr . That is the only way to prepare for passing ross ( on the island ) and to be able to pass the usmle. trust nothing of their propagand and listen carefully to those who went there, and who have been threw this. If everyuthing sounds positive, be aware because the person your talking to is probably a politician for the school. Ask for the facts during interviews, - how many people fail each semester ? how many people from the orginal class ( not including transfers survive to make it straight into 4th semester ?) can you take tiem off to study for step 1. Why does ecfmg have no time limit to take usmle but ross does? How do you prepare your students if they do not pass step1 ? what do you do with these students?
Honestly you decide if this is the place for you ? From my experience and others that i know, you do not find these things out, until your off the island and your way to sucked in, into this maddness that has no end with bs that the school puts your threw to get their cash from sallie mae loans. Prospective students beware....if the school cared they would allow the students to study and remediate in programs so they can pass and do well.
i worked as a rn for 15 yrs prior to going to ross, and thank God i had this background to be able to make it threw. I am stating facts to you, and this is just the truth. If you don't want to believe me, Good luck and you will see for yourself.
The reality is alot of students have to transfer, because ross has not prepared them for the usmle exam. In order to have a school that will allow us to study appropriately and to be able to pass the usmle, many student have to transfer to other schools and repeat semesters to be able to sit back in the usmle.
Bottom line, Ross and the Dean does not care about their students what so ever. They care about the money that each student brings in, and they do not care about the well -being, or training of the student. Everything they write above is to protect the incomes and their assets.
The students that do make it threw the island are extremely intelligent because they have to self study everything and make sense out of everything. The teachers at ross do not teach but lecture.... Bottom line. The courses on the island are designed to weed people out and not designed to learn for the usmle. For those on the island reading this start studying as soon as possible for the usmle from review books. The usmle asks teriary questions and everything is mixed up. Ross does not approach the material this way, and it is very frustrating learning medicine on your own. There is no point going to med school at Ross because when it comes to preparing for the boards your on your own, and kaplan among other review courses are your only source of help.
The only thing ross gives you is an oppurtunity, and that is where it ends. The rest is up to you, including teaching and understanding medicine. Honestly before you go to ross (on the island) go to barnes and noble buy the books and stay home and study for 1 yr . That is the only way to prepare for passing ross ( on the island ) and to be able to pass the usmle. trust nothing of their propagand and listen carefully to those who went there, and who have been threw this. If everyuthing sounds positive, be aware because the person your talking to is probably a politician for the school. Ask for the facts during interviews, - how many people fail each semester ? how many people from the orginal class ( not including transfers survive to make it straight into 4th semester ?) can you take tiem off to study for step 1. Why does ecfmg have no time limit to take usmle but ross does? How do you prepare your students if they do not pass step1 ? what do you do with these students?
Honestly you decide if this is the place for you ? From my experience and others that i know, you do not find these things out, until your off the island and your way to sucked in, into this maddness that has no end with bs that the school puts your threw to get their cash from sallie mae loans. Prospective students beware....if the school cared they would allow the students to study and remediate in programs so they can pass and do well.
i worked as a rn for 15 yrs prior to going to ross, and thank God i had this background to be able to make it threw. I am stating facts to you, and this is just the truth. If you don't want to believe me, Good luck and you will see for yourself.
# posted by : March 12, 2010 11:16 PM
: March 12, 2010 11:16 PM
Only 80 percent of Ross students gain residencies; this does not take into account that international students have an advantage over their U.S. peers in the ability to “pre-Match” for their residency. Ross students can, and often do, sign a contract for a residency prior to the residency Match, something unavailable to students at U.S. medical schools.
after reading the comments posted here, and finding all the grammatical--and spelling--errors (i.e. threw vs. through in the previous posts), i can see why these einsteins did not get into us med schools. the fact is, you will be saddled with debt, and sallie mae is worse than the mafia when it comes time to collect. the students should have retaken the mcat and either reapplied immediately, or taken graduate classes and reapplied to strengthen their gpa. med school requirements are there for a reason. this is not a profession that you can succeed in if you are ill-prepared. with all the malpractice lawyers and actual human lives--and deaths on the line--you can not sweep your mistakes under the rug. dreams are nice to have, but reality is a different matter...
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