I hope this posting finds you in high spirits. I have been watching this forum recently and have been noting the direction of discussions and issues and their relative worth in terms of relevance for deciding on one school or another. I think that the objective of this forum has been somewhat misplaced and is causing a bit of confusion for the students who are interested in foreign medical training.
It doesn't matter what the best school is. The breakdown is this: Any student who decides to attend a medical school outside of the US/Canada (or even in the US/Canada), is making a lifetime career decision. Only getting married and starting a family and buying house and some serious medical conditions will ever deserve more weight and consideration than your decision about what to do with the rest of your life. It is fine to ask questions about that.
However, it is not fine to post messages on this forum and expect that you will find the true path in life from it. You have probably never met these people in your life. You may never meet these people in your life. This is just a forum. Half the people here post anonymously and some are administrators, some students, some graduates, some dropouts, some miscellaneous. So don't expect a miracle to happen. The fact that the forum is here as option is more than enough. It gives you the names of the schools you need and their contact information. Period.
The only bit of advice you need is this: Apply only to the schools that you consider reliable, trustworthy, and meet your quality of life issues. If you are an established businessperson who is married with kids and plan to live on savings, that is far different from a 4.0 single woman who is relying on loans. There is no way that a forum like this can answer the questions that you yourself can only answer for yourself. Your expectations are out of bounds if you allow this forum to be like a deity.
Now, seeing how I put up there that my advice is to only apply to schools you trust, here is the other part: The ONLY, ONLY way you can tell if you trust a school is not through this forum. It is ONLY by buying a plane ticket, calling the island administration of the school you are intersted in, and going there for at least a week while classes are in session. That's it. Period.
Going to the island is the only way you will know what kind of students they accept, what their MCAT scores were, what their backgrounds are, how the locals treat students, how the housing is like, what hassles there are to deal with that are not listed in the school brochure, what the costs of food and housing are, what the weather is like, how many mosquitos there are, what the phone and Internet speed is, and most of all: Whether you even like the place or not and whether you will learn anything. That's the only way.
I can give you a 100% guarantee of satisfaction for this: Go to AUC, Saba, MUA, Ross, and St. George's, and other schools, and spend a week on each island. Yeah, maybe that seems like a long time. But let me tell you this - spending 20 months consecutively on an island is a much, much longer time. And by that time you will have committed thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money, mental anguish and time, and the expectations of your family, friends, and colleagues.
If you go now, before you commit to any school and check the schools out, you will put your mind at ease and peace of mind is the only thing in the world that can not be bought or decided on a forum. It can only be decided for yourself when you are in the classroom and listening to the voice of the professor who is going to instruct you in the art of healing and sitting next to the students with whom you will be studying, working, competing, enjoying life, having arguments, and seeing every single day for the entire time you are on the island.
I assure you, at that moment, this forum will be viewed in a different light. Instead of the forum being your only source of artificial illumination on the subject of medicine, the source of light will be radiance from your own soul at knowing that the destiny which awaits you has come up like the road to meet you and you will know that this journey of a thousand miles began with the right first step, and not a hesitant one that may cause you to stumble before the race even begins. I made a satisfying decision for myself and will speak only for myself. I live with my choices and at the end of the day, the only one I answer to is myself. The blame need not go further than me if something goes wrong. But, the glory will go further than me if something goes right.
It is equally possible that you will come to the islands and say this is not the lifestyle for you - at that moment, you will have made an equally significant revelation. Choose wisely only after acting wisely. Such are the words that I speak for YOUR benefit, not mine. Such are the words that you must speak to YOURSELF, not to the forum. Only in that way can you decide if Saba is better than Ross is better than MUA is better than AUC is better than St. George's is better than St. Mattew's is better than Ben Gurion is better than Harvard is better than Burger King. Bottom line. Please take care.
Disclaimer: Live life by example, not by preaching. If you are successfuly, people will see what you do and how you did things to get there. You will not have to say much to convince anyone. A word to the wise is sufficient. Any company that spends more money on promoting a movie than on making the movie is usually not a good movie. Take all postings with a grain of salt. Don't believe a word I say until you verify it for yourself. Talk to graduates for a real perspective. Visit the islands. Don't send in your money until you are sure.
There are good people who post on the forum. There are bad people who post on the forum. The problem is on a blue background with black text, it is hard to tell the difference until you stand in the shoes that stand on the island and hold the textbooks in your hand while looking the professor straight in the eye and saying: I had the choice to come to this island to learn or to not learn. And I have chosen to learn.
Posted on Nov 26, 2002, 12:05 PM from IP address 216.152.164.66
