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[lemondrop]

I would love to get some advice.  My good friends is thinking of applying to a vet school in the Caribbean, I think it is St. George's.  She wants to do this because she really wants to become a veterinarian, and her background is not in science.  She thinks that rather than going back to get another BA (she has a BA and a masters in English from a good state school) going to St. George's will be a short cut to a good education and a chance a career she will love.  Does this make any sense?  Is this school accredited?  A diploma mill?  Can one get a job with this degree?  Funding to attend? 

[helpful]

Where is this college? What is its name?

[lemondrop]

St. George University School of Veterinary Medicine.

[prytania3]

Has she thought of something like this?

http://www.gs.columbia.edu/bulletin_courses/Bulletin98/advising.htm

It's a post degree program that is all premed and the placement rate is excellent.

[helpful]

St. George University School of Veterinary Medicine.

In what country?

[lemondrop]

Grenada.

[bewildered]

Grenada.

Well, there is precedent for American military intervention to defend American medical students in Grenada, and if this extends to Vet School, then that's an added perk.

[lemondrop]

prytania3 --thanks for the link, that program looks great.  I will pass it along to her.

And, bewildered --yes, that the impossibly of being rescued by the Marines seems to me to be the best thing about that program.

[helpful]

If this is associated with St. George's University then it is a good and credible school. The campus is kind of odd as the architecture is more New England than Caribbean but I understand it survived Hurricane Ivan. The location is beautiful and so is the whole island.

[sandgrounder]

I would suggest she checks what hoops she would have to jump through to practice wherever she wants to end up. I know in Britain, their graduates aren't recognised unless they can pass the statutory membership exam. The smart question to ask if it's the same in the US is what percentage of candidates from that school pass that exam...it's certainly not a diploma mill but in Britain it's always advertised as an option for those who can't get into a British school for medicine, dentistry or veterinary science because of weak exam results - there may therefore be some scepticism about the quality of the graduates compared to their peers.

[lemondrop]

yes, I do think the question about how many students pass the exam is the relevant one.  My friend is very smart, but also too often willing to do dumb things that sound good and quick.

And, my earlier comment was some kind of not-enough-caffeine-induced typo.  What I meant was:  the possibility of having to be rescued by the Marines sounds like the best perk of the program to me.

[helpful]

yes, I do think the question about how many students pass the exam is the relevant one.  My friend is very smart, but also too often willing to do dumb things that sound good and quick.

And, my earlier comment was some kind of not-enough-caffeine-induced typo.  What I meant was:  the possibility of having to be rescued by the Marines sounds like the best perk of the program to me.

Don't worry, no marines are needed. The government is already compliant with American foreign policy. Sadly.

[lilymarlene]

I know I'm late to the thread, but I can offer some input. I used to work for a large veterinary practice, and was at one point considering vet school myself. The DVMs I worked with specifically spoke about this university in a bad way. Not so much that the school was terrible, but the general feeling was that the people who went to school there weren't good enough to get into US schools. The one DVM I knew that did go there transferred to an American school as soon as hu was able.

[tiger8054]

yes, I do think the question about how many students pass the exam is the relevant one.  My friend is very smart, but also too often willing to do dumb things that sound good and quick.

And, my earlier comment was some kind of not-enough-caffeine-induced typo.  What I meant was:  the possibility of having to be rescued by the Marines sounds like the best perk of the program to me.

Don't worry, no marines are needed. The government is already compliant with American foreign policy. Sadly.

Why "sadly?"  Hasn't recent American foreign policy resulted in a tripling of AIDS relief to Africa?  In the last seven years 1.7 million sub-Sahara Africans received retro-viral drugs though the the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  That's up  about 1.7 million from the Clinton administration.  Furthermore, 5 million AIDS orphans have been placed in homes and 25 million people have received anti-malarial medications through the largess of the Bush Administration.  Look, you may be mad at George Bush for Iraq or the three dudes who got waterboarded or whatever, but he isn't all bad.  The Left hates him here, but his approval rating in Africa is about 80%.  The most popular name for babies in Africa isn't Barrack.  It's George.  And the US is still the ONE country that everyone in the world wants to end up in.  How many people have risked their lives in leaky deathtraps to try to get to Cuba from Florida?  But you know this and yet you think it is just so cool to hang up your Che poster and then impress your friends by telling them how much the US sucks.  Sally, you really need to grow up and get in touch with the real world. 

[gennimom]

If you get a DVM in any other country, you WILL have to pass an exam to practice in the US. The exam, which includes practicals, takes 2 or 3 days. It isn't easy, as I learned while watching several people attempt this at our vet school. The vet school shuts down its clinic to all but emergencies while they are administering these exams, it is that serious.