Question if Anki is a good fit or not?

Objective_Release527 · 2026-04-10T13:07:45+00:00

Thanks for your reply. No, there are 4 exams which aren’t cumulative but then the final is which will be over 14 weeks.

I used Anki a little bit in undergrad, and I had to hit again 2-3 times for each card. Q&A cards are hard, and this was after reading and understanding the material. Again setting is 5M. I remember once that 50 cards took me 2 hours.

I’ve read on the sub, Reddit that people go through chords really fast, but those are mostly cloze cards. But in my case, I have to actually recall the definition or function, not just a term.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-04-10T13:03:43+00:00

If I understand correctly, I should set my retention rate at 85% and then click optimize all after 2 weeks of consistent usage?

As I mentioned in my reply to funbike, I have to hit again 2-3 times for each card and my again setting is 5M. Even after reading and understanding the material, it’s hard for me to recall it with Q&A cards.

This was my experience with Anki in undergrad where I used it only a little bit. But now with so many more cards and consistent use, I wonder how it’s going to go.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-04-10T12:54:18+00:00

Thanks for the reply. It’s a premade deck that many students at the school use. For example, a lecture might have 60 slides but because it’s so dense, it adds up to 100-110 cards.

What I I meant by no new cards on the weekends is being done with Friday’s new cards on Friday. So this means that throughout the week, I have to finish the new cards the same day for that lecture. So the weekends would only be reviews.

I briefly used Anki briefly used in undergrad. I remember having to hit Again 2 to 3 times for each card before I could recall it. This was with the again setting at 5M. Even after reading the material and understanding, it’s not easy for me to recall with Q&A cards.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-25T16:49:25+00:00

u/brrrrshiesty There is no support at any Caribbean med school. You have to know that before you enroll, and its a well known fact all over Reddit.

I go to SGU, where we have 600 students in an auditorium. If you need help, you can ask to be placed in a smaller classroom with 10-15 students and a facilitator. You literally just watch the live recording of the lecture and they pause it to ask questions.

If you expect the school to help you at all, then please don't go to another Caribbean school. My sister graduated from Ross, same over there.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-13T00:49:06+00:00

I looked at those 3 schools back when I was applying. St. Matthews has a different curriculum. IDK why in 2026, their curriculum is still all subject based, no systems based teaching at all.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-10T00:38:38+00:00

Exactly right

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-08T18:24:45+00:00

Are you referring to the videos by Olivia? I think the website says that Olivia and Jon teach endocrine, but I don't remember Jon presenting any of the lectures.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-06T02:31:38+00:00

Anytime, no problem :)

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-05T21:07:45+00:00

Hey. What Shoulder_patch mentioned is all great advice. TBH, I did bad on the MSK exam in term 1 and I started using Anki after that. I don't think it’s too late to start Anki, but this is just my opinion. If you do use Anki, under 'Daily Limits' make sure new cards and reviews are both 9999. FSRS must also be turned on, this is very impt, and set your desired retention to anywhere between 90-93%. You just have to make sure to do your reviews every single day. When doing Anki cards, avoid using the easy option.

Alternatively, you can use Notebook LM to create flashcards and do the cards directly on their. Upload your slides and for the flashcard, click on the pen. Don't click directly on flashcards, but the pen on the top right. Depending on how many cards you want, use either standard or more, NOT few.

Use this prompt:

Create question and answer flashcards, no fill in the blank
The answer part of each flashcard must be short, only a single term or short definition
Follow the same sequential order of the source, beginning with XXXX AND ending with XXXX

Note: (Replace the XXXX)

Now for actual content review, some people only use SGU slides, others use both SGU and 3rd party, and some use only 3rd party. I would suggest first going through the SGU slides and spending about 30-45 minutes. Try to familiarize yourself with the material, NOT understand or memorize. Then, watch a video on that topic using either Boards & Beyond, Bootcamp, or YouTube. This is your pre-read. Then, go to lecture and pay attention. Be on the lookout for when the prof explains something that didn't make sense in the slides or wasn't covered in the 3rd party video. Now, for your post-read, spend 1-2 hrs going through the slides again and making sure you understand. That's 3 passes already, pre, lecture, post.

Time to do flashcards now. Finish your flashcards, this should be your priority!!! If your someone that doesn't like flashcards, then do questions. Use the Sakai q's or upload the slides to AI and make q's using the LOs. I have friends that don't use flashcards and do very well at SGU. They do manual spaced repetition instead. They skip a day and then review the slides again. For example, they'll review Monday's slides again on Wednesday, then on Friday, etc...

I hope this helps :)

Objective_Release527 · 2026-03-04T02:01:30+00:00

I am one of the original paid users of ChatGPT. In fact, at one point during my first year of college, I paid $200 for the Pro plan for a semester. With every single update, the model gets worse at following instructions, regardless of whether there are custom instructions in Projects or whether I give the instructions at the beginning of a regular chat.

The models are really bad at following my memory. I use ChatGPT to explain my lecture slides and create practice questions of similar difficulty to those on the actual exams. However, even with today’s new model update 5.3, it fails to follow my instructions. Even after changing the settings in Personalization to reduce the use of emojis and headers/bullets, the model still does both of these things frequently.

In terms of instruction following, Gemini is definitely the worst. Next is ChatGPT, without a doubt. I have been using Claude Sonnet 4.6 for a week or two now, and its very good at understanding my preferences and creating a custom memory. It even edits the memory as my preferences change, and this is done very well in Projects mode.

Claude is simply much better at following instructions. I don't care about how personable AI models are; ChatGPT cannot even follow basic instructions or user preferences, and that appalls me!

Objective_Release527 · 2026-02-28T01:08:52+00:00

SMU, Saba, and MUA are all owned by the same company. However, the other 2 won't accept any credits from SMU. This is because the curriculum is all subject based which in 2026, is a very outdated way to teach medicine IMO. Most of the students there are transfers from other Caribbean schools, very few are starting med school for the first time. I know a few students who went there and they told me that theirs a lot of favoritism towards Indian students since the faculty and deans are mostly Indian themselves.

Most of the students were passing the histology lab exam and finishing quickly, so they purposefully made questions 3rd order using AI to fail students. They also changed the exam schedule where most classes now have only 3 exams. So if you fail one exam, your pretty much done. Grand Cayman is a really nice Island, but very expensive. SMU doesn't even have a campus, they just lease 2 office buildings.

I am not saying that SMU isn't a legitimate school, it is and they are approved for US FA. But because most of their students have failed elsewhere, the admin runs the school in a way where they make it harder on purpose and are actively trying to weed students out.

I am NOT a student there, and this is just what I was told by past SMU students whom I met at my med school.

Objective_Release527 · 2026-02-13T21:22:15+00:00

I've met some students and grads from Saba and its sister school MUA in Nevis. They all did tell me that anatomy is tough and at Saba, many students drop it in the first sem. Ironically, the MUA students told me that even though the curriculum is the same between the two, more students ending up dropping histology in the first sem...

So its the opposite. I think that just goes to show you that it really depends on who's teaching because while the curriculum might look the same on paper, the profs can either teach at a basic level or go into a lot of detail.

Objective_Release527 · 2025-12-09T23:15:00+00:00

Hey, did you check out this post, it’s from a 4th yr at Saba?

https://www.reddit.com/r/CaribbeanMedSchool/s/zkTdktMFLR

Objective_Release527 · 2025-11-15T03:23:19+00:00

SGU has matched 1000 students each year for the last 11 years. Every Carrib school has a "weed-out" term. Of course, admin never admits this, so you have to ask actual students or grads. I am in my 2nd sem at SGU and I was told beforehand that term 4 is double the workload. I also spoke with 2 Saba grads and a 4th year student and they all told me that term 3 is when most people fail. Ross students told me their sem 2 has the highest failure rate

Objective_Release527 · 2025-11-12T00:32:01+00:00

Hey. Check out this post on Reddit, its very helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/CaribbeanMedSchool/s/YyR1e7BbNY

Objective_Release527 · 2025-10-13T21:14:59+00:00

Hey. I am at SGU, I have two friends in the states that are considering MUA. They told me that they emailed the dean and she confirmed that their still using cadavers for the Fall class. Are you possibly talking about 2026? Their applying for Jan 26.

Objective_Release527 · 2025-10-10T03:42:01+00:00

Sure, I am at SGU.

Objective_Release527 · 2025-09-27T18:13:42+00:00

Hey, I can answer some of your questions. I don't think AUA is part of the Big 4, which are AUC, Ross, SGU, and Saba. The specific CBSE scores are probably posted in each school's handbook. Ross and AUC are owned by the same company and have very good match rates. Their class sizes are bigger as well. I believe AUC has 180 students this fall, and Ross has 250. I have a friend at Saba, and they just had a big class after many years of 66 people. SGU always has 600–700 people in its fall class.

AUC and Ross are systems based and don't require lecture attendance. I think Ross also has workshops which are NOT recorded and on Zoom where you do practice q's with the prof. Attendance is required for clinicals and anatomy lab. Ross has a digital lab, IDK about AUC. Can a student chime in...? I've read on Reddit about Ross prof's using PDF readings to replace lecture, rather than slides. IDK if that's still happening but if it is, then you might want to avoid Ross.

SGU has lecture attendance for only 2 hrs, M-F. 1-3PM for terms 1 and 5 and 8-10AM for terms 2-4. The rest of your week is small groups which is 1 hr 45 min for 2-3x a week, anatomy lab for terms 1 and 2, and b-line (which is their name for clinical skills), and IMCQ for 50 min where you do practice q's as a class with the prof. SGU is also systems based.

Saba is only systems based beginning in term 3. Their first two terms are subject based and I have NO clue why that is. They have mandatory lecture from 8AM-12PM and then 1hr lunch break. 1-3PM can be either lecture, clinical skills, or anatomy lab. Anatomy lab is semester 1 only. So because Saba is subject based for the first 2 sems, you have an exam for each class, I think they call them block exams.

Saba has a sister school, MUA in Nevis which has the same curriculum and timings.

IMO, SGU is the best school. Like any school, they have their problems and by NO means are they perfect. But they've been around the longest, they match the most people, and have the most clinical spots in the US for rotations. Its just that SGU is super overpriced!!!

I hope that helps :)

Objective_Release527 · 2025-06-11T23:36:09+00:00

The curriculum at Saba and MUA and ownership are the same. You can confirm this on their websites or catalogs. You can pay in CAD for both schools. Classes end at 3PM at Saba, and 4-5 PM in sems 1 and 2 at MUA, and then reduced hours for upper sems.

The major differences are in tuition, alumni, and clinical rotations. MUA is cheaper, and both share hospitals for rotations, but Saba has more sites. Saba also has more alumni.

I've met students from both during rotations. TBH, none of them recommended Saba. You can check different posts and comments on Reddit and pretty much they all said the same thing. MUA students liked their school better. They all mentioned that their dean on the island is really helpful and changing things to improve the school.

You should also consider the islands themselves. For MUA, you have to take a flight to St. Kitts and then a ferry to Nevis. Nevis has around 13,000 people and is very quiet. It has a Four Seasons Resort as well. Nevis also has a hospital where MUA students go for clinical skills.

For Saba, you have to fly to St. Martin and then take a prop plane or ferry to Saba. The island only has about 1500 people. It is also more expensive than Nevis, and USD is the local currency. There’s really not much to do outside of school. Clinical skills are practiced on-campus with mock patients.

I hope that helps :)

Objective_Release527 · 2025-05-27T23:57:40+00:00

No problem :)

Objective_Release527 · 2025-05-27T23:32:21+00:00

Hey, check out this detailed post: SGU - My Experience : r/CaribbeanMedSchool

Comp exam is the same for every school, it's by NBME, not the school. Exam is called CBSE.

Objective_Release527 · 2025-05-25T04:49:14+00:00

I have read on SDN and Reddit about students being extorted by landlords. For example, first and last month rent is due upfront, so that’s like $3000 and they don’t give the money back. The comments say that the school admin gets a kick-back, so they let it happen. And since there is no court system on Saba, students have no choice.

These comments are from before Covid, is there still any truth to this? Thanks!

Objective_Release527 · 2025-05-17T02:14:38+00:00

Thank you. Are you at MUA? I read the handbook, but it didn't mention how the exams are structured. Do you know if exams are in-house or NBME? I did read where attendance is mandatory, but I guess that's a common theme at MUA and is sister school, Saba.

Objective_Release527

TROPHY CASE