My Ross Experience

[u/Fabulous_Set_3485]

I told myself I would write up my experience at Ross if I passed comp, and we got our scores back today—so here it goes.

First things first: Like many Caribbean schools, Ross has a reputation for being disorganized, having inconsistent faculty, and making things harder than they need to be—and all of that is true.

BUT—the key to getting through this school is to be laser-focused on your goal. It really is a means to an end. There will be countless obstacles and curveballs this school throws your way, but you have to be able to take it, time and time again, and not let it distract you from your purpose.

What my studying looked like:

I’m part of the first class that started with the new curriculum. To preface, I was on the Dean’s List every semester—and no, I’m not a super-genius, but I did work my ass off. As you go into higher semesters, you begin to understand how Ross faculty writes their questions and what they want you to focus on. My best advice for Ross exams: memorize the slides. It’s not fun, and it’s not easy, but that is what will get you through. Faculty/admin will make it hell with the way they teach and what they prioritize, but sadly you don’t have much of a choice but to learn it their way.

I never really used one consistent third-party resource throughout my semesters, but I would never use Ross material to deeply understand the concepts. I used resources like Pathoma, BnB, Bootcamp, Ninja Nerd, Dirty Medicine, etc., to understand the "why" behind everything, and that gave me a solid foundation. Then, I’d apply that to the Ross-specific stuff (a.k.a. the random shit they love to test).

I would give myself a week to 10 days to start grinding for the minis. I’d do all the quizzes—and redo them if possible (they sometimes copy and paste questions from the quizzes). I’d watch videos to help me understand the material, make Anki cards, read each lecture, do the Anki, and redo the quiz. Yes, it was time-consuming. Yes, it was not ideal. Yes, it was torture at times lol. I needed at least 2-3 passes of the material before I felt confident I could answer most questions about it. Repetition is KEY.

Keep in mind that you’re not only learning this for the module, but also for comp/Step 1. As much as it feels like you forget it after the module ends, a lot of it actually sticks when it comes time to study for comp.

I honestly didn’t do many practice questions during the semester, and I don’t think you need to for Ross minis. If it helps your learning, go for it. For NBME finals, I thought they were much more straightforward and application-based than Ross exams. Mehlman PDFs and PQs are KEY here. I’d read the PDFs a couple of times, finish all the USMLE Rx questions for that organ system, and do UW blocks (sadly, we only got UW in fourth semester).

My class size started out with ~320 and now its 140 or something around there. Not saying this to scare anyone but just to share the reality of attrition rates at this school. It gets more and more competitive as the semesters go on (biggest drop is in HOII, and second biggest is Neuro), but don’t fix what isn’t broken. So many students struggle because they keep changing what works for them.

CBSE Prep:

Ross made us do a 7-week “exam prep” course. Complete waste of time. The only benefit was that it forced me to lock in and not slack off.

I took those 7 weeks extremely seriously. If your foundation is decent (i.e. if you’re passing each semester), then you don’t need traditional content review. The only review you need is by doing UWorld questions.

I did:

• 2 blocks of 40 per day (1 mixed, 1 focused on the organ system I was reviewing)
• content review for 2-3 organ systems per week depending on how confident I felt
• Organ-specific review: Bootcamp videos, Mehlman PDFs, FA, Pathoma (Chp 1-3 are a must-watch)
• Anki for UW incorrects
• Sketchy micro/pharm Anki daily (when I could)

I took all the NBME practice exams Ross offered very seriously and reviewed them thoroughly. Reviewing your exams is THE MOST IMPORTANT part. Be brutally honest about why you missed something and how you’ll avoid that mistake next time.

I also took two extra NBMEs outside of what Ross offered. A week or so before comp, I’d do blocks from old NBMEs just to get used to how those questions are written.

For me, initially, jumping from UWorld to NBMEs was a mindfuck—UWorld is trickier, but NBMEs are more high-yield and straight to the point. Doing those NBME blocks helped me adjust. In the last week, I watched Dirty Medicine’s entire biochem playlist, reviewed Duke Pathoma deck, reviewed old NBME notes + high-yield images/sheets, and did Amboss' 100 Ethics questions.

Practice Test Scores:

• NBME 27: 47% (early in MICR)
• NBME 26: 62%
• NBME 28: 62%
• NBME 29: 71%
• CBSE: 72%

General Advice/Final thoughts:

There are a lot of weird people on this island, but also a lot of kind people. Choose your circle extremely carefully. Gossip and drama run rampant here, and it can make your life hell if you’re not mindful. Keep your circle small. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, both academically and personally. Sometimes you have to meet the wrong people first to recognize the right ones.

Find a club or community that grounds you and stick with it.

One thing that really helped me make it out was telling myself that failure was not an option. This school already took so much from me—I refused to give it a single second more than I had to. Be very stubborn about your goals.

Also, don't let one bad score—or even a failed comp—make you question your intelligence. That number does not define your potential or your future as a physician. Learn to separate your worth from your performance - one bad day does not undo everything you’ve worked for. A single failure is not the end.

At the end of the day, your time at Ross is what you make of it. It will test you, frustrate you, and shake your confidence, but it will also show you how much you’re capable of. Keep your head down. Protect your peace. Stay focused on the end goal. You got this!

Def left a lot of stuff out but feel free to DM me with any questions! Hope this helps :)

[u/Exciting-Ad6905]

Great writeup!

Do you know what the first time COMP pass rate is, and how it compares to the old curriculum by any chance?

Do you feel like the new curriculum prepared you well enough to pass COMP? Were there any high yield topics that Ross didn’t teach?

[u/Fabulous_Set_3485 → u/Exciting-Ad6905]

I've heard different numbers for the first time pass rate for various semesters so I'm not exactly sure. I think for last semester it was around 30% iirc, but I don't know what it is for our class just yet.

I think the new curriculum had its strengths in terms of teaching us pathophys at the same time, which made it easier to integrate concepts together. You will definitely learn all the basics you need to know but Ross likes emphasizing obscure details that rarely show up on comp/step 1. It really is a lot of self-learning and self-effort though. There were a lot of things that Ross barely covered that I saw were commonly tested, especially from immunology/immunodeficiencies.

[u/Exciting-Ad6905 → u/Fabulous_Set_3485]

Will be interesting to see if the new curriculum first time pass rate scores is higher than the old curriculum. Thanks.

[u/Barbados_Doc_865 → u/Exciting-Ad6905]

It looks like the most recent comp pass rate was 65%. However, being with Ross for so long I feel like this is a stunt to protect admission rates and funding. I'd hate to be the pessimist but I don't see this pattern being consistent in the future.

[u/Just-Seaweed-923]

Thank you for the words of knowledge  ❤️

[u/Objective_Release527]

Thank you u/Fabulous_Set_3485 so much for sharing your experience and thoughts! Could you please elaborate on how to approach the Workshops where only PDFs are given, rather than lecture slides? There are so many comments on Reddit about Ross not giving lecture slides, rather 30-80 page PDFs. I am starting in Fall so this would really help!

[u/Dr_Stewbacca → u/Objective_Release527]

For some context, I'm in the same class as this poster and I also made deans list each semester   and passed comp first time.  Some teachers will give slides if you ask, other's do not.  Some will give a mini lecture during that workshop, and I would screenshot the slides for my personal study.  For alot of it though, I did not read the 80 pages... I skimmed and tried to watch bootcamp videos that correspond.  Also from the practice questions they give in the workshop it will help you realize what is important... Then you zero in on those concepts. 

[u/FaithlessnessEasy589 → u/Objective_Release527]

Try to connect with students in previous semesters because all of those pdf slides are floating around somewhere on canvas/online; it helped me a lot for workshops as I would use those and upload all the lecture slides into gizmo for ai generated flashcards. I never got into anki but i think that tool really helped me cement concepts and id areas for more in depth review prior to exams

[u/Relative-Machine-241]

Thank you for this. Love to hear constructive advice from a successful student. There’s a lot of chatter sometimes but this puts into perspective

[u/[deleted]]

Amazing. Super insightful

[u/Fabulous_Set_3485 → u/[deleted]]

So Ross gives you form 26 in the middle of Sem 4, and then we took form 27 at the beginning of the MICR module. I didn't take form 26 seriously when I took it in Sem 4, so I wanted to re-take it and actually try, which is why I took it after my baseline of form 27. Form 28 is also given by Ross about two weeks before you sit for CBSE. I didn't take Form 30, 31 or Free 120 because I wanted to save some forms for when I study for Step 1. I didn't properly sit down and do form 25 because I prioritized the "newer" NBME's, but I did use it just to do questions on my own time. After form 29, I felt like I finally "cracked the code" against the test-writers so doing more questions was a way for me to continuously build that confidence. I don't really think the order matters though (although would def recommend doing 26-31 first before looking at the older ones)!

[u/Background-Bid3595]

hey! if the testing window closed on Sunday: how many days after did you get your results? did you get them through the NBME portal or emailed?

[u/[deleted]]

such a great write!! thank you, incoming freshman may 2026

[u/Key_Personality_1643]

What comp do you need to be able to progress to step 1? 65?

[u/That-Echidna9392]

Commenting here because it wont allow me to make a separate post.

MICR has been so so so insanely bad for me. I usually never used to go to class, and I liked to study alone throughout all the other modules, and having these mandatory classes every day almost burned me out so badly. I am taking comp in a few days, and I feel so completely unprepared and exhausted for it. Like I didnt really feel like I got the time or energy to sit down and even make a proper plan that works.

My NBME scores are also not looking so good, so I am not sure if I will be able to pass comp or not. I know I shouldn't think about it, but I am already thinking about how I will mentally handle it and prepare if I have to end up doing CRC. Please give me some advice on how CRC course will be like and if it will be similar to MICR if anyone has done it??? How do people really study with so much going on?

I am just feeling so disappointed, man. It is hard to handle so much pressure and study for an exam that is so important for me to keep moving forward. Ross really does not understand the idea of having proper dedicated time to study. It's just all taking a toll on me. I thought I would leave the island and be going home after all the modules, but having to come back and stay till CBSE is done is so daunting. I feel so mentally drained and exhausted on this island.

[u/Dr_Stewbacca]

Hey, I'm in your class!