- What counts as the equivalent pre med exam or entry exam? I read about it on Kind Edwards site, and no where does it explain what counts as equivalent. Are they talking about the SAT II? If so, I should probably get started on those. #eek
- Most Paki med school websites are outdated, or they just copied and pasted from other school websites such as Aga Khan or Shifa. There is no entry exam for self finance or foreign students from USA, therefore there is no need of any SAT II exams. Its sad but true that their own websites are deceiving.
- If I will be graduating, in the summer of 2008(Inshallah) shall I apply at the beginning of next school year(2007-2008) or wait till after graduating. That part is a little confusing to me, if I need to get the certification from the IBCC, then I cant apply until I graduate, meaning I cant start med school till the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009? #confused Isn't that a little late?
- Its never too late to start medical school. You have to have your diploma to apply for the IBCC thing though, so basically have to wait until you are graduated first and get all your stuff together, if you miss the deadline, dont worry about it. I missed the deadline twice and wasted 2 years as I had no idea what to do myself actually, so went to a university in my home state in the mean time which helped me learn a lot on living and working solo.
- Also on the site it mentions that I need to apply through the Pakistan Embassy in Washington D.C., how does that process work exactly? And how long is it?
- You dont have to apply through the Pakistan embassy if you can come to Pakistan, but if you do decide to go that route, beware it is risky, chances of you losing documentation are high and they will give you tons of excuses along the way.
- My final question is, in your opinion do you believe it is better to apply to a 6 year med school here, rather than a med school in Pakistan?
- This has been the major debate among Pakistani-American pre-meds and meds for quite sometime. Formerly, I was for working harder and doing it in usa, but there are NO guarantees at all of you actually getting into a six year program, let alone the normal route.
- If saving time is your main issue for coming to Pakistan and soley your reason, then that is the wrong reason. On the overall you will spend one year missing deadlines and trying to get admission, 5 years if you get through each year without being detained a year for failing, and then 1 or 2 years trying to pass the USMLE, so overall you dont really save anytime and since you went straight out of high school, you really missed out on the college experience in USA which I feel is essential to broadening your understanding of life, culture, confidence, society and education as a whole.
- But today, I come to the conclusion that if you really really want to become a good doctor and like a challenge, going to a Pakistani government medical school is better than going to a private med school in Pakistan and arguably better than an American Medical school!! Some will disagree with me but the other day I realized your lucky to have real dead bodies to learn your anatomy on, in Pakistan there is less to do for fun, you spend more time with your books, you have TONS of real patients to intereact with in Pak rather than actors in USA etc, and after talking to some American Med students, Id say Paki students from USA are just as qualified if not more, just that they have to work harder to rejoin the American system and adjust to it after returning.
:scared:
