Hey everyone,
Well, over the last week, I've managed to thoroughly confuse myself about where to go to medical school. I'm not talking about specific schools, I'm talking about what country/region I should go to for school. My main problem is that I have questions about what happens in the future once I'm either in medical school or have gotten my degree, and I need advice from people who are there.
Before I get to my specific questions, here's a little bit about me. I'm a Pakistani citizen, 20 years old, and I'm in the 3rd year of a 4 year Bachelor's degree in the US. I realize now that I should have just gone straight to medical school in Pakistan after high school (which I also did in the US), but alas, hindsight is always 20/20. I messed up, and now I'm trying to figure out the best way to go forward. I will take the MCAT's this may, and I have a GPA of 3.6 which isn't bad, but also not the greatest.
Anyway, I'm currently thinking about schools everywhere. Caribbean, US, Ireland, Czech, Lebanon, and Pakistan. My main problem is that I have no idea where I want to practice when I get out of medical school. I thought that most other people were the same, but after reading this forum, valuemd and others extensively, I'm realizing that this is not the case. So If I don't know where I want to practice and eventually settle down, where is the best place to go to school? I am leaning towards the Caribbean, but while it's good if wanting to go to the US, what if I want to practice in Dubai or Kuwait or KSA or Pakistan afterwards. Will I run into problems? I'm only talking about the main schools in the caribbean, not the sketchy ones. Any Pakistani students at med school in the caribbean or the US?????
Also, if I apply to Shifa or AKU after finishing my bachelors next year, it'll be 5 years to finish as opposed to 4 at the other schools I'm considering. I'd be 22 at the time I'm starting, 27 when I get out as opposed to 23 if I went straight after high school. Does that 1 year make a difference? And once students graduate from shifa or AKU, do they seek residencies in the US or UK, or do most of them stay in Pakistan?
Ahh i wanted to make sure this post was organized but I think i failed...haha. Anyway, if you guys could please help me sort out my thoughts, I'd really appreciate it. Basically, I have no clue where I'm going to practice when I am a doctor. I just don't want to have problems like if I go to the Caribbean, then I can't practice in Dubai. To avoid these problems, and given my age/education, what do you guys think would be the best thing for me????
Well, over the last week, I've managed to thoroughly confuse myself about where to go to medical school. I'm not talking about specific schools, I'm talking about what country/region I should go to for school. My main problem is that I have questions about what happens in the future once I'm either in medical school or have gotten my degree, and I need advice from people who are there.
Before I get to my specific questions, here's a little bit about me. I'm a Pakistani citizen, 20 years old, and I'm in the 3rd year of a 4 year Bachelor's degree in the US. I realize now that I should have just gone straight to medical school in Pakistan after high school (which I also did in the US), but alas, hindsight is always 20/20. I messed up, and now I'm trying to figure out the best way to go forward. I will take the MCAT's this may, and I have a GPA of 3.6 which isn't bad, but also not the greatest.
Anyway, I'm currently thinking about schools everywhere. Caribbean, US, Ireland, Czech, Lebanon, and Pakistan. My main problem is that I have no idea where I want to practice when I get out of medical school. I thought that most other people were the same, but after reading this forum, valuemd and others extensively, I'm realizing that this is not the case. So If I don't know where I want to practice and eventually settle down, where is the best place to go to school? I am leaning towards the Caribbean, but while it's good if wanting to go to the US, what if I want to practice in Dubai or Kuwait or KSA or Pakistan afterwards. Will I run into problems? I'm only talking about the main schools in the caribbean, not the sketchy ones. Any Pakistani students at med school in the caribbean or the US?????
Also, if I apply to Shifa or AKU after finishing my bachelors next year, it'll be 5 years to finish as opposed to 4 at the other schools I'm considering. I'd be 22 at the time I'm starting, 27 when I get out as opposed to 23 if I went straight after high school. Does that 1 year make a difference? And once students graduate from shifa or AKU, do they seek residencies in the US or UK, or do most of them stay in Pakistan?
Ahh i wanted to make sure this post was organized but I think i failed...haha. Anyway, if you guys could please help me sort out my thoughts, I'd really appreciate it. Basically, I have no clue where I'm going to practice when I am a doctor. I just don't want to have problems like if I go to the Caribbean, then I can't practice in Dubai. To avoid these problems, and given my age/education, what do you guys think would be the best thing for me????