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Please Help Me Choose My College? :)

16K views 54 replies 22 participants last post by  aabroof5 
#1 ·
Um, Hi! This is my first post, please be nice. :)
Right, so my aggregate after my MCAT score is 87.7%, which means i can get into Allama Iqbal, I think. Only, I live in Faisalabad and from what I've heard of hostel life, I don't think I'd like it very much. Do you think there is any reason I should choose AIMC over PMC? Is there a difference in education or extra curricular activities or the general environment? Also, if you happen to be a student at either of these places, could you tell me what happens in a general day there? As in, can an Alevel student study for five years without being miserable?
 
#2 ·
Frankly, I think there are a lot of reason you should choose Allama Iqbal over PMC. The quality of education is far better in Allama Iqbal and also the extra curriculars. As far as I have heard, Allama Iqbal medical college knows no parallel when it comes to extra curriculars.
Secondly, so far as I know, there is nothing wrong with the hostel life. Infact, you might like it over there. The city of Lahore as you might know is full of life. And then hostels provide you peaceful and calm environment to study so you are definitely going to produce better results inshaAllah.
Thirdly, with that much aggregate, I'm thinking you will probably make it up to King Edward InshaAllah. And leaving King Edward for Punjab Medical College on the mere grounds that you don't want to leave your city would be such a disaster. Even if you get selected for Allama Iqbal Medical College, I think leaving it for Punjab Medical College would be such a waste of your awesome aggregate.
But then again, I'm at same level as you are and don't have experience or anything. I'm just telling you what I feel about your scenario and what I'd do if I were you. Best of luck and hope you make the best choice.
 
#9 ·
Firstly, if you don't have a preference for Army, then I would say go for government medical institute as they provide you more room and space to breath so you'd be able to produce better results. Cause seriously, I think if you keep on pushing a student to work hard, it only increases the stress not the grades. And besides, government medical colleges are much cheaper and the degree is recognized all around the world and not only in Pakistan.

Secondly, being a part of a prestigious institute like King Edward or Allama Iqbal or Services Institute I think provides you a better environment in all aspects. Firstly, you will be studying with some of the most intelligent and hard working students of Pakistan and so in order to be in competition, you will be compelled to work harder and harder. Secondly, the faculty, the quality of education is definitely better in these colleges. You won't find such cooperative faculty in any other institute. As I mentioned in one of my posts, when my Uncle who is a graduate of King Edward went to U.S and was appearing in the interviews, he told me that people there used to take a look on his degree and couldn't resist but say, "King Edward, hmm, you've got to be special". So the point I'm trying to make here is that at the end of the day, the name of your college definitely gives you an edge.

Apparently, it looks like you are kind of worried about hostel life? Believe me, there isn't anything wrong with the hostels. You are gonna be as comfortable in hostels as you are in your home.

My aggregate is 81%. And frankly, if I had as much aggregate as you, I would definitely go for King Edward. Believe me, you have this golden opportunity to be a part of King Edward. It'll be such a disaster to let the opportunity go.

P.S= Not to mention that King Edward also has this really beautiful campus and the city of Lahore is probably (at least for me) is the best place to live in Pakistan. Its full of life and all, so every once in a while you can go out cause there are plenty of places in Lahore that you might wanna see, you know, fortress, badshahi masjid, border etc. I just can't get enough of these places. So, a wonderful city to live, the best medical college of Pakistan, the best quality education, a recognized degree, an affordable fee structure, a competitive environment and a really bright future inshaAllah. What else would u need? :D
Hope this helps. Best of luck. :)
 
#10 ·
I would not agree on this and would advise you to go to Army medical College if you get in. Army medical college selects 50 students on NUST test basis from out of the 30- 40 k students that apply every year.
King Edward is definitely great as well but if you have a preference for islamabad/pindi side then you will not regret army medical college if you're a day scholar.
Yes it is strict but if you're a day scholar it barely matters.

Also WajeehBJ Army Medical College, NUST is a government medical college. It in no way comes under private colleges. You can look up the PMDC website for recognized colleges and its under the govt sector. The college has always been a govt college, run by the army.

In army medical college there are the army cadets who will serve the army for a period of 13 -15 years at the minimum. The NUST cadets are free to do whatever they will and I personally know 4 AMC graduates who have gone to do residencies in different parts of the US from AMC. I know of one who became an clinical professor and does his clinic right after his fellowship and he's barely 30.

AMC has a lot of competition so students are bound to study harder and also its modular (Shifa, Aku, AMc) are the modular based curriculum schools.

So in the end whether its King Edward or Army, you won't regret either.

Also i refute WajeehBJ's comment about people in the US knowing King Edward. In the US when you go out for your residency interviews, to them, you are an IMG (Intl Med Graduate), they don't care whether you're from LMDC or K.E. AKU is the only college known to the Americans outside Pakistan.
King Edward is known to only a select few who have had KE graduates in the past and have had a good reputation, but that is true for any college's alumni. AKU stands out because its alumni are well connected and they actually help their juniors secure interviews and residencies in the U.S.

If you would like to work in Pakistan then do not go to a private college as when you're struggling, you will be looked down upon by professors who're govt school graduates. There's a lot of discrimination in the Pakistani system against private and govt schools.
Hope that helps.
 
#11 ·
couldn't reply you because am new here and cant even reply to private messages..frankly,i studied for that uhs test and not specifically for nust(as fellows told me that civilians hardly get admission there even if they work hard..and there is a lot of discrimination there even after you seek admission)...i didn't even know that how much mcqs are in nust entrance test?,before giving that test :D:Dand now my merit number being 64 i think there is a chance...but what about that aggregate for which i really worked hard?:roll:
am a bit scared about hostel life(in case i opt for king Edward) as i get everything on my bed,even for a glass of water i don't bother to go to kitchen :D:D still for my better future i would manage..and strictness never matters either..because i studied in army public college for last two years..and being true the marks i had in fsc are just because of that strictness..my fellows ask me to go for king edward but there are many who say that i should go for army medical college...that is the reason why i am confused..as i am not clear..a student who spent her whole life in Saudi Arabia(excepting last two years)can never decide this easily,being unaware of merits and demerits.
entire scenario being clear for you what would you suggest now?
 
#12 ·
couldn't reply you because am new here and cant even reply to private messages..frankly,i studied for that uhs test and not specifically for nust(as fellows told me that civilians hardly get admission there even if they work hard..and there is a lot of discrimination there even after you seek admission)...i didn't even know that how much mcqs are in nust entrance test?,before giving that test :D:Dand now my merit number being 64 i think there is a chance...but what about that aggregate for which i really worked hard?:roll:
am a bit scared about hostel life(in case i opt for king Edward) as i get everything on my bed,even for a glass of water i don't bother to go to kitchen :D:D still for my better future i would manage..and strictness never matters either..because i studied in army public college for last two years..and being true the marks i had in fsc are just because of that strictness..my fellows ask me to go for king edward but there are many who say that i should go for army medical college...that is the reason why i am confused..as i am not clear..a student who spent her whole life in Saudi Arabia(excepting last two years)can never decide this easily,being unaware of merits and demerits.
entire scenario being clear for you what would you suggest now?

i also spent time in saudi arabia. In King edward the hostels for girls are pretty messed up. You'd be better off at army medical college. If you get into k.e then go to k.e. If u prefer living close to home then amc would be ideal.
There is no discriminations between nc or army cadets, its just rumours, people who cant study as hard spread stuff.
 
#19 ·
Well, I'm gonna leave just a little fact. Google "from King Edward Medical University/College" or google "from Rawalpindi Medical College" and you will find bunch of, literally hundreds of doctors graduated from these institutes who are now practicing abroad. U.S, Canada, U.k & what not. Then google "from Army Medical College" and let me know if you find a single one. :D So believe it or not, the name of the institute does matter. The prestigious institutes of any country are definitely known all around the world. Tell me it doesn't matter if you graduate from Peking University or University of beijing. Both are really good universities but Peking is the name which makes you shine out of the million people. Tell me it doesn't matter if you graduate from Cambridge or Oxford. And since you are from Saudi Arabia, tell me it doesn't matter if you graduate from King Saud University or King Faisal University as far as the medicine is concerned. And as I mentioned, google doesn't lie. :D


IMO, being a graduate of Army Medical College makes as much of a difference as it will make if you graduate from CMH, acentually. Seriously, both are really good institutes, both are army institutes, good quality education, discipline and all and since u said fees isn't really a problem so the benefit of Army medical college over CMH remains only that its situated in your city.


Now, coming towards the modular system thingy. Its simple. If you "consider" that foreign people don't really care if you graduated from K.E or lmdc, then you can certainly not expect them to know that Army Medical College has modular system? I mean, first you are considering that they won't know or care what King edward is and then you expect them to know or care that you have been studying in an institute based on modular system, that doesn't really make sense to me.


And I do agree I was wrong about public or private thingy. AMC is definitely a public institute, what I meant was that its fee structure is considerably higher than the UHS colleges.


Coming towards the fact that not many people get to enter Army Medical College. Well its quite blatant since they only have 50 seats? :D And frankly, less seats doesn't make an institution a good one. Consider this, why do you think PMDC has allotted them only 50 seats?


lolzz. Yes there wouldn't anybody be with you to help you out with your stuff, you're gonna have to do everything by yourself. But I'm sure you can understand, in the long run, even this will be good for you.


And its just a hype that a medical student has to study 24/7. Its not like that. Medical students do have as normal life as people of any other profession. I mean, its human psyche right? You can't keep on doing the same thing the whole time. Every once in a while your mind needs to take a break. So I was just mentioning the merit, that "if" you'd like, there are plenty of places to visit in Lahore.


Just to articulate things out, I'm not saying that Army Medical College is not a good one. Its a really fine institute but you can never compare King Edward with Army Medical College.


Aaaaand as last words, don't count the demerits of Army Medical College Tayyaba, just count the merits of King Edward. As for demerit, one of the greatest demerits of Army Medical College that I'd like to mention here is that its simply throwing your super awesome aggregate away along with all of your hard work.
Hope this helps. Best of luck. :)
 
#20 ·
Although I'd certainly advise you to also go to Kindg Edwards, there is one thing. That is, not everyone wants to practice abroad. Like me, I'd like to do MBBS from Pakistan, specialize hopefully from England and then come back to Pakistan to practice medicine. I've lived 5 years in Canada and I'm fed up with it. So I'd be good enough in Pakistan. But certainly KE is way better than Army Med. College from every perspective you look at. If you go to King Edward, you're recognized all over the world as one of the best. Don't get me wrong, AMC is great too. But compared to KE, it's next to nothing. I would certainly go to KE if I had your marks! It's like a sacrifice of 5 years (hardly even a sacrifice) for the benefit of the rest of your life.
 
#21 ·
I have a similar problem too. my aggregate is also 87.7 and now that we are down to selecting our preferences I am a little confused about whether to choose AIMC or Nishtar which is in my home town. Especially because I have heard study at Nishtar is better than at AIMC. Also i'd like to add I have no hostel problem. My major concern is the quality of education, the environment and of course the recognition of the college worldwide especially if I want to practice abroad. I'd like the present medical students to have a say in this too considering they are in the situation. So please speak up you guys it'll be great help! :)
 
#24 ·
ok medstudentz has helped me alot in getting into med college. i have around 90% aggregate in uhs. but my family wants me to place RMC as my first preference instead of K.E. beacause its in lahore n none of siblings ever stayed out of town for studies. so my mom doesnt want me to go either, and i dont know what kind of girls hostels are there. and i was ok with choosing RMC if i dont get into army medical college. but now after reading all these posts theres a pinching feeling for not considering K.E. as my top preference. please i need some advice to help me make the right decision given my circummstances. :unsure:does graduating from KE really make a difference when you go for specialisation abroad??
 
#25 ·
Graduating from a government medical school only matters within Pakistan. They prefer government graduates over private graduates. Graduating from King Edward is excellent but when you go abroad it will not matter as much as you think it will. What will determine your career is where you do your specialization from!! Do not do it from Pakistan at all.
 
#30 ·
thankyou all. yes i believe specialisation is more important. and i want to do it from US or UK , havnt thought about that yet. but i read somewhere that after mbbs from a govt. college you have to do one year of house job/internship and two years of residency, that is, stay in pakistan before you can even think of doing fcps. so how can you go abroad after 5-year mbbs?
 
#35 ·
If somebody with personal experience is reading,is there a difference in the social life in pmc and aimc? Are there any alevel students in pmc? Not to sound like a brat but I'm really concerned about the kind of people I'd meet. :p If I'm going to spend five years of my life somewhere I want to know what I'm signing up for.
 
#36 ·
I have no experience in regard to this.But one thing is sure that you will get variety of people with varying degree of nature .So this is a common thing you will find everywhere.Prefer your home town first.And remember there is always a difference between hostel and home.
 
#42 ·
" I solemnly declarethat I will serve the province of the Punjab for a period of FIVE years(including two years in a rural area) after graduation if a job is offered tome by the government or in default thereof pay Rs.5,00,000/- in lump sum to theGovernment of the Punjab"
from uhs website ANEXURE (I) point number 7.

see??? this is what i was talking about! :o_O:
 
#43 ·
" I solemnly declarethat I will serve the province of the Punjab for a period of FIVE years(including two years in a rural area) after graduation if a job is offered tome by the government or in default thereof pay Rs.5,00,000/- in lump sum to theGovernment of the Punjab"
from uhs website ANEXURE (I) point number 7.

see??? this is what i was talking about! :o_O:
Haha... Don't worry... Chances are, you won't get a job anyway. :p You'll have to clear the public service commission for this btw. Nothing wrong with the govt. wanting this. I mean, they're giving you free education not because they want to but because they expect something in return.
 
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