advice for a cat with asian folks

[HussainGQ]

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hey whats goin on........ here is the deal with my folks; they are willing to help me out with tuition to med school, which I am Xtremelythankful for. However, being the asian parents that they are, they do not want me to "waste any time," Meaning, if I do not get accepted into a U.S MD or DO school, they would rather have me go down to the Carribean and "just get it over with" insteading of maybe waiting one year, improving my credentials by taking a few grad school classes and working either at LSU-Health science center as a research associate or at another hopsital to get a years worth of research or clinical experience. My dad says if you go one year late, then that is 150K less that you will be making.........and I do not want to wait more than a year myself, so if after a year I still do not get in, I will go down to the Carribean, but I think it is worth waiting at least an xtra year if it means going to an American Med school but my folks do not see it that way.......so forthose of you who speak urdu MAI KIA KARROA (what the hell should I do)?

 

[purplekat]

hey whats goin on........ here is the deal with my folks; they are willing to help me out with tuition to med school, which I am Xtremelythankful for. However, being the asian parents that they are, they do not want me to "waste any time," Meaning, if I do not get accepted into a U.S MD or DO school, they would rather have me go down to the Carribean and "just get it over with" insteading of maybe waiting one year, improving my credentials by taking a few grad school classes and working either at LSU-Health science center as a research associate or at another hopsital to get a years worth of research or clinical experience. My dad says if you go one year late, then that is 150K less that you will be making.........and I do not want to wait more than a year myself, so if after a year I still do not get in, I will go down to the Carribean, but I think it is worth waiting at least an xtra year if it means going to an American Med school but my folks do not see it that way.......so forthose of you who speak urdu MAI KIA KARROA (what the hell should I do)?

I say stop listening to your parents and do what you feel is right and what makes you happy. In the end, you are going to be a doctor no matter what and we don't become doctors just for the money (if you are u should change professions!) Anyways, your old enough to decide for yourself.

 

[calstudent]

of course, there are intricacies i won't know, but i suggest explaining why you don't want to go to the carribean. and why a US med school means so much to you, why 150K is not much to you in the grand scheme of things, explain that almost half of people going to a US med. school have taken more than 4 years of college/a year off/more.
perhaps offer to pay for one year of tuition?
good luck

 

[arierty]

Here's my opinion having an asian b/f whose parents seem similar:

Don't follow the american ideal of "screw your parents, do what you want." Be gracious, it's a good character building, learning experience. But do tell them how you feel, how you are in America with high caliber schools you would like to use that opportunity, having to take a year off doesn't mean a wasted year, it means a year to learn other things, to enjoy life and spend more time with them before going away 😉 you'll have plenty of years to practice medicine with a year off if it comes to that, most of all, be optimistic, maybe there is no reason to worry.

 

[jlee9531]

your parents are just as irrational and clueless like my mom haha.

dont listen to em. sure the carribean can offer you MD schools, but i rather reapply and better my application, than go carrib and still have a relatively uncertain future.

if wasting a year means one less year of making a 150K, i think the extreme prices of the carrib schools would make that "loss" negligible.

 

[kiahs]

I think american schools have much more to offer. You know think about it your parents came here all the way from where ever(india, pakistan what ever) and then you end up going to the carribean (did I spell that right?). You should work your hardest this time to make it in to a school here because you want to leave the other option as a last resort. any how, you want to make it here, I hear there is way less respect for people who come from the tropics but I don't know how true that is plus getting a residency is really difficult I hear. That's just my two cents but I'm asian too and meire koo malloom.

 

[giggledesi]

Hey,
I am Indian, and my parents were the same way... except I somehow got them to let me take a year off by telling them that I had to take my MCATS my senior year, and without those I couldn't apply... which WAS true... but yeah so sometimes folks do give in🙂 gluck!

 

[SoulRFlare]

Explain to your parents that while going to the Caribbean may seem to be a way to get into the medical field as soon as possible, it may just as well cost you a year if you have difficulty landing an American residency.

You could also bring up the issue of distance--if you're in the Caribbean, you will not see your parents very often, but if you get into a nearby medical school, you could possibly visit them on weekends.

But you're gonna get into a med school this cycle, so you don't have to worry about it.

 

[choocoman]

i have two friends who graduated from the caribbean. as long as you get a 180+ USMLE, u'll be fine. you cant rely on teaching there, so you need to study on your own. honestly, that might not be so different from US schools.

clinical rotations are done in the US (usually nyc, detroit, and some other random cities). they usually match in the same cities. granted, you wont get opthal, but do you think you'd get opthal at a US school?

 

[TheFlash]

It's time for you to take control of your life and tell your parents to shove it, literally. You'll be much healthier because of it. Better now than later, as it seems your parents aren't really concerned with the labor of your actions, just the fruit. Start living for yourself and not for them before their attitude infects the rest of your future life.

Good luck.

 

[superso]

I'm asian but my moms not like that at all. But I thinki know how you can deal with it. Tell your pops (im assuming its him) that if you get into an american medical school you will make more money down the line. i dont think its true but at least it will mess with their heads.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

i have two friends who graduated from the caribbean. as long as you get a 180+ USMLE, u'll be fine. you cant rely on teaching there, so you need to study on your own. honestly, that might not be so different from US schools.

clinical rotations are done in the US (usually nyc, detroit, and some other random cities). they usually match in the same cities. granted, you wont get opthal, but do you think you'd get opthal at a US school?

Choocoman, some Caribbean schools are quite reputable, but I would disagree with some of your implications. If you're going to the Caribbean, I think it's a gamble to just try and break 180 when the average USMLE score is well above that. My brother's in the Caribbean and he enjoys it, he's also doing very, very well, but you will severely limit your choices if you don't pull decent grades on Step 1 and Step 2. You could probably match without too much trouble in a primary care specialty program somewhere, but and medical student with say a 185 on Step 1 and 2 is not in a great position for competitive specialties and residency programs. Also it's important not to generalize Caribbean schools. SGU, Ross, and AUC have US clinicals as do some of the others, but some of those schools offshore are really, really shady...

OP, what do you want? Don't let your Asian parents control your life. It doesn't take a neurosurgeon to realize that I'm Asian as well (see my avatar). I argued with my parents repeatedly until they had some understanding of what I wanted in life and what I was willing to do to make it happen. This is your life. Not theirs.

I personally would not want to attend a Caribbean school and I think doing so would make it harder for me to reach my personal goals, but a lot of negative comments about Caribbean schools are based on ignorance. You'll see blatant anti-DO and anti-FMG posts around SDN that are often way off the mark and totally ridiculous. Yes they have some major disadvantages, but you can make the opportunities if you want them badly enough. If you want to hear the other side of the coin, I suggest you go to www.valuemd.com

-Phil

 

[IndyZX]

That sucks, my parents have never been pushy about that stuff. I think I sensed some relief when I decided to go into Medicine after my freshman year, but I am glad to say that it's all been up to me.

 

[potential]

id take the year off to hone my kung fu if you dont get in.

 

[Just Applied]

i am in the same position u are. But the difference is i reasoned with them. I tol them it is a stressful processa nd very competitive. I went inot painstaking detail about how the whole process works. First app, second app, interviews etc...They understand its tough and i also explained the advantage i will have if i get into a med school in the states compared to foreign. I exlpained how dificult it is to come back and get american licensure. They now understand how difficult it is and will allow me to make my decision but at the same time will help me and not make me feel like i am wasting my time. Expain the processa nd see where it leads you. tell them what ur pan is. Good luck

Hope this helps

 

[wends]

wow, my parents are the opposite, they'd rather have my reapply a million times than go outside of north amercica...i want to apply to england and ireland and they're like hell no!