Good NRI friendly medical schools to visit??

[CaliDad]

Hi,

My son is expressing interest in medicine. He's going to be a senior this year in High School.

So I wanted to help him explore all avenues including India as a secondary option, in case things don't work out in US.

The reason I am writing is that our family is planning a trip to India to visit relatives this year. We'll be going to Ahmedabad and Delhi. Are there NRI friendly medical schools in those two cities that would be good to visit.

Why not give him exposure, so he can see if this is a viable option in the future for him?

When I say NRI friendly, I mean other NRI students, history of good pass rate on US license exams?

The other school I have heard about in Manipal as being NRI friendly, WDYT?

Thanks so much!

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[Wes Mantooth]

hey you sound like a well informed thoughtful dad. if your seriously considering a career in medicine for your kid, please encourage him to go to the best US college he/she can and then apply for a US MD/DO program. there is really no such thing as NRI friendly programs as all are different. some are good for indian born students but few if any are even remotely promising for the us born students. in fact, its a horrendous idea to send them there. theres always pharm, dentistry, and several other fantastic health care fields to think about. but dont get sucked in and send your kid to india. im sure ill get flamed by some dush out there arguing with my points. either way, do whats best for them. im sure you will. and dont ever push anyone into medicine. its an incredibly amazing yet painful field. coming home everyday exhausted after 80-90 hour weeks sucks man and its easy to get pissed off at your crappy debt infested life. so your kid should do it only if he/she loves it. try and get them into a top UC college like berkeley or ucla or uci, ucr etc. thats a good road.

 

[CaliDad]

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply. A couple of things to clarify...
1> I certainly don't want him to go into medicine if he is not into it... so if it feels like 80/90 hours of drudgery. That is just the wrong career choice. Actually that is true with its doctor, pharmacists, or whatever... He has to want to do this.

2> I appreciate your candid feedback on Indian Medical Schools. However, I still want to expose him for a couple of reasons:
a> Showing him gives him exposure. It never hurts for him to see...
b> We're going to India on vacation anyways to visit family in December, so I thought since we've got a week in Ahmedabad and Delhi. Why not see if I can arrange a visit.

So still looking for suggestions from folks, on schools to contact.

Thanks!

 

[papilledema]

edit..

 

[kro]

I have a similar question. 2 kids both beginning senior years in high school (12th grade) in America. Do not want to waste time, and want to learn Indian culture. How easy is it to complete the degree in India, and come back to America for residency? How many years does that take?
Also, if we are NRI's, how do you apply? Is there any med school that will be more NRI-friendly? How much does the process cost for foreigners?

I know I have alot of questions, any feedback, links, anything is much appreciated!!

KRO

 

[CDI]

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[chandni]

hi
just wanted to know when i can apply for 2008 cuz i still have to start my A2 levels this yr. is this a good uni to study?

 

[SpecialR]

OKAY STOP SENDING YOUR KIDS TO INDIA TO DO MED SCHOOL!

Im a NRI student currently studying in India. I was raised outside of India so I barely have an idea about how the institutions run or anything. I HATE EVERY MINUTE OF MY LIFE! I'm not studying at Manipal.. but yet at the same time I'm saving the few extra dollars.. but really ITS A FACT.. us NRI KIDS DONT FIT IN!!! The education system and even the material is a million miles different.. which is what makes it harder.. today if I don't get 14/40 in my practicals.. Im not allowed to do my uni exam.. and EVEN THAT 35% IS DEAD DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN.. and dun forget the style of teaching.. its horrible.. ANYONE CAN COPY AND PASTE.. and thats what the professors.. do.. around here.. YES YOU HAVE HEARD STORIES THAT GOING TO MED SCHOOL INDIA THEN PASSING YOUR LICENSING EXAM IN US.. WILL MAKE YOU ONE FINE PHYSICIAN .. its a myth!!! Licensing isn't a piece of pie.. and Indian education makes it harder.. cuz one its MBBS not MD.. so you gotta apply for the equiv exam first.. pass that.. then wait for res.. and so on..


Please.. PLEASE.. let your child do pre med in States and help them to carve their future from there.. on their own.. give them time.. DUN SEND THEM TO INDIA.. RIGHT AFTER HIGHSCHOOL!!!


INDIAN MED SCHOOLS ARE NOT MADE FOR NRIs... I know you might think.. your uncle or aunty.. did this .. and then got licensed.. today they're rich and famous.. or some.. nonsense.. THIS IS 2007!!! this concept does not apply.. too well amongst the new generation.. because of the new rules and regulations placed.. by the medical council..

SURVIVING THE 5 AND HALF YEARS is like being tortured.. cuz all Indian universities.. keep your transcripts and diploma.. original ones.. THEY WONT RETURN IT UNTIL YOU PAY THE FULL FEES which A GAZILLION TIMES MORE THAN THE GOVERNMENT FEES or UNTIL YOU FINISH THE COURSE!!

its so ******ed..

I'm stuck here.. eventually my horrible experiences are gonna ruin my passion for medicine..

DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR KIDS OR TO YOURSELF IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS.. please.. not worth it..


WORK YOUR HARDEST FROM WHEREEVER YOU ARE..and apply to schools there............................. !!

 

[knife to me plz]

Dear CaliDad and others:

I agree with the other US posters that an US student going to medical school in India is not the best option by any means and there are several reasons. I am a current 4th year medical student at at US Medical school and have had several family friends go to Indian schools and have not had success. Please see reasons:

1.) Your options for residency are limited for International Graduates - Even with the best board exam scores International Medical Grads (IMG's) are limited in the residency they will get. For example, if your kid ends up liking a speciality like ophthalmology or orthopedics it will be very difficult to get a spot.

2.) If your kid decides that medicine is not for him / her the Indian degree is useless in the US. It will be hard to find any kind of jobs.

3.) Extreme Difficulty in passing board exams - in order to do residency in the US, one must pass national lisencing exams (USMLE Step 1, 2CK, and 2CS) and it's suggested that IMG's even pass step 3 before starting residency. I have known many many students who despite being very bright young physicans DO NOT pass these exams. The main reason is that the style of teaching in Indian schools is different.

4.) You really DO NOT Save time - it takes most IMG's from India at least 1 - 2 years to pass all the lisencing exams. Plus many programs that accept IMG's into residency require that applicants to do several months of clerkships at US hospitals. These clerkships take time, and are expensive and many institutions do not offer them. So in the end you end up taking about 7 years anyway.

5.) Language barrier and problems adjusting at foreign schools - I have known many students who have "run away" from these foreign schools due to the lack of being able to adjust to life and conditions there thereby wasting thousands of $$$ of their parent's money.

6.) Its really not that much cheaper - when they know you're an NRI, these schools rob you dry and a medical education costs almost just as much as it does in the US for a poorer quality of education.

7.) Missing out on college experience - one of the best experiences both educational and social has been undergraduate you are robbing you children of this opportunity by shipping them off to medical school at the age of 18.

8.) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO A TOP US UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL! I am living proof of that. I by no means went to an Ivy league school and went to a state school. I did very well there, and obtained admissions to 6 US MD allopathic schools.

9.) Even if your child does not do well enough to get into an MD program, one can always go to a DO school which are just as good and Carribbean schools which are MUCH better than Indian schools. And the carribbean schools do rotations at US Hospitals which is KEY to passing lisencing exams.

10.) More options for studying other disciplines at US schools. The very fortunate thing about the educational system in the US is that one does not have to be in the sciences to go to medical school. I myself was in my undergraduate school's business school and I took all the required coursework to go to medical school and I obtained admission.

Hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply with additional questions!!!

 

[knife to me plz]

Don't worry about wasting time. I think that if you are worrying about that you are missing the point. Please see my other post on this thread for a more detailed response.

 

[retroviridae]

Gosh, so much negativity. First off, I also agree that one should try for a US med spot before going to India. That having been said, few actually do this.

So, it is all about the kid and their desire to do well. I went to Manipal where I did not have to worry about corrupt officials, exams, etc. It was pricey. I studied my tail off and did not have any problems adapting to the Indian system. If you know your stuff, you know your stuff. It doesn't matter what kind of test there is. Americans complaining about the system, in my experience, did not study enough. I mean, come on, it's med school. American students study hard. Why would one expect to study less in India? And that having been said, if you are at a good school, where you are taught well, where you have good clinical experiences, you will do fine on the USMLEs and in your US residency. I have to say, everyone of my classmates who wanted a US residency got one. Maybe not in the field they wanted, but the got a US residency and therfore a secure future in medicine.

It is true that of the NRIs in my bacth, 1/3 were on par with the Indian students, 1/3 were below average for Indian students but still passed, and 1/3 failed repeatedly. Unless they were in the bottom third (and never passed med school), they all eventually got US residencies. Some had to sit their MLEs several times, and ended up in Family Medicine in inner city America, but after three years, they are just as much a doc as anyone else.

There is definitely this syndrome of kids of controlling parents coming to India where they are affluent, where they are far away from family and parents, and freaking out. They go wild, party, drink, date, sex, etc. Those people for the most part fail their first MBBS exam and then either shape up or continue to fail. If the kid is well grounded, this won't happen.

Bottom line: going to India limits your opportunities for residencies, but, if you study hard, work hard, you can and will do well on your Indian exams and USMLEs. Med school is not easy. Medicine is not an easy career path.

 

[RADRULES]

If your son can't make it into a US Med school, he has no business becoming a doctor. It is not hard to get into a US Med school is you attend a good college and are of average intelligence for desi standards.

If he goes to India he can forget about getting into a good specialty like radiology, derm, etc. He will end us in some lame specialty like general IM or peds and hate his job for life.

Tell him to major in economics while taking the premed requirements. If he can't make it into med school, he can go make millions on Wall Street running a hedge fund or something.