Help me decide.....

[docmira]

I know I've posted before about medical school in India..and here I go again.
This time i'm not looking for information about the school, instead i need advice

I managed to contact the vice-chancellor of Sri Ramachandran Medical College in Chennai India
On Sat he called me and offered me a place for Aug 2002. He told me that to ensure a seat I have to pay the first half of the tuition which is $50,000 US !! And later in Aug when I start i pay another 50,000 (that's the total for 5.5 yrs with accomodation, food etc..)
Anyways at the same time now I am waiting to hear from schools in UK and Aussie.
My dilema is whether to accept the offer or not.
I do not have wonderful marks (i'm in 2nd year undergrad) so I doubt that I will ever get into med school here in Can/US.
I have heard the many problems encountered by IMG's when they come back to US/Canada for residency etc..
Also, if I wait to hear from the UK and Aussie schools it won't be till around march/april, and by then a place at the India school may be gone..
I dont' know whether to take this opportunity offered to me or not.
I want to be a doctor more than anything in the world..but should I take this chance?

If ANYONE has any comments, suggestions etc on what i should do can you PLEASE let me know!

Also, if anyone is planning to attend this school or has attended, please let me know!
thanks a lot for the help!
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[Atlas]

Ummm...50 grand just to start? sounds fishy. I'd wait to see what happens with the other schools.

 

[e2k]

50 Gs sounds very unreasonable to go to India. They may have good schools there, but you'll have a difficult time getting back into the states for residency.

There are a lot of other options. St. George's, Aussie schools, Israeli and Irish schools, and there are even English programs in Czech, Poland, and other places. Don't forget to check the Ben Gurion program in Beersheba, Israel. I've heard it's a great program, it's affiliated with Columbia, and they take people from all over the world.

If you've got to go overseas for med school, go someplace you really WANT to go.

ERIC

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Last I researched it, Flinders in Oz uses a formula to evaluate grades that gives increasing weight to subsequent years. *The first year is not counted at all.* Perhaps this could work to your advantage. And really, the policy can be a wonderful redemption for those who may have had a slow start in u/g.

It is pretty typical in my exp. for Indian med schools to request big bulks of the tuition up front. Not unusual. I suppose the dough helps the school, et al., which is perhaps a reason why they accept some NRI and other foreigners at all. Which obviously is not unusual for schools to do with non-residents, no matter where they are.

All in all, you might consider smokin' your third and fourth years in undergrad and aiming for med school again--med school where 100K is not necessarily the price. Those kind of numbers can seem rather sterile till crunch time. Either way, I bet Sri-R will be there for you a few years down the line, should you wish.

 

[seth2000]

docmira,
I just spoke to a friend who graduated from Sri Ramachandra a few days ago. The school is an excellent school. Although the $100,000 is a hefty price to pay up front, it is not some sort of scam; you will be provided with an excellent medical education. But there are other thing that you should definitely consider before going to Sri Ramaschandra. My friend told me that you can make it through the first 2 or 3 years with just English (because all classroom instruction is in English). But for the clinical portion of the education, she told me it was vital to know Tamil (the local language in Tamil Nadu). Most of the patients that the students deal with probably only know Tamil. If you know Tamil, then this will be no problem for you. If you don't know Tamil, I would hate to see you throw $100,000 down the drain. Good luck whatever you decide.

Personally, I am interested in two medical schools in India....Kasturba Medical College in Manipal and Sri Ramachandra. But I am leaning toward Sri Ramachandra because I know Tamil (In Manipal, it may be necessary to know their local language...which is Kannada).
-seth

 

[docmira]

hey guys...thanks for the adivce

Seth:
Are you applying to India school's this year?
I know a little bit of Tamil..
I was in South India for three months this summer on a volunteer placement so i picked a bit up..but I'm sure i'll need more than that for the clinical part.
Is it possible to give me your friends email address so I can ask some questions?
Thanks!

 

[tidy_kiwi]

Last I researched it, Flinders in Oz uses a formula to evaluate grades that gives increasing weight to subsequent years. *The first year is not counted at all.* Perhaps this could work to your advantage. And really, the policy can be a wonderful redemption for those who may have had a slow start in u/g ••

Flinders is a grad-entry programme (not sure if they also have a 6yr programme).....the OP would have to wait until her final year of uni to apply. I seem to recall from an earlier post that the OP didn't want to wait until they finished their ug degree before going to med school.

 

[Dont Shoot Me, I'm Hindu]

I am from SRMC.

First off, it is considered by most people to be the best medschool in India that accepts foreigners.

Second, Tamil is by no means a pre-requisite here. Translators are provided in exams. My classmates dont know a lick of Tamil, but they got through fine.

Third, CUT OUT BY ME.

Finally, 100 G is not the main issue. The real price, is whether you have the dedication to make it through this system, which is INTENSE. Its no cake walk here.

 

[docmira]

By no means am i demeaning the school when I list the prices etc..i was just explaining my concerns.

can you answer some questions for me please?:
How many NRI's attend SRMC..
As well, can you tell me what courses in first and second yrs..etc.?
thanks

 

[seth2000]

This is a forum that is meant to help people. docmira wanted our advice, so there is nothing wrong with talking about the tuition rate and payment schedule of Sri Ramachandra. After all, we are talking about the tuition--it is not some sort of bribe. $100,000 may not be a lot of money to some people, but for others it is a substantial sum of money; docmira was justified in posting her situation. I am not posting this to start some sort of argument--I can see AR Rehman's point, but I still think that docmira's question was appropriate.

And also, I apologize for the information I posted about the need to know Tamil for Sri Ramachandra; a friend of mine who attended Sri Ramachandra told me that it was very important to know Tamil for the clinicals---I can only depend on what my friends tell me, so I still believe it is vital to know Tamil.

AR Rehman appears to be a student at Sri Ramachandra, so he most definitely knows more than me--if he says you don't need to know Tamil, then perhaps you don't. I recommend that any prospective students do their homework regarding this Tamil issue.

docmira, my friend's email is [email protected]
-seth

 

[Dont Shoot Me, I'm Hindu]

YEAH, I GUESS I OVEr-reacted, mira.

Sorry, I just take so much crap about that from relatives, and locals. It is a huge amount of money, especially to these folks, and they find it absurd.

Well, there are about 15 NRI's in a class.

1st year-anat physio biochem

2nd year-path pharm micro FM

3rd yr- CM-ophthal-ENT---begin med-surg-OG

4th yr- finish med-surg-og

5th yr. House surgeon

Clinicals start in 3rd yr. There are brief informal clinical sessions b4 that, but its really not that intense.

 

[docmira]

Thanks for the info
Is the fifth year (house surgon) like the internship year, or is that another year after 5th yr?

 

[slik63]

India is an excellent place to study medicine. A few members of my family studied there. It's a very thorough program with a lot of hands on exposure. These schools do charge hefty tuitions though. so 100,000 sounds right. However, India might be a drastic change from where u reside ( North America) I presume, will u be able to live there for 5 yrs, then there is the language barrier, the environment? There are many factors you will have to consider before deciding.
Anyway, u say you're a second year undergrad. , why are you in such a hurry? Work hard and there is still time to grad. from college with good grades, try MCAT, and that will give you a few more options. I'm sure India will take you whenever, the fact is you're a foreigner, and you can pay upfront. They love that!!

well..all the best, only you can decide.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Slik63, I see in your profile that you are in Georgetown, Guyana, at American International School of Medicine. I and others here would be most appreciative if you could give your perspective on both. Please do....

 

[slik63]

My statement about schools loving foreigners to pay upfront was not intended to offend anyone. I realize it wasn't appropriate to say. They are very strict when it comes to your grades and extracurricular activities, etc. No hard feelings!

 

[slik63]

Sure, Guyana is the only english speaking country in South America, a former british colony. Democratic government. It is not the most developed country, we are a third world.

AISM was started in JAn. of 2000, The basic sciences are offered in guyana for about a year and a half. then the clinicals are done in the US, England, and the Caribbean depending on the student's choice and visa requirements. So far the majority of students are from Guyana but there are Americans and British students.
I have just completed my 1 st year .

 

[slik63]

As for the program, it is exactly along the lines of a US medical school, we start visiting hospitals from the 2nd semester to get some further exposure. The lecturers are all US trained and well qualified in their respective fields. As any program it is rigorous and demanding. The headquarters for AISM is in Atlanta , Georgia.

website : <a href="http://www.aism.edu" target="_blank">http://www.aism.edu</a>

 

[Stephen Ewen]

What are the physical facilities like?

 

[Peeshee]

This seems like a very interesting program which I had not heard of before. I am curious how the clinical experience is in Guyana. If anyone has experience at this school, please provide us with more information.
Thanks!

 

[slik63]

the physical facilities are the third floor of a hotel. THe school has acquired rooms which they converted into classrooms, faculty offices and other administrative offices for now...the remainder of the floor is empty. There are not many guests at the hotel, they usually have conferences day round on the other floors..
Class sizes are very small, the largest batch is approx. 23 students.I think that might become the limit per class ( 25 -30 students per semester) for now until the school establishes itself permanently.

 

[slik63]

when u say clinical, do u mean 3rd and 4th years? those will be done in the U.S , U.K, Canada , and Carib.

If you are referring to clinical exposure during our basic sciences, we have a class called Intro. to Medicine...we are taught in house for the 1st semester, then we start going to a geriatric home for our 2nd semester, in our 3rd , 4th and 5th..we go to various hospitals in Guyana where we are assigned to various physicians and that is done for the entire semester, once per week. We do 5 semesters in Guyana then as I mentioned before go on to clincinal training overseas. I hope this info. answered your questions.

 

[Peeshee]

THanks for the information. Are you from a country outside of Guyana? I would like to know why/how you chose Guyana over other countries to study medicine in.
Also, does AICM have a review course for the USMLE?
How is the housing situation?
I appreciate the info.

 

[slik63]

Yes, AISM has a review course for USMLE , it is done for the majority of the fifth semester. I'm from Guyana and I got the opportunity to study medicine so I took a chance. A major factor was also the cost, AISM is quite reasonable.

 

[slik63]

Houses are available for rent but the price will vary according to the location, and ofcourse if it is an average or posh apartment. So far students haven't had problems finding suitable houses.