My Dilemma: US Citizen, to study in India or in the US

[deleted673284]

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To mods: sorry for the duplicate, didn't realize this subsection existed


Hello everyone,

Here's my situation:
I'm a sophomore in a US high school and am in the path to entering a 4 year undergraduate program in line with pre med after graduating. Yet I kind of screwed up my first semester grades in 10th grade (C in AP Chem, B in English H, B in AP WH). My parents have always been pushing this plan to move back to India and get me to join the MBBS program there. Yet I have recently learned that the Match program is not sincere to IMG's. I am aiming for competitive residencies like neurosurgery or cardiology, yet NRI's have told me to completely forget about these residencies and stick to stuff like Neuroscience & Pediatrics attachFull189545. While anything's better than nothing, and I should be thankful if I did get a residency, I want the best opportunity possible.

Now India, in my head, is a backup if I don't get into an undergraduate program in the US. At the moment I have a 3.5 GPA unweighted and am in the path of getting 5 A's and 1 B (AP Chem would be the B) for second semester. I'm also a part of many extracurricular activities in my school and have been successful in many of these ventures. With a good internship program over the summer, and a boosting of my GPA over the next 2 years, is a good 4 year undergraduate program attainable in my case.

If not, is India my only option, and if it is (NRI holding a PIO and OCI) will my chances of getting a quality residency bumped as I'm a citizen of the US? If India is my only option, what should I do now to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Will internships and research help?

I also feel that when it comes time to write my essays for college apps, I'll have a killer story to tell. I want to enter the medical field because of a previous experience of medical malpractice (3 failed reconstruction surgeries to fix microtia- ear deformed for the rest of my life) and want to make amends in the medical field by maybe getting a major in Health and a minor in Public policy


ATTACHED Below is a 2014 IMG Match Residency Chart

TLDR: US Citizen, meh grades atm, is IMG from India and getting MBBS the best option? Or should I wait it out, see how things are and spring for a pre med program in America even if it's a meh college. India has some epic medical schools, and some are far more rigorous than some of the one's here

 

[deleted673284]

Please, I am in dire need of guidance, and I thought turning to these forums would help

 

[deleted480308]

It's 5am and you aren't making a decision by breakfast relax

If you want to practice in the US, stay here....not even a question. Literally any idiot can get into a 4yr US college

 

[deleted673284]

It's 5am and you aren't making a decision by breakfast relax

If you want to practice in the US, stay here....not even a question. Literally any idiot can get into a 4yr US college

Well sure, but I don't want to get into a rundown college and hurt my chances at medical school.

Indian schools are a lot about the money, you pay, you get a seat (private colleges).

 

[Goro]

Get into college, and then worry about medical school.

Get into medical school before worrying about specialties.

If you want to practice medicine in the US, go to an American medical school.

If your parents are pressuring you, when you're 18, get a job, and do what you want.

 

[deleted480308]

Well sure, but I don't want to get into a rundown college and hurt my chances at medical school.

Indian schools are a lot about the money, you pay, you get a seat (private colleges).

any US college gives you better odds than going to India if you just get good grades/mcat....it's not debatable, it's not a question

 

[mspeedwagon]

Your question is answered. Stay in America at a US MD or DO school after four years of college. Go to any college. I went to an Ivy League college undergrad, but the caliber of your undergrad has no weight in med school admissions. You could literally go to two years of community college, two years at a four year and apply with minimal debt (what I may have done in retrospect).

P.S. I considered Goa Medical College (have ties to the region and it's one of the best in India). After meeting someone from there and all the hoops they had to jump through, it's not worth it.

 

[Snoopy2006]

Sometimes there are gray areas where giving advice is difficult, where the choice between two paths is like splitting hairs. This is like that, except the exact opposite. Stay in the US. Anyone who knows anything about the process will tell you the same.

You're afraid you won't get into a US college with a ... 3.5 GPA? Come on man. Go to a US college, get a 4-year degree, and then worry about medical school.

Parents mean well but without a true understanding of the current process and basic data, often end up fixated on the worst possible path for their kids.

 

[Afford]

Your grades in high school won't impact your medical school admission chances. Sure you might not get into Harvard undergrad with a 3.5 GPA, but as long as you have good grades in college and a good MCAT, I believe that you can get into a medical school. I do believe that going to Harvard does give a small boost because it's a way to stand out in 7000 applications per medical school (there was at least one person from Harvard at every top 25 med school that I interviewed at), but it's definitely not a deciding factor.

 

[deleted673284]

Your question is answered. Stay in America at a US MD or DO school after four years of college. Go to any college. I went to an Ivy League college undergrad, but the caliber of your undergrad has no weight in med school admissions. You could literally go to two years of community college, two years at a four year and apply with minimal debt (what I may have done in retrospect).

P.S. I considered Goa Medical College (have ties to the region and it's one of the best in India). After meeting someone from there and all the hoops they had to jump through, it's not worth it.

Yes, I heard something about a program to Goa in connection with a medical college in New York or the Caribbean, forgot which one

 

[deleted673284]

Your grades in high school won't impact your medical school admission chances. Sure you might not get into Harvard undergrad with a 3.5 GPA, but as long as you have good grades in college and a good MCAT, I believe that you can get into a medical school. I do believe that going to Harvard does give a small boost because it's a way to stand out in 7000 applications per medical school (there was at least one person from Harvard at every top 25 med school that I interviewed at), but it's definitely not a deciding factor.

I want to get some research or internship work in as a pre med and thus, don't I want a research intensive school to get into..

I'm just scared that I won't get into anywhere at all, cause my parents keep saying that

 

[deleted673284]

Get into college, and then worry about medical school.

Get into medical school before worrying about specialties.

If you want to practice medicine in the US, go to an American medical school.

If your parents are pressuring you, when you're 18, get a job, and do what you want.

"do what you want" is out of the picture for I am born in a culture where the young blindly follow the old (wise). It's stupid in a Western world that has let go it's Confucius tether, but it's what it is and I still want to respect them.

Do any of you have any ideas as to how I can persuade my parents to let me stay here?
Any stats, I've looked at a few MATCH stats from previous years but really don't know how to read them

 

[Goro]

A) You can do research pretty much at any UG program with a Biology dep't,
B) Your parents are ignorant about this process, so you're going to have to be patient with them and educate them. Get then accounts on SDN, for starters.

I want to get some research or internship work in as a pre med and thus, don't I want a research intensive school to get into..

I'm just scared that I won't get into anywhere at all, cause my parents keep saying that

C) Be respectful, but grow a spine. You're in the US, not the old country.

do what you want" is out of the picture for I am born in a culture where the young blindly follow the old (wise). It's stupid in a Western world that has let go it's Confucius tether, but it's what it is and I still want to respect them.

See B) above. Or buy them a book about the med school admissions process in the US.
Do any of you have any ideas as to how I can persuade my parents to let me stay here?

You're 10 years away from dealing with match. Again, get into college first. If you want to get your parents off your back, bomb the SAT and go to a CC to get your basic pre-reqs out of the way.
Any stats, I've looked at a few MATCH stats from previous years but really don't know how to read them

 

[deleted673284]

Thank You So Much everyone,

The advice truly was reassuring and will surely help me in the long run!

 

[jamcat]

You will get into college in the US! For med school, it doesn't matter where you do your undergrad; you just have to get good grades. If you know you want to be a doctor and you're struggling with science classes in high school, it's probably good to pick an easier college where you can get As rather than a reach school where you'll get lower grades. So go anywhere, study hard, get good grades, and you'll be golden. And don't forget to have fun!