US graduate to international medical school aga khan ?

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Ok13

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Hi, I'm about to graduate University of Illinois at Chicago next fall with a bio degree. So far I have a 3.16 gpa. I studying for Mcat currently. Now I'm seriously considering going to Aga Khan medical school in Pakistan over the carribeans. Any thoughts? I'm a us citizen. I've done all my schooling here in the states. I have family back there. I know the atmosphere of aga khan and have visited. I know il be comfortable. But im worried about getting residency afterwords. I plan on doing clinical rotations here during my breaks. should I go or should I go to the carribeans where I feel like I'd be less comfortable. What if in the future I decide not to come practice to us but go to England etc is it the same difficultly to get residency in England ?
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It will be tough.

I actually knew someone who came from there, top of his class, and was unable to find a residency in the USA until 7+ years later!
 
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Banco said:
It will be tough.

I actually knew someone who came from there, top of his class, and was unable to find a residency in the USA until 7+ years later!
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That's exactly the loop I do not want to get stuck on. To be honest I would be more than happy to practice in the UK. Just don't wanna be stuck in Pakistan. Is carribeans a better choice. The thing is that aga khan graduates average way higher scores in the usmles than carribeans because there the education is better there. I feel like in the carribeans I have a higher chance of getting lost.
 
Ok13 said:
That's exactly the loop I do not want to get stuck on. To be honest I would be more than happy to practice in the UK. Just don't wanna be stuck in Pakistan. Is carribeans a better choice. The thing is that aga khan graduates average way higher scores in the usmles than carribeans because there the education is better there. I feel like in the carribeans I have a higher chance of getting lost.
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The Caribbean "schools" are educational malpractice.
 
Ok13 said:
That's exactly the loop I do not want to get stuck on. To be honest I would be more than happy to practice in the UK. Just don't wanna be stuck in Pakistan. Is carribeans a better choice. The thing is that aga khan graduates average way higher scores in the usmles than carribeans because there the education is better there. I feel like in the carribeans I have a higher chance of getting lost.
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I'm sure the grads there have high scores because they are very bright. But that's not the impediment; being international is just an inherent disadvantage.

Also you have a 3.16 GPA, why do you think you'll be able to hack it in medical school no matter what country it is?

Your best option is do grade replacement and apply DO --> practice in the USA and have a good career.
 
Banco said:
I'm sure the grads there have high scores because they are very bright. But that's not the impediment; being international is just an inherent disadvantage.

Also you have a 3.16 GPA, why do you think you'll be able to hack it in medical school no matter what country it is?

Your best option is do grade replacement and apply DO --> practice in the USA and have a good career.
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What's grade replacement ?
 
gyngyn said:
DO schools will replace an old (bad) score with a retake of the class (even at another school).
This dramatically increases gpa rather quickly.
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Ok I will look into this. Actually the big mistake I made was that I should have taken some of my classes at another school. My gpa got destroyed with C's in physics because the class at my school was so cut throat. I should've taken it at other easier schools like my classmates did. Same goes for biochem.
 
MD schools don't honor grade replacement, so taking a class you bombed in order to improve your GPA is not an option. DO schools do honor this, and so your 3.16 could be made competitive by retaking the classes in which you were less successful. A lot of this is going to depend on your MCAT score though, that'll give you a better sense of your options.
 
That's not the right attitude to have. Do you expect the science classes to be easier in med school? Do you expect to not have competitive people in med school? If it gets too cutthroat in med school are you just going to take classes at another school?
 
Ok13 said:
Ok I will look into this. Actually the big mistake I made was that I should have taken some of my classes at another school. My gpa got destroyed with C's in physics because the class at my school was so cut throat. I should've taken it at other easier schools like my classmates did. Same goes for biochem.
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This mentality will kill you. You got Cs in physics because you didn't work hard/smart enough.
 
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Axes said:
This mentality will kill you. You got Cs in physics because you didn't work hard/smart enough.
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That's what my thinking was by taking it my school instead of going of to an easier school. But in the end since medschools don't look at where you took the class. It still ended up being more fruitful to the others who took the class somewhere else. Dont get me wrong I did receive an A in anat and physio when only 5% of over 200 students receive. But it didn't matter since physics 1 and 2 were 5 credits while anat 4. I've just been terrible at physics.
 
But let's get back on topic and look at the choices that I have now please.
 
this is completely pertinent to the topic. If you do badly in med school/steps you are not going to match into the residency of your choice or any residency which is the entire point of this topic. If you are struggling in undergrad how are you going to compete against even smarter and harder working kids in medical school?
 
tortelliniboy said:
this is completely pertinent to the topic. If you do badly in med school/steps you are not going to match into the residency of your choice or any residency which is the entire point of this topic. If you are struggling in undergrad how are you going to compete against even smarter and harder working kids in medical school?
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I believe you don't take physics again in medical school ...
 
Ok13 said:
But let's get back on topic and look at the choices that I have now please.
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Why do you want to go to medical school overseas and come back to US for residency and practice? Why not just go overseas and practice there?

It's a serious question because there is zero reason to go to medical school overseas if you won't stay there. It's one of many reasons why there is a well-deserved stigma against IMGs
 
Lawper said:
Why do you want to go to medical school overseas and come back to US for residency and practice? Why not just go overseas and practice there?

It's a serious question because there is zero reason to go to medical school overseas if you won't stay there. It's one of many reasons why there is a well-deserved stigma against IMGs
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Or just a major case of American exceptionalism.
 
If you're considering practicing in the UK, consider the Atlantic Bridge Program. If you don't match in US, you still have a chance for an internship post in Ireland, even if you don't have an EU passport. In this way, if you can't match in the US, at least you have a chance to practice medicine in the UK (and Pakistan).

http://www.atlanticbridge.com/

2014 Atlantic Bridge Residency placements (note the high number of Canadian placements):
http://www.atlanticbridge.com/medicine/residency/placements/placements-2014/
 
Lawper said:
Why do you want to go to medical school overseas and come back to US for residency and practice? Why not just go overseas and practice there?

It's a serious question because there is zero reason to go to medical school overseas if you won't stay there. It's one of many reasons why there is a well-deserved stigma against IMGs
Click to expand...
That's why I asked for UK stats if anyone has those that will be helpful. Anyways if I do practice at other places. Would it be easier to come back then. I'm thinking long term some point I'd like to come back here but if I can why not work overseas so I won't be wasting time while applying back here ? Would a couple years of practice under my belt help?
 
itsogre said:
If you're considering practicing in the UK, consider the Atlantic Bridge Program. If you don't match in US, you still have a chance for an internship post in Ireland, even if you don't have an EU passport. In this way, if you can't match in the US, at least you have a chance to practice medicine in the UK (and Pakistan).

http://www.atlanticbridge.com/

2014 Atlantic Bridge Residency placements (note the high number of Canadian placements):
http://www.atlanticbridge.com/medicine/residency/placements/placements-2014/
Click to expand...
Thank you il look into this !
 
If you're gunning for super competitive specialities, very competitive institutions, going to aga khan will be a better option than going to a DO school (granted it will be a tough battle nonetheless). If you're okay with something less competitive but with better odds, go DO.
 
JimmyB123 said:
If you're gunning for super competitive specialities, very competitive institutions, going to aga khan will be a better option than going to a DO school (granted it will be a tough battle nonetheless). If you're okay with something less competitive but with better odds, go DO.
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Um. Since when is being an IMG better than a US DO? To clarify, an IMG is a US citizen who goes to medical school abroad. Regardless of the foreign school's reputation, matching back into US residencies is very difficult, if not impossible. The FMG (foreign students who want to go for US residency) probably do have a better chance to match in ultracompetitive specialties than US DOs.

Generally, US MD > US DO >= FMG >> reputable IMG >>> Caribbean mills
 
JimmyB123 said:
If you're gunning for super competitive specialities, very competitive institutions, going to aga khan will be a better option than going to a DO school (granted it will be a tough battle nonetheless). If you're okay with something less competitive but with better odds, go DO.
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This is inaccurate.

Even for highly competitive specialties, DOs almost always perform better in the match than US citizens trained abroad. AKU is a well regarded competitive university but this is for Pakistani natives; the OP is unlikely to do well there and match better than he would if he stayed in the US.
 
Ok13 said:
But let's get back on topic and look at the choices that I have now please.
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Lol another one of those who doesn't think their poor academic ability is relevant or part of the story
 
Ok13 said:
Hi, I'm about to graduate University of Illinois at Chicago next fall with a bio degree. So far I have a 3.16 gpa. I studying for Mcat currently. Now I'm seriously considering going to Aga Khan medical school in Pakistan over the carribeans. Any thoughts? I'm a us citizen. I've done all my schooling here in the states. I have family back there. I know the atmosphere of aga khan and have visited. I know il be comfortable. But im worried about getting residency afterwords. I plan on doing clinical rotations here during my breaks. should I go or should I go to the carribeans where I feel like I'd be less comfortable. What if in the future I decide not to come practice to us but go to England etc is it the same difficultly to get residency in England ?
Click to expand...
do you have UK/EU citizenship? If not, it's incredibly difficult to get internship in the UK. They give priority to UK/EU citizens.
Even UK citizens don't get a spot sometimes.
 
Maruko said:
do you have UK/EU citizenship? If not, it's incredibly difficult to get internship in the UK. They give priority to UK/EU citizens.
Even UK citizens don't get a spot sometimes.
Click to expand...
No I do not.
 
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