US Med School or MBBS Program in South India

[RK0241]

Hello,
I’m a 17 year old us citizen born in India but studied everything from preschool in the US. I’m technically a senior in high school currently but because of health issues I was given the opportunity to be an 11th grader again and catch up on the my credits. I plan to graduate 2021 and I’m currently on the online school for my high school. I didn’t complete two years of foreign language so if I choose to pursue pre med undergraduate I would do two years California community college and two years of a uc then take the MCATS. I know I want to go into a surgical field such as cardio or neuro. I hear these are very competitive to match into, especially for IMGs. This years match data shows many imgs that were matched.

If I do MBBS I can start med school right after high school and I have family there so it’s not an issue. The course would be 4 1/2 years with 1 year internship as opposed to 4 years undergrad and 4 years med school in the US. Is the time I save worth the risk of not being able to match into a surgical residency in the US?

I’m mainly worried because I know med school recruiters will ask why I went the community college route as opposed to UC and I’m afraid telling them I had bad scores will keep from getting into US med school in the first place.

Thanks

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[RK0241]

If you want to work in the US, you should go to med school in the US. Being an IMG will put you at a significant disadvantage in the match and will greatly reduce your likelihood of matching into a competitive field, or matching at all - most IMGs who match in the US end up in family medicine or internal medicine. You are also likely to end up in a program that is not desirable to US grads, which could be for various reasons. The match rate for IMGs, including US citizens, is about 50 to 60% - compare that to over 90% for US schools.

Plenty of med school applicants spend time at community college, it's not that uncommon, and no medical school will care about your high school scores. If you are concerned about going to a community college, is there no way that you can complete your language requirement while you are still in high school? What exactly is the requirement that you are trying to get around by going to a community college? I'm not familiar.

Also, neither cardiology nor neurology are surgical specialties. Both have opportunities to do some procedures, particularly if you specialize within those fields, but neither of them are routinely in the OR. Most surgical fields are particularly out of reach for IMGs.

I’ve decided to go in the US. My grades were not that good for one year in high school due to heath issue. And I can’t take the other year now due to situations currently. I’m going to try to apply to private universities. They don’t have requirements for language.


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[longhaul3]

I assume you meant cardiac surgery or neurosurgery. The IMGs who match in these specialties often spend multiple research years at prestigious institutions in the US just to have a sniff at a successful match. Some of them even complete a residency or equivalent training at home before coming to the US. You should absolutely, 100%, not bank on being a neurosurgeon in the US coming from India despite there being a disproportionate number of outstanding Indian neurosurgeons in the US.

 

[RK0241]

Another important thing I need to ask is my major. I’ve heard some advice on the internet of people saying biology is too common for premed students. Although, I really like Biology, and know I would enjoy to major in it. I’m currently in the process of refreshing biology material from the internet before I start college, because of this current world issue.


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