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Hello People,
Like many of you , my father and several other family members, friends etc. are Doctors. I had shifted to the Caribbean (Antigua), where my father works even now, when I was two years old, but did most of my schooling in India.
Going by the many stereotypicaly scenarios, I had a rather interesting case as I had three options open to me- United States, Antigua (since I spent the first 11 years of my childhood there and my father was well established there) and India (since I had done most of my schooling there, I had already surpassed the cultural deficits).
I was pursuing undergrad at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) with a view of getting into med school in the US. But I gradually realised that it was extremely difficult for a non-US resident to acquie admission there and it was very expensive too.
So I abandoned that route when my father decided that it would be much better for me to pursue an MBBS degree in India and then get back to the US after clearing the USMLE. Eventually, I took admission in Sri Ramachandra Medical College (Chennai). My classes are due to start on the 14th of July.
Besides the fact that I was immunised to authentic Indian culture during my school days, one of the other reasons I decided to take on this venture was that my father, having done his MBBS from India, can guide me with caution on the "do's" and "dont's".
I notice that there is a big fear factor among many NRI'S about Indian Med Colleges in terms of difficulty.
Well, my opinion here is that pursuing med anywhere in the world is going to be difficult. The course material is more or less the same everywhere. In India, the marking is very strict and simply "knowing" the material is not going to ensure a passing grade. There are specifc patterns and methods that Indian professors demand when correcting an answer script. The main reason why some students fail is because they are not aware of these finer points.
The first thing one should do is understand what the examiner wnats from you rather than simply grasping the material. Mind you, this is India; you cannot appeal against a grade given to you. So develope a good relation with professors. Flatter them at times (the girls are experts at this and it is one of the reasons why they ace the exams), but dont over do it. The Oral Via-Va can be a dreadful form of assessment since a quarter of your grade depends on the examiner's mood ( I am not exaggerating!! ). There are certain tricks in givinge correct as well as wrong answers. Get to know some smart senior students. They will be of great help if you pursue them since they can give you an in depth analysis of a prof, right from his wife's maiden name!..lol..
Sri Ramachandra Medicl College has quite a few NRI's and it is among the best and most expensive in India. Manipal is also very good but the student environment, in terms of discipline, has severely deteriorated. That is one of the main reasons why I chose SRMC. Apart from that, SRMC has a brilliant campus which Manipal doesn't have. Also, the location of Manipal is very wayward and a 12 hr drive from the city of Bangalore. Whereas, SRMC is a 5 minute drive from one of the largst metropolitan cities in India. So it would be much easier travelling back to the US during your holidays if you are in Chennai.
As for AIIMS, you wont get in unless you have political contacts with ministers in New Delhi. Even I tried through the NRI/Foreign National Quota- So basically forget it! Also, it is sooooo harddd that most of you will repent knowing that it even existed!!
These are pointers that my father gave me and many of them I have seen to when i visited the college.
Once I join college, I hope I can become a better source of info for any NRi thinking of pursuing Med School in India.
Thanks.
Souvik Sen.
Like many of you , my father and several other family members, friends etc. are Doctors. I had shifted to the Caribbean (Antigua), where my father works even now, when I was two years old, but did most of my schooling in India.
Going by the many stereotypicaly scenarios, I had a rather interesting case as I had three options open to me- United States, Antigua (since I spent the first 11 years of my childhood there and my father was well established there) and India (since I had done most of my schooling there, I had already surpassed the cultural deficits).
I was pursuing undergrad at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) with a view of getting into med school in the US. But I gradually realised that it was extremely difficult for a non-US resident to acquie admission there and it was very expensive too.
So I abandoned that route when my father decided that it would be much better for me to pursue an MBBS degree in India and then get back to the US after clearing the USMLE. Eventually, I took admission in Sri Ramachandra Medical College (Chennai). My classes are due to start on the 14th of July.
Besides the fact that I was immunised to authentic Indian culture during my school days, one of the other reasons I decided to take on this venture was that my father, having done his MBBS from India, can guide me with caution on the "do's" and "dont's".
I notice that there is a big fear factor among many NRI'S about Indian Med Colleges in terms of difficulty.
Well, my opinion here is that pursuing med anywhere in the world is going to be difficult. The course material is more or less the same everywhere. In India, the marking is very strict and simply "knowing" the material is not going to ensure a passing grade. There are specifc patterns and methods that Indian professors demand when correcting an answer script. The main reason why some students fail is because they are not aware of these finer points.
The first thing one should do is understand what the examiner wnats from you rather than simply grasping the material. Mind you, this is India; you cannot appeal against a grade given to you. So develope a good relation with professors. Flatter them at times (the girls are experts at this and it is one of the reasons why they ace the exams), but dont over do it. The Oral Via-Va can be a dreadful form of assessment since a quarter of your grade depends on the examiner's mood ( I am not exaggerating!! ). There are certain tricks in givinge correct as well as wrong answers. Get to know some smart senior students. They will be of great help if you pursue them since they can give you an in depth analysis of a prof, right from his wife's maiden name!..lol..
Sri Ramachandra Medicl College has quite a few NRI's and it is among the best and most expensive in India. Manipal is also very good but the student environment, in terms of discipline, has severely deteriorated. That is one of the main reasons why I chose SRMC. Apart from that, SRMC has a brilliant campus which Manipal doesn't have. Also, the location of Manipal is very wayward and a 12 hr drive from the city of Bangalore. Whereas, SRMC is a 5 minute drive from one of the largst metropolitan cities in India. So it would be much easier travelling back to the US during your holidays if you are in Chennai.
As for AIIMS, you wont get in unless you have political contacts with ministers in New Delhi. Even I tried through the NRI/Foreign National Quota- So basically forget it! Also, it is sooooo harddd that most of you will repent knowing that it even existed!!
These are pointers that my father gave me and many of them I have seen to when i visited the college.
Once I join college, I hope I can become a better source of info for any NRi thinking of pursuing Med School in India.
Thanks.
Souvik Sen.
