Hello. I am new to the site. I used to be an outstanding student who scored 98.7%-99.8% each year, won in many different competitions including taking first place for the solo piano competition 4 times in a row. Come high school however, and everything turned for the worse. I dropped to 97% now and I am terrified and emotionally devastated. I swear I am not appealing for compliments. I have been told by way too many sources that unless I get above 99% I might as well just abandon all hope of being accepted into a medical college. And to add insult to injury, I have a twin brother who must also get his tuition paid and we are not even rich at all.
What should I do? I feel so depressed right now. I dont want to study in my country because it’s a hell hole at the moment. I can’t even start to believe that a college in Russia will accept me…
Please help me guys, im so confused and sad I can’t think straight…
OK, so you’re in russia? I don’t know what schools you’re talking about, or really what you mean by 97%. IF you mean 97% on standardized tests? You’ll be fine. If you’re still in high school, then you wouldn’t be applying to medical schools right now, you would be applying to undergraduate things, maybe in some pre-med program. Scores in the 97th percentile, if I’m reading that right, will give you no trouble getting into some US schools where you can study biology or something for pre-med. Financial aid sounds like more of an issue for you. As an international applicant, it’s unlikely that you’ll get financial aid from any US schools. You may have to take out pretty substantial student loans, if your parents can’t help with tuition.
You’ll get in somewhere. Then you just ave the very common challenge of paying for college, which is something that almost everyone does. You’ll be fine, just apply to places that you like, and think you can get in to. You’re not applying to medical school right now, you’re applying to general colleges so that you can study to go to medical school.
Good luck
Thanks for replaying. I’m in my senior year currently. Sorry that I didn’t clarify. I am not Russian, I’m actually half Egyptian half Turkish living in the UAE. My senior year will end in June of 2017 I believe. I haven’t gotten the percentile grades yet, but so far it’s guaranteed to be 97ish% and the reason for that downfall, is that the education system has changed drastically, but I digress. From what I read on the internet 97% is a GPA of 4.0? Anyhow, I keep reading about how it should be more than enough to be accepted, but at the same time I hear about people I know IRL who have gotten crazy 98% and haven’t been accepted, and that worries me a lot.
Now, Russia is basically the last option for me. It’s cheap, but it’s shit. And right now I’m not even sure if I’m sufficient enough to be accepted into a Russian medical college.
P.S if I’m understanding this incorrectly, then it would be terribly embarrassing… but I do apply to a medical college after I have secured my 12th grade certificate, don’t I?
Typically, students will apply to medical schools after completing a 4 year undergraduate program. There are programs where you can apply for a joint undergraduate degree and MD but those programs are the exception, not the rule. If you think your grades aren’t good enough for med school (97% sounds good to me but I’m not sure how your grading system in the UAE works) then that should be good news because you’ll definitely get into some American undergraduate schools where you’ll have a chance to improve your grades and test scores before applying to med school. The bigger issue might be cost since most American undergraduate schools (other than the really hyper competitive ones) tend to offer pretty low financial aid to foreign students. I’m sure it’ll end up working out just fine for you, I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you
Hmm… After doing some minor research, I have figured out that there is a slight difference between the U.S/Canada and the UK/Europe… For us in the UAE and Arabic countries, right after you graduate 12th grade you apply for a 6 year medical program, after which you hold a general doctor bachelors degree. Then you attend a 2-4 year program to (specialize) in one field of medicine, and afterwards you find yourself a job. (I think Europe’s and system is very similar, but I could be wrong)
Now as I said before, funding is sadly a big obstacle for us we can pay max 10000-15000$ x2 since we are twins, which is definitely not enough for America. It was a dream to study in the U.S especially that I have an uncle who works as a doctor there now, but for that I needed to be funded by the ministry of education of the UAE, or some company (but that required excellent performance which I lack now).
America now is definitely out of the picture. Europe is my last chance, and I need to know whether I’m good enough or not… just to calm my nerves for the time being. I also should add that, after this year I’m only willing to take an IELTS exam and guarantee a 9/9. I am not willing to take anything else tbh.
Also if it helps, in the UAE anything above 90% is an A (we don’t have + and -)