Hi everyone, I am from Pakistan, moving to the U.S soon I.A. I’ve done my O’levels with not so great grades. Now, I’m not exactly planning to do A’levels and I plan on going for Medical. What should I do?
PLEASE HELP
When are you moving to the US?
What will your immigration status be?
If your family are citizens or have green cards, then your best bet would be to move here NOW and enroll in high school. You could graduate here, and you would have good advice for applying to colleges in the US.
If you would come here on a student visa or another category of family visa, then you need to know that in the US you have to finish your undergraduate degree before applying to medical school. Medical school admissions is extremely selective, and many US medical schools do not admit any international applicants at all. Those that do often require that the student pay all four years of tuition and fees up front. By the time you would be applying in about five or six years, you would be expected to pay something like $400,000 US before taking even one class.
If your goal is to become a physician, and you are not already a US citizen or legal permanent resident, your best choice is to complete medical school in your home country. After that, if you still would like to apply for jobs in the US, you can take the foreign medical exams and apply for advanced training here.
Do you know which high school you are going to attend? If not, try to find the most academically challenging one. In any event, take the most challenging courses that you are comfortable with as you will need to shine in your new school to balance out your “not so great” O levels. You may want to consider an IB program as that may be an easier transition than going into a typical college prep curriculum.
The under grad course is a 2 year course in Pakistan, my father thinks I should give the first year exams and then go. We’re on H1 visa, currently. I’ve tried telling him that Pakistan’s undergrad course doesn’t get recognised around the world but he refuses to believe me.
What do you mean by “The under grad course is a 2 year course in Pakistan, my father thinks I should give the first year exams and then go.”? Are you starting university studies there, or finishing secondary school?
A level courses are secondary school level - approximately equivalent to the last two years of high school in the US. Many students are admitted to colleges and universities in the US with A levels from any number of countries. The international student offices have systems for handling that. But if your family will be in the US indefinitely, the local public high school would be free for you, and you could complete the last two years of your secondary education there, which would make it easier for you to get into a college or university here for your university level studies. Remember that in the US, the word “college” and the word “university” are essentially interchangeable. Both places offer undergraduate and sometimes postgraduate programs.
If you intend to complete your undergraduate degree (first university level degree) in the US, then it is not a good idea to start university studies in your country. You will need to apply as a transfer student, you will have more trouble getting financial aid, and for the rest of your life you will have to keep requesting official documentation from that first foreign university if you continue on to postgraduate (second university degree such as MD, MS, PhD, etc.) or for a job in the US (if you do end up staying here) that requires all of your university level transcripts.
All that said, if you intend to study medicine, and you do not have a green card (legal permanent resident status), you probably are best off completing your medical studies in your home country, then taking the foreign medical boards before looking for advanced training in the US.
You and your family might benefit from a chat with the counselors at the closest EducationUSA advising center. There are several in Pakistan. https://educationusa.state.gov/find-advising-center?field_region_target_id=&field_country_target_id=316&field_center_level_value=All Get in touch with the center closest to where you live.
If one of your parents has an H1, then that person either will be working in the US soon or already is here. There can be a number of reasons for families to maintain homes in both countries (especially if one of the children is finishing up a year of school), but there are many challenges in that situation. Public schools in the US are obligated to enroll new students who arrive at any time in the year. The time it takes to process new students varies a bit by location. If you leave tomorrow for where your US-based parent lives and your school and medical records are in order, you might even be in school before the end of the month.