# ANY Government College In Lahore Better Than A Private College?



## adenosine (Oct 28, 2016)

I'm trying to mentally prep myself for various potential outcomes of this entire admissions process. Part of that is knowing whether getting into CMH is going to be better than getting into something like Ameer-ud-Din Medical College, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, or Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Medical College? Obviously, if one gets into AIMC or KEMU then it's a clear decision. However, in case I say get into the other 3 I've mentioned, will they be a better choice compared to CMH/FMH/Shalamar? Apart from fees, one of the greatest advantages I see in govt. college is the tremendously higher practical experience in larger hospitals as I've read on this forum. Is that a significant factor on its own or are there certain disadvantages that outweigh it? Any help and input will be appreciated. Thank you.


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## HarisKhan123 (Oct 31, 2016)

See that's a tricky one, comparing Government and Private medical colleges. I think it kinda depends on yourself to be honest. I mean there will be people who might get into lets say AKU or SHIFA yet opt to go for a government medical college or vice versa.
Obviously getting into AIMC or KE is something else, they are on another level when it comes to prestige and education like you mentioned.

Now for the colleges you have listed above, I think they are many factors to take into consideration. 
1) Fee is VERY different, you'll be paying a lot less for the Government medical colleges compared to the Private ones

2)Patient exposure for sure is higher in Government medical colleges, but that doesn't mean that you wont be seeing any patients in Private ones. They are after all all recognised by PMDC which means that they have adequate patient flow inorder to teach students. If they didn't then they wouldn't be recognised right? In fact, I was browsing through some old threads and found a thread where it mentioned that some Government medical students come and do their housejobs in Shalamar, which has the best patient exposure in private sector under UHS.

3)Faculty. Government medical colleges will have no doubt a very experienced and very good faculty, but so do some of the top Private medical colleges such as CMH,SHIFA, AKU,SHALAMAR. From what ive heard some of the professors at CMH have over 20 years of experience! I think its fair to say that you'll get more guidance in Private medical colleges then Government ones Also I think the teaching methodologies are much more up to date in some of the private medical colleges such as AKU, CMH, SHALAMAR example being the modular system. 

4) Facilities. Private medical colleges will probably have more facilities available to them compared to Government medical colleges. Government medical colleges and their hospitals are dependant on the government for funds, while Private ones aren't and they get their funds from their owners and maybe the fees they get. And lets be honest, these Private medical colleges owning bodies are more active and dedicated to their colleges then the government of Pakistan 

5)Prestige. For some apparent reason, there is this thing in Pakistan that all the Government medical colleges are the best while Private ones are nothing but a shadow of them. Obviously there are exceptions such as AKU, SHIFA, CMH but for the most part, that's the train of thought. People think that those going into Private medical colleges aren't as smart as the ones in Government medical colleges which obviously is wrong, I mean just look at the merit lists of CMH. They have an equal merit to some of the government medical colleges!!

That's all I can think of for now. In the end I think it boils down to yourself, I personally feel as a overseas that private medical colleges are as good as most of the Government medical colleges, with obvious exceptions since they provide us with the same education, same degree ect.
Hope I helped bro


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## Daud12345 (Sep 8, 2015)

adenosine said:


> I'm trying to mentally prep myself for various potential outcomes of this entire admissions process. Part of that is knowing whether getting into CMH is going to be better than getting into something like Ameer-ud-Din Medical College, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, or Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Medical College? Obviously, if one gets into AIMC or KEMU then it's a clear decision. However, in case I say get into the other 3 I've mentioned, will they be a better choice compared to CMH/FMH/Shalamar? Apart from fees, one of the greatest advantages I see in govt. college is the tremendously higher practical experience in larger hospitals as I've read on this forum. Is that a significant factor on its own or are there certain disadvantages that outweigh it? Any help and input will be appreciated. Thank you.


Whether we like it or not, the prestige of govt colleges can not be compared with the private ones, SIMS has an incredible name as well. It is not on the same page as AIMC or KEMU but still any govt college in Lahore carries its own and SIMS has the third highest merit in Punjab, some unbelievably smart people end up there. 
CMH is pretty good too but trust me Shalamar and FMH are nowhere near in terms of prestige, they just can't be compared to the govt colleges. I think you should go for govt colleges up until SIMS or even RMC but choose CMH after that.


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## adenosine (Oct 28, 2016)

HarisKhan123 said:


> See that's a tricky one, comparing Government and Private medical colleges. I think it kinda depends on yourself to be honest. I mean there will be people who might get into lets say AKU or SHIFA yet opt to go for a government medical college or vice versa.
> Obviously getting into AIMC or KE is something else, they are on another level when it comes to prestige and education like you mentioned.
> 
> Now for the colleges you have listed above, I think they are many factors to take into consideration.
> ...


You've quite efficiently described what I think are pretty good arguments and points in favor and in defense of private colleges. Everything is pretty nice. One question though, are you CERTAIN about modular systems being in place in CMH and Shalamar? I'm aware of AKU and Shifa. It would be appreciated if you could enlighten me about that.

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Daud12345 said:


> Whether we like it or not, the prestige of govt colleges can not be compared with the private ones, SIMS has an incredible name as well. It is not on the same page as AIMC or KEMU but still any govt college in Lahore carries its own and SIMS has the third highest merit in Punjab, some unbelievably smart people end up there.
> CMH is pretty good too but trust me Shalamar and FMH are nowhere near in terms of prestige, they just can't be compared to the govt colleges. I think you should go for govt colleges up until SIMS or even RMC but choose CMH after that.


Yeah I agree about the prestige. I too have a mental target up till the ones you listed. What about Sheikh Zayed though? Did you miss it unintentionally or do you genuinely feel if it's Sheikh Zayed vs. CMH then one should go for CMH?


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## chronos (Sep 1, 2016)

I feel like choosing between SIMS and CMH won't make much of difference overall (except the fee of course). SIMS has good infrastructure especially because the campus was built not so long ago. If you don't make it to SIMS, CMH would be the better choice after that.


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## transformer (Dec 16, 2016)

adenosine said:


> You've quite efficiently described what I think are pretty good arguments and points in favor and in defense of private colleges. Everything is pretty nice. One question though, are you CERTAIN about modular systems being in place in CMH and Shalamar? I'm aware of AKU and Shifa. It would be appreciated if you could enlighten me about that.
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Its simple. If you've not done FSC and want to be around A level crowd then go for privates. Majority of people in Privates are from A level backgrounds.

If you make it to a govt school, you wont have to attend classes so religiously as govt colleges dont really enforce attendance. Privates will enforce attendance and you'll have to go to class every day.

Medicine at the end of the day is self study, and lectures don't really help you in passing or whatever. Our curriculum isn't the sort where lectures or attendance would help you a great deal.

Shaikh Zayed Lahore, is a good college, was private before but was then converted into govt. 

Patient exposure is high in govt colleges attached with govt hosps, but keep in mind, if you intend to do USMLE or PLAB, then patient exposure doesn't really matter because when you go for specialization to UK, USA you will be exposed to a different kind of patient exposure which cannot be compared to pakistani exposure. And you'll start from scratch so no big deal.

If you intend to stay in Pakistan, then a govt college will always catapult you when compared to graduates of private med schools. Pakistani professors have a tendency to berate you if you're from private colleges.

Hope that helps.


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## adenosine (Oct 28, 2016)

chronos said:


> I feel like choosing between SIMS and CMH won't make much of difference overall (except the fee of course). SIMS has good infrastructure especially because the campus was built not so long ago. If you don't make it to SIMS, CMH would be the better choice after that.


Nice, thanks for your input. 

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transformer said:


> Its simple. If you've not done FSC and want to be around A level crowd then go for privates. Majority of people in Privates are from A level backgrounds.
> 
> If you make it to a govt school, you wont have to attend classes so religiously as govt colleges dont really enforce attendance. Privates will enforce attendance and you'll have to go to class every day.
> 
> ...


Hmmm yeah well a part of me actually doesn't want to go into an A Level environment since my O/A Level years weren't that great and didn't really feel at home there. Somehow I feel I might just be more comfortable having a new start with FSc background kids rather than the A Level ones. Just a thought that lingers in my mind. 

Beyond that though, the point about not attending classes religiously is very interesting. It can be useful when considering electives abroad during vacations in case they last longer than the typical summer break, no? Or do private colleges allow leaves for that too or something?

And yeah I agree with the self-studying part, even something like O/A Level which is an international program, the way it is taught in Pakistan is a huge insult to it and I spent most of my year self-studying and away from classes anyway, so I can only imagine how teaching would be in med schools, regardless of private or govt. colleges (except something like AKU perhaps). The nature of MBBS on its own probably amplifies that too.

Yeah I saw posts pertaining to that about Sheikh Zayed, interesting.

As far as your point about patient exposure is concerned, yeah I agree no doubt that the "patient" part isn't going to be very helpful when considering UK/USA/Australia etc., but I do feel that perhaps the "exposure" might be more helpful? You know, if nothing else, then perhaps a psychological boost of knowing that I've had more exposure than others may add up to my confidence when going abroad and performing in their settings, etc. 

And about staying in Pakistan, yes absolutely you're correct that no matter how great a private college may be, it doesn't change the traditional mindsets, and call it a tragedy or a blessing, but government colleges will probably continue to be seen as more prestigious by professors here.

Interesting discussion so far. I just hope the MCAT goes well, the preparation so far has been a not-so-pleasant experience. A Level seems like a breeze right now. I hope the updated syllabus reflects in the nature of the paper too.


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## mdaiem (Jun 9, 2017)

adenosine said:


> chronos said:
> 
> 
> > I feel like choosing between SIMS and CMH won't make much of difference overall (except the fee of course). SIMS has good infrastructure especially because the campus was built not so long ago. If you don't make it to SIMS, CMH would be the better choice after that.
> ...


 Take it from someone who did Fsc after O-levels, it is literally impossible for a person to assimilate in the Fsc/ Matric environment. I haven't been able to do it for 3 years and none of my O-level friends were able to either. You don't want to make the mistake of choosing a medical college that you'll spend 5 years of your life at, only to end up wishing otherwise. As a person who's seen both sides i would gladly go to a CMH or Shalamar. Trust me the environment counts a lot


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## transformer (Dec 16, 2016)

adenosine said:


> Nice, thanks for your input.
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Beta, when you go into a college with FSC background, you wont be able to compete with their ratta training and all that stuff they do in fsc. HEHE.


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## Daud12345 (Sep 8, 2015)

adenosine said:


> You've quite efficiently described what I think are pretty good arguments and points in favor and in defense of private colleges. Everything is pretty nice. One question though, are you CERTAIN about modular systems being in place in CMH and Shalamar? I'm aware of AKU and Shifa. It would be appreciated if you could enlighten me about that.
> 
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> ...


From what I have seen of you on this forum, I think you are too smart to end up at FMH or Shalamar & I understand that you won't feel completely at ease until the admissions are finalised, everyone is like that. 
Tbf I don't know too much about Sheikh Zayed so can't comment on it too much but pretty sure it's much better than FMH and Shalamar in terms of prestige and how graduating from there will affect how you are treated. I think CMH is pretty good though, anything the army does is seen as the holy grail in Pakistan but also house job in CMH will pretty good so it's not a bad option at all


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## HarisKhan123 (Oct 31, 2016)

About the modular system in CMH and Shalamar, ive only found out about it by going through old threads from 2013-2016. I cant say for sure if they are true, but they were made by students of those colleges, so maybe they are right. I think you should ask cefspan for the CMH one, and maybe phone/email Shalamar, but I'm pretty sure that both of their teachings are very clinically focused.
If you search up masterh in the search bar, you'll get a lot more info on shalamar since he was a user of this forum who studied at shalamar and he made a lot of posts about it. Might be usefull


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## adenosine (Oct 28, 2016)

mdaiem said:


> Take it from someone who did Fsc after O-levels, it is literally impossible for a person to assimilate in the Fsc/ Matric environment. I haven't been able to do it for 3 years and none of my O-level friends were able to either. You don't want to make the mistake of choosing a medical college that you'll spend 5 years of your life at, only to end up wishing otherwise. As a person who's seen both sides i would gladly go to a CMH or Shalamar. Trust me the environment counts a lot


Damn :/ Well I hope whatever happens each one of us has the ball in his/her own court so the decision is ours alone, cause both sides seem to have ups and downs with varying opinions.

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transformer said:


> Beta, when you go into a college with FSC background, you wont be able to compete with their ratta training and all that stuff they do in fsc. HEHE.


Hhaha damnn

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Daud12345 said:


> From what I have seen of you on this forum, I think you are too smart to end up at FMH or Shalamar & I understand that you won't feel completely at ease until the admissions are finalised, everyone is like that.
> Tbf I don't know too much about Sheikh Zayed so can't comment on it too much but pretty sure it's much better than FMH and Shalamar in terms of prestige and how graduating from there will affect how you are treated. I think CMH is pretty good though, anything the army does is seen as the holy grail in Pakistan but also house job in CMH will pretty good so it's not a bad option at all


Haha thank you for your kind words, really reassuring. And yeah no ease at all lol, very weird feelings these days. Thank you for your opinion, really appreciate it. 

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HarisKhan123 said:


> About the modular system in CMH and Shalamar, ive only found out about it by going through old threads from 2013-2016. I cant say for sure if they are true, but they were made by students of those colleges, so maybe they are right. I think you should ask cefspan for the CMH one, and maybe phone/email Shalamar, but I'm pretty sure that both of their teachings are very clinically focused.
> If you search up masterh in the search bar, you'll get a lot more info on shalamar since he was a user of this forum who studied at shalamar and he made a lot of posts about it. Might be usefull


Hmmm yeah will do so and yup saw some of those posts too and some interesting gossipy stuff too hahah very fun to go through posts from the past, especially a greeat excuse to not study for the mcat :!:


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