# hopeless?



## rzz123 (Sep 13, 2006)

Well, I sent the IBCC my high school transcript and I recieved an equivalence score of 675...which is like 60%!! Basically such a low score immediately ends my eligibility to apply to more than half the colleges in pakistan. The fees for private med schools are so high, but I'm even willing to go there if I actually get in. I can't really go back to take entrance exams since I'm enrolled in college here also, so I'm taking SAT subject tests this december. I have a 1320 out of 1600 on my SAT I and I'm pretty sure I'll get above 650 on all of the suject tests. I want to get in ANYWHERE in lahore, rawalpindi, or islamabad ASAP. Any advice at all? Where should I apply and when? I've gone to numerous colleges' websites, but they are all so ambiguous. Please help.


----------



## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

The admissions cycles have ended for classes starting in 2007 but you can start applying to colleges for the 2008 session once you have your SAT Subject scores.

If you had a low equivalence score you may be able to get it re-calculated if you show them some AP test scores (if you have them) that are above 3. Otherwise your best bet is to just study like crazy for those SAT Subject Tests and also maybe retake the SAT 1 if you think you can do better on it. 1320 isn't bad, but its not amazing either. Not all colleges require the SAT 1 score however (e.g. Shifa).

Pakistan medical colleges have become very competitive in the last 5 years -- we can't stress that enough. Nobody should think its a breeze to get in here anymore because its the exact opposite now.

Your best places to apply are private schools such as Lahore Medical College and Fatima Memorial in Lahore. In Rawalpindi there's Islamic International Medical College and Foundation University Medical College. They seem to be the easier to get into schools at the moment for foreigners, as they're still trying to make a name for themselves and are relatively new or second tier schools.

I'd suggest Shifa also but Shifa has gotten very tough to get into -- 700 on SAT 2's and a 3.5 GPA are considered just good enough to get an interview, but no guarantee of admission. Still, it doesn't hurt to try.

If you have the time and patience, I'd also say have some family member in Pakistan apply to government schools for you -- it doesn't hurt to try but its a long process.

Good luck to you.


----------



## Sadaf (May 24, 2006)

Rehan...so do u mean the private colleges listed above are easy to get into??


----------



## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

Yeah, they seem easier to get into than others. Not to say that they're not good schools, it's just that since they're still relatively new, admissions seem to be easier to obtain.

Of course as the number of applicants increase even an average school can become very selective -- if next year these schools get 2x or 3x the number of applicants they received this year, they too can become difficult to get into.

High scores and long term planning seem to be the only guaranteed way of getting admission in a Pakistani medical school.


----------



## DrVladdy (Oct 20, 2006)

> I'd suggest Shifa also but Shifa has gotten very tough to gain admission for -- 700 on SAT 2's and a 3.5 GPA are considered just good enough to get an interview, but no guarantee of admission. Still, it doesn't hurt to try.


Slightly scary... those are *almost* the stats to get into Ivy League schools for undergrad...


----------



## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

You're right DrVladdy -- competition is heating up for a limited number of seats all across the country and foreign students no longer enjoy the walk in the park admissions process they used to five or ten years ago.


----------



## malik_saabjee (Aug 24, 2006)

In Lahore Medical College you can go with any score that is above the minimum requirement of 65% as per rule of the PMDC. Just some source inside the college or if you're rich enough to give a donation of at least 6 lakh Rs. you'll easily get a seat. LMDC also accepts SAT scores, as well as results of NUST and Agha Khan.

Fatima Memorial is a bit tougher, as to what I know this year the student having the least score and being admitted, had 820 equivalent marks. 

As for Shifa, you should have at least 900 equivalent marks and minimum of 50% on the test. A friend of mine has 880, n 51% and his merit no. on the admission list is 84. And the list has only reached 73 by now with 25 students dropping out in the first page.


----------



## SalSabeel (Nov 26, 2006)

Theres one thing i really dont understand...not many colleges realllyy focus on ur SAT 2 scores. For my school its just a graduation requirement, but the med schools in PK are really going into detail with SAT 2's which is quite scary considering we focus more on SAT 1's. Rehan- how did u get such a high score on ur SAT 2's???


----------

