# Help with deciding if going to AKU is a good idea



## MR 123 (Jul 13, 2009)

Hey guys,
I just found this forum and its great. i've been reading some of the posts and i had a few questions that i needed help with.
To start off im really undecided where i want to study medicine. i know i can get into a medical school in usa but what i was thinking about was the time. i've heard its better to go to Pakistan it takes less time and everything... so any suggestions on that and also i wanted to know how is AKU. how is it to be in that college. what do i need to do to make sure i can get into that college and if i go to pakistan when i come back to usa will i have any problems getting my residency. will it effect my career in a bad way that i decided to go back there instead of study is usa?


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## Shahbaz (Jan 26, 2008)

MR 123 said:


> Hey guys,
> I just found this forum and its great. i've been reading some of the posts and i had a few questions that i needed help with.
> To start off im really undecided where i want to study medicine. i know i can get into a medical school in usa but what i was thinking about was the time. i've heard its better to go to Pakistan it takes less time and everything... so any suggestions on that and also i wanted to know how is AKU. how is it to be in that college. what do i need to do to make sure i can get into that college and if i go to pakistan when i come back to usa will i have any problems getting my residency. will it effect my career in a bad way that i decided to go back there instead of study is usa?


hey man i am new to this too. I would like to ask you if you just finished High School. IF so you are in the same situation I am in.
If you have not already applied for a Equivalence Certificate and have not spent anytime studying for the entrance exam (As of 2009 everyone local and foreign is required to take a entrance exam and it is a hard test). I would say you should wait a year, go to college in us and spend sometime studying for the entrance exam before trying to apply.
(read the FAQ thread Sticky: ARE YOU APPLYING TO PAKISTAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS OR COLLEGES? READ THIS FIRST!!!)
Now to answer your questions. AKU is great but it depends on what you want and money. No matter where you go if you want to do this you can. You need to make sure you get more than a 660 on the Equivalence Certificate then more than pass the entrance exam. Residency will not be a problem if you can make it back to the us all you have to do it take the USMLE and pass it.


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## MR 123 (Jul 13, 2009)

Thanks for replying dude. senior this year and i have to start applying so i was wondering about AKU because my dad suggested going back there because it takes less time. thank u for letting me know about the entrance exam i didn't know about that. how should i study for that like from what books or is it gonna be stuff i learned in classes over here??


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## Shahbaz (Jan 26, 2008)

MedGrunt said:


> Greetings all!
> I'm a 1st year med student at Shifa. I'm from California and gained admission based off of the entrance test. so here's what you need to know about the Shifa entrance test...It's hard. It IS a lot of memorization and you need to study for it but it's not impossible
> 
> 
> ...


Here is little something. (send me your email or something so we can have a one on one chat)


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## MR 123 (Jul 13, 2009)

Are these books available in U.S.??


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## Shahbaz (Jan 26, 2008)

I don't think so, you are going to need to get them from Pakistan but the thing is, I am not sure if that post above applies to the new 2009 entrance exam (hopefully some else can clear that up for us).


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## missakhwand (Jul 8, 2008)

Shahbaz said:


> I don't think so, you are going to need to get them from Pakistan but the thing is, I am not sure if that post above applies to the new 2009 entrance exam (hopefully some else can clear that up for us).


If you consider medical colleges in Punjab, then the post is pretty good as medical colleges tests for the Punjab(government and private) are almost of the same type.
However if you are considering for applying in a medical college in Sindh, then you'd better use SAT ll books to study.


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## bla bla (Jul 25, 2009)

hey i am interested to go to AKU...right now i am a FSC 11 standard pre-med student but i am confused what really is the pattern of study for the entrance exam of AKU....some one in the forum said we need to study the fsc books thoroughly but am i suppose to do the SAT too??....and moreover i am concerned about the english and maths preparation...from where should i study these subjects for the entrance exam??


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## Sam212 (Apr 3, 2006)

MR 123 said:


> Hey guys,
> I just found this forum and its great. i've been reading some of the posts and i had a few questions that i needed help with.
> To start off im really undecided where i want to study medicine. i know i can get into a medical school in usa but what i was thinking about was the time. i've heard its better to go to Pakistan it takes less time and everything... so any suggestions on that and also i wanted to know how is AKU. how is it to be in that college. what do i need to do to make sure i can get into that college and if i go to pakistan when i come back to usa will i have any problems getting my residency. will it effect my career in a bad way that i decided to go back there instead of study is usa?


Let me first congratulate you on completing high school. Now, let's keep things in perspective, I suppose your goal is to attend school in Pakistan and then return to practice in the US. This isn't the best of ideas because coming back to practice in the US with a foreign medical degree is getting harder and harder by day. Nothing wrong with attending in school in Pakistan if you want to practice in Pakistan, however, if you aspire to practice in the US..... it will be an uphill battle. Here's why: 










*Situation: 4 years from now you will have 20,000-21,000 US grads competing for 22,427 1st year residency positions! *(18,000 plus 2,000 or so DO's).

*Guess what??? There is not a single mention anywhere in Washington regarding increasing residency positions*.

So in essence, there will only be about 1500 residency spots left for the taking for people coming from the outside. Therefore, it is almost a career suicide to go to a foreign country in hopes of coming back practicing in the US. It was very easy back in the day and is still possible today. However, with current increase in enrollment at US medical schools, this will be a humbling experience in the near future. Numbers are there for you, do the math yourself. And we haven't even talked about competitive fields, just talking about being able to obtain a residency spot. Kiss anything competitive (surgical specialties, derm, plastics, Radiology, anesthesiology) good bye forever if you go to Pakistan. Too much of a risk if you ask me.

My advice to you would be to stay here in the US, go to traditional undergrad and major in something that will be fairly easy to get job with, and take your pre-med courses along the way. By doing this, you will ensure that you won't be stuck with a degree which is not worth very much in the job market (such as biology), and will still be able to apply to medical schools. Kind of like insurance if you don't get in. There are 125 MD schools and 28 DO schools, if you work hard enough, you will get in somewhere. It's a long road, but I promise it is worth it. I can go into way more details, but this is enough food for thought right now. Message me if you want to know anything else. Will be more than happy to help you. But if you are even a half way decent student, please don't go to Pakistan.


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## bla bla (Jul 25, 2009)

bla bla said:


> hey i am interested to go to AKU...right now i am a FSC 11 standard pre-med student but i am confused what really is the pattern of study for the entrance exam of AKU....some one in the forum said we need to study the fsc books thoroughly but am i suppose to do the SAT too??....and moreover i am concerned about the english and maths preparation...from where should i study these subjects for the entrance exam??




what about my confusions??#sorry#sad


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## uakram (Jul 15, 2009)

I applied to AKU this year, so for the entrance exam(which I was only given 2 weeks notice for) with a rushed one week stay in Khi where I sat for the entrance exam I did some major crash studying.

I did my SAT 1 and 2 last year in 08. And I believe what really helped me in the entrance exam was the SAT 2. There were quite alot of similar questions asked. And timing wise it really helped me. Dont get me wrong, when I was in khi I had three days to do some intense reading through the FSC books. Not exactly fun..

And there were some really in depth questions asked in the entrance test. Which sadly my memory failed to cooperate with me then.. heh I guess a few questions left out do no harm.. 

In the end, since the test was mainly a formality that had to be filled ..Im praying my SAT 1 grades and ALevel grades will do the ..er magic.. oh and off course the interview that I did.. InshAllah.

So yes, for prep? dont stress, just go through the SAT 2 books. (Barons) and what ever syllabus you follow at your school whereveer it is. And maybe a bit of reading through the FSC Bio books(Like the Kingdom chapter)

As for Math and English, TRUST ME, you dont need to do any prep for it. Its THAT easy. However if math is a weak subject for you, then just go through the SAT1 math, I believe that is enough.


And dont you guys have a year? so ..chill 
and pray for me! Still waiting on my Alevel results and alas the final verdict from AKU.. x.x


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## bla bla (Jul 25, 2009)

thank you very much uakram for replying....u kicked out all my confusions...yeah i have a whole year left for preparations but i really didn't know anything about the prep for AKU...but thanks to this forum...it has enlightened me alot...

yeah sure i'll pray for your results...inshallah


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## MR 123 (Jul 13, 2009)

Thank you Sam212. You answered my question thats what i wanted to know that if i went to Pakistan would it matter when i come back. I have thought about it and i think i will stay here and go to college.


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## fossa (Jan 3, 2009)

hey sam that is a great post but remember that these seats will be added in 2012 therefore we will see a change in the residency no. four years after and so the US med school class of 2016 will have that statistics. Now these seats will increase gradually until 2012 therefore if he starts in 2009 then he will be able to complete it in 2009+5=2014+1 year (preparing for the match)=2015 and so I guess it will be a little better than the situation in 2016

But he also has to consider getting into a US med school; I believe that the pre-med acceptance rate is around 40-43%; though not sure therefore he has a 1/2 chance getting into a US med school and were not just talking about any pre-med student but those who apply because they have the MCAT scores/GPA and EC's that stand a chance. So if he is very determined then he can surely do it otherswise...


btw can you give me the link for that stat that you posed--thanks


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