Good news. Bad News.

So…..now I’ve got some news. It’s some very very good news and some really really really bad news. Again this news only applies to Pakistani students who live in another country (not in Pakistan) and are planning to apply in a Pakistani Medical college.

BAD NEWS first. Take this like a man.

Bad News.......let it sink in..........

You will be considered a foreigner. So you will have to pay foreign fees for tuition fees and admission fees. You’re looking at approx. $15,000 USD per year for five years. Unfortunately no matter with what you do and what you have, you won’t be able to apply for the domestic seat quota (in medical colleges). Even if you have a Karachi Domicile (like me) which states your permanent address is in  bloody Karachi, you’re still only eligible for foreign seats only. Trust me, I had to come to Pakistan, (all the way from bloody New Zealand!!!), to find out the bad news.  Now I’ll explain why you will be classified as a foreigner. Medical students in Pakistan are competing for seat quotas, there are two main types. Local and foreign seats, locals go for local seats and foreigners (white people or people from Somalia etc) apply for foreigner seats. Now there’s us, overseas Pakistanis, people who never ever go to Pakistan but still have Pakistani citizenship somehow. PMDC (Pakistan Medical and Dental Council) has 2 rules regarding classification of overseas Pakistanis. (Rule 1) As per PMDC requirements, overseas Pakistanis are eligible to apply for domestic seats, but in another rule (Rule 2) PMDC states that a student who has studied the previous 4 years outside of Pakistan is also eligible for seats based on foreign seats. Now these two rules are beneficial for us overseas Pakistanis because it gives us a choice. But this is Pakistan, nothing ever happens in a straight and simple manner. The stupid thing this piece of crap organisation did was to give medical colleges in Pakistan A CHOICE REGARDING WHICH RULE TO FOLLOW. Aaaand of course all medical colleges (Government and Private Sector) chose Rule 2, because they earn more money from foreign fees. I swear this bad news is heart stopping. It’ll make you sober up in shame. You’ll feel regretted for not scoring higher in that test. Your path to depression has begun. Trust me this is some ground breaking bad news. If you don’t grasp the greatness and seriousness of this, read this bloody paragraph again! I live in Karachi, I went to the PMDC office (in bloody Islamabad!!!) to sort this bloody issue out and I swear I nearly punched that government officer in the face when he explained me this rule. You’re a Pakistani no matter what, but and whatever you do your going to be considered as a foreigner.

GOOD NEWS

Give the money, and become a doctor.......

Even after that, if you’re still going to apply in Pakistan. Well here’s the good news. Admission is piss easy. You have virtually no competition and all you have to do is complete the form and deposit the money. You won’t have to work hard or do anything to gain admission; you don’t even have to take the entrance test! Just submit your SAT-II scores and you’re done!  All you need is 550 in Physics, Chem, and Biology and you eligible. Honestly 550 is a bit low, get a 650 average and your admission is purely guaranteed. I’ll give you some stats to back this up. The 2015 Ziauddin entrance test hosted 2130 students. Of which only 22 students were applying for the foreign based seats. You see how easy gaining admission is? But wait! It gets even easier; Dow International Medical College is a college which admits students who are just like us. No seriously! Locals are not allowed to apply there. Admission there is sooo easy it happens on a first cum basis. Like apply their first (before the rest) and your admission is guaranteed. Scores of 550 can guarantee your admission! Just deposit $18,000 per year into their accounts and in five years you’ll be a doctor. Piss easy.

Hopefully this news will brighten you up a little.