MBBS Abroad - Reality Check
This is the season where agents/counsellors will lure students to take admission abroad for MBBS. I wouldn't recommend MBBS from abroad in 2026, especially if you are planning to come back after doing it from countries like Russia, Georgia, China, Phillipines, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan or some other third world country. Almost no student while joining a university abroad or their parents know about the unnecessary stress and waiting it takes after getting back to India. It takes 6 years of UG, then you wait and prepare for FMGE, and even if you pass it in one go there is a long wait to get allotted an internship. Then once you get it, you go through a brutal internship of 1 year with no stipend and then you can apply for permanent registration which takes up another 2-3 months, taking the total to a ridiculous 8+ years for acquiring a license to practice. Then when you get into the job market as a fresher, you'd eventually find out that the field is saturated in tier-1,2 cities (salaries for freshers in these cities - 30k-50k/month for very unsatisfactory junior doctor grunt work) and you'd want to do a PG, and the entrance exam and counselling will chew up another year and more (NEET PG stats - 7000 government clinical seats with 2.5lakhs+ drs appearing for it). Then, when you enter PG residency, you'd go through such toxicity and unimaginable work load (48 hours duties at a stretch) for 3 years more. This is the reality that every student and their parents should know before going abroad for MBBS. Also, the NMC (National Medical Council) is against FMGs as students get to do MBBS in 1/5th of the fees compared to private medical colleges in India. So they come up with new discriminatory rules every year. FMGE is just a small part of the problem, which is ironic because it is still a huge problem. Most of my batchmates and myself could pass it in their 1st attempt, but still I would like to throw this number here - out of 45,000 FMGs who gave the attempt which I gave, only 7000 could pass! Others? 12th pass 26 year olds spending lakhs on coaching and studying day and night for the next attempt. Lastly, the agents/counsellors would lure you by throwing fancy terms, but the reality is they get almost 50,000₹ per student, then why wouldn't they try their best to lure you into it. They will make you talk to 2nd or 3rd year students from the colleges they're trying to send you to, these students often get a cut too. Talk to FMG doctors who are working or pursuing PG in India and you'd know the reality.