Reasons you shouldn't apply to the US:
- Most students who get into top colleges have really good grades and are at the top of their class throughout high-school—which is classes 9th-12th. If you have consistently scored less than 90% and not ranked in the top 5% of your class, your chances of admission reduce drastically.
- You need to have decent extracurricular and co-curricular profiles in order to get into these colleges. If you have done nothing—no significant personal projects, no skills, no volunteer work—basically 0 engagement outside your school curriculum, you are highly unlikely to get in.
- Applying to the US is a significant time commitment. The SAT takes a lot of preparation and essays require even more time. You can manage your time effectively if you start with the process very early, but if you are not prepared to invest a lot of time into the process, you shouldn't apply.
- This also means that your preparation for competitive exams like JEE or NEET will be affected. This effect can be minimized if you start early and manage your time effectively, but it cannot be eliminated.
- Although attending US Colleges will not be expensive, applying will cost you around 60,000 rupees which includes testing and application fees. Given this cost, applying might not be financially feasible for everyone. However, it might be possible to raise funds if you show promise.
- Your decision to become a doctor is final and cannot be changed. This is because you cannot get a medical degree in the US as an international student.
- You are a very weak writer and unwilling to work on your writing skills. Effective essays take time to develop and writing skills take time to improve.
- You shouldn't take a gap year just to apply to US Colleges if you have other viable options. And if you are applying after taking a gap year, make sure you have decent alternatives because US Colleges are highly selective — even students with perfect scores and essays have low chances of admission.
Reasons you should apply to the US:
- You are really passionate about a specific major or you're looking for flexibility in majors which is usually not found in Kashmiri or Indian colleges.
- You have really good grades, amazing extracurricular and co-curricular profiles, and great writing skills. These things are usually not valued by colleges here but will be very important if you apply to US Colleges.