ATTENDING MEDICAL SCHOOL IN GHANA

Medical schools receive among the largest number of applications for admission every year and all students who apply are high achievers, both academically as well as non-academically. So why is it that top students from all over the world choose to study medicine when there are so many other equally challenging professions to choose from? There is no one simple answer to this question. It is a combination of factors that drives most students to choose this career. In Ghana,most science students otherwise known as academic giants often show no interest in any other program other than medicine. We now live in a century where all science students want to study medicine. It is no wonder that there are greater number of applications for admission into medical schools. Globally, medical schools admit only intelligent and smart students since medicine is no easy program. In Ghana however, admission into a medical school would depend on who you know. Believe me,80% of medical students in the various universities are not there based on merits. If you believe me not,walk into any medical school in Ghana and do your research. You would come to agree with me that most of the medical students are related to the lecturers and professors. It is just a few who are there genuinely. We now have medical colleges where A1's are no longer needed. So desperate to study medicine, I confidently and hopefully applied for medicine in UDS, Knust,and UG knowing so well that I possess the number of A's needed. I attended interviews for all only to be denied admission. Funny was the fact that some of the universities even gave me admission into some programs I did not even apply for. Several other colleagues of mine whom I surpass academically rather got admitted into the medical schools simply because they had relatives who worked things out. As none of my relatives where willing to assist me obtain admission, I waited until the following year. I did applied but it was still the same as the past year. More shocking was even the fact that best WASSCE student was even also denied admission. From then, it became obvious to me that admission into a medical school in Ghana is not about excellent grades,but rather about who you know or what you give(bribe).