Arpit Parmar's Review On Medical College Baroda, Vadodara

When I got admission in MBBS, the GUJCAT (entrance examination for MBBS) was not started yet. It was solely based on the merit one scores in the 12th exam. I got 89.7 % in my 12th exam. Though i wanted to get admission in BJMC, Ahmedabad, I couldn't get it (fell short by 1 mark). Because of which I took admission in BMC (Baroda Medical College) which was considered the second best by most of the students at that time.

The course curriculum was great. The studying atmosphere was really encouraging for the students. Not only they have to attend the lectures regularly, they also had to be present in the wards and OPD for the practical learning which was not the case in other medical colleges of Gujarat. We had to present the cases (live patient) in the ward rounds every week and our consultants would provide a live demonstration on how to examine a patient with a particular illness. Also it was compulsory to have at least 80% attendance in all the subjects being taught as well as in the ward postings, students who were not interested in studying would also have to attend them. Every subject was taught to us with great rigour.

I got an opportunity to do my internship for half of my tenure (6 months) at my own hospital. During this, I could learn about treatment of all basic ailments. Because the faculties always encouraged the active participation by the interns even during the surgeries, I could learn to do the basic surgeries, taking stitches and managing some of the acute emergencies. However the stipend at that point of time (around 2010) was considerably low as compared to other states (around 5500 Rs/month). We had to work almost 16 to 18 hours a day almost daily.

After my internship, I started preparing for the entrance examinations. However, I didn't get admission even after giving the entrance 2 times (All India PG Entrance Examination). But as it is said that every failure is a step towards success and rightly so. I cleared the entrance of the most prestigious institute of India (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi) and got admission in M.D. Psychiatry.

The one of the most prestigious students festival in Gujarat popularly known as Vibrant was celebrated by our medical college every year. It was held every year in the months of March-April. There used to be various programs including cultural events, literature events, fine arts among many others. We used to invite one or other celebrity like Toshi (Mahi Mahi song fame), Raju Shrivastava (A stand-up comedian) etc for one of the events every year.

As it was a government college, fees were really feasible. It would only cost us Rs 6000 per year. Thee hostel fees were also minimal and would cost us around 2000 Rs a year.

No. I am not aware of any scholarships in detail. However, the backward class students used to get a decent amount as a scholarship as well as college would also provide them with free books as and when required.

The campus life was really awesome. Although the number of girls would be very less as compared to boys (1:3 ratio), there would not be any discrimination. Students from all gender, religion and region were considered as equal, They would party together frequently. Our college was considered as apolitical and there was no party politics of any kind in our campus. However there were different groups based on the person's residence (North Gujarat Vs South Gujarat) and they would spend more time together.

The hostel facility was average. We used to have almost 10 hostels for all the UG and PG students. Yet they were insufficient. We would be around 4-5 students staying in a single room till the end of second year. The food of the mess was horrible and we would have to eat from outside every second day. Even the hygiene would be an issue.

College seniors were really supportive to us. Although they used to do ragging initially for 1-2 months (I was really scared of that), they would become friends later on. We could rely on them in any personal or academic needs.

The faculties at our college were extremely skillful. Not only they had the expertise in treating patients but also in teaching skills. They were really good at explaining the basic concepts of medicine. They were really supportive to all the students such that we could contact them whenever we had a doubt about anything. Not only in the academics, but they would also help to solve the personal problems faced by students.