Thirty-four, Post-High School

In India (and possibly the UK), students have to take placement exams at the end of high school to see if they can get into college and how high of a level they can pursue. This way, professional schools can be entered directly out of high school. This is vastly different from our setup of go-where-you-will to get whatever degree you want and needing a four-year Bachelor's degree before pursuing professional degrees (ex. Law School and Medical School). I have one friend who was a fully-trained doctor after 4.5 years of college and 1 year of internship. You know, that's tempting when facing 8 years of college (3 undergrad and 4 medicine) plus another 2 to 6 years of further education as a resident or fellow. But then the competition is fierce. Of the total number of spots open each year, fifteen times that number apply. And it's all based on academics rather than personality.

I'm not saying it's better here or there, just different.