The Road To KEMU

- Ayesha Mushtaq

Class of 2014-2019

Nearly every pre-medical student in Punjab dreams of studying in King Edward Medical University one day. But making it to this institution, the ‘den of kings and queens’, is of course no mean feat, for it is the primary choice of all applicants and the bar is raised higher and higher each year.

Since my childhood, I knew that I had to be a doctor in the future, for it was a direction mapped out by my mother; but I had never really thought about which place I wanted to go to for professional studies. Until F.Sc., that is. And when I gave the subject a thought or two, I just set my eyes on Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. I was no fan of KEMU back then, and the idea of ‘the nation’s premier medical school’ didn’t seem fascinating at all. Coming from a strongly military background, army is where my heart lies. Hence, AM College was a natural choice.

Thus began the uphill task of convincing my parents in favour of AMC (They were more inclined towards the medical colleges of Gujranwala and Gujrat, so that I could study at a place nearby and enjoy homely comforts simultaneously). Slowly, they agreed on sending me to Rawalpindi if I made it in. I took the NUST Entrance Test (NET) before my board exams, and the score was decent enough to get me in.
But one fine day after board exams, while on a visit of Lahore, my father saw some students in the white overall and expressed the desire that I should work towards getting admission in some state-run college and in Lahore. Moreover, after the F.Sc. result was announced by Federal board, some of my father’s friends presented the idea that which such marks, I could make it to not just any ordinary government college, but to King Edward Medical University. So the new target was announced with just under three weeks to go in MCAT, and it obviously left me baffled – because I always thought that I’d be going to AMC and MCAT was only a back-up plan.
But since that day, things switched places, AMC became back-up instead and I focused all my remaining energies on MCAT. For now I knew that I really had to ace it – the fact that KEMU only accepts the best of the lot ( ‘crème de la crème as everybody as KEMU puts it! ) is no secret, is it?

MCAT came and went, and as I sat on the evening of the 30th of August, comparing my carbon copy with the official answer key and calculating my aggregate score, was when I actually thought, for the first time, that KEMU was within reach.

I was going here ...

... And I ended up here !

At that time just the thought of being able to fulfill my parents’ wishes was enough for me, but later, as I explored KEMU through my seniors’ eyes – words, actually – made me believe that it was actually the best place to be after all. The more I read through KemUnited, the more I fell in love with the university. From the brilliantly documented history of this place and the breathtaking vistas to the buzzing social life, everything was very alluring and made me excited at becoming a part of it. (Though it also features the gloomy and depressing picture of the female hostels that has sadly been painted by not just one, but many!)

One only hopes we dont have to encounter this!

But no matter how tough or easy life at King Edward Medical University may turn out to be, I’m already as proud of this place as any Kemcolian can be.

ALTAPETE !

KE in all its grandeur