Can my friends boyfriend enter the USA legally?

OHSU Medical school paying 50k/year (in USA) VS. Moscow State University, for free, (in Russia)?

• Ok, so I heard that if you go to a foreign med school, you have to pass all the USMLE's, and then just do a residency in the usa to practice. Well, I was born in Russia, and I know Russian, and I am a citizen of both Russia and USA... And I love Russia! But I gotta get some money though. Russia only pays doctors like 1-2 thousand a month! It's too little, while in USA you earn 150k+ per year. But I love Russia! I really wanna live there after I earn some money in the USA! I know Russian and stuff since I lived there 'till I was 9, and go there almost every summer for the entire summer to visit all my relatives and friends there. Anyway, I'm trying to decide! I want to get a good education in medicine, I want to have a good "college experience" like in Russia, and it just sounds so awesome if I would get to live in Russia for 6 years of my medical training! Especially in Moscow! But when I think about medical schools in the US, I think: 4 years of difficult stuff... 200k+ of debt, (50*4=240k, actually) then having to work at least 3 years to pay it off, (that's AFTER the 4 year residency), but in the end I guess I don't have any trouble with USMLE's and stuff? Idk. By the end of next year I will have two years of community college completed in the USA, and I will be 17. Which is like the perfect age to enter a Russian medical school, because in Russia you go to med school right after 11th grade. I have already been taking college level chemistry, biology, will be taking calculus based physics in the fall, and organic chemistry in the fall... I just don't know! Help me decide! What are my benefits? How much trouble will I have getting into a USA residency after Russian medical school? Can I just get into a residency right after I finish the 6 year medical school, as long as I pass all the USMLE's and stuff? As for the residency, I was thinking something on the lines of either Cardiology or heart surgery, or maybe radiology. Okay I made a list of pros and cons for each. Medical school in Russia (preferably Moscow State) Pros: -Awesome 6 years of life in the city I want to live in! -Cheap/free. Since I'm a Russian citizen, I can try to get in for free as long as I do good on the exams, because they have those "budget" spots in Russian universities, where you can go for completely free! If not, then it's much cheaper than USA, it costs like 8k per year, which my parents may be able to afford, compared to 50k per year PLUS living expenses, would be 60k per year=lots of loans and lots of years of hard work to pay off, and no fun during my 20's years. Cons: -Don't know the whole process of how to get into US residency afterwards... Will I have trouble with USMLE's? Will I have to wait a year? Will I get into a residency? What do I have to do to get into one? I heard the process is hard. :( -Don't know if MSU is better or worse than an average USA medical such as OHSU. Are they better/worse in technology? Training? etc? Over all rating? USA Medical School (An average medical school, not harvard/hopkins/yale or anything) Pros: -No trouble getting into a good residency if I do well. -It's considered "cool" to go to a US med school. -Maybe better technology, and better training overall? But I don't know about this one. Cons: -200k+ in debt. -No fun. Too much work. Want to go to Russia for vacation, but can't because they don't give many vacations in 3rd and 4th year, and I won't have money because I will be in huge debt. -I will have to work for at least 3 years after the 4 year residency to pay off my debt. If I want to earn more, I will work another couple years more. I will be 30 years old by the time I earn at least enough money for a condo in Moscow. (A good one, not some 100-200k ones) -I may be bored? Idk. It may be too hard? Idk. HELP ME DECIDE PLEASE.

• Answer:

  I'm sorry to dash your hopes, but the Russian medical system is based on the Leninist model which does not articulate at all to the US and Canadian one. You would have to redo medical school in the US or Canada, if you could get a medical school slot there. Remember that you would need to complete internship, residency of years, and possibly a fellowship afterward. Generally, we tell prospective students to apply and complete medical school in the nation in which you plan to practice and become licensed. Become a physician because you enjoy the work, the challenges .and first and foremost, helping human beings regain their health. It is my opinion that the US will provide a better medical education, however in Russia you will see disorders and untreated or incompletely treated diseases that you will virtually NEVER see within the US. This is part of the reason I went there. I do share your love of Russia. It has an amazing culture and wonderful artistry in many fields, as well as great natural beauty. I visit Moscow and Primorskiy Krai whenever I can.