Charles University Medical School Question

[kenga123]

Hi, I am a future student at Charles University Medical School in Prague. I had the administration of the university send me a flyer describing the tuition costs, the exam program etc. Somewhere I noticed an oral examination that comes with the usual multiple choice question test. So is that true? Will there be an oral examination? Not that I mind, just that I heard from current students that when they applied to the medical school there wasn't such stuff. It was the regular 90 question exam for them. So please someone clarify this. Thanks in advance,
Nicolas.

[m4ttjabz]

i think it depends where you are from... the uk students usually take the entrance exam at abbey college, the us students can take the test at any testing center, but if you come to prague you may have to take the test and then be subjected to an interview... don't know about an oral exam though, i think the entrance exam is meant to encompass all of the stuff they expect you to know... either way, don't worry about, getting in is definitely the easy part...

believe me, you pass the test, you are allowed to study, but passing and moving on is a totally different thing... so far, out of a dozen or so north americans, we've lost at least 5 and i (or anyone else for that matter) could be next, there's a lot of uncertainty... and i really don't have any idea about the other groups of students...

don't get me wrong, the school is fine and can potentially get you to where you need to be, but there are so many oddities and strange rules that can keep even the best from becoming doctors... for me, just keeping my head above water is a huge success...

good luck!

-matt

[fuzpot]

Why is that. i mean i have heard that it can be a problem passing at charles and alot of people fail. Please could you tell me why???.
Is it to do with money or v.hard exams?

[m4ttjabz]

i think there are a lot of reasons for the attrition but its not something unique to charle's, i think the numbers are probably similar to all english programs in the region...

-living in a foreign country
-difficult coursework
-lack of clarity about what to learn
-focus on theoretical knowledge
-6 years
-money

some people quit at the top of their game, others realize they didn't want to work so hard, and most fail to meet their expectations of what they thought school would be like...

classes are hard, but thats my opinion... i've only had one oral exam, failed the first time, passed the second and the whole experience sucked...

there's just a lot of stuff to learn, like 7 classes each semester... if you fail one or more classes, you can repeat only those the next year but the school won't approve any loans for the repeating year... to me, this totally sucks...

theoretically you can pass every class of the first year but latin and repeat only latin the next year but you will have to pay tuition for the one class and all living expenses out of pocket, no loans of any kind, for me it just wouldn't be financially possible and all that work would be wasted...scary...

-matt

[fuzpot]

What is the 3rd faculty like? in terms of standard of education and facilities etc.

[Mr Cool]

What is the 3rd faculty like? in terms of standard of education and facilities etc.

If your worried about attrition rates then its probably best you stayed away from the 3rd faculty. Do give you some idea the pass rate at 1st faculty (for the 1st year) was beter than the pass rates for both 2nd and 3rd faculty combined.

[Mr Cool]

What is the 3rd faculty like? in terms of standard of education and facilities etc.

Well teh education and facilities is great. All 3 faculties in Prague are good options for this part of Europe. The 3rd faculty however has a PBL approach and I think there 1st year is incredibly hard as a result.

[Mr Cool]

Hi,

I am interested to know what your take is on the 1st faculty exams?? Please excuse my ignorance, I only know what you guys tell me outside of class and everyone seems to say something different.

From what I was told (this is direct from the clowns at 1st faculty), most people last year passed the 1st year?????? Those that did not are repeating.

Your anatomy credit has changed to the 2nd year so now you only have one major exam in the summer- being histology. Where have all these rumors of excessive attrition rates come from?????????

[fuzpot]

when i apply to charles- a bank transfer for application fee is needed-- is that secure?

[euromd]

...From what I was told (this is direct from the clowns at 1st faculty), most people last year passed the 1st year?????? Those that did not are repeating. A lot of people left during the course of the year for various reasons - too hard, decided they didn't like medicine that much anyhow, were failing, got accepted to UK or german medical schools and those were sent by their parents who failed on purpose. Probably some failed and didn't return. I only know a few that are actually repeating some 1st year classes. A rough estimate is that 30 people (out of approx 100) didn't start 2nd year for the reasons mentionned above.

Your anatomy credit has changed to the 2nd year so now you only have one major exam in the summer- being histology. Where have all these rumors of excessive attrition rates come from????????? Anatomy is a 2nd year winter exam. It's been this way for 3-4 years. In first year, summer exams are latin, med chem (credit test) and histo. 2nd year is much more voluminous in terms of information. Some have jumped ship this year already.

Bottom line is that it is doable. You just have to set time aside to study. Keep the partying to after exams.

[Dervla]

i will hopefully be a future student at Prague University, I've been in boarding school in Dublin in Ireland for the past 6 years and love it, very worried about how different Prague will be. Could you please tell me if there are a lot of overseas students there and how easy is it to settle in, also what is the accomodation like, would it be advisable to rent an apartment rather than live in student accomodation? thank you.

[diogenes]

i will hopefully be a future student at Prague University, I've been in boarding school in Dublin in Ireland for the past 6 years and love it, very worried about how different Prague will be. Could you please tell me if there are a lot of overseas students there and how easy is it to settle in, also what is the accomodation like, would it be advisable to rent an apartment rather than live in student accomodation? thank you.
Firstly, as has been said time and again on this forum - visit the school before deciding anything. Ideally it should be more than a one day visit. Go, if you can, to a few lectures and talk to a wide variety of students. Search this forum for posts on schools in Cz.
There are lots of non-czech students studying medicine in Prague and the Czech Rep. I know of 3 recent Irish grads. from Charles and Olomouc.
Most people find it convenient to stay at one of the student hostels initially at least. This gives you time to settle in; decide if you like hostel living; and, look around for apartments if that's what you want. I would not recommend attempting to find an apartment before you have started the course. Hostel life is a little like boarding school socially, but of course you have adult freedoms for the most part.