Awesome Questions from US Citizen about Charles! Let's start an FAQ!

[krackato]

(To all those attending or who have attended, at least answer question 6 ;)

I've been meaning to post this list of my personal questions but this guy:
http://www.valuemd.com/czech-republic-slovakia-medical-schools/139009-first-yr-charles.html
just posted a bunch of questions too. (exams, dorms, food, being indian, toughest subjects, social life)

Some of the questions are so similar I kind of think that perhaps it's a sign that there should be an FAQ. Perhaps if I attend, I'll start one if someone doesn't beat me to the punch.

Here are my rapid fire questions:

1. I'd like to be able to practice in the United States. Is that pretty likely or am I going to end up 6 years later with a degree that might only let me practice in the Czech Republic making $500 a month and sharing a flat with 4 other impoverished Charles Graduates eating ***** noodles every night?

2. What's the social life like at Charles? Med School + Social Life = I must be high. Ahhh... but it's Europe! Prague! Perhaps my first real taste of culture in my otherwise horribly impoverished American upbringing. (at least that's what I hear).

3. I am Indian American. Yes, I'm a walking, talking cliche! Ah.... but I'm probably among many other Indian people here! Own your Indian-ness! Is subtle or unsubtle racism against Indians or Americans a concern at Charles University, Prague or the Czech Republic?

4. Failure rates as high as 60%? W.T.F?! Is this true? How worried should I be about this? If I fail out of med school, I'm pretty sure my parents are going to leave me stranded in Europe.

5. What major problems does having a foreign medical degree give you back in America? My dad went to a foreign medical school and he seems to do as well as any doctor (aka, not as good as he used to! zing!... sigh... :()

6. Lastly, for those living there... women. Spill it. (Private Message me if you want. But seriously, spill it.)

Alright, later guys. Thanks for all the answers.

[Zut Alors!]

(To all those attending or who have attended, at least answer question 6)

I've been meaning to post this list of my personal questions but this guy:
http://www.valuemd.com/czech-republic-slovakia-medical-schools/139009-first-yr-charles.html
just posted a bunch of questions too. (exams, dorms, food, being indian, toughest subjects, social life)

Some of the questions are so similar I kind of think that perhaps it's a sign that there should be an FAQ. Perhaps if I attend, I'll start one if someone doesn't beat me to the punch.

Here are my rapid fire questions:

1. I'd like to be able to practice in the United States. Is that pretty likely or am I going to end up 6 years later with a degree that might only let me practice in the Czech Republic making $500 a month and sharing a flat with 4 other impoverished Charles Graduates eating ***** noodles every night?


Actually, I have a Czech friend studying at Charles (in the Czech language med school) who says it's actually quite hard to find work as a doctor. So, you might end up in Bulgaria making $200 a month.

2. What's the social life like at Charles? Med School + Social Life = I must be high. Ahhh... but it's Europe! Prague! Perhaps my first real taste of culture in my otherwise horribly impoverished American upbringing. (at least that's what I hear).


I'd assume if Med School + Social Life = I must be high is represented by X + Y = A, and:

4. Failure rates as high as 60%? W.T.F?! Is this true? How worried should I be about this? If I fail out of med school, I'm pretty sure my parents are going to leave me stranded in Europe.

this is represented by B, then: An increase in Y is directly related to an increase in the likelihood of B. That goes for school anywhere, though.


5. What major problems does having a foreign medical degree give you back in America? My dad went to a foreign medical school and he seems to do as well as any doctor (aka, not as good as he used to! zing!... sigh... :()

Just don't plan on dermatology, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, otolarygnology, ophthalmology, radiation oncology, or radiology and you can probably land a residency somewhere (although it may be in Podunk, Iowa).

6. Lastly, for those living there... women. Spill it. (Private Message me if you want. But seriously, spill it.)

My Czech friend informs me this should be the deciding factor of why I should attend. So I assume things are very good in this department.

Just curious, are you out of high school or college? If I attended Charles, I'd already be done with college, which seems somewhat common for the few Americans over at Charles. Alot of high-schoolers from over here seem to flunk out (at least that's what neilc said back when he was posting).

[shrey]

wazz up krackato...well i have the answer to a couple of your questions (i just spoke to some of the ppl i know there so...)

1) First of all man...from the previous posts i've read (Miklos, neilc, n many others) i can tell you one thing for sure...none of the EE schools are geared towards the USMLE...however that doesnt mean that you cannot go back to the US...infact after the Charles First faculty has received a CA recognition, the graduates are entitled to work in all the 50 states....bt it all comes down to USMLE and how you do it....you have to take the initiative to prepare for the exam (kaplan coaching is available) and no one's going to do that for you.....i've heard that the univ. teach you all the syllabus as per the USMLE requirements bt they dont do it through the PBL approach (which is what USMLE essentially requires)...i'd suggest you to go such a univ. only if your mentally prepared for this kinda work load (and besides my friendz told me a whole another set of prblms which i'll leave it for some other time)

2) yes Med school + social life does exist....atleast in Europe it does....my friendz tell me that they study from sunday to thursday and take off friday and saturday...as most of them go clubbin...so i dnt think social life's a prblm at all (with exception of course where you just have to suck it up and tackle the situation)

3) me too man! in fact one of the friendz i have there is a british indian and he says there are no racial problems whatsoever...however you might experience it in the beginning as the locals might mistake you for a tourist...(locals dont really like tourists btw)...

btw you plannin to join this yr...if so lemme knw man

[shrey]

hey Zut Alors are you currently studyin at Charles? if so which faculty? and i guess i'm one of those students who will be joinin right outta high school....just hope i'll be able to cope up with the work load.....and besides i cant step back now as i've paid up.....

[Zut Alors!]

hey Zut Alors are you currently studyin at Charles? if so which faculty? and i guess i'm one of those students who will be joinin right outta high school....just hope i'll be able to cope up with the work load.....and besides i cant step back now as i've paid up.....

Nope, just an undergrad graduating this year. I was interested in practicing in the EU, so was looking into schools in the EU. Problem is, studying in English would make this goal quite difficult because I'd never make enough money there to pay back loans for an English-language school. So I'd either have to learn Czech fluently and study for much cheaper, or give up the idea. Czech is not the easiest language to master, so it's looking like I'll be coming back to the US after all.

[shrey]

so i guess you've taken your MCATs? if you ask me i think US would be the best option...(there are many reasons why i wont be able to attend one)....bt i guess it would be your best shot! and i've heard that some med schools in romania and bulgaria also teach in english and are much much cheaper when compared to Czech, Hungary or Poland....

[Zut Alors!]

so i guess you've taken your MCATs? if you ask me i think US would be the best option...(there are many reasons why i wont be able to attend one)....bt i guess it would be your best shot! and i've heard that some med schools in romania and bulgaria also teach in english and are much much cheaper when compared to Czech, Hungary or Poland....

Nope, no MCAT yet; my major is in math, so I'm a little behind in the biological sciences department. I have one semester of general Chem, 2 semesters of Organic (finishing up part 2 this summer semester...brutal), one semester of Physics, and one of Bio. So I'd take the MCAT next spring/summer, most likely.

US is my best shot for a good residency, but my worst shot if I want to work in Europe. It costs, in some cases, three times as much to finance the education here. Also, Romania is out of the question due to corruption of the English language programs, and lack of Stafford loans. I wouldn't consider anything east of Poland, myself.

[shrey]

well, i was actually gonna tell you not to consider anything other than Czech Repub., Hungary, Poland if at all in Europe coz i was readin through some previous threads and found out that the corruption is way too high is romania, bulgaria and russia (some places)....

bt i'm sure once you finish up your requirements (you've already done a sem of each)...try your best for the MCATs...bt if not you could also try for the carribean schools as they are much better (ie if you plan to return, that the best alternative), or even med schools in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand n stuff (bt they all cost a fortune so i guess these colleges are ruled out!)

[Zut Alors!]

Yeah, Ireland would be my first choice if not for money. I'd rather go to an Irish school than a US school, personally. However, RCSI is about $55,000 USD per year, which is obscene (and this doesn't include living expenses!) Unfortunately, cost of living is on the rise in the big cosmopolitan cities (Krakow, Prague, Budapest, Zagreb, etc.) so they are not as cheap as they used to be.

[shrey]

yeah i knw that prague has become very expensive coz i'm having to pay quite a bit (as opposed to my cousin who pays much lesser as he had to pay lesser tuition therefore compensating that with his living expenses)....and i would certainly imagine ireland to be very expensiv (my cousin is studyin in Medical University, Dublin and she pays a hell a lotta money...lucky for her as her father is a millionarie)....

[krackato]

I feel like the thread got a little bit off-topic, which is cool, but I'm going to repost my 6 questions again just in case someone who's actually attending feels like responding. (Check the questions in the main topic to get the full questions, below are just summaries)

1. I'd like to be able to practice in the United States. Is that likely?

2. What's the social life like at Charles?

3. I am Indian American. Should I be concerned about racism or anything?

4. How big a concern are failure rates?

5. What major problems does having a foreign medical degree give you back in America?

6. What about the women in Prague?

Full questions in the first post. Thanks guys.

[amaadani]

if you can also add the following to your question list please,

does anyone know if students from the US are doing the fifth pathway?

[krackato]

I'm sorry but what does that mean? What is the fifth pathway?

[amaadani]

you can read the following;

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/9306.html

[Zut Alors!]

First off, to be eligible for the Fifth Pathway through NYMC, you need the following:

1) A bachelor's degree, including Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics taken at a US undergraduate university
2) MCAT scores
3) Be a US Citizen, Canadian citizen, or permanent resident

Since a lot of you seem to be out of high school or have very little college courses, than you can't do Fifth Pathway, unfortunately.

[amaadani]

Zut Alors,

OK. now.... I give you the following info: I am a US citizen, although my name might make you think otherwise, with masters degree in Biological Sciences.** if that sort of information is really what you are looking for and not knowing my background is why your are going around the circle in your replies.

and I do know the requirements for the fifth path way. so you do not need to make anything BOLD in your reply.

if you do not have the answer for my question then please stay away from being an smarty and do not reply.**

My questions is; if you know any students from US at Charls who went through the fifth pathway?

If I talk or ask about the fifth pathway then normally it implies that I do know all about it.**you do not need to re-write the rules for me.

and one advice, if that is how you are going to take exams in med. school you are going to fail. Read the question first and understand it!

Arash M.

[shrey]

hey man...how are you? well i can answer some of your questions:

1. I'd like to be able to practice in the United States. Is that likely?

yes its very much likely...many have done that...good example...drneilc who not only did excellent in Charles but has also landed up in one of the toughest residencies in the US

2. What's the social life like at Charles?

already answered previously

3. I am Indian American. Should I be concerned about racism or anything?

well, i went to another forum called myczechrepublic.com and asked several ppl there about this issue and they all told me that it's not at all a big deal...there are in fact many africans in prague to who just dont face any problems with race n stuff....

4. How big a concern are failure rates?

well in the previous posts, neilc has mentioned that the failure rates are really important coz it gives you an idea as to how much one should study. Generally you have to work hard and there's no way around it...and if you do, then you really dont have to worry about anything else as you'r on top of things...

5. What major problems does having a foreign medical degree give you back in America?

the residency for sure becomes tough (as with all other IMGs), also the USMLE is no joke as none of the european schools are geared towards it...so its all your personal effort...

6. What about the women in Prague?

that i can definitely answer with no doubts as i went to prague and gave my exam there....well the women are hottttt!!!!!! i mean they seem to be very friendly towards foreigners (note that my frndz did warn me about some girls who date guyz coz of the money they have n stuff....bt you'll find them pretty much anywhere and everywhere!!

Full questions in the first post. Thanks guys.[/quote]

btw are you in high school or college?

[krackato]

I finished College with a communications degree.

Thank you so much for the answers. Huge help to me.

[Zut Alors!]

Zut Alors,

OK. now.... I give you the following info: I am a US citizen, although my name might make you think otherwise, with masters degree in Biological Sciences.** if that sort of information is really what you are looking for and not knowing my background is why your are going around the circle in your replies.

and I do know the requirements for the fifth path way. so you do not need to make anything BOLD in your reply.

if you do not have the answer for my question then please stay away from being an smarty and do not reply.**

My questions is; if you know any students from US at Charls who went through the fifth pathway?

If I talk or ask about the fifth pathway then normally it implies that I do know all about it.**you do not need to re-write the rules for me.

and one advice, if that is how you are going to take exams in med. school you are going to fail. Read the question first and understand it!

Arash M.

And if this is how immature you are going to be, attacking me personally for replying, then I think you will also have a hard time in your pursuit of medicine, since personality is a large factor in getting a residency.

The answer is no, I don't know anyone at Charles doing 5th Pathway. Everyone I've talked to in Europe says it's a waste of money, which I agree with partly. It costs over $30,000 per year, and in reality, you are still most likely going to get a primary care reisdency. Most people go to Europe because it's cheap, so paying all that money kind of defeats the purpose.

Anyway, I don't wish to have an argument with you. If I came off as callous, I'm sorry. I don't have a problem with you, best of luck.

[amaadani]

in order to refresh your memory check out the following;

http://www.valuemd.com/czech-republic-slovakia-medical-schools/138898-charles-first-faculty-pe-course.html

and see what I mean by saying going around a circle in your answers.

what i am looking for here is the personal inputs from people who have been through the fifth pathway procees.

As it seems like that you have done your research well, I can find the general information on the internet, too. Not that I do not appreciate your kind inputs but please pay more attention to your responds. You are copy and pasting what is already out there on the internet. Not good!

good luck.

[Zut Alors!]

EDITED - I'm not immature enough to get into an argument with anyone on the internet over an attitude problem.

[shrey]

hey krackato...but do you have all the basic science requirement (phys, chem, bio) as you have pursued a competely different degree...anyways i guess times' over for this yr...you can only try for the next yr....either ways gud luck!!

[krackato]

I took Physics, Chemistry and Biology in High School which was a loooong time ago. I'm did really well in them (well, not Physics, but it was Senior year). I also got college credit for Biology and Physics. I'm just waiting for the application packet and trying to get more info about what it's like. I've read a few bad stories here: The Pragueress and Miseducation of Dan Kameny: The blog entry that has been nine months in the making (http://pragueressofkameny.blogspot.com/2007/04/blog-entry-that-has-been-nine-months-in.html)

So still trying to get as much real world info about the school as I can. I may go next year.

[shrey]

well abt that blog entry...if this guyz wouldnt have attended that college then he wouldnt actually be posting his pass result today (or whenever he posted it)....

anyways i've already mentioned previously that european schools are NOT geared towards the USMLE...coz it's not the exam required in their country.(quite obvious)...nevertheless the univs. give you all the fundamental knowledge, theory and clinical exposure (for reference: checks neilc's posts) and they do a good job with it....

again these colleges are for those who are self-determined and willing to work hard...they will not be spoonfed in any at all unlike in the US...so its finally your call that counts...so think carefully and make the decision...if you think you are so determined are willing to work hard, then i dont see a problem with you not doing well in the college...and regarding the USMLE, no matter how many these students crib, the final fact is that they did get through...coz they roughed it out....and thats a must whether you'r in the US or not....(note: drneilc is one guyz i look upto as not only did he like Charles a lot but also did very well in the USMLE's and the main secret was a positive attitue...followed by the supplements: hardwork and self-determination)...

[amaadani]

EDITED - I'm not immature enough to get into an argument with anyone on the internet over an attitude problem.

people can read your answers to my questions and what you had in BOLD which only depicted extend of your wisdom and knowledge, if you can not take heat for your own mistake(s), then god bless your future patients:-flame