Should I study in Europe?

[jw246]

Hi all,

I'm a Canadian who just completed my B.S. at a US university. I recently (about a year ago) decided that I want to become a doctor, and I'm currently taking some chem and bio courses, and will take the MCAT in the summer. Here's my question:

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend two summers during college in Europe, one studying, one working. I fell in love with the place, so now I'm looking at studying medicine there. I've been wading through pages on the internet for information, but it is difficult to sort things out. I would like to go to a good med school that would let me practice in Canada in the future (though I wouldn't mind working in Europe). Also, tuition would have to be comparable with Canadian med schools, as it's all going to be coming from loans. Lastly, I'd prefer to be in Western Europe, but my only language skills are mild fluency in French, and a decent amount of Italian. However, I would be willing to study if I had to pass a test.

So, this being said, what are my options? Thanks for any help.

-J

[shrey]

Hey there jW246,
I would suggest that you first try for Canada and then only look into to the European medical schools. All Western European medical schools are taught in their own native languages, so you would have to take some kind of pre-preparatory program to learn the language (I think it lasts from 10 months-1 year). But remember, even though you make it through, it's not going to be that easy, especially the French Medical Schools.

You other alternative is to consider Central European Schools (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic). These schools are fairly easy to get into but staying in is the hard part as a lot of people get "weeded out" of the program by the 3rd year. We have a few Canadians this year studying in my univ. (Charles First Faculty of Medicine, Prague) and one of them seems to have applied for some loan (I think Stafford loans + some other private loans).

They told me that as long as they're placed in the top 15% and do very well in the Boards, they they'll definitely be able to bank a competitive residency spot in Canada

[whattupdog6969]

Hey there jW246,
I would suggest that you first try for Canada and then only look into to the European medical schools. All Western European medical schools are taught in their own native languages, so you would have to take some kind of pre-preparatory program to learn the language (I think it lasts from 10 months-1 year). But remember, even though you make it through, it's not going to be that easy, especially the French Medical Schools.

You other alternative is to consider Central European Schools (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic). These schools are fairly easy to get into but staying in is the hard part as a lot of people get "weeded out" of the program by the 3rd year. We have a few Canadians this year studying in my univ. (Charles First Faculty of Medicine, Prague) and one of them seems to have applied for some loan (I think Stafford loans + some other private loans).

They told me that as long as they're placed in the top 15% and do very well in the Boards, they they'll definitely be able to bank a competitive residency spot in Canada

hey, well I think that nobody looks at your standing in medical school coming from an international school, especially Eastern Europe. I do not know if Canadian citizens are eligible for those federal loans, the Stafford and Perkins.
There were a few scattered Canadian med students. They were typically very bright, and some not so.
Attrition rate is somewhat higher than it ought to be agreeably, albeit the admission standards are pretty much negligible, that is a sad reality there.

[!PsyChirurgus!]

I think you first need to check which medical schools in the US is accepted/recognized by the student loan company you want to use.

There are lots of medical schools in Europe that now teach in English from 1st year up to 6th year. Good luck! :)