Charles University - Faculties

[allestE]

Hello!

I am just graduating high school this june, but I have several questions regarding 1, 2, and 3 faculty of medicine.

Basically... the question is.. what's the difference?
How did you choose your faculty?

I understand that 1 Faculty = CA-approved, most "prestigious"
...(or at least, that's how people categorize them).

Now, 2nd Faculty = Taught in Motol Hospital = really good hospital

I'm don't have much information on the 3rd faculty.


(I'm not trying to be racist... but) Racially, how are each faculties like?

Sorry.. I have lots of questions...


Somebody.. please enlighten me!!

[Back_To_School]

The 3rd Faculty I believe is the only "English" taught medical degree outside the UK and Malta in Europe that uses the PBL approach. I'm going to be applying to Charles in 18 months and the 3rd fac. is going to be my first choice, followed by the 2nd fac, although the appeal of Croatia is growing on me and I'm going to take a short break there this summer to have a look around the place
I don't intend to practice in the US, so no need for CA approval, although I'm sure, by the time I graduate they'll all be approved.

The first fac. has too many students enrolled for my liking.

I can't see there being any race issues. I've lived in Prague for 3 1/2 years, and it's about as cosmopolitan as it gets.

[shrey]

Mind you that the 3rd fac. also has quite a huge attrition rate....so does the 1st fac.....it's the scandinavian haven...as it's filled with scandinavians....the 2nd fac. is filled with british...while the 1st fac. is as diverse as it gets....

it ultimately depends on where you want to practice? I'm assuming in the States...if so, then choose the 1st fac...

[shrey]

Mind you that the 3rd fac. also has quite a huge attrition rate....so does the 1st fac.....it's the scandinavian haven...as it's filled with scandinavians....the 2nd fac. is filled with british...while the 1st fac. is as diverse as it gets....

it ultimately depends on where you want to practice? I'm assuming in the States...if so, then choose the 1st fac...

[allestE]

The 3rd Faculty I believe is the only "English" taught medical degree outside the UK and Malta in Europe that uses the PBL approach. I'm going to be applying to Charles in 18 months and the 3rd fac. is going to be my first choice, followed by the 2nd fac, although the appeal of Croatia is growing on me and I'm going to take a short break there this summer to have a look around the place
I don't intend to practice in the US, so no need for CA approval, although I'm sure, by the time I graduate they'll all be approved.

The first fac. has too many students enrolled for my liking.

I can't see there being any race issues. I've lived in Prague for 3 1/2 years, and it's about as cosmopolitan as it gets.
Thank you for the info.!

I see..
Is it rare for any Asians to apply there? (I'm Asian)...
Do you think there's any disadvantages for the Asians to go there??
(lots of questions, sorry!!)

I know.. the money is DEFINITELY a concern for me too!!!

[allestE]

Mind you that the 3rd fac. also has quite a huge attrition rate....so does the 1st fac.....it's the scandinavian haven...as it's filled with scandinavians....the 2nd fac. is filled with british...while the 1st fac. is as diverse as it gets....

it ultimately depends on where you want to practice? I'm assuming in the States...if so, then choose the 1st fac...
I checked the California Medical Board, and it had 1st faculty, 2nd faculty, and 3rd faculty on their website....

check it out on google or something(if you have time.. ...
"California Medical Board" => "Applicants" => "Medical Schools" => "Schools Recognized"


thanks for the info, though!

Um.. another questions..
is there ANY Asians there?
If there is none, is it that nobody applies or are they racist?

[Back_To_School]

I checked the California Medical Board, and it had 1st faculty, 2nd faculty, and 3rd faculty on their website....

check it out on google or something(if you have time.. ...
"California Medical Board" => "Applicants" => "Medical Schools" => "Schools Recognized"

I think that is only for the degrees taught in the Czech language and not English.

[Back_To_School]

Mind you that the 3rd fac. also has quite a huge attrition rate....so does the 1st fac.....it's the scandinavian haven...as it's filled with scandinavians....the 2nd fac. is filled with british...while the 1st fac. is as diverse as it gets....


Any idea why the attrition rate is so high Shrey?

[shrey]

Thank you for the info.!

I see..
Is it rare for any Asians to apply there? (I'm Asian)...
Do you think there's any disadvantages for the Asians to go there??
(lots of questions, sorry!!)

I know.. the money is DEFINITELY a concern for me too!!!

There are tons of asians in the 1st faculty. Tons of asians from malaysia and india and a few from China, Taiwan, and Japan. So the answer is no, it is not rare fro Asians to apply here. I don't think there are any disadvantages for Asians here....because the asian community is one of the earliest ones that migrated here so you'll virtually find chinese take-aways, restaurants pretty much everywhere and anywhere.

Hey there Back_to_School,
I've heard that the main reason why there's a high attrition rate in the 3rd fac. is due to the sheer competition. The scandinavians who study here are uber-competitive and they usually do very well (as they're pretty much studying all the time) and they help only each other out...so they've literally carved a community for themselves.

Also the PBL approach has it's own disadvantages. They start by chosing a certain organ in the body and study it's pathology, anatomy, histology and everything else about the organ...this is a good idea but when it comes to exams, very few people actually pass. I know 4 british students who couldn't get used to such a system and they transferred to the 2nd fac. Also the 3rd fac. is pretty far (Prague 10; it's close to Kolej Hostivar).

[Back_To_School]

Thanks for the info Shrey. That's interesting that people are finding it a struggle to pass their exams with the PBL approach. I'm not sure how well I would fit into a super competitive environment like that. More investigation needed on my part I think.

[allestE]

Thanks, Shrey!

Just out of curiosity, but which faculty are you in?

[shrey]

I'm in the First Faculty. That's probably why I'm biased :).......

[soon_to_czech]

there are chinese take-aways? yes! i thought i'd have to make do with european food every day xD. thanks for all the info!

[shrey]

There are just so many chinese take-aways (you pass by one almost every 5-10 min.) There are also tons of chinese/vietnamese/thai food stores which are really good in case you want to buy specific items (such as spices or black bean sauce and so on). There's even an international food section in Tesco's (which is a bit expensive but nevertheless worth it).

You're welcome!

[czdoc]

Um.. another questions..
is there ANY Asians there?
If there is none, is it that nobody applies or are they racist?[/quote]

Asians?! You would be hard pressed to find a white english person in 2nd fac! lol its asian heaven. Also be prepared for high drop out rates in all facs in prague, at least half cut in first year and then around another half in second and third.

[shrey]

But in general the malaysians (a group of asians) and chinese (the two groups I've come across) usually do quite well...but that's because they work really hard (pretty much all day long and all the time)....don't worry about racism. Prague is a really cosmopolitan city and you shouldn't really encounter it much (but nevertheless racism exists in every big city so....)

[123spill]

hi, im a norwegian student at 3rd faculty. all classes have group emails and everyone share most of what they have. but you should be aware that the modulebased system is hard!! in the first and second faculty they only have histology, anatomy and latin + czech first year. we have histology, anatomy, physiology, biochemisty, cell biology, genetics, immunology and probably many things i have forgotten:P good luck anyways :D

[shrey]

Hey there 123spill, I've heard that the 3rd faculty is one of the hardest due to their PBL approach. How many students make it to the 2nd year? It must be quite a hard system. Do you guys also have oral exams? How is it that we take a whole year just for anatomy and histology and embryology but you guys do other subjects such as immunology (we have genetics and cell biology too along with other subjects)

[allestE]

Thank you 123spill!
Right now.. i am most interested in the 3rd Faculty... I went and visited 1st and 3rd (i didn't go to 2nd), but i thought that the teachers and the facilities for the 3rd was the best.. ALTHOUGH i have been hearing rumors that 3rd faculty is the HARDEST one... >_<

but you survived?
what allowed you to survive?
diligence?

i am quite ready to work my butt off there..

yea.. i am curious to how many students make it to the second year..
OH, and do they actually CUT people, or is it that people just don't pass...etc.?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[123spill]

actually i dont know if im gonna pass. You can get maximum 60 credits and you need 45 to start in second year, but to go from second to third i think you have to get over 60 credits second year, have to take the huge exam when im back. Alot of people failed their exam this year and especially biochemistry. I think its the hardest one but then i havent talked to too many in the first and second faculty. I guess maby 3/4 of the people who started first year will be in second. BUT most of the people fail in the module A exam in second year!

[allestE]

123spill, thank you for the information!

i am on the waiting list for 3rd Faculty... if i fail, i plan to attend the pre-med. after all, i don't have my basic science strong (esp. chemistry), so it won't hurt me to go to pre-med for a semester, would it? but.. i've made friends who've been accepted to the 3rd faculty already, so that's a bummer.

I hope you passed. I really don't know how hard it is, but it must be difficult... and i can't believe im jumping into the same world of harshness... hahaha

oh, if you don't mind, i have another question...
in the first faculty, there were tons of older people (im currently 18) trying out for med. school. when i went to take exams for 3rd faculty, there were only 5 ppl there, and they weren't so old.. how is the age range in 3rd faculty after all? the 5 people i met at the exam were all under 21.

thank you so much!

[Rampage]

I am trying to get into 2nd year and only 17 have completely finished out of 67 but still there's a Sept exam period. In Charles 3 you do learn way more than most medical schools in all of Europe and it toughens you up, big time. Lot of people transfer after 2nd year if they can; as you have so much covered that you will find any other medical school faaaaar easier. The problem all lies in 2 facts .1 some people are not cut out to be doctors and don't know it =failure.2 The Mod A at the end of 2nd year. I’m not sure you can transfer until it's complete, resulting in bringing it into 3rd year which only a select number of gifted students have passed. The Mod A and Mod b (end1st year) are very tough and stressful however if you want to be the best then I can definitely advise Charles 3.
If your looking for an easier option go to 2 fac but the 3rd year there is like Charles 3's Mod A(not as hard though).In all honesty you have to look at the bigger picture ,fair enough Slovakia and Romania are going to be a lot easier as I’ve been told by people who left(forced?) out of Prague and study there.When you finish though you have to get a job and are going to be competing for training places ,the num 1/2/3 choice is going to be the people studied in that country and so then it will come down to where you have studied.
I have heard the other schools are very good though (don't want to start no fights;) Anybody has info or thoughts I’d be interested to be distracted from Biochem for a bit.:D

[Back_To_School]

Hi Rampage

Shrey has mentioned before that the attrition rate in 3rd fac. is very high. Do you actually cover more subjects then the other two facs.? Or is it the PBL approach which is making it so hard.

Not quite keeping on track here but, it has been mentioned before that the 2nd fac has a much lower attrition rate and that the majority of the British med students in Prague attend this fac. Do you think there is any relationship between the fact that there is a lot of British students (who are relatively young and have just completed A-levels) and the low attrition rate, or is the 2nd Fac simply easier because there are less subjects?

Thanks

[allestE]

Thanks Rampage!

I took the entrance exam this year (june) for 3rd Faculty, and I didn't make it... slightly below the acceptance points >_< but i'm actually glad for it because my chemistry and physics aren't strong (i just graduated form high school and my high school is not very strong in science... more in philosophy, sociology, and history), so i decided to go to pre-med first. Although my biology was almost perfect, i thought i didn't really want to take the easy road (esp. because i don't know which country i want to work in). after actually going to the 3rd faculty to take the exam, it really stirred my motivation to study in the 3rd fac. the teacher's english was good, and the facilities were awesome. I didn't really want to study in 1st fac. (sorry shrey!! :P )

So, its more like "forced" to leave because they didn't pass? I was accepted to Hungarian med. schools.. which they are good, but they also allow many inappropriate people too...

anyway, thanks for your info!

[Rampage]

Basically the 3rd fac has a tough entrance exam but every1 who did the pre med this year passed bar one(17people). The English mostly go to Charles 1 and are usually ethnic.2nd is full of Portuguese and is were people go if they don't pass the 1st or 2nd fac entrance exam but the 1st year there has a high failure rate because the entrance exam is really easy and at least 1/4 don't have a hope at passing first year and don't realize what they have let themselves in for. The saying usually in the Eastern European Medical Schools is YOUR NOT A MED STUDENT UNTIL YOUR INTO 2ND YEAR.

My advice for any prospective medical student is to get a degree in some way related to medicine and try again to get back home(2.1 degree Graduate) ,you'll also find that you really need to be 21 upwards to come over here though there are the special FEW(17-18's).Most of the people who fail here are young and would do fine in Medicine back home but over here you are really pushed to breaking point (weekly) and there is no accountability on the college's part as you are just a foreign student. I myself am considering going back to do my state exams again even if I get into 2nd year as there is a big difference in studying medicine abroad and actually graduating. Personally I have found and been told that the oral system is very luck orientated .The Pbl in 3rd is a real bitch on top of this.Any qts let me know the Citric Acid Cycle Sucks

.

[Sitric]

Hi all, I don't think this should be blown out of proportion, the workload and exams at the third faculty are challenging but not prohibitively so. Plenty of people pass. The system is different than that followed at the first or second facs certainly but this doesn't make them significantly harder, just different. I know plenty of people in the other two schools and don't in any way envy them some of their exams!

Rampage is right though, you ain't really a med student here until you're in the second year! And indeed, to judge from the attitude of some profs, they don't seem to regard you at all until you at least make the third year. The entrance conditions are really just too easy, you haven't proven anything to yourself or the profs at that stage.

[allestE]

thanks, Rampage & Sirtic!

Great info.... I'll just do my best from pre-med, learn what i need to and ... i'll see where i get!

[shrey]

I would also like to mention that due to the high attrition rates in the First Fac., you're not really in med school until you get to the 3rd year!! They weed out the maximum number of students in the 1st three years.

[euromd]

Some doctors and nurses start calling us doctor in 4th year at first fac, because now we're definitely med students and we're definitely graduating.

[allestE]

thnaks, shery and euromed!

i guess i just have to do my best when i get there (im going to pre-med first, so i should do my best from pre-med!!)

i hope all your exams went well!!

[hugeegosorry]

hmmm, I just got into the 2nd Faculty and I don't know if I should go or stay here, in Canada, and finish my science degree.

I was wondering if the 2nd faculty is accepted in CA. or is it just the czech language program there that's accepted?

[diogenes]

No.
California approves all the native courses in the Czech Rep. However the only English-language medical program with that cachet is Charles 1st.
Finish your degree course. That way you may still have options to study medicine in Nth. America. If not you will at least have the time to research the European and other alternatives a little better; so that, for example, if Ca is/will be important you can investigate programs which are licensable there.

[shrey]

I would advise you to stick with the program. In fact after the 1st year, you can consider transfering to the 1st fac. so that you can get a degree that's CA recognized. I would really recommend the transfer because I do know quite a few Canadian students in the 1st fac. but in the 2nd fac., there was only 1 as far as I know (and met). But for now, stick to the program and try to finish up with the 1st year.

[euromd]

I would advise you to stick with the program. In fact after the 1st year, you can consider transfering to the 1st fac. so that you can get a degree that's CA recognized. I would really recommend the transfer because I do know quite a few Canadian students in the 1st fac. but in the 2nd fac., there was only 1 as far as I know (and met). But for now, stick to the program and try to finish up with the 1st year.

ALL of your medical education must be done at a CA approved school if you want to be eligible to work there. If you start in 2nd fac and transfer to 1st fac, you will not be eligible to work in CA. (assuming english-language programmes)

[allestE]

hey ppl...

i just got accepted to the third faculty (my first choice), but i was planning to go to pre-med there (to learn czech and get used to the place before i really get into the med program). plus, i thought i wont get accepted.

the drop-out rate for first year, i hear, is about 1/3.
scholarship (merit based) is offered to top 10% of the entire school.
sounds crazy, but i am aiming for it. i really need it. my house is not so wealthy + can't get much loan (not caucasian).

i know its a stupid question to ask, but if you were in my situation, what would you do?
take it easy and start from pre-med? I hear that people who go to pre-med (@ third faculty) are usually well prepared for the 1st year at the third faculty (im sure, it depends on the person's commitment too).

(sorry, this is really REALLY stupid question... i should be able to decide these things on my own by now..) but what would you do? ... just asking you all out of curiosity..

[shrey]

The question that you should be asking yourself is what's my priority as of now? If time is a constraint, then it wouldn't really be advisable to do the pre-med course (I do have a friend who failed the course despite having done the pre-med course there). If time isn't a problem, then you can try out the program. You also mentioned that you were a bit low on the finances, that's all the more a reason not to consider the pre-med program (as it's expensive and a waste of time if you ask me).

I'm sorry I'm being blunt and a bit negative in this reply but I'm just being realistic and giving you the facts.

You should definitely aim for the scholarships (which are only given to students who get 1s in all subjects or in the subjects worth more than 2-3 credit points). It's easier said that done (considering that the system is quite subjective and it's really hard to even get a 2 or even just pass!!!)

[MrBones]

Well, some think the pre med course is worth it, others say its a waste of money.
But if you are already accepted, why bother with the course ? You want to study some czech ahead and get used to the place, ok thats fine, but on the other side you could simply put the money u would have used for the pre med into private czech lessons, arrive a bit earlier and get used to the place.

Dont care about the drop out rates, it does not make any difference to your studies and if you want the scholarship then you will get it with a little luck and hard work.

I would not waste a year and then risk of not being accepted the next year, cause i believe that everything you will be taught you can archieve if you study well. But that is my opinion, at the end its your choice.

[allestE]

shrey & mr.bones
thank you...
and yes.. i will be in prague soon!

i think i was a little shocked that i actually got in.. i'm just a high school graduate who didn't take any science AP... so.. yup. I studied in library.. borrowing some AP textbooks from the school..

But anyways.. thank you! I'll just do my best.. cuz that's the only thing i can do right now!