Pilsen, Palacky, Masaryk admission procedures

[r.tallis]

Do I need to have studied life sciences in high school or just need to pass the entrance exams?
Does anyone know how long does it last each exam? Can we bring a calculator/periodic table?
What do they normally ask in the interview?

I'm interested in either Masaryk or Pilsen and to a lesser extent Palacky. I seriusly considered UPJS in Slovakia but the questions they asked in the exam covered topics that weren't even mentioned in the syllabus. I didn't like kosice so I'm considering other universities.

[shrey]

Yes you need to have studied all the basic sciences in school (Biology, chemistry, Physics) and you will need to pass the entrance exam in order to get in.

I don't know how long it generally lasts for the universities you mentioned but you will roughly be given 3 hours for the exam. The interview is normally a formality and they ask you stuff like what motivated you to study medicine? or why do you want to study medicine etc.

The entrance exam for Palacky is quite hard because it's not multiple choice at all (the Chemistry was brutal because they ask you to draw hybridization structures and combine them with other organic compounds through equations. Physics was allright. Biology was easy).

I think Masaryk and Pilsen both have multiple choice exams....beware multiple choice means the questions can have more than 1 answer (so it can be very hard and tricky at times). Good luck with the entrance exams and I'm sure you'll love either of the universities you get into (Brno and Pilsen are beautiful cities!!!)

[r.tallis]

Thank you for your reply! :)

[huskyKamp]

I don't know about the schools you requested. I sat the entrance exam for the 1st faculty June 17, 2008.

There was three subjects bio, chem, phys or math. We were given 90 minutes, no calculators, and multiple choice questions. The multiple choice was tricky because as Shrey pointed out in previous posts, there can be 1 to 4 possible answers.

Hope that helps, and good luck.

[GUT001]

When is the entrance exam offered? and if your in the US where can you take it?

[shrey]

I think it's best that you call up the university and find out (if it's not mentioned on their website. They do change their locations of testing sometime. Good luck.

[euromd]

... Can we bring a calculator/periodic table?...

No. At least not when I took them.

[shrey]

They just let me use a calculator but no periodic table. Also the entrance exam for Palacky University was quite tough as you have to write all the answers in the blanks provided. It's not a multiple choice (may be one of two here and there). I think chemistry was the hardest part because I got two organic chemistry questions where I was supposed to draw the hybridization structures in a reaction.

Pilsen is apparently the easiest (at least that's what my family friend told me). Also the curriculum in Pilsen isn't as rigorous which might be an advantage (they don't have medical latin terminology but they do have biochemistry in the first year which is not really easy).

I don't really know much about Masaryk university but I recently met two students from there who came to Prague to check out a couple of histology slides...they seem to have a much laid back curriculum (they have histology and embryology in the 2nd year and their Anatomy course lasts 1 1/2 year).

[Ygrec]

Hm... I didn't study biology in high school, did take physics and chemistry, but it's been some time. How do you guys suggest I prepare to these exams? Any recommended books?
Btw, perhaps someone knows, how different (or not) are the English entrance exams to the Czech ones?