Thread: Charles University applications 2010

Hey guys! I thought I would start a new thread for people interested in the 2010 applications.

So far I applied to Charles Hradec Kralove directly and I will be flying there in may to sit the entrance exam, but I will be applying to all the faculties.

Just a quick intro of myself..I am a 2nd year biology student at a university in canada and quite excited to study medicine at charles in the future.

Please reply if anyone is applying to Charles especially HK faculty in 2010.

thanks

Originally Posted by shrey

I applied directly.

Thanks. Truth be told, I'm getting so frustrated already...6 years is TORTURE! Btw, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you consider applying to medical schools in the States/Carribean?? They're much better options in many ways (if you want to return back to the Canada or go to the US). Or perhaps some of the 4 year Polish programs are great too!

That sounds really tough shrey.Fair play to you for sticking it out and getting this far.im sure many of your class havent stuck it out.
I was just wondering if i could get your advice on something if thats ok.

I have 2 options
A)Apply to charles and hopefully get accepted and then spend 6 long,torturous years there slaving away(as you have explained)
B)Finish my dentistry degree here in ireland(5 years in total),work as a dentist for 2 years and then apply for the 4 year programme back home(iv heard it aint hard to get in back here if u have a dentistry degree).
Then 4 tough(although not gruelling) years of medicine back home.

What would your advice be,if u wouldnt mind taking what little free time you have to answer.
Thanks again mate

Originally Posted by bitebullet1

That sounds really tough shrey.Fair play to you for sticking it out and getting this far.im sure many of your class havent stuck it out.
I was just wondering if i could get your advice on something if thats ok.

I have 2 options
A)Apply to charles and hopefully get accepted and then spend 6 long,torturous years there slaving away(as you have explained)
B)Finish my dentistry degree here in ireland(5 years in total),work as a dentist for 2 years and then apply for the 4 year programme back home(iv heard it aint hard to get in back here if u have a dentistry degree).
Then 4 tough(although not gruelling) years of medicine back home.

What would your advice be,if u wouldnt mind taking what little free time you have to answer.
Thanks again mate

Sorry mate but if i understood well,your 2nd option is 5+2+4=11 years of studies...
OK 1st faculty of Charles is really hard (i ve studied there for 2 years),but you will study 6 years instead of 11...that makes a difference..
If you like dentistry why u dont want to be a dentist??
i ve heard that dentistry in UK and Ireland is a really good job to practice!

Hey bitebullet,
That is a hard choice to make indeed. It really depends on your priority. If time is a factor, then going to Charles or any other university would be a much better choice than going through the rigors of dentistry school and then getting into medical school. Secondly, you should also keep in mind that you might not like/want to study medicine after having done dentistry school (very few students actually do this) coz you might be burnt out by then.

So as the previous poster mentioned, if you like dentistry, go for it. If you like medicine, then just be prepared to work hard where ever you're going. Charles First Fac. is indeed quite hard bbut there are people who've made it and if you ask them what made them pass, you'll simply get "hard-work and organization".

I also wanted to mention that there is one more university in Western Europe (a 6 year program) called Vita-Salute San Rafaelle University, Milan, Italy which also offers an MD program in English. They do teach according to the PBL curriculum so it would be very ideal for you (if you plan to return to Ireland or go to England, Australia, NZ, or even the US.) Their curriculum is also designed in such a way that you can do your clinical rotations/electives back home or in some other country. It is however, quite competitive. I think something around 20 EU citizens and 20 non-EU students get in.

Hope that helped!

Originally Posted by chardoc

Sorry mate but if i understood well,your 2nd option is 5+2+4=11 years of studies...
OK 1st faculty of Charles is really hard (i ve studied there for 2 years),but you will study 6 years instead of 11...that makes a difference..
If you like dentistry why u dont want to be a dentist??
i ve heard that dentistry in UK and Ireland is a really good job to practice!

hi shrey and chardoc.Thanks for your help.
Yes dentistry is a top career monetarily and is quite interesting but i dont believe you get the same patient care as in medicine.The thing that really turns me off eastern europe is so many students are really frustrated by it.I assume u are the same as shrey chardoc?
Luckily(or unluckily),time is certainly not an issue for me as i am dealing with a slew of serious medical issues at the moment and dont know when/if i will recover,so i have plenty time to try get better i hope

btw,shrey that programme seems very interesting and the fact that its in the eu makes it seem like a top programme.
Will lokk into it too,
thanks guys

Originally Posted by bitebullet1

hi shrey and chardoc.Thanks for your help.
Yes dentistry is a top career monetarily and is quite interesting but i dont believe you get the same patient care as in medicine.The thing that really turns me off eastern europe is so many students are really frustrated by it.I assume u are the same as shrey chardoc?
Luckily(or unluckily),time is certainly not an issue for me as i am dealing with a slew of serious medical issues at the moment and dont know when/if i will recover,so i have plenty time to try get better i hope

btw,shrey that programme seems very interesting and the fact that its in the eu makes it seem like a top programme.
Will lokk into it too,
thanks guys

Haha i may be more frustrated than shrey..
Im actually thinking of transferring to another medical faculty(coz if i stay i will have to lose one year doing only one subject,that really sucks).
But generally if you :
1)havent decided to work hard EVERY day sacrificing your weekends(sometimes)
2)want to have your personal free time for other activities
3)have as an ultimate purpose to get a residency in U.S. and you want to have some time for studying usmle(this school is NOT usmle orientated)
4)are not familiar with oral exams(that is the vast majority of exams here)
5)are not lucky on picking good questions triplets

then 1st fac of Charles is NOT a good option.i wish i knew these things before..

@Shrey
I checked the curriculum of the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and i found it really (how to say it) small..
F.ex. for the first 2 years i dont see anywhere anatomy course,
biochemistry only 1 semester,genetics the same.
I dont know but i dont see it as a good option with this curriculum...
What's your opinion?

Well, I think it's quite a good school but yes, the curriculum is a bit strange but that's coz they follow the PBL system. I think they use an organ systems-based approach (rather than the traditional subject-based approach.) Nevertheless, the fact that they only accept 40 students each year sure says something about their school and the fact that it's in Western Europe is AMAZING! I just wish I knew about this school earlier coz I would have joined there without thinking any further.

They also mention that it is an ideal choice for students willing to go to the US as their system is designed in such a way that they can opt for part of their clinical rotations and clinical electives in the US.

But I do believe that Charles First Fac. has a much more demanding curriculum. Recently over the summer, I was chatting with my cousins (one studying in Oxford and his sister in Cambridge) and they were astonished when I told them how hard the system is here. I was a bit surprised coz I thought it would have been much harder there, but it was the opposite case.

LOL, I like your 5 point criteria and I do agree with it to a great extent. Point 5 perhaps not so much coz I think if one has tried studying all the questions (without having skipped anything), it shouldn't be so bad. Yes, but you're right coz the luck factor does play a role (sometimes even having the right prof. can make a small change.) But again, I'm not in a very good position now either....I'm on the verge of failing this year...which comes as a shock to me! It would really suck to fail this year for not having received 1 CREDIT! (not even exam but a credit!)