Any country you'd recommend me to study medicine ? ( Urgent )

[pettopo]

Hello ! Alright so here's a brief introduction. I'm a student from France and i'm going to be 21 soon. I studied in a University before but it was a scam ( well the country i was studying in is doing an investigation right now ) Please don't ask me the country / or the uni's name thanks

I don't have the best A-level results ( 3 E's ... ) but great O level results ( All A* except for ICT and Business Communication where i got a B and English got a C ).

My first idea was to go to Russia People's Friendship University ( PFUR ) but then a friend and my sister who lives in russia told me a big NO ! About going to Russia ... The skinheads ... and apparently some black students annoyed them ... ( I'm not racist or anything as I am colored as well ... and 80% of my friends in high school were black ... so yeah no hate ).

I then wanted to go to the phillippines , love the country and my bestfriend is from there. Owns a couple of Hotels in Manila and was even okay to let me stay in one of the rooms for free during my stay there.
I wanted to go to Angeles University Foundation AUF , but I was too late and my agent told me that applications had closed and then recommended Belarus. Alright so he also studied there , and told me it was way easier than going to philippines and that i could pass and earn the degree easily.
For me Belarus , is a big no ! The reason is this , I know some friends who went to that uni. And they hate it ! One left recently , the others have to stay cause they don't have money to go elsewhere and they already had been in it for a year and would be a waste. The only thing they could tell me is this : Only 5 more years to go ... and i hope they go fast cause i want to get out of here.

Okay so now i'm not against any of these countries. I really was excited about Russia ( PFUR) cause of all the activities they have and I have been checking out the videos on youtube and this uni ... looks awesome. But my familly is kinda worried about my safety there. I am too to say. But then i'm like , hey there are 1000's of foreign students there... Why would i be afraid huh ?

So I wanted to ask you guys , where could i apply to with the qualifications below to do M.D. I'm open to any country who's willing to take me with those qualifications.

Btw if you are from PFUR / or Ryazan Uni , please tell me your experience. Cause i really like those uni's even though from what i read Russia should be the last place i should concider.

Qualifications :

A levels - 3 'E' Passes
O levels - 7 A* , 2 B , 1 C
No TOEFL OR IETSL ( But i have a 'C' in English IGCSE )

As for money , Money is not a problem , don't really care how expensive the Uni is.

Thanks and i Hope you'll be able to help me. I love Valuemd community. Thanks for the great information you are providing.

[devildoc8404]

If you want to work as a physician in the EU when you're done with your studies, then don't make things more difficult for yourself by leaving the EU for medical school. It will only come back to bite you in the butt later.

The countries I would recommend for medical studies are, in this order:
a) Ireland, if you can get in
b) Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia
c) Bulgaria, Romania

Some of the peripheral, EU-candidate countries also have English medical programs, as well. Croatia and Serbia come to mind. Both could be options, and Croatia (Zagreb) has definitely accepted French students in the past.

All of this presupposes that you cannot gain admission in France or Switzerland with your French language skills, and that the other Western European schools are not possible either. Good luck to you...

[pettopo]

Hi ! First of all , Thank you so much for replying ! Means a lot to me !

Alright. I cannot get in to Ireland because of their Requirements.

2) I checked Poland , same as Ireland their requirements is quite high. I don't think i'll be able to get in. I checked Czech Republic ( My bestfriend is studying in Prague ) and I haven't seen them asking for AAA for High school. Just a Pass on High school Exam ( I could be wrong. If i am Please let me know ) , They need me to pass an entrance exam. So It is interesting and I'm thinking of sending an application ASAP to Charles University.

3) Mmmm I remember you saying in one other thread that you wouldn't recommend Bulgaria ( M-U Sofia ) or any other countries in the Balkans ... But yes Sofia looks interesting.

I will check Croatia. How about Russian Universities like Ryazan ( Russia ) ? Are they any good ?
Oh and weren't you studying in Bulgaria ? If so what is your experience like ?

[devildoc8404]

Poland is not uniformly competitive. Jagiellonian? Yes, quite. Others? Not so much. Check around, there are a number of programs in Poland. Charles University has several faculties, so look at all of them. They are also at varying levels of competitiveness.

You are correct, I don't recommend Bulgaria or Romania for most people... that is why they were in the bottom rung of EU schools on my list. They are an option, but I would consider them last.

I also do not generally recommend that people study in Russia unless they want to work in Russia. For one thing, it's not EU, so you are asking for potential headaches later if you want to work in the EU. For another, you have no recourse if things go wrong. For another, you listed some concerns yourself that I would not take lightly. Croatia/Serbia would be better options than Russia/Ukraine/Belarus in my opinion.

Yes, I am studying in Bulgaria. I have posted my experiences all over the Bulgaria thread, sorry, no time to re-type them with exams and boards. However, it should probably suffice to note that I have not placed Bulgaria anywhere near the top tier of E-EU medical education. I appreciate the opportunity to complete my degree here, but it is not someplace that I can, in good conscience, recommend compared with other EU options.

[pettopo]

Thanks again ! I'm gonna pass on Russia ... unless really i get no Uni whatsoever ... meh.

I'll check the Uni's from Poland. I already checked Romania , Czech and will -mail the soon. They all have Entrance Exams o_o. Argh My bio , chem and specially my physics are all rusty. Well Chem not so much since i had to do 1 year of biochem in that so called Russian uni campus.
It'll be okay if they give me the syllabus / curriculum for the exam. But i don't think they do.

Anyway thanks a lot for your input ! Means a lot and you cleared a lot of my doubts ! I will read your experience on bulgaria tomorrow. Just to have a ... clue / idea on the country.

I'm just looking for a good uni ( not the best ) i can easily get accepted to and to a place where i'm actually going to enjoy.

So thanks again devildoc8404 !


Anyone else willing to give their input please do ! Means a lot to me ;-).

Thank you.

[bidiboom]

... Poland is not uniformly competitive. Jagiellonian? Yes, quite. Others? Not so much...

For someone who doesnt plan a future in US, Gdansk and Warsaw options are as good as Jagiellonian. In better words, they are the members of the ivy league of Poland.

[chapelier]

just about romania , where I study , I don't completly agree with devildoc even though his opinion is very valuable. I cant' telle about bulgaria , but in romania medical education has been put under the spots and thus forced to improve a lot. English programs are now well developped for years , are remain very cheap . Romania has to be considered for those
-who want cheap education : around the same or cheaper than russia
-who want a diploma recognised automaticly in EU (not the case of russian/ukrainian degrees)
of course compared to poland , cz or hungary , there is probably much less pressure for students. It's easier to get through. But I don't knw
ow if it's a pro or a cons , for those seriuos students doing their job it's just giving a more peacefull student life. And when you can to another EU country , they don't look at the origin of your diploma (or so little) , as long as it is EU one ... there's shortage of doctors still in many european countries

[devildoc8404]

I must say that chapelier makes a really good point, here. Romania has some of the lowest fees in the EU, and the diploma will get you where you want to go if you plan to work in the EU and you can jump through the hoops. The only reason that I keep it lower on the list (the fees alone should make it an attractive option for many people!) is because of the headaches of living and studying in the Balkan region. Romania is a beautiful country, and so is Bulgaria, for that matter.

Of course, the OP says that fees don't matter in this situation (lucky!), so I guess it comes down to wherever s/he will be happiest and able to study the best.

[chapelier]

dear colleg we must be quite lucky here at hungarian border (30kms from debrecen..) , I never felt what "balkan" atmosphere acually meant. I guess it must be completly different in some other places of romania (actualy it is , in cluj where I transfered from , administration was really more ... impossible to deal with for foreigners , no respect at all except for your $$)

[devildoc8404]

Yeah, I definitely believe that there is a regional difference... and the closer you get to Central Europe the more that influences things in that cultural direction.