Hello, I have been accepted into both smu and charles university 1st faculty of medicine in Prague. Because of my previous qualification I have got 1 year exemption from the course at charles university meaning that it will only be 5 years for me starting from this october.

So the way it stands I have to commit to either a 4-year course at smu or a 5 year course at charles

I know the goods and bads of both university but ultimately I want to practice in US. With that in mind which of the two universities would you say is a better option? I understand that I am posting this in smu forum and there is likely to be a biased reply, so please give me your reasons.

Thank you.

Charles university has Califronia I believe, if you want to practice in Indiana, Tenn., Cali I would go for Charles.

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In my opinion, SMU is leading you directly for Step 1. Also, you simply can't go wrong with Kaplan. As far as I know, students from Charles University don't have to take Step 1, so you will be studying medicine but you may not learn all the high yield stuff than you need in order to pass Step 1.

Prague is a beautiful city, I would rather live there than on the rock. Living is cheaper in Prague than in GC, and you are right in the middle of civilization, not on the island. On the other hand, in GC you don't have many distractions, so you it is much easier for you to find time to study.

Next, medical students from Czech Republic are top of the top from their high school classes, so I would guess that the expectation in the classroom is high. Over there, you don't get into med school when you are average Joe with 3.0 - 3.4 GPA (no offense to anybody, I didn't get straight A's either). As a matter of fact, there were times you were not able to get into University in CR at all if you were not at the top of the class, but that has changed.

As far as I know, Charles University has also spoken tests, and multiple choice questions tests may not be standard (I heard that from one med student about 2 years ago, I am not sure if it changed). Simply said, the style of education and testing is little bit different, but that doesn’t mean that the standards are not high – for their needs.

Regarding your time, to get your M.D. you need 4 years at SMU and 5 years at Charles, so you would save 1 year at SMU. In Charles University, most likely you will be able to finish everything at one place, while SMU gives you basic science on the island and then you have to do rotation in different US (or UK) hospitals. Which kinda sucks, but hey, it is doable.

Good luck either way you decide

I'm not sere I would be willing to pass up on charles university if given the chance. Yes, smu is closer to the US, but smu is still in a slow growing phase at the moment. I think that going to charles would give you a stronger basis for practicing medicine and not just passing a standardized test.---acetre

I don't think that USMLE prep is a big factor. You will cover all that you need to know at any reputable medical school. Besides, you can always take a review course if you feel the need. I don't think it matters what kind of testing is done at the school. The important thing is to learn the material and there are many ways to accomplish that objective.

It is helpful but not essential to get some US clinical experience(USCE). While it is possible to get a residency without USCE you limit the field considerablty if you do not have it. Thus, I think this is an important criterion. I would make sure that you can spend at least 6 months in the US as this is the time requirement most often listed by residency programs. I suspect your clinical experience at Charles will be good but US programs want people to have at least some US experience.

Living in Europe will be a much different experience than going to a carib island with several hundred other US students. In some respects, the carib experience hardly qualifies as living abroad. To use an analogy, going to the carib is kind of like going abroad with a large American tour group. Going to Charles will be more like traveling solo. They are very different experiences.

Lastly, I would talk to some people at Charles. The carib schools are a well trodden path and the schools are used to dealing with US students. You may find that Charles has less experience with US students and it may take more work to set up clinical rotations. Thus, even if the education is first rate, there may be some practical problems for US students. I doubt that this is a deal breaker but you need to check it out.

Best of luck.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I am hearing all kinds of things about Charles. The fact that luck plays a big part in what grades you get. the language being the big hurdle, the flaws with their exam system and the poor clinical training. Also when i visited the university, I was not very impressed. However they do have 50 states and a reputation, the stafford loans and thousands of graduates in uk and us. I understand that at both school i will have to work my butt off and the workload will be harder at Charles given the fact that i will have to learn Czech aswell.

The one thing i want to know from you guys is that which of the two universities will pose less of a hurdle when it comes to applying for residency and license?

Lacarthic:- I really don't care about CA. I don't want to practice there, so in that respect smu has all i am looking for. what is concerning me however is the fact that quite a few states are starting to adopt the cali list.

Drack_md:- Charles still conduct spoken test and from the student i talked to, the topics are not specified to them beforehand.Also i have been told that luck and good look plays a big part.

acetre:- I was not actually impressed by the school when i visited it. I was interviewed by the dean at Charles and he spoke good English but apart from him all other officials were very bad at english. Also they would get angry if you did not understand them. I would hate to think that this applied to lecturers and professors at the faculty but according to some of the students i talked to in Prague, not all lectures speak good english and most often you got a mixture of czech and english in classes. And since i do not speak a word of czech i think it will be my biggest hurdle at charles.

brendab_md :- thanks for the info about USCE. Charles don't do clinical in us, but I have been told that a student can set up an elective in us. am not sure if it will count or that it is 6 month long. I am still looking for a charles graduate practicing in us but i am yet to find one.

I attend SMU. The reason I suggest charles to you has nothing to do with any dislike for SMU. I was just concerned with whether practicing in all 50 state ie. Mexifornia is a concern of yours. If that is not an issu for you then SMU is the better choice for you.---acetre

charles is 6 years not 5

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I work in clinical research. I have three research coordinators from different sites that went to medical school and graduated from a Eastern European school with an MD. They were from Eastern Europe and all said that they had problems with the USMLE. That being said, I think the Carribean schools are a bit more user friendly for passing USMLE.