Choosing the right medical university can be a daunting task. In comparison to other courses, medicine requires several basic things to check before actually arriving at your final shortlisting. Below are some of the points you should always consider:
University accreditations :
Parents should always check the accreditation of the Universities. There are two types of accreditations to check for. First, the university should be recognized within the country of the establishment to provide medical education and produce doctors. Second, the university should be accredited by other renowned bodies like WHO (World health organization), WFME (World Federation of Medical Education), GMC (General Medical council), MCI (Medical Council of India). These accreditations ensure that students have multiple country options to pursue after completing the studies.
Entrance procedure :
Parents must be aware of the different possibilities to get admitted to different Medical Universities around the world. For Eg: In the UK, medical admissions are governed by UCAS portal and students need to appear for the UCAT and/or the BMAT Exams. In Europe, several universities like Charles University, Universita Cattolica give admission on the basis of their own entrance exam whereas in Ireland the universities give admission on the basis of final grades in the high school.
Admission requirements :
Understanding the admission requirements also requires thorough research on the University website. At times, University may give admission on the basis of entrance exam or on the basis of final high school grades but might need the student to have studied a specific combination of subjects. For eg: Riga Stradins University in Latvia and several German medical schools expect students to have studied Math in High school whereas not many medical applicants take up Math in high school.
Finances :
Parents should take this part very cautiously and ensure that they have clearly understood the exact breakdown of the amount that they need to pay to the University. This amount can have different components like tuition fee, administrative fee, enrollment fee, semester fee, and so on. Parents must also be aware of the possible scholarships that they can aim for their children to reduce the overall burden of the cost of education. Lastly, parents should also cross-check the payment terms whether the amount has to be paid on a monthly basis or a semester basis or annually.
On-Campus accommodation :
Studying Medicine is a very demanding task and students are required to continuously give their best effort. It is therefore important to ensure that students are not staying too far from their University area. Staying nearby will have several advantages like students can go back to their rooms if there is a long break between classes, they can stay up in the library till late and walk down to their apartment, etc. The time that can be saved on travelling can be efficiently utilized in leisure activities or for studies as per what the semester demands.
