for nelic on CHARLES UNIVERSITY

[gambrose]

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NELIC,

Thank you for your interesting story about studying at Charles. I am actually heading out to Prague next month to check out the different Faculties at the famous Charles. A family friend of mine got his MD/PhD from Charles and has taught at prestigeous universities like Lund and Univ. of Mich. Charles is definitely among the most respectable overseas med schools.

Got some questions for you:

Which Faculty are you in? What are the difference (between the 5 faculties which I've counted so far)? Why differences in tuitions?

I haven't taken college physics and am self-studying right now. So maybe I should take the pre-med courses at Charles? Did you take the year-long pre-med offered by Charles before you got accepted? Did people who took the pre-med courses benefit much? How hard was the entrance exam?

How do you get your medical texts? How expensive it is to get them there?

You are in your fourth year now, so how does it compare to the first 3 years of basic science classes? I heard that the exams are mostly given orally, how did you adjust to that?

Ahoy!

 

[neilc]

nazdar, vole! well, i must agree, it is great studying over here...you will enjoy your visit, i am sure. have a few pivo for me! anyhow, lets see if i can answer your questions...

1. i am in the first faculty. there are a few differences in course structures and timing, exams, but mainly it is location. i compare it to the UC system in california. all the UC (davis, berkely, irvine, etc...) are different universities under one big UC designation. i would say that the prague faculties (1, 2 and 3) are pretty similar in quality. tuitions are higher at the schools with more americans and english students. first faculty (where i am) is the highest, and i think it is worth it because the school is a bit ahead of the game as far as international students. still, you will have to know exactly what you need to do and when (as far as usmle, ecfmg and match go) because the school does not walk you through it.

2. do not take the pre-med course. the program is 6-years long and designed for high school grads. the only physics you will need is for the entrance exam. they teach biophysics to introduce you to any that you will need in classes like rads that you will have later. if you feel unprepared in physics take a summer class or get a tutor. do not waste a year in the pre med! entrance exam is pretty easy. there should be a sample exam on the website, it is very similar to that one.

3. i mainly bring my books with me. it is about the same price to get them in prague, but i liked to go check out and compare books at the UCLA bookstore and then get what i liked. most people simply use amazon or go to the med school store which has a decent stock and can order anything you need.

4. i am very, very happy to get out of the basic science years. after i take step 1 in a few weeks, i will be stoked! the years are tough, and the material is dense. but, you can get through it. oral exams were very tough to get used to. but, they did help me. you really need to understand material in order to discuss it with a prof, and the better you learn the first 3 years, the easier usmle will be.

good luck with your decision and let me know if you need anything else.

 

[Dr.GA2B]

cau vole, Neil!

My SDN login had been problematic and finally the administrator advised that I create a new account.

Thanks for your informative and interesting reply. My wife and I are arriving in Praha on August 20 for a couple of weeks. Maybe we could meet up at a cafe or something and chat some more about your experiences? If you like to, you could reply in a private message.

Curious, how much does it cost you annually tuition+books+living expenses+pivo? How much do you spend on textbooks?
I understand that the US Dept of Edu has approved Charles for fed loans. Do you know if it's a pretty straightforward process? Can you still get the regular 18500/yr maximum that includes living expenses and books?

Also, with Kcs expected to appreciate with EU accession, is it likely that they'll raise the tuitions? Or did they guarantee your tuition when you started?

By the way, I saw on the web that AEMS is having an annual conference at the 3rd Faculty and it sounded pretty interesting.

Ahoy,
George

 

[neilc]

well, i am home now, studying for the usmle and after i will do some rotations stateside...so, can't meet in august. but, can do in january!

as for the other questions...i spend about 20000/year and live very well. you can do it much cheaper by eating in, living farther from the center, staying out of the clubs, etc...getting the loans is easy, i get 18500 a year, no problem. there is plenty of time to sort out your loans before next semester.

i don't know about tuition increases...but, whatever tuition is when you start is locked in for you. so, it will not go up once you get into the school and start paying, at least for your purposes.

the dollar is weak now, so purchasing power is down. don't know how long it is, but my guess is that it won't get a whole lot better, as the economy and life in the CR is getting more and more western....


good luck with everything, and send me an email if you need anything [email protected]

 

[bts4202]

Good luck on the USMLE Neil. Let us know how it was when you are done.

 

[stinky]

i have been accepted at Charles and Semmelweis in Budapest. which one do you think i should choose? im i'm attending a faculty in hradec kralove is it still possible to live in Prague and commute? if not, what is it like living in hradec?

 

[neilc]

thanks for the wishes, bts...after this crazy ass usmle, i will likely have several cold beers, and post my experiences. cross your fingers for me!

for stinky: i have never been to hradec, but a very close freind of mine transfered into our faculty, and another is still in hradec. it is a small town, a bit far for a commute. if you want to live in prague, go to one of the three faculties in the city. commuting to school would be a big chore. don't know much about semmelwiess, although i have heard good things about the hungarian schools. personally, i would go to school in prague, as it is a bit more like home (or any big city)...you can get by better on english, it feels less foreign, so the adjustment is not so tough. if not prague, then prob semmelwiess, although i am not sure what city or the living conditions are like. good luck!

 

[poly]

FYI: an email from the California Medical Board I received last week informed me that the Charles University in Czech has not yet applied for recognition of their English Language program.

Semmelweis University's English-language program is approved by the California Medical Board.

The University of Szeged has applied for recognition of its English-language program recently.


Hope this helps in your decision,

p.

 

[stinky]

Well i saw on some website (american association of foreign trained something or another) where they said that the charles program was well organized and they taught czech language intensively.

semmelweis was given "provisional status" and the english program was said to be small and disorganized. semmelweis is in budapest; its a big city but... kind of like a cross between rome and mexico. i havent been to prague yet but it certainly sounds better. what is the enlish scene like there anyway? in budapest there arent too many americans - mostly scandinavian and german i think. might get a bid tedious after five years. the good thing is both are joining the EU, so if my dreams of returning to earth dont work out when im finished, i can just move to ireland and make mega-bucks with no extra schooling.

 

[neilc]

well, the CR should be EU next year....that is good news for us! i think hungary is also. as for CA status, i know that the application is filled out, but the office is lagging on mailing it for some reason. i have seen the completed thing, so this is driving me nuts. anyhow, there is no reason to think that they wont get approved, if they ever submit the stupid thing...

prague has a huge expat community, something like 30-40,000 americans. english is spoken everywhere, and it seems like every time i get back it is more like home. the school is not very heavy on americans, average about 5-8 per class, but the last few years have been rising, and this year there should be around 12-15 starting. but, there are americans in lots of programs besides medicine, especially film students.

i think that site you are refering to is AAIMG. it is a bit contreversial, so take it with a grain of salt. and it is old. i truly think that the quality in the CR and Hungary will be very close to each other. both quality, old schools with research, tons of hospitals, etc. they are so close to each other, you should just head over there and check them out and talk to students to get a feel for which you prefer. good luck with your decision!

 

[Dr.GA2B]

Yup, I agree with Neil. There shoudn't be any doubt that Charles wouldn't get approved. By the way, my visit to Prague will coincide with the Association of European Med Schools anual meeting. Things look pretty exciting for me.

Good luck Neil, and wherever you are, the taste of good Czech beer should always make your endeavors worthwhile. I'll drop you an email later.

George