Miklos said:
There are a number of problems that foreigners face going to French medical schools.
-They are all state schools and admit "nearly everyone".
-They are based on a a pyramid system. Only a certain percentage of students graduate from year 1 to year 2. This continues from year 2 to year 3. Something like 10% get from admission to year 3.
...
-Unless you are French, you will experience xenophobia in one form or another, as you will be singled out.
Miklos said:
I stand by my post. Whether you call it a 'pyramid' system or not is a matter of semantics. The French system is notorious for what I described. If you don't believe me, look into it further. Or as the poster puts it, "competitive spirit"...
My information came from someone who did attend a French medical school and was unable to pass into the third year, based on his exam results. When he asked to see his exam papers, it turned out that they had not been graded. It was then explained to him, that as a foreigner (though he was also an EU citizen who spoke impeccable French) he was simply not entitled to advance. He did successfully complete an MD without too much difficulty elsewhere.
I know this is an old thread but I just stumbled across it today.
Miklos, your friend may have begun at a French med school but much of what he told you is garbage.
First, the only competition (and, yes, it is extreme) is for the "entrance exams" during first year. They are very tough and first year is spent preparing students for them. But no one is supposed to fail after that.
So saying French med schools "admit nearly everyone" is not the whole story. A French "bac" is supposed to give access to any university in the academic region where the "bac" was obtained. However, since full access to Medicine is continget on ranking in a small government set number (their numerus clausus) on their entrance exams, most French students will not waste a year of their lives unless they think they have a reasonable shot at it. (In addition, students from outside the academic region...i.e. non Parisian students who want to go to a Paris med school and all foreign students undergo initial screening to determine if they have a realistic chance of making it into the numerus clausus.)
Although extreme, the whole point of the French selection system is to be as fair as possible. They reason that not all schools and countries have the same academic standards. So, good grades just give you a foot in the door, and you then have to prove yourself on a level playing field.
To say that this approach is xenophobic is ridiculous. Of all systems I've heard of, French med schools are by far the most "foreign student friendly" (although it seems funny to use the word "friendly" for something French
).
The French are so obsessed with "equality" and "fairness" that they refuse to charge higher fees for foreign students. They want access to be based solely on merit and not money. Med school here is very open to foreigners. And since their entrance exams are the big equalizer, a foreign student has just as good a shot of getting in as a similarly qualified French student.
In fact, being a foreign student has an advantage if you're from outside the EU. You still have to meet the same standard as everyone else, but if you make it into the numerus clausus the government gives your school an extra spot for a French student. So...you're NOT competition...and French students (and your school...I think you end up increasing their funding) are very happy to have you.
As for foreign students suffering discrimination during exams, this is ridiculous. All the exams that really matter are rigorously anonymous. If anything (and assuming your French is good), it's an advantage to be an anglophone.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend, but he does not sound like a reliable source of information for French med schools.
