Transfer from Mexico ?

[AndresAlanis]

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Hi ! Im currently on my 4th year of medschool here in Mexico and I was wondering if I could transfer to a European university. I didn't get expelled, I just want to continue somewhere else because my family is moving. I speak spanish, english and french.

The university I attend is called EMIS (Escuela de Medicina Ignacio Santos) and it´s part of the ITESM (Instituto Tecnológico). I know my school has agreements with several international universities and that during your last year you can make rotations abroad.

Does anyone know if its easy for mexicans to transfer to European universities ? Maybe I can at least revalidate something. I was hoping for EU , specially Switzerland but I think it will be a little hard to get in, not to mention the cost, which I assume is nowhere near being cheap. If it gets really hard, I can also look for other options in the US, but I have the feeling it'll be harder since I come from Mexico ?
I also wanted to know a little bit about scholarship programs I can apply to.


Thanks in advance !

 

[hamsterfeet]

Here is what I know about European schools, hopefully it will help you!

All requirements to transfer to an European school are different depending upon the country that you plan to study in. I noticed that, for Europe, you only mentioned Switzerland, so let me ask you, are you a Swiss citizen, legal resident or EU citizen already?, because if your not, then Switzerland is pretty much out of the question. However, if you are then you'll have to take an entrance exam (if you apply to a German speaking school in Switzerland, since I'm not sure how the French speaking part do it), you will most likely re-do all your medical school though, and I think schools in Switzerland aren't that expensive (or at least money should be the least of your worries there).
You mention that you speak French, so I'm guessing that you would be also interested in French speaking countries like France or Belgium. However, these schools will not let you transfer( if they let you at all), unless you pass a test that is held after the 1st year, in which about 75 % of the students fail.
If you know Spanish, why don't you try Spain, I heard of people trying to transfer there from South American countries. You will have to contact the Spanish Board of Education in order to see if your studies are in par with the Spanish medical system .

In Eastern Europe ( Poland, Czech R., Hungary, etc) , there are English speaking medical schools, but you would have to see if you can transfer into them by contacting the schools personally. These normally charge somewhere between 5,000 to 16,000 Euros per year, so they are relatively more expensive in comparison to the Western European school, which are normally very cheap, but cheaper than the US.
For any other European country, first you would have to know the national language before even applying.



US school won't accept transfers period. You would have to apply and do med school all over again. Which includes taking the MCAT and so on; and if you worry about cost in Switzerland then I would suggest not even looking at med school in US since they are WAY more expensive.

I almost forgot, you have to seriously consider where you want to practice after you're done with med school , because degrees from America might not be accepted in Europe or viceversa.

 

[AndresAlanis]

Hi hamsterfeet!
Thanks for your response, it really did help me since I had no idea of how these things work. Unfortunately I am not Swiss nor do I have any Swiss or EU residence permits 🙁

So, the idea now would be either France, Belgium or Spain (can't afford USA). I've noticed that my school has agreements and lets you rotate in a university called Lille 2 in France and in the university of Barcelona and Madrid in Spain so maybe it could be easier to get into those unis (I'll speak with the director of medicine this week to see what he can say about this whole thing). I do think I'll continue my education and that I'll practice there in EU so there shouldn't be a big problem to stay there once I obtain the EU degree.

Thanks!

 

[hamsterfeet]

Hi hamsterfeet!
Thanks for your response, it really did help me since I had no idea of how these things work. Unfortunately I am not Swiss nor do I have any Swiss or EU residence permits 🙁

So, the idea now would be either France, Belgium or Spain (can't afford USA). I've noticed that my school has agreements and lets you rotate in a university called Lille 2 in France and in the university of Barcelona and Madrid in Spain so maybe it could be easier to get into those unis (I'll speak with the director of medicine this week to see what he can say about this whole thing). I do think I'll continue my education and that I'll practice there in EU so there shouldn't be a big problem to stay there once I obtain the EU degree.

Thanks!

I heard that Barcelona and Madrid are really good unis, and it might be easier for you to get some of your medical school courses validated. However, you have to make sure that you get your work permit/residence permit if you want to work there because as a foreigner, graduating as a doctor doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to practice in Spain or France.
Keep in mind that Spain has the greatest number of graduating doctors in Western Europe, many doctors find themselves not being able to land a job, I can only imagine that is harder for non-EU citizens, but if you're good, then that shouldn't be a problem.