Where should I go to med school?

October 28, 2008 2:52 AM

Where can I get a quality medical education for cheap in Europe when dual French and Canadian nationalities?

I'm an undergrad student in my 3rd year of an Honours Degree in biology at a university in Ontario, Canada. Right now, I'm on exchange in France.
I have both French and Canadian nationalities, but I've been living in Canada for the part 10 years, meaning that I fail the "residence" test for qualifying for EU tuition (i.e cheap tuition) at most European medical schools that I've looked at.
I'm looking to get a medical education in Europe, because this is where I'm planning to live and practice medicine. However, there is no way I can afford the exorbitant tuition rates that is charged to international students. I'd stay and do it in Canada, but that degree is not recognized in France (and other European countries, AFAIK).
To complicate matters, I'd prefer not to attend med school in France, because they would ignore my undergrad education, and I would have to start at the very beginning of the 8 year med program.
If it makes a difference, I'd also be interested in pursuing a masters in biology before med school, especially if that makes qualifying for EU tuition possible.
Any ideas? What's the best possible way of going about this to make it the easiest for me to get a "short", cheap, and transferrable medical degree? Or should I just suck it up, do it in Canada, and then jump through the hoops to be able to work in Europe later?

posted by snoogles to education (5 comments total)

Tuition is still free for foreign students in Sweden.

Here is a page about eligibility requirements at the medical university. Med school over here is really only an option if you know Swedish.
posted by uandt at 3:38 AM on October 28, 2008

England is probably your only choice if you want your undergrad degree to be recognized. AFAIK it's the only European country which has a 4 year medical degree, all other countries are 5,6, or 7 year programs which are attended after high school. At least US degrees are widely recognized in Europe, I presume it's the same with Canadian degrees. The recognition is not automatic as if you had a degree from another EU country, and you might have to take an exam, but the degree itself still is recognized. England is not cheap, so you might as well stay in Canada.
posted by Brennus at 4:40 AM on October 28, 2008

Try asking on an internet forum that is devoted to such topics instead of AskMe:

Student Doctor Network

Canadian Premed Forum

There are also probably many other forums on the net.
posted by curbstop at 6:32 AM on October 28, 2008

Trawl the Forums on ValueMD. You'll find all the answers you need.
posted by Wilder at 8:47 AM on October 28, 2008

England is probably your only choice if you want your undergrad degree to be recognized. AFAIK it's the only European country which has a 4 year medical degree, all other countries are 5,6, or 7 year programs which are attended after high school.

To my knowledge (I did an undergraduate degree in England, but not in medicine), medicine is normally a 6 or 7-year course (sorry, can't remember exactly) in England that you go into right out of A-levels (ie at 18/19). There is what is called 'fast-track' medicine, which is a four-year degree for people who already have an undergraduate degree in something else; however, I understand from friends that these fast-track programs are very competitive to get into.

However, there is no way I can afford the exorbitant tuition rates that is charged to international students.

Do you have close family in France or Europe? I was an international student at an English university - although I am a British citizen, I am not/was not a resident, and it's residency that determines your fee status. One thing we briefly considered in order to try and dodge hefty international fees was to make my UK-resident grandfather my legal guardian - IIRC, that would have given me residency, and therefore no international fees. I wouldn't really recommend transferring legal guardianship like that, because it could have some negative consequences, but I suppose if you're desperate ...

One final thing: would you consider taking a few years out and living and working in Europe? If you work in Europe for a few years + hold a French citizenship you should become eligible for EU fees.
posted by iona at 9:50 AM on October 28, 2008