All you need to know about medical schools in Czech Republic
4 Reasons why medicine with a foundation year could be a bad idea
Medical Studies
Index
- Intro - Is a 1 year foundation programme right for you?
- Why a 20 week of intensive training could be better
- Managing to cover material of 1 year in just a few months
- Validity of an intensive pre-med programme for many universities
- Summary and comparison table
Find out if medicine with a foundation year is the right way to go for you
Many universities offer medicine with a foundation year but is it right for you?
Medicine with a foundation year is becoming more and more popular these days.
Lots of you, start questioning if having a foundation year prior to the ream medical degree would be the smart way to go with.
In a way, it is a good system that was introduced years ago by the international programmes with the aim to give more acceptance to students even if they were missing core science subjects like biology or chemistry.
These programmes were then implemented with great success and today we can find many medical schools offering this type of admission – They just demand the high school certificate and if you are missing science subjects from school, then you are invited to course a one year foundation with final exams in the end which will determine if you are finally ready to move to the 1st year of medical school on the following semester.
Sounds attractive right? – In a way it is, and without a doubt a good option but do you have perhaps a faster and better alternative? – We think so and we will explain why and how…
1. Do 20 weeks of training instead of one year
One of the main points that should be considered here it’s time – As they say time is money, it really is.
Doing your foundation year by default means that you are putting your medical degree start aside for 12 months. This is 12 months of delay towards your medical degree, your clinical rotations, and ultimately, towards your medical certificate that will land you a job/put you on a specialization track.
Don’t get me wrong, if you are missing the subjects needed to succeed you still need them but the question is, could you do all this without sacrificing one year? – The answer is yes.
King Charles Medical College offers the same foundation with a greater focus and an intensive course that lasts 20 weeks which translates to only 5 months!
The programme starts in October and February and you take exams right after that which are relevant to your acceptance for that same academic year. This means that you don’t sacrifice one entire year, which translate to you becoming a doctor one year earlier than expected, which translates to receiving your certificate and salary of a doctor a year earlier.
2. Costs of the foundation year programme vs a 5 month foundation programme
This may be one of the most common questions I get from students and it’s a totally legitimate question. How much would you invest to get admitted to a medical programme at a good university? and how long should I study for?
The 20 week programme is focused on the exams and with personal attention. The studies are done in sort of a “boot camp” fashion manner in which students study every day on the subjects that are going to be presented in the exams and everything that is included in the syllabus will be needed for the exams and admission.
Unlike the famous “foundation year” offered by many schools – The 5 months programme does not take one year away from you, but on the contrary, it attempts to place you right on your first year of medical school directly. This means that instead of starting at year number zero, you start on the upcoming academic year on your first year of medical university saving you time of also tons of money.
Nowadays, a foundation year programme usually tends to cost as much as one full tuition year in fees being anywhere from 8 thousand Euro to 16 thousand Euro or more. You study for an entire academic year or two full semesters.
The foundation year in this case could be an excellent choice to those who are not in a rush to start their medical degree and prefer to take it at a slower speed, but also if you can afford tuition fees for an extra year (year zero and 6 years more for the full degree).
If you decide to go for the 20 week foundation programme option instead, then you should be taken entrance exams right after the 5 months are done. You will be studying for 4 to 5 hours every day.
Students also receive assignments and classes to review after the regular 4 hour class has finished.
The programme is then built in the way to cover the entire material before the official admission exams start on each term.
It is important to mention that the programme is ran by experts with many years of experience and the methodology used in the premed course has been tested and proven successful for many years in arrow, but the best of it in our opinion, is the cost, because you can do all this at only a fraction of what you would pay for a foundation year. The 20 week foundation programme only costs 4,900 Euro.
3. What if a shorter programme is not enough for me?
The 20 week programme should be more than enough for the majority of students, however, there are always unexpected situations or special cases that don’t let a specific student attend all lessons and miss some important classes.
Other students may need more than the usual practice and attention and even after 5 months, they may fee that they need to study more.
Even if this happens, and a student needs to re-do classes or re-take the entire course he or she can do it for free and re-take exams on the following term which usually relates to the same academic year! that’s right, even when things don’t go your way entirely, with this programme you can still save up a whole year by getting accepted on the very upcoming academic year and yes, you will be fully prepared for your medical studies at your chosen university.
All this means that suddenly, your plans for medicine with a foundation year will turn to a 5 months foundation course instead, giving you the same chances (maybe even better) but with a very valuable shortcut to your medical degree.
4. The foundation year in a medical programme is usually valid for one university alone
When going for a degree in medicine with a foundation year, you must consider the fact that the school offering this foundation programme is the same school that you will be attending to once you pass the final exam.
In other words, you are confined to start your medical school at the same place where you are attending the foundation year, but what if you suddenly opt to go to a different school?
This could be one of the most frustrating moments, when you realize that you are actually wishing you started your foundation year somewhere else, and this is one of the main advantages of taking an intense premedical programme instead of the foundation programme at a specific school.
Again, as a disclaimer I would like to point out that this school may have been your number one choice for a long time and you have no desire to go somewhere else, but lots of students are still uncertain on which university to choose even after passing several entrance exams!
Having joined the pre-medical programme at King Charles Medical College will mean that you are NOT confined to go to one school specifically and the freedom of choice to actually select your school on your terms after you have all the training and knowledge.
Summary and comparison
To summarize our discussion on whether you should take a university with medicine with a foundation year or join a good and intensive pre-med course, we are putting a comparison table so you can see for yourself, compare and hopefully reach the best decision for your medical degree abroad.
Medicine with a foundation year
- Valid for most students with or without science background
- Solid instruction and practice before the academic year
- Admission Exam at the end of the programme
- Usually, no possibility to apply to more than one university
- Usually, housing is included in the price
- Usually, no possibility to begin your medical degree the same year
- Price is usually between 8 thousand and 17 thousand Euro (equivalent to one academic year of tuition fees).
20 week intensive Pre-med programme
- Valid for most students with or without science background
- Solid instruction and practice before the academic year
- Admission Exam at the end of the programme
- Possibility to apply to more than one university
- Housing is available but not included in the price
- Usually, good chances to begin your medical degree the same year
- Price is 4,900 Euro
Keep informing yourself and find out what the main reasons are for students to study a medical degree abroad:
https://kingcharlescollege.com/5-reasons-for-a-medical-degree-abroad/
