Studying medicine in Greece as an international student
Hello, future doctors.
My name is Michael, first-year medical student at AUSoM in Thessaloniki. Today we'll discuss international medical schools in Greece.
Greece had their own medical degree — in Greek — and recently started to offer that same degree in English. The medical diploma you receive is an EU degree. This allows for European mobility, and easy UK/ US entry.
There are 4 medical schools that have English international courses: Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, and Crete. I'm study in Thessaloniki. I was accepted to Larissa as well.
Q1 — How competitive is admission?
Admission is not determined solely on an academic basis. A percentage of the spots are allocated to students who excel in other domains. I have especially noticed this in Greek medical schools. It's competitive, but there's an good chance for all applicants.
Q2 — How difficult is the entrance exam?
I studied the IB diploma at high school. The chemistry tests at Larissa and Thessaloniki were at about the level of my chemistry course. By the time I sat it, I had gained enough knowledge from the IB so as not to have to study new chemistry materials for that test. I think I did well on both tests — Larissa, particularly.
I can't speak much the Biology sections of the test. I haven't studied biology for 5 years, and I did not do great. But I'm sure it's on the same level as chemistry was.
For Thessaloniki, there are also 20 general knowledge questions. They include basic math, basic history and greek mythology. Also, a lot of the questions had to do with Nobel prizes or discoveries related to medical fields.
Q3 — What questions were asked in the interview?
The interviews were a more technical than other ones I've done. There were some tricky questions that threw me off guard. "Why did you choose this city in particular?", "Did you apply to any other universities?"
Overall it went well. I followed the guiding principles I discuss in other articles. The TL;DR of those articles is to stay cool under pressure.
Q4 — How do clinical rotations work if you do not speak Greek?
You're taught in English, but in year three you start going to the hospitals, and in year six you're full-time in the hospital.
The language barrier is not a problem.
- a lot of patients speak English. 2) you're never one-to-one alone with patients — there's always a buddy. Otherwise, you'll shadow a doctor or surgeon, and there won't be any talking required. 3) you learn Greek here. We're given Greek classes, which are engaging, and we've made good progress.
Q5 — Greece vs. other international medical destinations?
I have firsthand experience here — I can't compare to other countries. But I enjoyed my time in Thessaloniki a lot. Friends who went to medical schools in other international countries don't seem to enjoy as much. In some countries they make you learn Latin. In others' you are neglected.
Q6 — How do you choose which Greek city?
I can only compare Athens, Larissa, and Thessaloniki — I visited all three and was given a tour at each medical school.
Larissa is nice. Small, quiet, very village. It's ranked the lowest, but they're trying hard to make up for it. The professors are one-on-one and really try to help you out. I was given a personal tour: the professors showed me their departments, and I met the dean. Larissa is an underdog, I would highly recommend.
I was not a fan of Athens. The campus is north and hard to get to. The area's not very nice either, and the medical school felt big and cold.
Thessaloniki's the best option. It's a student city. Everyone is nice. The programme is ranked highly, the professors are smart, and we get people from abroad for conferences. There is lot's of international collaborations and the staff dedicated to international students here are phenomenal.
Best of luck,
Michael
First-year AUSoM medical student,
Future Swiss doctor
