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asdasd12345
08.11.2004, 00:14
Hello. I want to study medicine in Germany. I am originally from England and I took 4 years of German language from 11 to 15. However now I am 28 and I remember little. I would like to know if anyone has any thoughts on how long it would take someone to learn a decent amount of german to be able to get through the medical school. I also understand that medical school is near free in germany, but does anyone have any idea about living expenses and if there are any loans available? Thanks

Froschkönig
08.11.2004, 00:47
I also understand that medical school is near free in germany, but does anyone have any idea about living expenses
It totally depends on where You study :-nix
The amount to pay to the university is in fact (still....maybe it is subject to change in the near future) little, but the costs for "life" vary at a wide range depending on in which city you live :-nix

JHS
08.11.2004, 01:12
I would like to know if anyone has any thoughts on how long it would take someone to learn a decent amount of german to be able to get through the medical school.

Hi asdasd12345,

as most students and lecturers are able to speak and understand english, I would not expect too much problems at the beginning...

Best regards,
Johannes

asdasd12345
08.11.2004, 02:08
thanks very much for the info. what about gaining admittance? im an older student (28) and i already have a BS from an american university (the university of florida) in a non-scientific field. Do you recommend finishing the traditional premed courses in the USA as if i was trying to get into a US med school beforehand?

the reason im considering germany to study medicine is because im in sort of a strange predicament. im actually british, but my parents brought me to the USA when I was 15. However, I never actually got a greencard which is a prerequisite to studying medicine in the US. Also because I have been living outside of the UK for so long I am no longer considered an EU student and I would be charged astronomical fees if I went to med school there. Its hard to believe that I am a foreigner in the country I was born in but thats the system I suppose.

EzRyder
08.11.2004, 15:02
Hi!

Don't worry about your chances to enroll at a German university! As a foreigner, you will not compete with the German applicants. Most likely, you'll get a place! About learning German, well, lots of work to do. Especially Grammar is gonna be hard! But I don't know about your language skills and talents. There were people who made it, so why don't you give it a try?

Estimated cost of living are somewhere in between 500 and 700 Euros per month, depending on the city and ,of course, in a small apartment.
Food is cheap! Check out the eastern part with its lower costs of living and cheap housing!

So long ;-)

Herschi
08.11.2004, 20:09
Hiya.
As far as I know there is a special quota for foreign students at every university. I think you have to apply to the university directly (unlike UCAS) and from what I've heard it's not too difficult to get in.
There are quite a few foreign students in my year and their levels of understanding and speaking German differ a lot. There is one guy from Israel who has just come to Germany 7 months ago and didn't speak any German beforehand who is able to cope more or less. The German technical language is quite similar to the English technical language, so that shouldn't be a problem.
Yep, you don't have to pay any university fees, at least at the moment... they try to change that and I just hope that it'll take them some years to really do it.
There must be some scolarships available for foreign, I'd have a look at the different organisations... Have a look at www.dfa-germany.de, they might have at least some basic information.
Living expenses differ from uni to uni (or rather from town to town). In the eastern parts of Germany living expenses are a lot lower. Especially the rent is a lot higher in the big cities.
We don't really have loan system like you do... I think that's probably because we don't have nears. You'd have to ask around at some banks...
Hope I could help you a bit. :-stud
If you've got any other questions, don't hesitate to ask and I'll try my best to answer them.

questionmark
08.11.2004, 20:42
Where did you finish your high school? In the States, right?

Vystup
08.11.2004, 20:50
Hey there,

I think you should be able to learn enough German to follow the lectures within about half a year. However, some of the test questions can be quite tricky (sometimes it seems they want to test you on your understanding of the German language rather than medical facts) so you should expect to take about a year before you can keep up with your German-speaking fellow students. I think the German you took in school may be quite helpful but you should still be prepared for a bit of a shock because people tend to speak a lot faster than most school teachers do ;-)
You may want to start reading German books, this will help you a lot, at least that's what my girlfriend said (she's French). You definitely should buy medical books in German as you may have a lot of trouble passing exams if you study from English ones. Firstly, they may have a slightly different focus but more importantly there are a lot of common language terms which are more frequently used than the technical ones. Unfortunately the German books tend to be a lot more expensive than the English ones :(

Medical school is essentially free (you do have to pay some administrative fees) and the cost of living should be lower than in England. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (http://www.daad.de/) gives a few scholarships every year but you should not count on getting one, as it is probably quite competitive. Eastern Germany does have slightly lower costs, however, they are catching up quickly. Having lived in both parts of Germany I personally think it does not make a lot of difference, as long as you keep away from Munich, which is insanely expensive (although probably still cheap when compared to London). You will have to turn to commercial loans (banks) if you need one. The German government does provide study loans to Germans (Bafoeg) but I don't think foreigners are eligible.

Medical schools in all parts of Germany are comparable, there is no real top school. You can therefore choose a city you would like to live in and apply there.

I definitely think it's absolutely possible for you to study in Germany and successfully get through medical school. Be prepared for some hard times and a lot of work though. Good luck :)

asdasd12345
08.11.2004, 23:28
Yeah I did the final 2 years of high school in the USA. It was extremely difficult not because of the subject matter but around about that time of your life (I was 15) your starting to worry about other things other than studying. Also within a month of landing my mum went into a coma for some reason or other. The doctors were never able to figure out what it was but it appears she was given the wrong prescription. It takes a while to get used to a country. Im very excited about the idea of moving to Germany though. Thanks for all of your help!

eatpigsbarf
08.11.2004, 23:48
I don't think that it's necessary for you to take the pre-med classes offered to American students. If your German is sufficient enough that you think you'll be able to attend and pass German med school, you'll be able to pass the basic sciences classes of the first 2 years.
I have 2 guys in my class who are both from the US and they have no problem with the German lectures and tests. I think in the very beginning of the first year it was a little bit harder for them: the "simple" fact of getting adjusted to med school and on the other hand everything being taught in a foreign language. But this shouldn't be much more of a problem for any English-speaking person compared to other non-German speaking foreigners in German schools. As other people here have mentioned before a lot of the medical terms are very similar to the English terms.
The only thing I'm not quite sure about is how your American high school graduation diploma will be evaluated when compared to the German Abitur. I remember that most of my foreign friends from med school had to pass some kind of test to proof their German was sufficient. This test had to be passed before the first semester of med school started (it was a summer class which lasted about 8 weeks). But I'm not quite sure whether this test still is mandatory for admission to a German university...
Good luck! It'd be awesome if everything worked out for you!!!! :-party

questionmark
10.11.2004, 02:37
Hello!

As it has been mentioned before living expenses vary quite a bit depending on where you live.
For university you have to pay a comparatively little fee for administrative purposes.
Learning German should not take too long, half a year at the most.

I am wondering though whether you know if your American High School Diploma is accepted in Germany and if you are able to study medicine. Because you may not be admitted to university straight away. It could be that you only have to pass some language exam. However, it could also be possible that you have to take an exam called "Anerkennungsprüfung" or "Feststellunngsprüfung" or even attend a "Studienkolleg" to acquire admittance to university. You can get some basic information on this homepage (http://www.daad.de/deutschland/de/2.3.1.html) oder you can call the ZVS (the central institution for admittance to medicine at university) under 0231-10 81 453.

Good luck!