Med School in Europe Offers Tradeoffs

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More European medical schools are offering English-taught programs, experts say.

More international students are looking at European medical schools for lower tuition rates and fewer years in school.

In recent years, there's been a growing number of English-taught medical programs at European medical schools, says Jennifer Viemont, founder of North Carolina-based Beyond the States, which provides information on English-conducted M.D. programs in Europe. According to Beyond the States, there are 35 of these programs – most of which are in Italy and Eastern Europe.

Experts say cost can be a luring factor for some students, especially with the higher cost associated with attending a medical school in the U.S. – even for in-state students.

The average indebtedness for students who graduated from a ranked private U.S. medical school in 2014 was $160,993 compared with $156,084 for those who graduated from ranked a U.S. public medical school, U.S. News data show. These average debt amounts don't include student loans borrowed as an undergraduate.

"Europe's integrated bachelor's-master's degree program can save students both time and a tremendous amount of money, as the average tuition for these programs is just under $10,500," says Viemont on M.D. programs in Europe.

Medical degrees in Europe typically combine undergraduate and postgraduate work, the Beyond the States founder says, and are usually shorter – five to six years in length.

Integrated bachelor's-graduate medical programs in Europe, she says, carry not only a tuition benefit, but may also lessen a student's debt load. "These programs are shorter. So you're talking about less time paying tuition and more time getting income as well."

Despite medical school in the U.K. being more expensive compared with other countries, such as Italy or Poland, to name a couple, the shorter program length is tempting to U.S. students, experts say.


"The main appeal of the course is that the program is undergraduate, so students come directly from high school rather than spending four years on a premed track," says Alexander Craik, a U.S. recruitment officer at University College London.

Craik says he's seen an increase in inquiries from U.S. students about the school's medical program because of the shorter length of time, even though annual tuition is high.


For prospective students interested in studying medicine in Europe, here are several points to consider.

1. Tuition fees vary country to country: Studying in the U.S. for many is an expensive investment, and many European medical schools are comparatively cheaper, college experts say.

Annual tuition at the Medical University of Warsaw for the English-taught medical program, as an example, is 11,500 euros a year – roughly $12,300. The program is four years for those who pass the school's medical entrance exam; the school offers a one- to two-year premed program for international students.

But not all European programs are on the inexpensive side of the spectrum. Medical schools in the U.K. tend to cost more than elsewhere.

While the University of Birmingham's medical and surgery degree program is only five years, an international student pays $25,000 annually for the first two years and then nearly $43,550 per year for the final three years.

Spots are also limited for international students, U.K. university recruiters say. The cheapest programs, experts say, are at public medical schools in Italy.


2. Residency matches are lower for international medical graduates: U.S.-based college consultants say students coming from an international medical school may find it more difficult to place with a residency program in the States.


"In the medical field, students who attend school abroad have a stigma associated with them: 'They were not good enough to get into an American medical school,'" said Kristen Moon, a college adviser and founder of Atlanta-based Moon Prep, in an email.

In fact, slightly more than half of international medical graduates – 52 percent – "matched" with a residency program in the U.S. in 2016, according to a spokesperson from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.

U.S. medical graduates had a higher match rate through the National Resident Matching Program last year. The match rate for those students was more than 75 percent, according to the NRMP.

3. Not all European medical schools are eligible for federal student loans: According to the most recent data from the Department of Education, 398 foreign universities across 37 countries are listed as "eligible" for disbursing federal student loans.

While there are some European medical schools that qualify for the program, such as the Medical University of Lublin in Poland or Charles University in Czech Republic, not all schools with an English-taught program qualify, according to the Department of Education.

If a school overseas is eligible to participate in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, then a student can also use funds from a tax-advantaged 529 account to pay for school-related expenses.

But as Viemont from Beyond the States says, "You can still use your 529" at a non-FAFSA school. "You're just going to get a penalty."



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