Medicine in Milan, Italy - International Medical School

Hi,

I've just visited Milan and Pavia and really like it out there. If you are just considering the location, Pavia is definitely a nicer place. The Milan campus is located south of the city in quite a deprived neighbourhood called Rozzano - kind of like the equivalent of Compton, LA, Bronx, NY, Brixton, London, Moss Side, Manchester etc. That said the course is meant to be good there. Cost of living in Milan is relatively expensive - approximately on a par with Bristol, UK, for instance a 1 bed apartment is at least 600 euros upwards, 800+ euros for a nice one in a good area. If you are willing to share or live outside then I guess you can make it a lot cheaper.

Pavia is a lovely historic town just 20 mins on the train from Milan, in fact its only a short drive from the Rozzano campus. However, the area is lovely. A one bed flat here costs from about 450+ euros a month, but again if you are willing to share or live outside you can get it cheaper. I would say that if finance is a concern then Pavia is the best choice, you get more value for money.

I am a mature student (age 29) so for me Pavia was a definite yes as it was just a much nicer area, the uni is very well reputed and is just a gorgeous building. However if you are looking for a more party lifestyle, lots of bars clubs etc - maybe a bigger city like Milan or Rome might suit you better. I mean sure there are some bars and clubs in Pavia but I wouldn't say it was predominantly that kind of place. I think it would suit mature students better than Milan from a living perspective.

The only negative I heard about Pavia from the hotel I stayed in Milan was that being a small town, the general mentality of the locals might be not as open as in Milan, or Rome, it was just a comment the owner of the hotel made to me but she might be wrong.

FINANCE:
I did find out that there is a student loans system in Italy, however it is not widely accessed by Italian students in the same way that it is in the UK. From what I understand there are 3 providers, 2 of them begin support from 3rd year providing you have a minimum number of credits. These 2 are called Intesa Bridge and Unicredit. The other provider may begin from 1st year but I think it is part means tested and also merit based in that top scorers get it - maybe its more like a scholarship type system, not quite sure of how widely available it is. This one is called Diamogli Credito. Overall I got the impression that it is possible to access finance but it just takes time and is not so straightforward as in the UK.

So basically if you are thinking that you will struggle to complete 6 years without access to loans don't be completely downhearted as it does seem that there is a system of sorts, although it may take some effort to access and it may only be possible from 3rd year onwards.

Do Milan/Pavia take A2 level grades into account when considering someone for a place at the school? Or does it solely depend on the IMAT?
Also, what are the tuition fees for Pavia?

That sounds great! So would you suggest Pavia over Milan then? Do you know if theres mainly mature students or younger ones, straight out of secondary school?

Some more quickreplies:

To Syelem: Is it necessary to have an english language certificate (TOEFL, IELTS...) once we are admitted to the uni (if we succeed)? Nope. Since the test itself actually requires a high level of aptitude in English, as far as I know, you do not need any kind of English certificate. However, they're nice to have... if you can afford the time and effort to get a top-end score


Tamarson: Could you please tell me whether i need to submit documents (such as high school diploma etc.) before I do the IMAT or after?
I THINK its after. the documents, for me, were insignificant in the application process, but important for actual matriculation AFTER getting in. However, I would advise people to get their papers together and ready, because the time required to translate/apostille/send to the italian consulate is all very difficult and time-consuming. Silly red tape...

Dreadnought01: - Am I correct in thinking you take the IMAT in the year of application, so I would apply by August 22nd 2013, do the test September 5th and then within 2 weeks get a score, then fly straight out to Italy, life there in general?
Spot on. Really tight time-frame, so best to be prepared!

- Whats Milan like, I plan on flying out with family next year to take a look, but as someone living there, I was hoping you could give me a better idea of the people, the places to go? Milan isnt the very tourist-friendly city that some people (such as I did...) think it is. There aren't that many things to see once you take out Duomo, Leonardo's last supper, and the shopping... definitely not as much as london/paris/rome. Time is more often spent socialising at local bars and cafes. Can't really be more explicit than this, you'll have to come experience it for yourself!

- I would be just finishing yr13 at school and would be 18 at time of application, are there many people this age, that you're aware of? So far, there is a range of people from 17/18 up to older than me (26 now!) I think the average age is about 21/22 for our year, but Im sure there will be more 18 year olds; we have at least 6-7 in our year too.

Fi_12000: Thanks for your input - I couldn't really say much about Pavia. The original point of writing this was to write some of my experiences of Milan, and now we have a contrast between the 2!

Zackhere: I've just got my A-Level results, and failed to reach my Medicine offer.
What are my chances of getting into milan this year, only starting preparation today?
I assume that if you've only just missed your medicine offer, then your A-level knowledge of the 3 sciences will be very strong. This puts you in very good standing! However, just knowing your material is insufficient - you should spend your time from here on out with a little revision, but primarily focus on the format of the exam. Practice the imat/bmat papers, especially the logic questions!

Rainbow: Do Milan/Pavia take A2 level grades into account when considering someone for a place at the school? Or does it solely depend on the IMAT?
Also, what are the tuition fees for Pavia?

Dont know about tuition fees in pavia. However, Im positive that neither takes A2 grades into account - the IMAT is all-important!

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Thanks Shinwave for answering
I have another quesion and hope u can help me.
The university sent me a document with the rquirements that I should bring in the test day.
One of the requirements is:
(The test participation acknowledgement issued by the www.universitaly.it portal once the competition enrolment procedure has beencompleted.)
I don't understand what they mean by this ....can u please explain this to me if u can ??!!

I am currently a student studying medicine in Milan, Italy, and am writing this to help any prospective students in their decision-making process! I will be talking a lot more subjectively on this topic, my personal decision-making process, and some general info with regards to my experience thus far.

The program I am enrolled on is the Medicine and surgery (medicina e chirurgia) program in English. It is a program run by the University of Milan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Milan) and is called the International Medical School (IMS), with everything being based at istituto clinico Humanitas.

Why I chose this course

The course is a 6 year degree in medicine, and all lectures are in English. I am currently a first year, with no previous knowledge of Italian.

Having researched the University itself, I found that the University of Milan has an international reputation - something important in my eyes when considering the future - It is considered one of the best in Italy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Milan). The degree is recognised in the UK (http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/registration_applications/eea_evidence_italy.asp), and so I thought "Why not; the exam entrance fee is cheap, course is in English and is in Milan, Italy, rather than somewhere possibly more obscure - works to my advantage when applying internationally after graduating. What, tuition fees are no more than 4000 euros a year?!"

On the course, the lecturers are excellent (I have previously studied at Bristol and Nottingham - I graduated with an Msc in Immunology) in comparison with other top universities. The class sizes are small (50 in our year), and very international - we have about 15 Italians, 10 Israelis and 10 Brits, with others coming from Lebanon, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Sweden - you get the idea. The small class definitely helps in terms of student-professor rapport; we really get to know each other. This is almost unique in terms of the professor getting to know each student (Does not happen in the UK).

Literally today, one of our coursemates went and watched a surgery to fix an aortic aneurysm: again, does not happen in the UK. However, with Italy being a catholic country, dissections are illegal. Instead, as first year students, we already have our white coats, are shadowing doctors and sitting in at consultations (yes, knowing Italian is a benefit). Students have the option to go visit the ER over the weekends. All in all, it is very exciting (albeit the majority of our time is spent in lectures or studying in the library).

The course is moulded around other international models (e.g. Stanford etc etc), and I really do get the feeling that they have made an effort rather than just port over the Italian system and Googletranslate everything (I have heard other courses in English are doing this...). The lecturers are excellent, the material is theoretically challenging (as you would expect any decent medical school to be), proper patient interaction starts in the THIRD year, and the facility is amazing.

Lunches are subsidised (3 euros for a really good meal), we all have our own lockers, the teaching staff for our PBLs are all very experienced physicians, everything is pristine clean, and there seems to be one or two international conventions happening every week, and as students we are welcome to view them. State of the art equipment (e.g. really powerful PET scans), and the concept that if you contact the doctors beforehand, they will be more than happy to accommodate for one extra student on their rounds - some of the benefits of being a medical student here.

The hospital itself - Istituto clinico Humanitas (ICH) - is one of the best in Italy. It is a private hospital, with the capability to accommodate for patients on the national health service. With that being said, it has some of the best doctors and facilities around. I have been told that there is a 2:1 ratio of student to physician tutors (paid to be tutors). All the doctors I have met thus far have been more than supportive (a la coursemate today, who was asked whether he wanted to sit in on the aortic aneurysm surgery).
I have so far met intern residents from the US and the Netherlands, who have been saying the facilities here (e.g. nuclear medicine department, where he is an intern) are truly state-of-the-art, and that was an important factor in them coming here.

Our classes are held in one classroom, with our professors coming to us. Since we are so few, you really get to meet everybody intimately. Our class has already been on skiing trips together, visited Nice over the weekends, and even invited friends over for Christmas/New years/Easter back to the UK!
On top of all this, we frequently go out together to the very cosmopolitan city that is Milano; sushi all-you-can-eat-buffets, coffee and drinks at any number of bars, karaoke, football, and apertivos!

The entrance exam

This is what happened last year.

I took the IMAT test (BMAT equivalent) in September having signed up, and waited two weeks for the results to be published online. There were 100 people taking the exam in London, and a further 500 Odd taking it in Milan, for 30 Eu places and 20 non-eu places.

NB they advertise a minimum mark of 20; this is NOT what you should be aiming for. This was only the second year, and the competition for places in the eu category was much harder than for the non-eu.

After the results are published online and you place within the top 30, ZOOM you should pack and get out to Milan asap and start looking for an apartment - Last year the entrance exam was on the 9th of September, results were published on the 1xth, and we had to be here for registration by the 23rd or so. It happens very quickly, and they expect you to pay the first instalment at an Italian branch of Intesa Sanpaolo (I made the mistake of going to the Intesa Sanpaolo branch in London but they dont deal with private payments). First date of term was the following monday (26th I believe).

NB - the application procedure is not easy takes time - start well in advance of the application deadline, but in the worst case scenario, contact the medical school as shown on www.mimed.it

In summary
Pros: Environment (small classes, excellent teaching staff, facilities), early clinical experience (tasters in the first 2 years followed by proper patient contact in the third year), course taught in English (but must learn Italian), top university in Italy, top hospital in Italy, and cheaper tuition than UK. Food is great in general!

Cons: Having to learn Italian within 2 years (I intend to study over the summer holidays), no dissections, had a really tough time getting all the paperwork together (Italian consulate blew 2 separate confirmed appointments with me, then lost my paperwork...)
With this being a new course, sometimes things dont go as smoothly as you would like, but having chatted with the year above, things are definitely improving. I assume it will get even better in years to come (Means some of this information may be outdated soon)

Possible pros or cons (depends on how you look at it): the hospital is not actually in the city of Milan; rather it is several kilometres to the south. However, there is a shuttlebus that runs every 20 minutes from morning till 8pm every day to Milan, and it takes about 15 minutes.
The lecture timetable is not as intense as in the UK. Its not 9-5 everyday, but with more time allocated to "self-study". We have on average 4-5 hours a day of lectures (just quick-maths involved here), which may be less intense than in the UK, but the students then go off to study at their own pace by themselves.

I hope this helps - I myself was daunted last year when faced with the prospect of this mysterious course. I would strongly recommend people to come and investigate (as some people have already done) -it's only Milan and costs under a hundred pounds to come and investigate for yourself!