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Medicine Decision: Buckingham (UK) vs 2nd Faculty of Medicine (Prague)

I got an offer from both Buckingham University at the Buckingham campus (around 1 hour 30 minutes away from London) as well as the Second Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague. I am not sure which one to pick. Buckingham has very high fees but it is a 4.5 year degree whereas Charles University is a 6 year degree but considerably cheaper (around £100,000 difference), however I have to learn a language. I was wondering if anyone had any advice/shed some light on what would be best to pick.

Reply 1

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum. :biggrin:

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The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
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Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

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Official Undergraduate Medicine 2023 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2023 Entry
Medicine 2023 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2023 Entry
Medicine Interview discussion 2023 Entry
2023 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Index of Individual Medical School Applicants' threads 2023 Entry

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Official Undergraduate Medicine 2024 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
GAMSAT 2024 / 2025 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2024 Entry Discussions Megathread

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Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
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Useful Articles:
GCSE Requirements for Medicine
Everything you need to know about the BMAT
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
Interview Frequently Asked Questions
MMI Medicine Interview Tips
What to do after an unsuccessful first application

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Reply 2

Original post by ray06
I got an offer from both Buckingham University at the Buckingham campus (around 1 hour 30 minutes away from London) as well as the Second Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague. I am not sure which one to pick. Buckingham has very high fees but it is a 4.5 year degree whereas Charles University is a 6 year degree but considerably cheaper (around £100,000 difference), however I have to learn a language. I was wondering if anyone had any advice/shed some light on what would be best to pick.

Hello! I'm an international student currently studying at Buckingham. Even I had received offers from Charles University 1st faculty and Debrecen but I chose Buckingham since 1. The course is shorter(4.5 years) meaning I can graduate earlier and 2. Being a UK graduate school I do not need to write PLAB, and allocation for foundation years is guaranteed for all UK medical students. Additionally the curriculum is also well structured, and we get clinical exposure right from the first term in 1st year.

Reply 3

There is no more plab and everyone will have to write the exam in UK regardless where you have studied medicine ! Charles University stands a lot higher in terms of the ranking compared to Buckingham!

Reply 4

Original post by med_student24
Hello! I'm an international student currently studying at Buckingham. Even I had received offers from Charles University 1st faculty and Debrecen but I chose Buckingham since 1. The course is shorter(4.5 years) meaning I can graduate earlier and 2. Being a UK graduate school I do not need to write PLAB, and allocation for foundation years is guaranteed for all UK medical students. Additionally the curriculum is also well structured, and we get clinical exposure right from the first term in 1st year.

Hii!! Please could you tell me about the admissions process at buckingham and how hard it is to get in? What kind of things do they assess you on in the MMA? and how hard is it to complete + how is the interview?

Reply 5

Original post by Anonymous
Hii!! Please could you tell me about the admissions process at buckingham and how hard it is to get in? What kind of things do they assess you on in the MMA? and how hard is it to complete + how is the interview?

i wouldn't say it is super super hard to get into! if you receive an invitation to round 1 of the MMA, it's just typed questions and answers, basic knowledge on character strengths (communication + leadership), some mental math (which u can do on paper) and other typed questions. round 2 is obviously MMI based, didn't get questions about the UK medical system (NHS) but had other regular MMI questions that i can't obviously disclose haha. i didn't do that much prep and i got an offer so if you're already an above average student who is well spoken and good at english, u should be fine.

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