I'm going to study medicine in greece in athens university wt do u think of this university is it good in med?

Question

i wanna be a good dr. is it a good choice to study in athens? and if u know just tell which university is better athens or thessaloniki??? by the way i'm gonna learn the language for 1 year first:)

Answer 1

Are you Greek? Are you fluent in Greek? Do you plan on practicing medicine in Greece?

If you didn't answer Yes to all three of these questions then it is a horrible idea. First of all, you will not learn enough of the Greek language in a year to attend medical school. After six months of living there and taking accelerated modern Greek courses, I was only able to have basic introductory conversations with people. I would never be able to take a college level or graduate level course exclusively in Greek. Secondly, the Greek universities are not as good as they used to be. There is a lot of controversy surrounding them, and the degrees don't mean very much outside of Greece, so you would run the risk of not being accredited as a doctor. The quality of the education for medicine is not as good as in other places. Many of the wealthier Greeks who can afford a better education leave for the US or UK to complete their undergraduate and graduate schooling. Third of all, your command of the English language is horrible, so what makes you think your ability to speak Greek will be better?

Answer 2

Hello! First of all, do you speak/read any Greek now? If you don't, take into account that Greek is supposed to be quite a hard language to learn. So if you're sure that you want to come here to study, I suggest that you study the language first for a longer period.

Second, the level in most greek universities is actually very good. By "level" I refer to the qualifications of the professors, to the quality of the lectures, to the material that is available for research etc. The Medical School especially has a good reputation. BUT, it is also true that most of our universities lack in the organization department. If you get accepted, expect to do many things on your own, sometimes without proper guidance. You'll learn to rely on yourself! :) Another thing I want to tell you is that due to political problems, the last year was a bad one for most students here, because the government tried to pass a new law, there were protests on behalf of some students, sit-ins were organized and in some schools students missed a whole semester/exam periods and then had to rush to replace them. These situations are moslty due to the influence of the political parties inside the universities... I can't rule out any abnormal phenomenons like tha happening again, but I do think it's unlikely since the controversial law finally passed.

Another thing you must take into account is that after graduation from Medical School, you're supposed to specialize in a field (eg become a gynaecologist, surgeon etc). It's quite hard to do that in Greece because of the long waiting lists: Lots of people graduate from Medical School but the available positions for graduates who specialize in a field are much fewer and this results in graduates having to wait many years before they are able to get one. This is a problem most Greek students try to overcome by getting positions in foreign hospitals. Britain is a popular destination.      

I also want to clarify that graduates of greek universities do get accepted for postgraduate studies in some of the best universities around the world each year. So the stereotype you may hear that if you graduate from a university here, you'll have trouble continuing your studies elswhere isn't true. But it is true that if after graduation you pursue postgraduate studies/a specialization elsewhere, you'll probably increase your chances of getting a job in another country.

I can't advise you on whether it's a good idea to study here since I don't know: 1) where you're from 2) what you want to do afterwards with your degree 3) what your other options are.

Finally, as far as I know there's not a big difference between the Medical School of Athens and that of Thessaloniki.

If you want more information, just let me know. Good luck!

ADDED: Also, the length of study for Medicine is 6 years.