Studying in the EU

[Nateismine]

My son is struggling to get into medicine in the UK so is considering private unis in the EU. He particularly likes the idea of Spain but is worried he won’t get the amazing ‘uni experience’ that he thinks he will get in the uk. Does anyone have any experience of their kids studying abroad and do you have any advice?

I don’t know anything about this specifically but my first thought would be – is the course taught in English – and if not, how is his Spanish? A-level ability is not going to be enough to understand a university course, especially one as technical as medicine.

What is the motivation for this? Is it simply that he cannot get on the course in the UK? Does he have any offers at all? could he take a gap year and apply with grades in hand?

There are many university degrees in the EU that are taught in English. Many.

I don’t think the university culture is as developed as it is in the UK or Ireland though.

The Dutch have a good university culture and many courses are in English.

No medicine courses in English in the Netherlands now though.

There are a lot of medicine courses taught in English across the EU. You need to check that the course / provider complies with the appropriate EU directive (sorry can’t remember the number off hand). where does he want to practice after graduating?

Does your son have access to Unifrog?

A lot of them require students to take a chemistry / biology entrance test.

Fees can be very high at the private unis: is that an issue?

the student experience will be very different. Many EU students stay at home, and there isn’t the same drinking culture.

Often on English taught courses students are expected to learn the local language in their first year or so, to enable them to with in local clinics / holidays etc as they move up the years. TBH this isn’t a big issue for other EU students as they are required to take at least one, often two, languages to the end of school.

I should have said that son is fluent in Spanish due to a Spanish father but has always lived in the UK. I suppose my main concern is ‘missing out’ on the uk uni experience. I was hoping someone might say that the Spanish uni experience was even better!

Can you work as a doctor in UK with a Spanish degree? Or what does he want with a medical degree?

Would he intend to stay there longer term? Foundation years and specialist placements in UK are already competitive and having taken a degree abroad , even in EU, could mean he is disadvantaged for one if he wanted to return.

Ummm Yeah it is. Have you been to uni in other countries?

I don't think you need to worry about the "uni experience". I think if he lives in halls in a big city, he will get a similar experience to the UK. There may be more international students in halls but again there may not be.

Why do you think it would be easier to get into medicine in another country? Or is it that you think it will be easier to get into a private university for medicine?

The only country which (I think! I may be wrong) is not highly selective for medicine undergraduate first year entry is France - I think there the (pretty brutal) selection is at the end of first year (Parcours d'Accès Spécifique Santé).

Cuba is well-known for training doctors as an export industry, so to speak.
Study Medicine in Cuba: A Simple Guide Students (2025) - CubaHeal https://share.google/dUSoKbJqVV8N0PLG7