More Than Just Plan B: Why Studying Medicine Abroad Was the Best Decision for Many

The degree counts across the whole EU

Anyone who wants to study dentistry in Germany needs excellent school-leaving grades or a great deal of patience. Anyone with neither can study within the European Union, because degrees in human medicine and dentistry are recognised in every member state of the EU. That is precisely the point many people are not aware of at the start: this is not a substitute qualification, but the same profession with the same rights.

When I started, around a thousand Germans were studying human medicine or dentistry in English or German at universities in almost every European member state. Today the figure is many times higher.

My own place of study: Sofia

I was born in Stuttgart and studied dentistry in English at the Medical University of Sofia, in the Bulgarian capital. In my time there were close to 500 German students there. The Faculty of Dentistry was founded on the German model, by Bulgarians who had studied dentistry in Germany.

Teaching took place in small groups of no more than ten people per instructor, with a mix of students from over 40 countries. Tuition fees were 8.000 Euro per academic year, but instruments and materials were largely provided by the university. On top of that came living costs well below German levels, which puts the fees into perspective.

Why do we study at all?

When the media reported on us, the catchphrase of the day was studying as a stopgap. To find an answer to that, I asked myself a question that starts further back: why do we study at all?

For me, studying means three things: acquiring a substantial body of specialist knowledge and competence, building a professional and social network, and developing your own personality.

And it is in exactly these three points that the strengths of studying human medicine or dentistry abroad lie, as I see it. Specialist competence grows through the small groups and early patient contact. The network becomes international, because you work for six years alongside fellow students from dozens of countries. And your personality develops, because in your early twenties you build a life in a foreign country, learn a new language and sort out things that others have never had to sort out.

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What has changed since I started my own degree

Three things are different today, and all three argue for the route abroad.

First, the choice has grown. Alongside Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia and Malta are established options, with annual fees that vary widely by location. Anyone starting today can match location and budget far more precisely than I could then.

Second, preparing for working life in Germany has become easier. German-language online courses, clinical clerkships and placements during the semester breaks can be organised alongside your studies. If you want, you will have built a network in Germany by the time you graduate.

Third, there is far more information available today. When I started, I had to piece everything together myself. We are proud to have been the first agency to make these insights freely accessible, with near-daily videos and interviews with real medical students abroad. That foundation is exactly what I lacked at the time.

What this degree makes possible for me today: my life in Bern

If I am to explain what became of my plan B, a look out of my window is enough. Today I live with my family in Bern, the federal city of Switzerland. What made that possible was exactly this route: studying dentistry abroad, the EU-wide recognised degree and the subsequent Swiss recognition through MEBEKO.

I grew up in southern Germany, experienced a great deal of good there and still enjoy going back. That I am now allowed to live and work in Switzerland I owe to a country that welcomes well-trained people. My recognised degree was an open door here, and I am immensely grateful for that.

What I am most grateful for is that my son gets to grow up here: in a manageable, quiet city where children walk to school on their own and where a great deal simply works reliably. It reminds me of how my own childhood in southern Germany felt in the nineties — and that feeling is exactly what I wanted to pass on to my son.

This is the thought I would like to give to every young person currently considering studying abroad: a degree in human medicine or dentistry is not only a professional qualification. It is an international entry ticket. Where you later live, work and raise your children is to a considerable extent something you decide with it. I could not have guessed that in my early twenties, unpacking my suitcase in Sofia.

The way back stays open

One point reassures many people: the route back to Germany is open. If you wish, after the preclinical years you can apply to German faculties for a higher clinical semester on the basis of a credit-transfer decision from the state examination office. What is striking, though, is how many no longer want to take that route at all and prefer to graduate abroad, because they feel at home there.

If you want to know which location matches your grades, your budget and your plans, get free advice: Book a free advisory session.