If anyone asked you which five countries besides your own you might want to live in, what would your answer be? Why did you choose those countries? What do you like about them? Do you know of any downsides that might discourage you from going there?
As you think about where you could go to study medicine, these questions are as important as the facts about the medical courses you might apply for.
You will spend at least five years in your host country so you need to know if you'll feel safe and comfortable there. And it helps to know how much money you'll need to live on. But you also need to know about what medical courses are available in your target countries.
It might take you a while to find top universities for medicine in the QS rankings and then visit each school's page to learn more about them. And then, you'd have to spend time gathering information about the countries' particulars before you decide if you want to live there.
Or you could read through our collection of countries with excellent medical programs, conveniently organised by continent.
The Best Countries to Study Medicine in Asia
If you're going abroad to study medicine, you may as well start investigating universities close to Australia. Malaysia is a good place to start; the Melaka-Manipal Medical College offers a five-year, English-language MBBS program.
The short duration will help offset some of the high tuition costs; international students pay over A$200,000/year. That's not the ideal price tag so let's keep looking.
China has top-ranked universities and world-class MBBS programs but they're only in Mandarin. Unless you speak that language, Jiaotong and Peking Universities are out of your reach. However, if you want to learn about Chinese Traditional Medicine, you might enjoy Shanghai University's four-year English-language program. We're looking for MBBS programs, these shores have nothing for us.
As an Australian, if you want to study medicine abroad and have your heart set on Asia, India offers you the best chance to do so. This country is home to 335 medical colleges. Over half of them are private schools so tuition will be higher and admissions requirements more stringent for those programs. But the Australian dollar stands favourably against the rupee so tuition will be higher relative to other universities in India, not Australia.
Besides low costs of living and inexpensive MBBS courses, India caps their programs at four and a half years. You will then have a one-year compulsory paid internship. Thus, you will start earning while your counterparts in Australia still have two and a half years in school.
You needn't worry about any language barriers when you study medicine in India because English is a co-official language. All of the medical courses are taught in English; you'll even get to speak your native tongue when dealing with official matters.
For instance, if you rent an apartment or file paperwork with the local government office, communication won't be a problem. Of all the countries in Asia, India gets our vote for the best country to study medicine.
The Best Countries to Study Medicine in Africa
The African continent is often overlooked - for everything, not just places to study medicine. South Africa has two universities that offer different medical programs; the University of Pretoria and Wits University.
Life and those courses are affordable in Johannesburg and its suburbs but this continent has much more to offer. For many, though, only Egypt and South Africa merit discussion but those are just two of this continent's 54 countries.
Consider, for instance, Makerere University in Uganda. This architectural gem, located just north of Kampala city centre, has been in operation for over 100 years. In all that time, this school's medical colleges have grown to offer numerous medical specialities. Kampala is one of the least expensive cities in the world; this school's tuition fees mirror the city's low cost of living.
The University of Nairobi is one of the top universities in Africa; it's also the best and largest research university in Kenya. This school goes out of its way to welcome international students. They've even established an office to help students through the admissions process. Like most other countries on this continent, the cost of living is low and tuition is priced accordingly.
The University of Botswana (UB) is consistently rated one of the continent's best schools for medicine. This college opened in 2009, adding extra panache to this country's oldest university. There, you will hone your skills in state-of-the-art medical facilities, completing your MBBS in five years.
As elsewhere across the African continent, tuition and cost of living are low, especially compared to other countries around the world.
The Best Countries to Study Medicine in Europe
Students of medicine are spoilt for choice with medical schools in Europe. This bloc is home to some of the world's most venerable institutions and oldest medical study programs. Best of all, you don't need to aim for medical courses in the UK.
All across Europe, medical schools offer MBBS programs in English.
Studying medicine in the UK is great if that's your goal. After all, you can learn medicine at world-class universities. But the UK doesn't fit on our 'best' list because those courses are expensive and the cost of living anywhere in the UK is high. And the currency exchange rate isn't very favourable.
Medical studies in Germany merit an honourable mention because these programs are top-shelf and they don't cost anything. But to qualify for medical studies in Germany, you must first pass their equivalent to our Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT).
Entry to German medical programs is very competitive so even a good score might not earn you a place. And besides, Germany's cost of living is very high and the exchange rate is not at all favourable.
If you want to study medicine in Europe, consider Poland and Romania. Though European Union members, both countries use their own currencies, each of which trades favourably with our dollar.
Both countries' universities offer world-class medical programs whose degrees are recognised worldwide. These two rank among the easiest countries to study medicine in Europe.
The Best Countries to Study Medicine in the Americas
North America has some of the best medical education and research facilities in the world but they don't make the cut for this list. In the US, medical school applicants must earn a four-year undergraduate degree in a US university before they can begin their graduate studies.
This pre-med course is mandatory even if the applicant already earned their Bachelor's degree in their home country. That's why MBBS programs in the US may take up to 10 years to complete. These courses are eye-wateringly expensive, too.
Tuition for international students may exceed $50,000/year, not including textbooks and study materials. And then, when you factor in the cost of living, you might need to budget for at least $80,000 a year.
Things don't get much better north of the border, either. Canada's cost of living is slightly lower than in Australia's larger cities but tuition is about as much as in the US.
However, if we turn our attention to South America, we find enticing opportunities to study medicine. In Argentina, the law states that public university education is free and the only requirement for entry is a high school diploma. Applicants to their medical study programs who earned high marks in maths and science are preferred.
Four of this country's public universities offer MBBS programs that take seven years to finish. There's just one catch: they're all taught in Spanish.
As long as you meet that criterion, you can spend seven years in a country whose cost of living is roughly 70% lower than in Australia. But why limit yourself?
As long as you're on that side of the world, you can explore medical programs in Chile. You can learn about Chilean public health initiatives and discover traditional medicine. Or you might put Argentinian universities on the back burner and apply at the University of Santiago for your MBBS. The same conditions apply; you need a high school diploma and Spanish language capabilities.
The cost of living in Santiago, Chile's capital city, is around 34% lower than in Melbourne. Here, too, your Australian dollars will go a long way. You won't get quite so lucky with the Peruvian Sol, but Peru is one of South America's least expensive countries. Covering expenses over the seven years it will take you to earn your degree will be easy, and tuition costs are among the lowest in South America.
But here, too, the language barrier might catch you. However, if you study medicine in Cusco, you can find Medical Spanish courses to get up to speed on medical terminology. Still, it's such a shame that the language barrier might stand in your way of such a life experience!
But then, language is one of the biggest challenges of studying medicine abroad.
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