Jeg vil studere i Norge [ENG]

[Kord]

Hei og beklager,

jeg skriver ikke på Norsk. Så jeg bruker engelsk.

 

I am learning Norwegian recently (for over a few months now) but I'm not still confident with my language skills. So a big sorry for that! I need a small help and I don't know where to begin with it so I decided to find a Norwegian internet forum and ask about a few itchy issues.

 

I am from Poland, I never been a student but now I want to change the course of my life a bit. At this moment I am running a middle-sized company but my long forgotten passions have awakened. My big interest was always Biology science and some time ago I realized that I want to study medicine with psychiatry or neurology specialization. 

 

The thing is I want to move to Norway (to the Bergen) in the next 3 years with my partner which is a naval engineer (so Norway is perfect for him). So I started to gather information about studies in Norway. So far I know that it's really hard to get into them, especially if you are from any other country.

 

Some additional information would really help me:

- It is really so hard to get into Medicine University at Norway?

- What can I do to raise my chances? Any special courses or experience as a volunteer?

 

I want to send an e-mail to the University of Bergen but firstly I wanted to hear out normal people.

 

Have a nice day!

Kord.

 

[Salvesen.]

Yes it is really hard, most Norwegians study abroad for medicine because of this. But, there is some changes around the corner, and I am not sure how they will impact foreign students. I would just contact the school, they have all the answers. 

[Gjest Slettet+921324]

For norwegian applicants, volunteer work or other experience does not count when applying for medicine studies. Only the grades from high school counts. I don't know much about applying for medicine studies, but I assume you have what it takes if you have an IB (international Baccalaureate) approved education. Bergen is a good place to study, you will like it there. Lots of students from abroad.

[Marcus Halberstram]

As already stated by the others above, getting into medicine is notoriously known for being one of the hardest programs to get into. To give you an idea of how hard it is, you have to be among the top few % of students to have a chance. I’m not familiar with how grading etc works in Poland, but from what I learned from googling, it seems you use the same scale as in Norway, with 6 being the best grade. To have a chance at medicine you have to have a gpa of at least 5.4-5.6. If you don’t fall within this range (or higher) you have close to 0% chance of getting in. There are more details to it than this, but this is the most important part. You can read more about how everything works on «samordnaopptak.no», which is the organization responsible for admission to public colleges/universites in Norway. Unfortunately not all pages are available in English, but you might be able to translate it via google translate or something. 

 

https://www.samordnaopptak.no/info/utenlandsk_utdanning/polen/

 

I might add in more details when/if I have time. 

 

[Thommesen]

To add to how hard it is to get in: the lowest grade that got in, in 2018 was 6.6. That means they would have had to have 6 in almost every subjects, and on top of that extra points for things like doing advanced courses, other higher education and age. You can get up to 0.8 extra age points. To apply for medicine you need these advenced courses: physics 1, advanced maths 1 and chemistry 1 and 2. But dude, you can do it if you want it enough, follow your dreams!

[Nimrad]

I see a lot of people talking about how medical school is difficult to get in to. But as far as I can see you're talking about biology. Biology is a lot easier than medical school. I don't know a lot about biology, but I have a friend with a bachelor's degree in biology (not from medical school) and she works in a lab at the hospital. You should consider that. Also: contacting the university is the best way to proceed from here on.

[:utakt]

It's not unusual for Norwegians to attend medical studies at universities in eastern Europe (Poland...) because they fail to qualify for medical studies at Norwegian universities. 

 

If you're going to Bergen, bring a raincoat and an umbrella.

https://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Hordaland/Bergen/Bergen/statistics.html

Endret 15. november 2018 av :utakt

[Kord]

Thanks for all of the answers! It was really helpful and I get a new point of view.
First of all, I contacted the University of Bergen but it was really weird. I asked about a few topics and I got answers for totally other questions. And they did it two times in a row!

Anyway, @Marcus and @Thommensen those grades requirements are overwhelming for me, because of two reasons:

1) In Poland doesn't matter what grades do you have when you are trying to get into any University. Only final exams are in matter. You can have an average of grades from 2 to 4 and get into any university if you finish your exams with, something like 75-85% correct answers.
2) The 6 grade is an untypical grade in Poland. Even when you get 100/100 points on a test the teacher still can give you the 5.

So it looks like I am in a dark, deep hollow. I need to go again to last school class (to raise my average) and redo final exams with advanced courses. It will take me one and a half of a year. In the meantime, I need to finish the Norwegian and English language course. And also work every day at my job because I need some money to live (living is a cool thing).

So technically is it something like doing a double salto in the air with a tree trunk attached to your ankle, next to a few hungry alligators with fresh meat stuck to your head. Oh my god. Reading all those information about requirements made me "a bit" depressed yesterday but after a few talks with my partner, I made a decision to reach for it. In the worst case, I will stay in Poland for a little longer - but it still will be better than making nothing and live with the thoughts like "I even didn't try, I regret it so much" to the end of your days.

So, just hold my beer! I am going to do a double salto!

@:utakt - this is one of the reasons why Norway. I just love wind and rain.

 

[Marcus Halberstram]

Yeah, the requirements are pretty tough. However, it should be noted that this is far from representative for the general level of competitiveness. As long as you have fairly «OK» grades, that it is, say an average grade of 4, you should be able to get into almost any program, as long as you are willing to relocate. For instance, if you wanted to study biology at UIB (university of Bergen), the points needed in 2018 was 45.6, or equivalent to an average grade of 3.2 + maximum extra points. 

 

[Kanskjemedisin]

You are going to run a company, retake your high school exams with such high grades that you will get into medicine IN NORWAY, and on top of that learn Norwegian do such a degree that you will pass Bergenstesten?

 

That's just beyond stupid. Norwegians who study full-time over three years wanting to become doctors don't even get enough points to get in. Why don't you study medicine in Poland instead?

[Kord]

@Kanskjemedisin

Thanks for your words and the opposite point of view! You are right, it is stupid. But I prefer to be stupid and try than just let it go easily. This topic is also connected to my partner who will have to wait a few additional years in Poland where he has limited opportunities as a naval engineer - I don't want to slow him down so if he said that he can stay with me in our country a bit more (because of my crazy idea with medical studies) I need to be fair and do everything to get into Norwegian university.

I bet it will be the most difficult time in my life, no doubts about it. But the last time I remember when people told me to not being stupid was when I had a full-time job and was starting my own company. It was a really similar situation.

So, if I don't get in, I will study in Poland. But first I need to try.

[Dana]

From what i have heard from friends who study medicine, Tromsø requires the lowest gpa to get in. However i would definately recomend to move to Bergen if you have the chance to do that. I have spent three years in Oslo, and now im at my first year of a bachelor degree in marketing.
 

A little tip: If you end up going to Bergen, you should apply for an apartment through "sammen". Compared to private housing alternatives, you get a much nicer apartment for the money. You should apply now, just in case. If you dont end up going you could just deny the offer.

Endret 16. november 2018 av Dana

[Kord]

Thanks, @Dana! Unfortunately, because of a few reasons, Tromsø is out of my reach. But I will look to a few other Universities it, it is a good thing to check other options. And also I will try "sammen", it sounds like a really great deal.

Maybe someone of you would like to change a few messages via PM or e-mail or any chat? It would be awesome.

Endret 19. november 2018 av Kord