Pros and Cons of MBBS in the Philippines

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Hi,

This is Shobhit Jayaswal and I will give you an unbiased answer to the question – ‘Pros and Cons of MBBS in Philippines‘. Honestly, there is a lot that you need to know about studying MBBS in the Philippines. There are a lot of pros and cons of studying MBBS in the Philippines but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Check the video below of an interview taken by Pradeep Jayaswal with a student studying MBBS in the Philippines:

High FMGE/MCI Screening Test Passing Percentage:

This is the one biggest reasons for selecting the Philippines as the ideal destination for your medical studies. After all, everyone is searching for a country from where they can crack FMGE or the MCI Screening Test as it is popularly known as.

Between 2012–13 to 2016–17, the Philippines had the 2nd highest FMGE passing percentage (minimum students who appeared for FMGE – 950).

This is higher than countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, China, Romania, Belize, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Nepal.

• Check MBBS in Philippines Fees and Duration

This is obviously because the quality of education is one of the best and the country is very comfortable for Indian students for the following two reasons, similar climate and no language barrier.

Similar Climate to that of India:

The Philippines has a tropical maritime climate which is similar to the weather of Mumbai or Kolkata. It has three main seasons-

• Summer season from March to May,
• Rainy season from June to November, and
• Winter season from December to February.

Temperatures usually range from 21 °C to 32 °C although it can get cooler or hotter depending on the season. The average yearly temperature is around 26.6 °C. The coolest month is January; the warmest is May. Because of the similarity of weather in the two countries, Indian students do not feel any problem whatsoever with adjusting to a new country. This is a major advantage over European countries where the weather goes to as low as -30 °C. Check the average temperature in the Philippines:

This leads to another advantage-

Similar disease pattern:

As the climate is the same, the diseases are also the same and therefore, the students are taught about the same/similar diseases which are found in India. This means that the student learns about more relevant topics. You will be taught about similar diseases and you will find patients who have similar diseases to those in India while at your internship in the Philippines. This helps the students during their clinical training. This also gives a sense to the students that they are learning something that will help them in the future.

No language problem:

The language in the Philippines is English. The biggest advantage of studying MBBS in Philippines is that you don’t have to learn any new language. English is the official language in the Philippines. The school education is in English from class 1 – like in India a/ No new language is needed to be learnt. Time is spent on medical education and not on language.
94% of the population speak English. Students converse with patients fluently – unlike in non-English speaking countries.
Better learning for students. Teachers speak good English and can explain well to Students – no communication problems.

But you have to go through the Pre-medical course:

You cannot get direct admission in the medical course after class 12th. You will have to enrol in the pre-medical or BS course first. After this, you need to clear NMAT in order to get admission in the MD course which is equivalent to MBBS in India.

• Know more about BS-MD course in the Philippines

There is an entrance exam:

Any agent who says direct admission is possible in the medical course is lying. You have to sit for NMAT exam and get at least 40 percentile to get admission in MD (MBBS course) course in the Philippines. The exam is not very tough and with some hard work, you will easily clear it.

• Download NMAT sample paper:

Low fees:

The other obvious reason is that the fees in very affordable and low, when compared to colleges in India and the fees, is similar to the countries such as Ukraine, Russia, etc. The tuition fee for the complete course including pre-medical will be around ₹15–16 lakh minimum. The total budget is generally around ₹25 lakh including living expenses.

• Check MBBS in Philippines Fees

Many patients:

During hospital work, medical students get good exposure to many patients in the Philippines as the population is high. Moreover, you don’t have to learn any other language for interaction with patients.

US & International Job Advantage:

The Philippines is the largest supplier of trained nurses & doctors to the USA & several other countries.
Strong culture of giving USMLE & going to the US to practice. Universities are listed in California Board of Medicine for licensing. Another advantage to the Philippines.
Alumni work in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Gulf etc. Good for networking and linkages for jobs.

• Check Fee Structure for MBBS from Philippines

Reference:

• Wikipedia
• BS-MD course in the Philippines
• Fee Structure for MBBS from Philippines