Medical studies: This is the toughest test in Austria

You can recognize them by their transparent pockets. Because this is the only way the participants are allowed to… Medical entrance tests MedAT enter the halls of the Vienna Trade Fair. The bags contain ID cards, drinks and snacks – cell phones and other things are not allowed.

It felt like the whole of Vienna was looking forward to the city’s biggest admissions test yesterday. More than 8,000 examinees took part this year. The subways and cafés around the station were correspondingly full Messe-Prater: moderately to very excited young people everywhere. Some laughed in a relaxed manner, others nervously browsed through their notes, and still others were photographed in front of the entrance by their proud parents. A young woman with a transparent bag ordered a coffee and was immediately approached by a lady behind her: “All the best for today,” she said. The only response was a nervous smile. The tension is great, study places are scarce and the preparation for the test that will determine everything is intensive.

The MedAT officially starts at 9:20 a.m. Until then, the participants find their place and do breathing exercises to give them an extra boost of concentration before the exam, which lasts several hours. One of them is Sam B. (Name changed by the editors), whom the KURIER interviewed a few days before the exam.

The best 9.5 percent

“I always wanted to be a doctor,” says Sam at the beginning of the conversation. He sees the reason in his family: “There are a few doctors there.” Tips for the MedAT However, he didn’t get it from them, but from people who had only recently taken and passed the exam. Your advice? Have the goal in mind. “You learn in order to fulfill your unit dream, so you should be fully committed and not just do it half-heartedly,” explains the MedAT participant.

And: start learning early enough. He himself started preparing in January. That’s how most people do it, explained Stefan WithalmManaging Director of the learning platform studymed: “They start preparing between January and March and study on average for several hours per day,” he estimates. Around 25 percent of people would even start preparing between October and December.

“For most participants, the MedAT means a lot. It is the one day of the year that decides whether you are admitted to the course and get closer to your dream job or not.” You invest a corresponding amount of time in learning. It is not for nothing that the MedAT is considered the hardest entrance test in the country.

You spend around six hours in the Vienna Trade Fair and have to fight your way through four sections of human medicine: basic knowledge test, medical studies (i.e. biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics), followed by text comprehension, cognitive abilities and skills as well as social-emotional skills. In terms of content alone it is very demanding, but there is also enormous competition.

Lots of crowds, little space

16,880 applied across Austria to the MedUnis Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck or to the Linz Medical Faculty. However, there are currently only a total of 1,950 places – at least 50 more than last year.

The MedUni Vienna is particularly selective and has by far the most interested parties with 8,235 registrations for 784 places. The chances of being accepted there are therefore not very high. Only the best 9.5 percent get a place.

In order to pass, the young applicants have to put up with a lot, as KURIER learns from two former examinees. They study for months, dig deep into their wallets for books, courses, tutoring, hone their learning methods and try to proceed strategically.

Susanne G. competed three times and is now close to completing her medical studies. Looking back, she notices one thing in particular: the MedAT is just a foretaste. “It was feasible and in line with what is expected of you in your studies. I don’t think it has become much easier, but rather that it remains constantly challenging.”

Plan A, B and C

When Mirko H. was preparing for the entrance test around ten years ago, he decided against community service and in favor of the armed forces: “It was shorter and so I had longer time to prepare for the test,” he says. The strategy worked: today he is an assistant doctor. But he also had a plan B just in case: “I wanted to do a year abroad in Cameroon and work in a hospital there to gain practical experience – and then start again.”

In total, Mirko H. competed twice: once in Vienna, and a year later he tried again in Innsbruck. The chances there are somewhat better (this year the top twelve percent will get a place there). “That was a factor,” he says. His tip: use the courses and test simulations, “because you can look at the test methods beforehand and practice them. That helped a lot.”

He is not alone in this assumption. Online course provider Stefan Withalm also observes that registrations are constantly increasing. In his estimation, around half to three quarters of all people would prepare with at least one provider – and many would primarily complete test simulations.

Sam also used a paid app and paid for online courses. However, he remains realistic about his chances. His preparation was not as intensive as he would have liked. Parallel to his high school diploma, he mainly studied during breaks – for example on the bus. “If I’m honest, it’s not very likely that I’ll pass this time.” Sam is counting on the second attempt next year. He also has a plan B, a private university in Austria, and even a plan C: studying in Germany. This takes some of the pressure off his first attempt at MedAT – which, despite all the doubts, remains his plan A.