Part 1 - All about the University
Timestamps
What Are the Timetables like?
Timetables depend on the academic year, as clinical experience impacts it a lot. In preclinical years classes start at 9am Monday through Friday, and end around 2pm on average. There might be supplemental lab activities that are in the evenings from 3-4 pm until 5-6pm.
In 4th year you are expected to go into the hospital 1 full a day a week with the other days following the normal structure of 9am – 2pm. In 2nd semester you will start going into the hospital 1-2 mornings a week with lectures continuing a little later on those days. 5th year onwards you will be in the hospital every morning and lectures are from 2-7pm usually.
What is the Clinical Experience like?
In 2nd and 3rd year you will go into the hospital maximum 1-2 times a semester, a couple of hours each time. In 4th year you will be expected go for 1 full day a week in 1st semester, and then 1-2 mornings a week in 2nd semester to learn practical activities such as inserting catheters, doing EKGs and Ultrasounds, inserting NG tubes etc. 5th year onwards you will be in the hospital every morning, and have mornings off to start writing your thesis.
How do the Exams Work?
Exams in La Sapienza are pretty much the Italian standard. Almost all of them are oral exams, with written ones only acting as a prerequisite to do the oral portion of the exam which will determine your final grade.
In February, June, July and September there are no classes and only exams. Across these 4 months you will have a possibility of 7 dates for each subject to attempt the exam. Sometimes professors will allow an “extra-ordinary” session in December or April giving you an additional attempt.
You can reject your score to attempt it on another date. There is a more detailed article here you can read.
Does La Sapienza do Cadaver Dissections?
No. No university in Italy does cadaver dissections. At the end of 2nd year if you have completed all of your exams you are invited to observe a dissection by the Anatomy professors via a livefeed usually of a brain (Since the last potion of the anatomy exams is neuroanatomy). In 4th year you will need to complete an Autopsy Experience as a clinical rotation in the Pathology department, as well as do dissections of a frozen heart, however these are not like the dissections imagined in American universities with a group of students getting their own cadaver to dissect.
Tuition Fees & Costs of Studying in IMS La Sapienza
In La Sapienza student fees depend on country of origin and family income. Italian students pay between €140 Euro and €3000 Euro based on a document called the ISEE which proves annual family income. International students pay either a flat rate of €500 Euro or €1000 Euro depending on whether they are from a developing country or developed country. International students can also submit an ISEE which can further reduce their flat rates depending on the level of income.
What are the Scholarship Options?
Both the University and region of Lazio offer numerous scholarships and bursaries. These can be based on your families income to receive financial aid, fee waivers, free accomodation or free meals. There are also numerous merit based scholarships where class averages can reduce fees, or allow opportunities to work for the university to reduce fees and also get paid a stipendium. Either way both Rome and La Sapienza are incredibly generous to their students regardless of nationality.
How much does Accommodation Cost?
This REALLY depends on the student and what they’re willing to settle for: quality of the apartment, the area, having room mates vs not. For a student willing to share a room and wants to be close to the university a reasonable average is 200-300 euro a month. For a private room in walking distance to the University students can expect 400-600 euro depending on proximity and quality. However I would say the average on a private room is €450-500 Euro a month. Students can use facebook accomodation groups or websites like immobiliare to search for accommodaiton in Rome.
Class Dynamics & Quality of Professors
Sapienza has much smaller class sizes which is very advantageous to build relationships with professors. With a maximum size of 45 students per class, every student has the opportunity to request additional clinical hours, shadowing opportunities and even private office hours with professors to go over problem areas in the subjects. Overall students are incredibly cooperative and collaborative across years with senior students leaving resources for younger students.
The quality of professors is of course very high considering they have vast international experience in order to teach the International Medical School (IMS). While it’s impossible for every professor to be excellent the overall quality is great, and most students don’t ever have issues with the levels of English.
Sports & Canteen Facilities
Sporting activities & facilities are based on something called the CUS Roma. There are a wide range of sports and classes available. There is an annual fee of around €180 Euro which gives you insurance for these activities and grants you access to different facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, football/basketball fields etc.
The canteen facilities in La Sapienza range from cafes, to restaurants to what are called Mensa (cafeterias). Meals are incredibly reasonably priced and can be reduced to €2 Euro or even €0 for a full meal which will include a main dish, a side, a salad and a drink depending on students income.
Teaching Facilities
The teaching facilities in La Sapienza are pretty standard for a medical school. There are anatomy labs with models, virtual tables and microscopes, as well as skill labs that have dummies to learn basic life support, catheterisation NG tube insertion etc. The lecture halls are terrible in 1st year, but become amazing in the following years.
Libraries
Sapienza has over 50 libraries across the 120 branches it offers. There are numerous reading rooms that are open on weekends, holidays and night with an additional 3 24 hour libraries. While there are a lot of libraries the overall quality in our opinion is quite lacking. Students must show up incredibly early especially during exam time to be able to find a seat. Most of the libraries are also quite outdated mostly lacking plugs for laptops, and limited wifi. There are a few very modern, spacious and incredible libraries but these are always full and students need to be there when they open as the queues start before hand. There are also numerous libraries and study cafes throughout Rome not associated to Sapienza.
Part 2 - All about the City
Timestamps
How Did You Prepare for the IMAT?
I sat the IMAT exam in 2016 and scored in the top 15 for my university (La Sapienza). I think the approach you take to studying for the IMAT depends on what kind of background you’ve had. Personally speaking, having just graduated from high school, I happened to have a very good scientific framework. I had just finished my Cambridge A levels in sciences (principally biology, chemistry, mathematics) which essentially covered all of the scientific parts of the exam. Since the IMAT exam is also prepared by Cambridge, I used the same textbooks and had virtually no issues. I only had to study physics a little more from online sources, but had no supplementary books.
The exam is also heavily based on logical reasoning. For this, I decided to do logic questions from SAT preparation books (as I had decided to take it earlier in the year), and it worked out well. I also looked for banks of past IMAT papers online, which are incredibly useful. Overall, timing yourself as you do these is invaluable to know your pacing.
Nowadays there are many unnecessary books and courses out there for the IMAT, but if my experience has anything particular to say it’d be that you can have a great result even without IMAT-specific preparation with a strong high school level scientific background.
Why Study in Rome?
Rome is the heart of Italy being located exactly in the middle. Being the capital is well connected to every part of Italy allowing students to easily hop around from city to city. It is one of the most ancient and touristic cities in the world, making it beautiful and historic. It is incredibly metropolitan and packed giving students 1000s of activities and events to take part in, however this does come at the cost of Rome being quite chaotic and over crowded especially during tourist season.
Is Medicine in Italy the Right Choice?
This is a very subjective question, however we believe that Italy offers world class universities at unbeatable prices. While the academics are a lot more theoretically focused, the preparation is excellent, and the country has so much to offer in terms of food & culture.
Do You Need to Know Italian?
It is technically not a requirement. Clinical years are not locked behind a language assessment, however we really cannot emphasise enough the importance of learning Italian. While you might not need to know it to enrol or do your clinical rotations, it will help you so immensely in both your day to day life and academic opportunities. Start learning Italian today.
A Brief Overview of the City
As said before Rome is the heart of Italy allowing students to easily hop around to any part of the country. It is one of the most ancient and touristic cities in the world, making it beautiful and historic. It is incredibly metropolitan and packed with 1000s of activities and events to participate in. However it is quite crowded and chaotic with buses catching on fire being a normal event. It is busy and full of life as it is full of people.
The Weather
Rome has mild winters that are mostly grey and rainy; the temperatures rarely go below 5° C and quite frequently has bright sunny days despite the winter. Autumn and fall are beautiful with bright, clear skies and warm temperatures. Summers in Rome are unbearable. It is hot, humid and muggy; you will stick to things and sweat from places you didn’t know were possible.
Different Activities for Students
Honestly there are too many to mention in a paragraph. There are sporting teams and events, political protests, international film festivals, food festivals, concerts, wild and tame parties that take place in the university, or even on boats in the Tevere river etc. You can spend one evening in a palace that’s been turned into a library and the next dancing in a fountain at a university wide party.
Getting around Rome
Rome has the possibility of metro, tram, train, buses, that span the entire city and run 24/7. It now also offers car share, bike share, and even electric scooter share services. You can find a more detailed article here.
The Different Neighbourhoods in Rome for University Accommodation
La Sapienza’s hospital Policlinico Umberto Primo has it’s own metro stop so students can live anywhere along the metro lines for convenience and pricing.
The general and popular neighbourhoods that students choose to live in are:
Most expensive to cheapest: Policlinico, Bologna, Tiburtina, San Lorenzo, Pigento
Closest to furthest: Policlinico, San Lorenzo, Bologna, Tiburtina, Pigneto
There are other areas as well that have different price ranges. In the future we will make a more detailed post about this.
Cost of Living in Rome (In General)
Rome is one of the most expensive cities to live in in Italy. Along with Milan and Genova it’s definitely in the top 3, however compared to most European cities it is actually still incredibly cheap. The costs really depend on the lifestyle the student wants to live as meals in a small and simple place can cost 5 euro up to 30 euro on average for a much nicer restaurant. The transport is around 20 euro a month, and the rent is highly dependable. For example a shared room within walking distance can be as low as 200 euro a month however a private house in the policlinico area can be 1200 euro.
Monthly Cost of Living in Rome for International Students (Guesstimate)
Again incredibly hard to give an average considering how much it depends on the student and their lifestyle, but for a student who would like to live in a private room, in a shared apartment, within a 30 minute walking distance of the universities and only goes 1-2 times a week, I would say they would need to budget for about 650 euro a month everything included.