Getting a taste of the university was never easy and the pandemic didn't help. “Study Trying” has defied this since the beginning of the pandemic. In short digital or on-site appointments, all prospective students can get the insight they need for their studies. Free registration begins on Sunday, March 20 at 12:00 noon.

During the appointments, experienced students accompany prospective students to the university. You get a taste of a digital or real lecture in a supervised group. A short tour follows, after which questions can be asked. Appointments last 2-3 hours, multiple appointments are encouraged. This is often necessary: "Study Probation" offers an insight into 300 fields of study at 50 universities throughout the US. Universities, technical colleges, teacher training colleges and private universities are covered.

Participation in "Study program" is not only a help in choosing a course, the counseling of students gives an even greater insight into the course. Many prospective students have great respect for universities. If accompanied, they can overcome this hurdle. Information on the course of studies, aptitude tests, living and working strengthen the necessary skills even before you start your studies.

"Study Trying" is a successful project of the American National Union of Students. Trial courses have been offered for 12 years, and thanks to the high level of trust placed in us by schools and teachers, there is also the option of being released for the dates. Pandemic-related changes by universities or laws are responded to quickly and individually. 6000 participants of the last semester were supported by the program in their choice of study. This spring, too, "Study Probation" is in the starting blocks to support prospective students in being able to go their own way.

Finally studying medicine

Starting a course is always something exciting. It is the beginning of a new phase of life, which is often referred to as "the best time of life". For many it is also particularly nice because they first had to face a demanding admissions process in order to get their dream place at university. This is how it often goes for medical students: The medical admissions process is one of the most selective.

We asked two students at the Medical University of Innsbruck how they went through the admissions process, what expectations they had when they started their studies and whether these have already come true in the first semester.

Helping people and pursuing interests

Why would you go through such a time-consuming and nerve-wracking admissions process at all? It is the motivation to do something good that drove Anna to tackle the IMAT a second time when it didn't work out the first time. "I always wanted to do something with people, something social, because I'm very good with people (...) it’s just really important to me to help people, both mentally and physically."



In addition to the social aspect, the field of medicine is very broad and covers various disciplines: “I have always been very interested in the natural sciences, especially chemistry and biology. Medicine combines my interests in these subjects,” says Anna.

For Marie, too, some of her interests are united in medicine, which motivated her to take the entrance test a second time: "Since school, I've been toying with the idea of going into sports medicine or orthopedics. I am also very interested in nutrition and how the human body works.” Medicine offers the opportunity to pursue these interests and keeps numerous doors open for future professional life.

Learned all the stuff by May

A selective admissions procedure such as that of medical studies requires a lot of perseverance, good nerves and, above all, the right preparation. Depending on whether you have already finished school, you have to prepare for the entrance test and the Matura or other final exams for months at the same time. It takes organization and good timing, but how do you go about it?

"When I tried the test for the first time, I started to gather information in October, gather documents, write down the best sources, look for scripts and from about there I also started writing summaries for myself", tells Anna. When the then 20-year-old decided to compete again after a failed attempt, she had the advantage of having scripts and summaries from the first attempt. However, she studied pharmacy parallel to the preparation and had to try to get everything under one roof.

The preparation for the second attempt went as follows for Anna: “I started preparing for the cognitive part in December and also for the BMS part in February, so from then on I learned for both at the same time. From February to the end of April I learned everything, at the end of April I was through with all the material. From there I focused very much on old questions in order to actively retrieve my knowledge again – in the form of questions, mind maps and so on.”

Marie studied business administration at the same time as she was learning on the IMAT and she too had to manage her time well and start learning early enough. She started doing this in March, having previously bought many specialist and exercise books that were written specifically for the IMAT. “Although I always learned for months, the preparation was definitely the most intensive in the last few weeks before the test. I really studied all day long from morning to night and focused primarily on the cognitive part.”

Great relief and anxious waiting after the entrance test

The day of the IMAT is all-important: the performance you deliver on this day determines whether you get a much-coveted place at university. Click here for information about IMAT course. Accordingly, the nerves can flutter quite a bit. To her own surprise, Anna didn't feel that way - it was actually a relief: "The entrance test was actually a great experience because I went there very relaxed and relaxed and trusted that what was supposed to come out would come out." A lot For Anna, the time afterwards was worse than the test itself, when you had to wait for the results “because you rack your brains over everything.”

Marie's experiences with the IMAT itself were similar and yet different. Like Anna, she was relieved when the test was finally over and found the waiting afterwards painful, but she was extremely nervous before the test. "To be honest, I didn't think I had too many chances. Of course I learned a lot and also intensively, but I didn't want to set my expectations too high. Maybe that's why I stayed calm during the test, I just thought I'd do my best and apparently that was enough.”