Recently, I got into a conversation with a medical aspirant.
It was a normal question and answer session, but one of his questions made me laugh so hard.
His query was “Sir, would you advise me to go for Medicine and surgery in UNN if I was your brother?”
It’s the “if I was your brother” that got me rolling 😂.
So after the chat, I decided to write this guide to help him and also other medical aspirants in Nigeria to choose a medical school wisely.
5 Things to Consider When Choosing A University in Nigeria
Don’t just fill in any university because of your best friend.
You might ask “who does that? Don’t be surprised; there are plenty students that choose their institutions based on their friends influence.
But as a medical aspirant, you don’t need to toil this part.
Firstly, Medicine is competitive, so what may work for another may not for work for you. And secondly, admission into such competitive courses differ from schools to schools.
So, if i don’t choose because of friends? Then what if my parents? That’s also similar! Even if your dad or mom suggests a university you should attend. Don’t go right in without thinking logically.
Below are the most important factors to consider before gaining admission into any university in Nigeria.
1. Admission Chances By Merit
You might start admiring how beautiful the structures in your school of choice is, or the conducive environment.
But how do you enjoy that, if you don’t get in?
That brings us to the first factor to consider; your chances of gaining admission into that university.
The first research you need to carry out is to find the different cut off marks for medicine and surgery for different schools. Find out which one is high and relatively low.
Merit
The merit cut off mark is the minimum score set by a school below which no student will get admission based on high scores.
What this means is that, the merit cut off mark depends only on the performance of students and not any other criteria like catchment or ELDs.
What to do: So if you’re searching for the ideal university to choose. Make some research of the previous merit cut off marks for that university.
Check out the cut off marks for medicine and surgery in these schools below:
- UNN cut off mark for medicine 2020/2021
- UNILAG cut off mark for medicine and surgery
- UNIZIK cut off mark guide for medicine and surgery
- UNIBEN cut off mark report for medicine and surgery 2020
2. Admission By Catchment Areas
Another important factor to consider when searching for the ideal university is the schools that have your state as their catchment areas.
Let me explain;
A majority of universities in Nigeria use 3 criteria’s one their admission system; the merit, catchment and then the ELD’s.
This catchment areas refers to states related to that particular region that students from there, are given preference during admission chances.
Let’s take the University of Nigeria for an example. One of its catchment areas is Abia state. Now here’s how it works;
If you’re from Abia, you’d have higher chance of getting admission because the cut off marks will be lower. But if you’re from a south wester state like Lagos, it’s going to be tougher! You get the gist?
But… this factor is not all very important. You can absolutely get admission into a university by merit, but to be on the safe side, i advice you choose schools that have your state as catchment.
Here’s a compiled list of the States in Nigeria and universities that fall under their respective catchment areas.
Compiled List of States in Nigeria and Universities under their Catchment Areas
Abia state
- UNN
- UNIZIK
- FUTO
Adamawa
- ABU
- UNIMAID
- ATBU
Anambra
- FUTO
- UNN
- UNIZIK
Akwa Ibom
- UNICAL
- UNIBEN
- UNIUYO
Bauchi, Taraba
- ABU
- ATBU
- UNIMAID
Benue
- UNIJOS
- ABU
Borno
- UNIMAID
Cross River
- UNIPORT
- UNIBEN
- UNIUYO
Delta
- UNICAL
- UNIOORT
- UNIBEN
- UNIUYO
- UNN
Ebonyi
- FUTO
- UNIZIK
- UNN
Edo
- UNIBEN
- UNIUYO
- UNICAL
- UNIPORT
Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Lagos
- OAU
- FUTA
- UNILAG
Enugu
- FUTO
- UNN
- UNIZIK
Gombe
- UNIMAID
- ATBU
Imo
- UNN
- UNIZIK
- FUTO
Jigawa, Kebbi
- BUK
Kano, Kaduna, Katsina
- ABU
- BUK
Kogi
- ABU
Nasarawa
- UNIJOS
- ABU
- ATBU
Plateau
- UNIJOS
- ABU
Sokoto
- UNIMAID
- BUK
What to do: Find out the catchment areas of your school of choice.
Also read: How to gain admission with low JAMB score in 2021
3. NUC Accreditation
There are hundreds of universities offering different courses in Nigeria, right?
But does your school of choice have accreditation for the course you intend to study?
The Nigerian Universities Accreditation is another factor to consider before choosing a university in Nigeria.
As a medical aspirant, you should be super sure that the school is accredited for medicine and surgery.
For example, it’ll be so unwise for a student to apply for medicine in covenant university when clearly, the private institution is not accredited for medicine and surgery.
What to do: Check this list from NUC to find out about your school’s accreditation status.
4. Financial Demand – Another thing to consider before choosing a medical school in nigeria
The school fees for studying any course in a Nigerian university differs from schools to schools. And as such, you need to scrutinize your selection based on your budget.
How much is your budget for your tertiary education? Can you afford to study medicine in a private university? Or do you think landing in a public university is the best?
Whichever one you think; the decision is solely up to you and based on your financial budget.
Here’s a quick overview of the school fees range for Nigerian universities;
| University | School Fees estimate (Naira) |
| Federal | 20,000 – 100,000 |
| State | 150,000- 500,000 |
| Private | 1,000,000- 4,000,000 |
What to do: from the pool of universities you intend to apply to, search for their respective school fees and find out if they fit into your budget. Also figure out other fees to pay that is not stated in the tuition.
Here are other helpful guides from our med school fees series. Check the outrageous amount medical students in UI pay for their studies each year in this guide:
- Latest University of Ibadan school fees for medicine and surgery
- Complete University of Lagos school fees for medical students
- What is the UNN school fees for medicine and surgery?
- Babcock university school fees for medical students
5. Culture or Environment
Take a look at this scenario…
In the University of Lagos, lodges are super expensive and students spend more money getting accommodation outside the school.
But in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka campus, lodges are quite cheaper because it’s located inside Nsukka village.
If you’d like to stay off campus and don’t have a high budget for accommodation, which school would you probably choose? UNN, right? Absolutely!
The point is that, the and environment of university may be a factor to consider before selecting one for your studies.
While this may not be very important but, the culture of people around the university you stay determine your welfare.
For example, in the University of Nigeria, Enugu and in other schools in the state, water is a major problem for the students.
Recent report shows that a gallon of water go as high as 80 Naira in some places! That’s really outrageous for students to cope with in every day schedule.
However, don’t fret; some compounds do have well water which is someway sufficient to serve student’s water needs.
But…
That’s just for Enugu state. Other states may have their challenges and their uniqueness. Would you love to school in a state of different religious and cultural beliefs? Then you can consider the culture of the environment around your intended university.
What to do: Make research about your school of choice. Is the accommodation and environment suitable for you? Find out.
Final Words
A lot of aspirants in a bid to get into medical school have made lots of errors in choosing the right university for their learning which may cost them admission or results in an inconvenience.
However, with this guide on the things to consider before choosing a medical school in Nigeria, you’ve known the important factors to dwell on.
Take out the time, do all tasks as said in this choosing a medical school in Nigeria guide, and you’d do just well!
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