Our student was just named Best Student of the Year

From nearly quitting to the top of his class

Every year, the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at Palacký University in Olomouc recognises one student whose academic results stand above the rest. This year, that award went to Omar — a dentistry student who found his way to UPOL through Medently. This didn't happen by accident, and it's exactly why Medently exists.

He almost walked away from dentistry

Omar's path did not start with medals. He began studying dentistry at another university — and it went wrong from the start. He procrastinated constantly, postponed exams, and kept telling himself he would get serious "tomorrow". Deep down he knew he wasn't living up to his potential, and eventually he made the hardest decision of his life: he dropped out and started over from zero. What he needed wasn't more pressure. He needed the right environment: a university where the teaching style, the community, and the programme actually fit who he was.

First, we listened: what did Omar actually need?

When Omar came to Medently, we didn't open an application form. We opened a conversation. Before we match any student with a university, we map out who they are: where they've struggled and why, what they're genuinely great at, how they learn best, and what their priorities are — academically, financially, and personally. With Omar, the picture became clear quickly. His problem had never been ability. He has exactly the strengths dentistry demands: precise hands, calm focus in practical work, and an easy way with people. What had failed him was the environment — a place where it was easy to disappear, easy to postpone, and hard to feel that anyone noticed whether he showed up.

So we knew what to look for: a programme with structured, hands-on teaching from the very first semesters, small practical groups where attendance matters and professors know your name, a compact and affordable student city with few distractions and a strong community — and a true fresh start, in English, far enough from the old story to write a new one.

Why the answer was Palacký University in Olomouc

We compared that profile against the universities we know from the inside — our team studies at these faculties — and the match was dentistry (MDDr.) at Palacký University in Olomouc. The five-year, English-taught programme at UPOL is exactly the kind of structured, practice-heavy education Omar needed: clinical skills from early on, small groups, demanding but personal teaching at one of the Czech Republic's most respected medical faculties. And Olomouc itself sealed it — a beautiful, walkable student city where life is affordable, everything is ten minutes away, and it's easy to focus and easy to belong. We didn't ask "where can Omar get in?" We asked "where will Omar excel?" — and everything pointed to Olomouc.

From there, our team guided his application step by step — documents, deadlines, entrance-exam preparation with flashcards and mock exams — until he walked into the admission test prepared and confident. And because Medently is funded by our partner universities, all of that guidance cost him nothing. It never costs our students anything.

The right match changed everything

At UPOL, the student who once postponed exams became the student others asked for notes. Omar finished his very first year with the top academic results in his class — and for that same year, the faculty officially named him Best Student of the Year. A complete restart, rewarded within twelve months. The discipline was his — he did the work, every single day — but the environment made the work possible. That is what a good university match does: it doesn't just get you a seat in a lecture hall, it puts you somewhere you can win.

"Your past is not your identity. The student you are today does not have to be the student you become tomorrow. I know — because I rewrote my story."

Omar

Best Student of the Year · UPOL Olomouc · Medently Partner

This is what university matching means at Medently

Omar's award is one story, but the method behind it is what we do for every student. Medently's university matching looks at the whole person, not just the grade sheet: your academic strengths and weak spots, how you actually learn, the kind of environment you need around you, your budget and financing options, and where you want your career to go. Then we match you with the medicine or dentistry programme in Europe where you're most likely to thrive — because we study at these universities ourselves and know what daily life there really looks like. Getting accepted somewhere is easy. Getting matched with the place where you'll do the best work of your life — that's the part worth doing carefully, and it's the part we're best at.

We stay long after the acceptance letter

Getting in is the start, not the finish. Medently students arrive with their housing sorted, their visa paperwork handled, and a mentor on the ground — a current student who has taken the same exams, sat in the same lecture halls, and knows which tram gets you to the faculty on a snowy Monday morning. Through the first semesters we stay close with honest advice, study resources, and a community of students walking the same road. We prepare you to get into university — and then we help you become a successful student once you're there.

Omar's journey has now come full circle: today he is part of the Medently team, working as our partner on the ground in the Czech Republic and helping new students settle into Olomouc — from apartments to visas — the same way someone once helped him. When we say our students become part of the family, he is the proof.

What this means if you're dreaming of medicine or dentistry

If you want to study medicine or dentistry in Europe — in English, without UCAT or BMAT, and without paying agency fees — this story is for you. Maybe your grades aren't perfect. Maybe you've already stumbled once, like Omar did. That doesn't decide your ending. With the right university match, honest preparation for the entrance exam, and support that doesn't disappear after admission, students rewrite their stories every year. Omar just happens to have a certificate to prove it.

Read Omar's full story in his own words, explore Palacký University Olomouc, or start your free application today — and let's find the place where you'll do your best work.