Lithuania officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of northern-eastern Europe. Since its independence, Lithuania has been referred to as one of the Baltic States. It is situated along the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, to the east of Sweden and Denmark. It is bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest.
Lithuania covers an area of 65.300 km², making it slightly smaller than half the size of Greece, or slightly larger than West Virginia. Its smooth, flat landscape offers sandy beaches, numerous lakes, wetlands, and mixed forest areas.
Lithuania is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, a full member of the Eurozone, Schengen Agreement, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It is also a member of the Nordic Investment Bank, and part of Nordic-Baltic cooperation of Northern European countries. The United Nations Human Development Index lists Lithuania as a "very high human development" country.
Several types of schools were present in medieval Lithuania. Education is free of charge and compulsory from the age of 6 or 7 to 16 years (covering primary and basic education), as stated in the national Law on Education. The school year in Lithuania usually starts on the first of September, including in tertiary education. Usual grading system at Secondary School Level is ten-point scale.
Today, 15 public universities and 6 private colleges operate in Lithuania. The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Medical University in Kaunas) is the second largest university in the country and offers three programs in English for international students: General Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmacology. To study medicine in Lithuania is growing in popularity among international medical students.
The main admission criteria to medical studies in Lithuania is to have a high school diploma with Biology and Chemistry. Having studied Physics and Mathematics acts as an added advantage.