Some 5,500 candidates sat the now traditional entrance exam for medicine and dentistry studies in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, FWB, at Brussels Expo on Thursday, organisers said, based on a preliminary tally released at the end of the day.
A total of 6,882 candidates had been expected, which puts the participation rate at almost 80%. It also means that just over 20% of the registered candidates did not attend, a figure the Academy of Research and Higher Education (ARES) said was stable compared with last year’s 21%.
As in previous years, most candidates were women. They accounted for 67% of those present.
ARES also said that 68% of those who sat the exam were residents of Belgium, while 32% were non-residents.
Around 22% of the participants had already taken the exam in a previous year.
The test was held throughout the day in three halls at Brussels Expo hired for the occasion, in what organisers described as a studious atmosphere.
Several hundred invigilators were recruited to supervise the exam.
Candidates answered a total of 80 multiple-choice questions designed to assess their knowledge of scientific subjects, including chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics.
The exam also evaluated skills such as communication, critical analysis and ethics.
Individual results will be sent to candidates on 4 September, while overall results will be published on 7 September.
Because medical professions are subject to quotas in Belgium, only the top 1,947 candidates will be admitted to the programmes, including 1,675 in medical sciences and 272 in dental sciences.
Like last year, the number of non-residents among successful candidates is capped at 15%, corresponding to a maximum of 251 places in medicine and 40 in dentistry.
