Leaving Cert Results Lower Than Expected? Here's How to Still Study Medicine or Veterinary Medicine This September — in Poland

Got lower Leaving Cert 2026 results than expected? Study Medicine or Veterinary Medicine in Poland this September. Places still open in Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Kraków, Wrocław and Olsztyn — but deadlines are days away.

If you opened your Leaving Cert results portal this morning and the numbers weren't quite what you hoped for, you are absolutely not alone — and more importantly, your dream of becoming a doctor or vet is not over.

As we covered in our earlier post, 2026 has been a genuinely different results year. Grade enhancements have been wound back significantly, H1s in Higher Level Maths dropped by almost a third, and CAO applications hit an all-time high of over 95,000. For thousands of ambitious students across Ireland, that combination means CAO points for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Dentistry — already among the highest in the country in a normal year — are likely to be completely out of reach in 2026, no matter how hard you worked.

Here's the good news: you don't need 600+ CAO points to become a doctor or vet. Every year, hundreds of Irish students take a different, well-established route — studying Medicine or Veterinary Medicine in Poland, at EU-recognised, English-language medical universities, with internationally respected degrees fully recognised by the Irish Medical Council and Veterinary Council of Ireland.

We've helped Irish students make this move for 14 years. Below are the options with places still open right now for September 2026 entry — but several of these deadlines are only days away, so if you're interested, please don't wait.

Study Medicine in Poland: Places Still Available for September 2026

🩺 Bydgoszcz (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Collegium Medicum) Application deadline for the next intake round: 25th August

🩺 Gdańsk Medical University — SMP applicants only Application deadline: 25th August, entrance exam: 27th August This route is available exclusively through StudyMedicinePoland — get in touch straight away to secure your place in the process.

🩺 AFM Kraków Only a handful of places remain. Apply as soon as possible — this option is expected to fill quickly.

Study Veterinary Medicine in Poland: Places Still Available for September 2026

🐾 Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences Application deadline: 26th August at 11am

🐾 Olsztyn (University of Warmia and Mazury) Places still available — a strong option if you're moving fast to get your application together.

Why study medicine or veterinary medicine in Poland?

• No sky-high CAO points required — entry is based on your Leaving Cert results and, where applicable, an entrance exam, not a hyper-competitive points race

• Fully English-language programmes taught by experienced international faculty

• EU-recognised degrees, accepted by the Irish Medical Council, the Veterinary Council of Ireland, and medical/veterinary regulators across the EU

• Lower overall cost of tuition and living expenses compared to many private or international medical school routes

• An established, proven pathway — Irish students have been successfully studying medicine and veterinary medicine in Poland for well over a decade

• A genuine second chance this September — while your friends are waiting on Round One CAO offers, you could already be preparing to start your medical career

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Time is genuinely short

With deadlines landing on the 25th, 26th and 27th of August, this is not a "think about it next week" decision. If studying medicine or veterinary medicine abroad is something you've even briefly considered today, the smartest move is to talk to us now, so we can tell you exactly what's realistic for your results and timeline.

Get in touch today

📧 support@studymedicinepoland.com 📞 +353 83 134 5788

Lower points than you expected don't have to mean a lower ambition. For many students, results day disappointment turns out to be the first step toward a medical or veterinary career that starts this September, in Poland.