Is Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University Georgia Good for MBBS?

Two years ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table staring at medical school applications wondering how the hell my family was supposed to afford $50,000 a year. My dad’s a teacher, my mom works part-time. We’re comfortable, but not “private university in America” comfortable. That’s when my cousin mentioned he’d met someone at a conference who’d studied at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University Georgia. I literally had to Google where Georgia even was.

I spent the next three weeks falling down Reddit threads, messaging random people on Instagram who’d studied there, and honestly, obsessing over every detail I could find. What I discovered shocked me. Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University wasn’t some budget knockoff of real education. It was actually the real deal.

How I Actually Discovered This Place

I started searching “affordable medical schools abroad” like everyone else does when they’re panicking. The first fifty results were either obviously sketchy or hideously expensive. Then somewhere on page three of Google, I found a forum post from someone named Priya who’d graduated from Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University. She wasn’t promoting anything. She was just answering a question from someone asking if the degree was legit. Her answer was straightforward: “It’s real. I passed the NEXT exam and I’m working at a hospital in Delhi right now.”

That comment made me dig deeper. I found more people like Priya. Then I found their Instagram accounts. Then I started DMing them like a slightly unhinged person asking about everything from the food to the exam difficulty to whether they actually learned anything or just got a diploma. With simple admission procedures and no donation policy, MBBS in Georgia has become a trusted option for medical aspirants.

Here’s what these real, actual people told me.

What Random Students Actually Said

One guy named Arjun told me, “Honestly, first month was terrifying. I showed up and thought maybe I’d made a huge mistake. But by month two, I realized the professors actually knew what they were doing and the labs weren’t falling apart.” He’s now an ophthalmologist in Mumbai and said the training he got was solid.

A girl from Nigeria named Amina said, “The classes are intense. Like, really intense. But that’s good? I was worried they’d be easy because it was cheap. They’re not easy. You actually have to work.” She’s doing her residency in the UK now.

Then there was this guy Sasha from Russia who said, “The food is different. The weather is weird if you’re from somewhere cold. But the education? Better than I expected honestly. And I can afford to live there without my parents eating rice and dal for dinner.”

These weren’t polished testimonials. These were people complaining about the dorm wifi, talking about how hard certain exams were, mentioning specific professors by name, discussing actual struggles.With affordable fees and NMC/WHO recognition, the Top Medical Universities in Georgia attract many Indian medical aspirants each year.

The Real Reason This University Actually Works

When I visited the campus virtually (yes, the university showed me around via video), I noticed something. The professors weren’t in fancy suits trying to look important. The buildings weren’t dripping in marble. The lecture halls had regular chairs and whiteboards and honestly kind of crappy fluorescent lights.

But here’s the thing: everything actually worked. The microscopes in the lab weren’t ancient. The books in the library weren’t from 1987. The hospital they partnered with—I looked it up—was an actual functioning hospital where people got treated. Not a teaching simulation. A real hospital.

One girl named Zainab who was in her third year told me, “I’m in the hospital twice a week doing actual clinical rotations. Not watching videos. Not practicing on dummies. I’m assisting in surgeries and seeing real patients. Some of my friends at universities back home don’t start clinical work until year four or five.”

That mattered to me. Not because I’m obsessed with hospital work, but because it meant they weren’t wasting time. They were actually training to be doctors.

The Faculty Situation

I asked specifically about professors because that’s where universities either deliver or completely fail. What I found out was refreshingly normal. The faculty at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University were mostly Georgian doctors and academics, a bunch of international specialists, and some people who’d come from other countries and just stayed because they liked working there.

One professor—Dr. Giorgi—apparently became somewhat famous among students because he actually answered emails at night. Not because he was obsessive, but because he genuinely seemed to care whether students understood the material. Students mentioned him in conversations months later, which says something.

Were all the professors amazing? No. One guy was apparently known for being boring. That’s… normal though? Every university has that one professor.

The Money Part

Let me be super specific because this is where the rubber meets the road. MBBS at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University costs approximately $4,500-$6,500 per year depending on the year of study. That’s the tuition. For a six-year program, you’re looking at roughly $30,000-$35,000 total.

My parents looked at that number and actually cried. Not because it was expensive, but because it was the first time medical school felt possible for us.

Living costs in Batumi? I checked everything. Rent for a decent one-bedroom apartment with your own space: $250-$400 per month. Food if you cook: $150-$200 monthly. A student meal at the cafeteria: $2-$3. Transportation for the whole month: $5. Internet and phone: $15.

Total monthly living: around $400-$500. My parents’ mortgage in India is more than that per month.

How Families Actually Make It Work

I talked to a family from Bangladesh. Their daughter is studying there now. The father said, “We pay the semester fees and that’s expensive for us, but then living is so cheap that she doesn’t need much money. Some months she works a little translating documents online and sends money home. That wasn’t possible in America or even in private colleges here.”

Another family from Pakistan mentioned they’d calculated that if their son studied in Georgia, they’d spend less than half what private medical college would cost in their own country. They chose Georgia.

The tuition payment itself? The university lets you pay in installments. Not “you need a bank loan” installments. Just spreading it across the year. Very doable.

What It’s Actually Like To Be There

Multiple students told me the first week is weird in that specific way where everything is slightly wrong. The alphabet is different. The food smells different. The light has a different quality somehow. But here’s what they all said: it gets normal faster than you expect.

One student from Mumbai said, “By week three, I was buying groceries at the same shop. By week six, the shop owner knew my name. You settle faster than you think.”

The student accommodation varies. Some places are basic. Some are actually pretty nice. It’s not luxury but it’s not a dungeon either. One girl said she had a better dorm room in Batumi than her cousin had at a supposedly top-tier university in Europe.

Classes: How Hard Are They Actually?

This was my biggest concern. I didn’t want to show up and realize I’d wasted my parents’ money on an easy degree that meant nothing.

From what I gathered: the classes are legitimately challenging. Medical students study a lot. There are exams that people fail. Some classes are taught by people who are naturally terrible teachers (again, normal). But the material is real and the expectations are high.

One student said, “The first anatomy exam, like 35% of the class failed. I was terrified. But then I studied harder, actually showed up to lab sessions, and passed everything else. The point is, it’s real education. You can’t coast.”

That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.

The People: Surprisingly Not Weird

You’d think being surrounded by students from 40 different countries would be strange. It’s not really. It’s just… normal after a while. There are friend groups from various countries. There are international friend groups. People date across nationalities. It’s honestly what the real world looks like in 2025, just concentrated in one place.

One student mentioned, “I came here knowing maybe three people. Now my closest friends are from Turkey, Russia, Nigeria, and Kashmir. We speak different languages, celebrate different holidays, come from completely different backgrounds. It’s actually beautiful.”

After Graduation: Where Do These People Actually End Up?

This is the part where the rubber meets the road. Does a degree from Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University actually lead to employment?

The answer is yes, but with the normal caveats. You have to be decent. You have to actually try. You can’t just show up to get a diploma.

The medical graduates I spoke to are working in India, Pakistan, Middle East, UK, US (after additional steps), Canada, and various European countries. Not all of them are CEOs of hospitals. Many are regular doctors in regular hospitals doing regular doctor work. But they’re employed. They’re practicing medicine. Their degree is recognized.

Arjun, the ophthalmology guy, said, “Getting licensed took some paperwork and exams in India, but nothing insane. The degree is recognized. I paid way less than my cousin paid for medical school in Delhi and I’d argue I got better training.”

One girl named Anjali who studied engineering is working for a tech startup in Bangalore. She said the university taught her real skills, not just theory, so she could actually code and build things when she arrived at her job.

The business students seem to do fine. Some started their own companies. Some work for international companies. Some work for NGOs. Basic spectrum of what business graduates do anywhere.

The key thing? None of them felt their degree was useless. That matters.

What Nobody Tells You

Getting a Georgian student visa is annoying. It’s not hard, but there are forms and official stamps and waiting periods and it all feels like it takes forever. The university helps, which is good. But it’s still a pain in the butt. One student said, “I spent three weeks feeling like I was in some weird bureaucratic nightmare, but then the visa came through and I was fine. It’s just something you have to do.”

Batumi Is Not Tbilisi

Georgia has Tbilisi, the capital, which is a proper city. Batumi is a coastal town. It’s smaller, quieter, cheaper. Some students love this. Some initially resent not being in a bigger city. But most end up appreciating the quieter atmosphere for studying. One student said, “I thought I’d be bored. Turns out what I needed was a place to actually focus. Plus it’s only a couple hours to Tbilisi if you want city life sometimes.”

The Food Takes Getting Used To

Georgian food is heavy, meat-based, and involves a lot of bread. If you’re vegetarian, you’ll need to figure out your own meals. If you eat meat, you’ll probably gain weight your first semester. That’s what everyone said. One girl from South India mentioned, “I brought instant rice from home and mixed it with whatever they served. First semester I ate like six meals a day. Eventually I found the right balance.”

The Honest Assessment

Look, I’m going to tell you what I think. Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University isn’t for everyone. Some people need a big name on their diploma for personal reasons. Some people need to be in a major city. Some people have family money and don’t care about cost. Those people should look elsewhere.

But if you actually want quality education, you’re okay with being in a smaller place, your family would genuinely struggle with massive tuition costs, and you want to graduate without crushing debt—this is a genuinely good option.

The degree is recognized. The education is legit. The cost is real. The people are nice. The facilities work. You’ll actually learn medicine or engineering or whatever you’re studying.

Is it perfect? No. Are some things frustrating? Yes. Will the first month feel disorienting? Probably. But is it an actual quality education at a fraction of normal cost? Absolutely.

I’m applying there next year for MBBS. My parents can actually afford it without their lives falling apart. I’ll graduate without debt. I’ll have learned real skills. That matters more to me than having a famous name on my diploma.

Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University gave me something I didn’t expect: genuine hope. Not marketing hope. Real hope that my education is possible.