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Campus & Student Life in The Philippines

OLFU is nestled in an-off suburban area within Metropolitan Manila. The Fatima College of Medicine is located away from the madding crowd yet conveniently close to all that a modern, cosmopolitan city has to offer. Located thirty (30) minutes from downtown Manila, or Metro Manila, the campus is a hop, skip and jump from the rich cultural and historical spots, the tastes of international cuisines and restaurants, major shopping malls, markets, theatre, cinema, recreation, entertainment, night life, art, fashions from haute couture to native handicrafts and cloths, antique and curio shops, museums, galleries, concerts, music lounges, pubs, zoos, and more. The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of over 7,000 islands.

The surrounding neighborhood has a "small town" feeling that permeates the campus community and provides a very comfortable environment in which to pursue academic work. Another attraction is the large number of foreign students and the exposure to other cultures. Likewise, the neighborhood and campus possess an air of internationalism.

The university provides dormitories ideal for local transient and foreign students and the cafeteria serves hearty and delicious meals. Off-campus quarters can be found in the neighboring towns and villages from room to apartment type housing. Given the diversity of cultures in the Philippines, as it is "the" most westernized of all Asian countries, a plethora of food choices, catering to local and foreign tastes and palettes, are available anywhere and everywhere.

The university-sponsored activities, mostly curriculum-related, are planned and organized by qualified advisers under the supervision of the Chairman for Co-Curricular Affairs and scheduled not to conflict with classes. These co-curricular activities support expression in writing, speaking, academics, theater and arts as well as beget camaraderie and a shared sense of community. In preparation for such endeavors, the university conducts Leadership Training Seminars for its officers.

Student organizations include, but are not limited to, the following: Science Club, English Club, Math Club, and Clinicians Club; Honor Society, Young Artists Society, and Psyche Society; Philippine Dental Students Association, Nightingale Civic Action Group, Kadipan, and Social Science Organization, and the university's newspaper, The Fatima Tribune.

Other important information about the Philippines:

• March - May: hot and dry; June - October: wet and rainy; November - February: cool and dry;
• Currency is the peso (p);
• Standard practice of tipping for services is 10%;
• Transportation consists of taxis (metered and fixed rate), jeepneys, buses, and the rail;
• Government is Democratic;
• Christianity is practiced by a majority of the population; Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Muslim, Buddhism, and other religions are in the single digits;
• Time zone is GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) + eight (8) hours; and
• English, as the business language, is the language of instruction at the university.