Pavol Josef Safarik University School of Medicine

[joyw]

Anyone here who is considering this school in Kosice,Slovakia through International Medicine Studies? Or someone has gone through with it already. Their Medical English program has been around since the 1980's. So if anyone know anything about this school please let me know because Im kind of considering going there. What do you think?

[shrey]

It doesn't seem all that bad. But if you don't mind me asking, where do you ultimately want to practice?

[joyw]

It doesn't seem all that bad. But if you don't mind me asking, where do you ultimately want to practice?

Anywhere, what I have in mind exactly is I think Im leaning towards humanitarian or in any under-served population. so theres no specific place actually.

I hope to work with doctors without borders once im done.

so youre familiar with the school? the others that i am considering right now is university of zagreb, university of zseged and american university of antigua and also st martinus university. the last two both in the caribbean. had sent my application to AUA already, but im also interested in any schools in eastern and central europe.

[shrey]

I'm not too familiar with the schools but I think Comenius University in Bratislava is a better bet as it is more well-established and is also well-recognized. I wouldn't really recommend Szeged Medical university as Hungarian schools have a horrible reputation of having the highest attrition rates. Many people have been dissatisfied with their choice of going to a hungarian medical school.

If you're opting for the Carribean schools, I would only recommend you to try for the top four (I know SABA, and Ross and two of them) because others are having quite a few problems with certification and recognition.

If money isn't that big a problem, I would also recommend you to look more into the Carribean or the Central European schools specifically those in Poland (Poznan, Warsaw, Lodz etc) and Czech Republic (Charles Univeristy, 5 different faculties of medicine) as they have quite established programs and have a good reputation in terms of recognition. If these schools are too expensive (as they are; also living expenses are on the high side), then you can opt for Croatia (Zagreb), or Hungary (Semmelweis or Szeged) or Romania (Sibiu or Oradea) or even Slovakia (Comenius)...

[joyw]

that is so helpful of you, i really appreciate it. so i see that you're in prague hows is there? are you a student in one of the charles university faculty of medicine? I was looking at these schools but i am already late for fall 08. oh no not in poland the students their said people don't cleaned up after their dog pooh, hahaha...yes im very interested of zagreb for now. now im down to zagreb and AUA. i chose AUA because i did not take MCAT hehe.. could you give me the link of the commenius university if you don't mind please.

[joyw]

the deadline for admission for comenius university was on april 30th,

[gawtti]

university of szeged is a very good school, as is semmelweis univ. you get out what you put in, get what i'm saying? last i checked ALL hungarian schools are recognized in california. that tells you something about the legitimacy of the hungarian medical education. i agree there are a lot of easy schools outthere (if that's what you're looking for), e.g. polish schools. a lot of failed students from hungary go there and seem to do fine.

this is my take on hungarian schools, particularly debrecen. the reason for the high attrition rates is because they accept a lot of students who shouldn't be there in the first place. forget about the fact they accept them for their money. the point is, do YOU intend to work hard and accept that you're in another country with a totally different education system? if you're not, then go to poland. it's easier with less headaches.

i have no regrets coming to hungary. but, there are ALOT of whiny students around here who do regret coming here. but you know what? they shouldn't be in medical school to begin with. in the end the majority fail, or transfer out and can't seem to let it go and hold this grudge forever.

[shrey]

Hey joyw, Lekárska fakulta (English) (http://www.fmed.uniba.sk/index.php?id=633)

I'm in the First Faculty of Medicine and I gotta tell you, it's the hardest of the 5 faculties. And like gawatti mentioned, there are also tons of students in the 1st year who don't belong here, and many do fail...but the attrition rates are not as high as those in Hungarian medical schools (I can tell this because we have two hungarian transfer students).

Zagreb is not a bad option since it's going to be part of the EU soon. They also have some really good ties (bilateral agreements) with other universities in Europe and the States (I think I saw Harvard on the list!!) but I'm not sure if the info. on the site is completely true.

I would strongly recommend that whichever university you're going to, try to call them and ask them questions and if you can get some students' numbers or email addresses, just try to find out how the school is and how is the everything else. You can also try posting your questions on this forum or perhaps on the student doctor forum (www.studentdoctor.net (http://www.studentdoctor.net)) for getting more replies.

Also in case you're taking a student loan, make sure that the university of your choice allows stafford-funding. I don't know if Zagreb is stafford-approved.

Good luck!!!

[cools]

Hi , everyone.

Agreed, Hungarian schools have high attrition rates, but you can't just attack them. If you are willing to work HARD, then you should be fine. So , how does the attrition rates matter to you, if all you are looking for is good education?
Obviously, no uni is perfect, and neither is mine.

But.... just because it has high attrition rates, doesn't mean , that it has to be excluded from the list.
Anyways..at the same time, I would advice any one who would listen , to go and see the place for urself, talk to students etc, before you commit for 4 or 6 years, depending on what you select.

AS A STUDENT, ENROLL INTO THE SCHOOL WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO.!!!!!!

Weigh the pros and cons, and see what works the best for you. Take into account where you want to practice in the end.

Good luck

[joyw]

Shrey,

At first i thought about charles university, but when i saw that its already past deadline all three faculties,so i have to forget about them for now. yeah zagreb is the one that i am seriously considering, however its not Stafford-loan eligible, zseged in hungary is. the thing about zseged is the entrance exam is in june 19 and theres no way i could make that. so im down to zagreb, UPJS or university of pavol jozef safarik in kosice, slovakia. and yes i did send my application already to american university of antigua. i want one more school to apply and i want it in europe.

so shrey, tell me what you know more about UPJS. since i already have a bachelor of science in pharmacy degree according to what ive read i will be exempted from taking the entrance exam, and instead of 6 years it will be 5 years. or just tell me what you know about the school and the city of kosice if you don't mind please. thanks in advance.

[devildoc8404]

joyw, if I could make one recommendation it would be that you visit any school before you sign on the dotted line. It costs money, yeah, but it is absolutely worth it in the long run.

Zagreb is very nice, by the way. All of the students I have spoken with there seemed pleased with their choice of school and city.

Good luck with your applications!:)

[gawtti]

why are you worried about the entrance exam? you have a B.Sc., so therefore you will surely be exempted from taking it. i agree with devildoc, try and visit the schools yourself. don't believe the hype regarding any school in europe. things are completely different here. you need to come here with complete knowledge of what you're getting yourself into. I've seen too many North American students leaving because they just did not unerstand the complexity of the situtation they were getting into until they got here. however, i've also seen those who adapted and are doing fine. in my opinion, all the central/eastern european schools have the same problems but to different extremes than others. Good Luck!

[shrey]

To be honest, I don't really know anything about the school. And the biggest problem is that it's not CA approved which could be a huge problem in the future if you want to get back to the States (but I don't think getting back is your goal?). But in general, it looks like a small, little, charming town and from what I see on their site, it aslo seems to be having good ties with other european countries (so in case, you're considering a transfer in the future, you might have very good chances to do so :)).

I would say if you have a strong feeling about going there, then go for it. You can switch to another school in another country later if you want (but it might not be that easy; nevertheless it's possible).....

[joyw]

why are you worried about the entrance exam? you have a B.Sc., so therefore you will surely be exempted from taking it. i agree with devildoc, try and visit the schools yourself. don't believe the hype regarding any school in europe. things are completely different here. you need to come here with complete knowledge of what you're getting yourself into. I've seen too many North American students leaving because they just did not unerstand the complexity of the situtation they were getting into until they got here. however, i've also seen those who adapted and are doing fine. in my opinion, all the central/eastern european schools have the same problems but to different extremes than others. Good Luck!

thanks very much, not much to say cause im in deep thought.

[joyw]

To be honest, I don't really know anything about the school. And the biggest problem is that it's not CA approved which could be a huge problem in the future if you want to get back to the States (but I don't think getting back is your goal?). But in general, it looks like a small, little, charming town and from what I see on their site, it aslo seems to be having good ties with other european countries (so in case, you're considering a transfer in the future, you might have very good chances to do so :)).

I would say if you have a strong feeling about going there, then go for it. You can switch to another school in another country later if you want (but it might not be that easy; nevertheless it's possible).....

Thanks Shrey, so nice of you. good luck in your studies. Question how far kosice from prague? isn't that eurolines connect between international cities? i just finish reading the international student guide in Slovak Republic and it seems that its a nice country with mountain and caves, lakes and ponds. the language isn't that hard to learn either, i learned something like nehovorim po slovensky, hovorite po anglicky two phrases i remembered from my reading.

[gawtti]

hope you make the right decision. best of luck!

thanks very much, not much to say cause im in deep thought.

[joyw]

hey gawtti, what medical school you are in now? you know about u.zseged? would you mind telling me about it, please.

[gawtti]

i started in debrecen but transfered to semmelweis in budapest. i sent you a pm.

[joyw]

To be honest, I don't really know anything about the school. And the biggest problem is that it's not CA approved which could be a huge problem in the future if you want to get back to the States (but I don't think getting back is your goal?). But in general, it looks like a small, little, charming town and from what I see on their site, it aslo seems to be having good ties with other european countries (so in case, you're considering a transfer in the future, you might have very good chances to do so :)).

I would say if you have a strong feeling about going there, then go for it. You can switch to another school in another country later if you want (but it might not be that easy; nevertheless it's possible).....

I don't understand why its a huge problem if its not California approved? Why do people make such a big deal about it. Our life doesn't revolve in California, and its not the only place in the world we can practice medicine. I don't get it, i just don't get it.
Well who wants to live in California anyway with big earthquake soon to come its just a matter of time, fire every now and then, landslide you name it. i certainly don't want to live there nor to practice medicine there. I would rather live and practice medicine in any remote area in the world than in California

[cools]

I don't understand why its a huge problem if its not California approved? Why do people make such a big deal about it. Our life doesn't revolve in California, and its not the only place in the world we can practice medicine. I don't get it, i just don't get it.
Well who wants to live in California anyway with big earthquake soon to come its just a matter of time, fire every now and then, landslide you name it. i certainly don't want to live there nor to practice medicine there. I would rather live and practice medicine in any remote area in the world than in CaliforniaJust want to bring to your notice that there are a few other states that also follow the CA list. And, even if you don't want to practice or live there, you might just want the option of being able to do residency there to be open . Since, looking at the competition today .... you never know, once you graduate where you will stand.

Finally, good luck in your decision.

[joyw]

You know I'll worry about where would I be once I graduate. For now, I have to worry about which school to go. you're right i have to take into consideration where to practice someday but honestly im not thinking about that now. what im thinking right now is if possible i want a school that is not that expensive so that I don't have to take out loans. and looking at slovakia it is kind of a good choice for me. the school in kosice not that expensive, the cost of living in the city is not that expensive either. i haven't check it if the school is stafford eligible, it might not but then again its very affordable school.

[joyw]

Come on any students that go to this school speak up. While I appreciate any previous replies of some but I really wants to hear from someone who go to this school.

[shrey]

Well anyways I will you all the best for your future and my advice is to get in touch with the faculty and then ask them if you can speak to any of their students....you'll then get first-hand experience as to how it's like in Kosice, Slovakia.....

Hodně štěstí!!! (good luck)