Simple newbie questions

[norcal4now]

Hey there,
I'm an American who has primarily been looking into Israeli and Australian schools, but I recently heard about an acquaintance who is going to "some program in Budapest." We are both college graduates with all the pre-med requirements under our belts and neither speak Hungarian. I was wondering what program this could be and what people's thoughts were on it because I would like to explore all of my options. Thanks!

[gawtti]

Hi,

Israeli and Australian schools would be your best option. In my humble opinion college graduates with a strong academic record in the sciences. But, for some reason couldn't get into an American school should firstly seek admission into schools in the Carribean (ONLY SGU,ROSS,AUC), Australia, Ireland, NZ, Isreal and then, and only then, Central European schools (eg. Hungarian, Polish, or Czech).
First because the system in central europe is completely different than what you're used to in the US and on top of this, the language barrier. You need a lot of patience to get through in central europe, particularly in Hungary. Exams are conducted in a written form and orally.
You will have to learn Hungarian, which is a very difficult language to learn. This is required to communicate with patients in years 4-6. However, many have finished without mastering the language.


Hey there,
I'm an American who has primarily been looking into Israeli and Australian schools, but I recently heard about an acquaintance who is going to "some program in Budapest." We are both college graduates with all the pre-med requirements under our belts and neither speak Hungarian. I was wondering what program this could be and what people's thoughts were on it because I would like to explore all of my options. Thanks!

[BalogSandorne]

hello! i can't speak with any authority on what it's actually like to be in a hungarian medical school program because I am still only considering applying. (I really want to go..but don't know if circumstances will allow it.) What I can tell you is this: I do know you have to learn Hungarian, and it is a very difficult language. My husband is Hungarian, and I am trying to learn the language on my own with a book and cd kit. It is an anomaly, not related to any other language. The closest thing to it is Finnish, but even then they're nothing alike. It is a VERY difficult language (I think I read somewhere that it's one of the top 3 hardest languages for english speaking people to learn..), but it's NOT impossible. I am surprised at how much I can understand and even speak now after only 2 years of trying. I guess it just depends on how interested you are in learning another language though. I guess if you don't have any special interest or family etc, in Hungary, you'll probably just want to go to an Australian program, or at least somewhere where they don't require you to learn another language. Unless you want to learn another language that is. Just keep in mind that it takes some seriously effort to learn hungarian.

[guyim88]

So wait, you said that you have to learn hungarian - but isn't the program in english? and if so, how did they plan it so when you do the clinicals you communicate with patients?

[guyim88]

I know that Israeli schools are amongst the best in the world - medical technology, professors, etc. Also people can speak english...