Poznan or KRAKOW????????

[pisklaki]

hello,

trying to decide between Poznan and Krakow, but personally think that Krakow is a bigger name school. Is that true? Let me know about pros and cons please.
Thanks

[neongoat]

I don't know about the differences in the schools, but ask anyone in Poland and I bet they will tell you that Krakow is a better city to live in.

[gvanderv]

Hi,

I'm in Poznan and very happy here. You really should visit the schools. All the schools have good things and bad things, true in the US also. You will get out what you put into it. If come to Poland, you will need a lot of patience.

People tell us that Krakow is nicer, but can't really explain why. I have not been to Krakow yet so, I'm not sure. If you are a guy it doesn't matter where you go. Polish girls are very friendly to American guys. But Polish guys will not give an American guy the time of day. If you are a girl you are on your own in Poland. Just my personal observation. Check these sites out:

http://www.asg.amp.edu.pl/incoming/incomingyr.htm

http://medschoollife.blogspot.com/

Bye .......... Gerry

[mutig25]

If you're basing your decision solely on which city is better to live in, then I would say Krakow. It's a bigger city and retains many of the old world charms that Poznan and definitely Warsaw do not.

However, if you're basing your decision on which school is better, then I'm biased, and I would say Poznan.. :) Although, I'm only in the first year of the four year program, I am completely satisified with the quality of education I am receiving. Also, Pozan has been rated the best school in Poland for several years.

http://www.mdprogram.com/md/current.shtml

How accurate and reliable is this rating, I'm not really sure, and I certainly wouldn't base my decision on it.

Follow Gerry's advice and visit both schools. I think you'll feel better about your decision then.

Good luck!

[Peterpan]

I am in the first year of six year program at KMU,Poznan. Lately, I been thinking about transfering to Krakow. But, I don't know if Krakow is better than KMU..Please help me decide if i should transfer or not? What is the USMLE passing rate for step 1 for both schools?

[opuscule]

Well, I’ll say first that I study in Krakow and have never been to Poznan, so I can’t contrast the programs. Both programs seem to receive generally positive reviews, so I have to concur that there’s really no substitute for making a personal visit to both. That being said, let me make some comments for consideration as you make your decision:

Jag has about 30 people per year in the 4 year program (6 year a bit more). Poznan has, I believe, over 100.

Krakow is Poland’s cultural capital, a long-time academic and intellectual centre, has an amazing old town (which quite uniquely serves as the city’s functional downtown), huge student population, and large tourist influx (the benefits being infrastructure catering to foreigners and a lot of discount airline flights to various European destinations). It’s also very close to the mountains, providing great opportunities for skiing, hiking and climbing, if any of those are your thing.

Regardless of how objective the school rankings are (you’ll find that the business environment in Poland does not place as much emphasis on honesty and transparency as in North America), don’t forget that they refer to the Polish program.

Given the positive reviews of both schools, I expect the best choice will be a personal, rather than objective, one.

Neither school reports USMLE results so you’re not going to get an objective pass rate for the boards (at least not until Poznan’s recent efforts towards reporting produce results). However, NewGuyBob posted some observations on the boards in This Thread (http://www.valuemd.com/ftopic29855.html) from the perspective of a recent Jag grad.

Re transferring, check my post in This Thread (http://www.valuemd.com/ftopic31653-15.html).

[carbon]

Being a graduate of the 4 year program in Poznan and having spent several months of my life living in Krakow I have the following opinion:

1. Poznan is a provincial capital. Nice city but comparing it to Krakow is like comparing Sacramento to Sanfransisco. Krakow IMO is a world class cultural city.

2. Polish medical school rankings which are performed by local news magazines are about as valuable as a stock tip from the national enquirer.

3. No one in America cares which school you attended. It's all Swahili to Residency program directors in the USA. It's all about your USMLE scores and getting US clerkships.

4. Direct air connections from NYC and Chicago make life alot easier. Poznan means transferring or taking trains from Berlin or Warsaw. Pain in the neck.

5. Poznan's education is good. I can't comment on Jagellonian education, but I cannot imagine it being that much different from Poznan. Both schools have been training Americans for 10 years now. Afterall it is a very homogenous country and everyone is shaking off years of Commie influence together.

6. Krakow last I checked was cheaper. Locally, it is a more prestigious school. Jagellonian is their version of Harvard. That however is meaningless since Harvard also is probably not the best med school in the US.

7. If you are not the disciplined, self motivated, resourceful type then I recommend a different part of the world all together. Polish schools are not known for taking you buy the hand and walking you over to success through the USMLE and into residency. There are no guarantees over there and relative risk is probably alot higher than the larger Carib schools with established track records of training Americans.

8. Go visit each school you are interested in. The time and money invested is well worth it. Then decide for yourself.

9. No polish 4 year program is California approved. I do not know about the 6 year programs. This means you cannot do residency, get licensed or ever work in Cali. New Mexico has adopted some of Cali's credentialling requirements. This of course is not an issue if you have no plans on going there as you can train and work in 48 other states, although no one knows what kind or prescedent California is setting.

10. In the long run, you can't go wrong with either location but your extracurricular life will be much better in Krakow. Good luck to you all and post your final decisions.

[gvanderv]

Hey Carbon great post!!!!!!!! Much better said then mine. I agree totally.

Bye .... Gerry

[Peterpan]

Hi, Thank you for your advice. My reasons on transferring to Krakow: My mother lives in Zakopane, and my girlfriend studies in Krakow. I know Krakow is a better city but that is not my reason. Also, when I want to work in the states after medical school, does it make a difference if I graduate from Krakow or Poznan. Thank you for your time and I appreciate your advice.

[opuscule]

Well, those are compelling personal reasons to transfer. If Poznan gains California accreditation then it could make a difference where you graduate from, otherwise I think the consensus is that both schools provide a good education. A colleague recently posted in another thread (http://www.valuemd.com/ftopic31653-15.html) about two folks who transferred into his class (2nd of 4) from Poznan this year. Both are happy with their decision.

[carbon]

I generally advise against transferring unless you have good reasons to do so. For the rest of your career you will have to provide letters and documentation of your education from 2 institutions which you will see once you get back to the US can be a double headache. I would also imagine that if any given state has credentialling issues with either one of the institutions you attended, you will still be ineligible for licensure.
ie. California approves Krakow but not Poznan, you graduated from Krakow but attended both, can you still get licensed?

[Rico]

I generally advise against transferring unless you have good reasons to do so. For the rest of your career you will have to provide letters and documentation of your education from 2 institutions which you will see once you get back to the US can be a double headache. I would also imagine that if any given state has credentialling issues with either one of the institutions you attended, you will still be ineligible for licensure.
ie. California approves Krakow but not Poznan, you graduated from Krakow but attended both, can you still get licensed?

Non of the English version of Polish Med-schools are approved by California yet.

http://www.medbd.ca.gov/Applicant_Schools_Recognized.htm

Rico