Thread: budapest schools vs debrecen?

hi!

Alright so ive heard from someone who goes to Debrecen that schools in Budapest offer better education and have higher rankings?
Is this true? does anyone have info about Semmelweis University Medical School?

Semmelweis has more affiliated hospitals and schools, but I think the education is the same, if anything, it's more stressful in any other school than Debrecen. This because here for anatomy 2nd year final exam, they don't require you to know lower and upper limb, you just need to pass this exam during your first year then you can forget all about it, then all you have is everything gross anatomy (except lower + upper limb) + histology + embryology in a big final oral theoretical exam, while in the other schools in Hungary, you have everything + lower and upper limb, this is one of the big exams in which people become repeaters in this country.

Doesn't Semmelweis qualify something 200+ in rankings? I don't think people care much for rankings for schools over the 200th line, not sure though about it's ranking, but yeah it would be better ranked than Debrecen, and it's the best ranked in Hungary I think. Higher ranking in this country means that the teachers are going to be even stricter and more a pain in the **** than they already are.

Originally Posted by Dulgar

Semmelweis has more affiliated hospitals and schools, but I think the education is the same, if anything, it's more stressful in any other school than Debrecen. This because here for anatomy 2nd year final exam, they don't require you to know lower and upper limb, you just need to pass this exam during your first year then you can forget all about it, then all you have is everything gross anatomy (except lower + upper limb) + histology + embryology in a big final oral theoretical exam, while in the other schools in Hungary, you have everything + lower and upper limb, this is one of the big exams in which people become repeaters in this country.

Doesn't Semmelweis qualify something 200+ in rankings? I don't think people care much for rankings for schools over the 200th line, not sure though about it's ranking, but yeah it would be better ranked than Debrecen, and it's the best ranked in Hungary I think. Higher ranking in this country means that the teachers are going to be even stricter and more a pain in the **** than they already are.

thats interesting, I am looking into going to the US after finishing up and taking their exam so I guess if i study at Debrecen then I would have to do more self studying than if i was at semmelweis? Im curious, does the US even consider Debrecen as a legit med school? if not then i guess i would have to transfer to semmelweis after a few years.

Thankyou!

There are a lot of people here that are planning on going the US, I think the US basically puts every school that is outside of north America in the same bag of "unworthiness" unless it's one of those elite medical schools in western Europe. There is even a Kaplan course here at Debrecen.

I think the self study is the same in any school in Hungary.

parmidas,
The best person to answer your question is someone who has studied in both schools. Unfortunately, I'm not that person.
As oft-repeated, all the HU medical schools by and large share the same problem. There's not much advantaged to be gained in terms of academics by choosing one over the other. However, the location of the school is the biggest decider. If I were to do it over again, I'll definitely choose Semmelweis over Debrecen, no matter how many times.
There's a huge difference in the attitude of Hungarians in Budapest and Debrecen towards foreigners. I've seen this many many times.
Good luck in endeavours.

Originally Posted by african_child

parmidas,
The best person to answer your question is someone who has studied in both schools. Unfortunately, I'm not that person.
As oft-repeated, all the HU medical schools by and large share the same problem. There's not much advantaged to be gained in terms of academics by choosing one over the other. However, the location of the school is the biggest decider. If I were to do it over again, I'll definitely choose Semmelweis over Debrecen, no matter how many times.
There's a huge difference in the attitude of Hungarians in Budapest and Debrecen towards foreigners. I've seen this many many times.
Good luck in endeavours.

There is a girl that transferred from first year Semmelweis to Debrecen, in her opinion Debrecen is much more friendly than Semmelweis, I've never really asked her much about why she transferred..

Originally Posted by Dulgar

There is a girl that transferred from first year Semmelweis to Debrecen, in her opinion Debrecen is much more friendly than Semmelweis, I've never really asked her much about why she transferred..

Well, Dulgar, in the rare chance you run into her in this hectic exams period and you guys got chatty, could you ask her why? The answer could well benefit others like the poster.
Guaranteed, sometimes it's a matter of personal opinion. Just like how immediately after an exams 2 students give opposing opinion about the same examiner.
I have a long time friend who transferred from Debrecen to Budapest and claims that's the best decision he's taken since coming to Hungary. And when I do visit him (which is quite often), I see a lot more smiling and helpful Hungarians. One time, 2 Hungarian guys kindly walked w/ us about 2km just to show us a building we couldn't easily find off Google maps. Now compare this to the ample no of Hungarians in Debrecen that either ignore you, walk away or give you the cheesy "no English" line once you attempt to ask for their help.
Yeah, Debrecen may be easier to pass than in Semmelweis. However, one needs to think beyond the school and the consider the city/town one's gonna live in.And 6 years is a loooong time to live in any city.

Originally Posted by parmidas

thats interesting, I am looking into going to the US after finishing up and taking their exam so I guess if i study at Debrecen then I would have to do more self studying than if i was at semmelweis? Im curious, does the US even consider Debrecen as a legit med school? if not then i guess i would have to transfer to semmelweis after a few years.

Thankyou!

Dulgar and african_child have pretty much summed up everything else but when it comes to obtaining a residency in the US, Debrecen is a better option than Semmelweis because it is recognized by the California and NY medical boards. While this may not seem that important initially, it is a very big and crucial advantage which you'll have over people studying in other Hungarian or Central/Eastern European schools. All the other Hungarian schools obtained the CA recognition over the last 12 months or so but I think Debrecen is the only one with both CA and NY approvals and it also has an affiliation with the Wyckoff hospital in NY where you can do part of your clinical rotations in the 6th year. But these are not the only points to be considered when choosing a school where you'll be studying for the next 6 years.

Um, I'm not sure where you're getting your information, but Semmelweis is approved in all 50 states.

Welcome to the Medical Board of California - Medical Schools Recognized by the Medical Board of California

Originally Posted by devildoc8404

Um, I'm not sure where you're getting your information, but Semmelweis is approved in all 50 states.

Welcome to the Medical Board of California - Medical Schools Recognized by the Medical Board of California

Please, read again.

While this may not seem that important initially, it is a very big and crucial advantage which you'll have over people studying in other Hungarian or Central/Eastern European schools. All the other Hungarian schools obtained the CA recognition over the last 12 months or so but I think Debrecen is the only one with both CA and NY approvals and it also has an affiliation with the Wyckoff hospital in NY where you can do part of your clinical rotations in the 6th year.