I think what the school is getting at is that you can do more than 12 weeks of electives outside of Poznan, if you wish; however, you still need to do 36 of the stated elective rotations your 4th year in Poznan. Is it possible also to do some of those 36 stated elective rotations outside of Poznan? From what I'm hearing, it is as long as you have the Dean's permission, but it's not standard procedure.

That's how I've come to understand it, at least. Someone please chime in if you know differently.

I'm glad that you brought up that issue regarding elective rotations in New York. It's wise for anyone considering attending this school or any school abroad to always check with the state where you intend to perform residency and/or practice regarding eligibility requirements.

To answer your other question, increased class size hasn't been a factor for me, since I haven't know it any differently. Other than some seminars and labs where we split up into smaller groups, the lectures have been fine... well, the lecture rooms, that is. I'm sure you will agree that not all lecturers are created equal...

__________________
Class of 2008, 4yr MD
Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Poznan, Poland

Student Website: www.poznanmedicine.org

University Website: www.ump.edu.pl

NY Admissions Office Website: www.mdprogram.com

"Dispel from your mind the thought that an understanding of the human body in every aspect of its structure can be given in words..."

- Leonardo da Vinci

There's another posting titled "Karol Marcinkowski Official Accepted Thread" within this forum, where people posted some of their interview experiences last year. Check it out. It has a lot of helpful information regarding what to expect for the interview. Smile and relax! Getting an interview is always a good sign.

As far as stats go regarding alumni, I can't help you there. I would ask the school directly to provide you with those stats or even with some contacts in your area for you to possibly chat with. I don't know if they'll even have this information for you because it seems that they didn't do much in the way of maintaining communication with alumni in the past, but they really need to get on the ball with that. This school has a lot of good things going for it and a lot of potential, but they really need to get their act together when it comes to a lot of things...

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions about the interview process that remain unanswered after reading the other post.

__________________
Class of 2008, 4yr MD
Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Poznan, Poland

Student Website: www.poznanmedicine.org

University Website: www.ump.edu.pl

NY Admissions Office Website: www.mdprogram.com

"Dispel from your mind the thought that an understanding of the human body in every aspect of its structure can be given in words..."

- Leonardo da Vinci

hey,

thanks so much for that, i will check it out and ask prof stan when i go for the interview abot stats and contacts.

are you in poznan now? how do you like it there? i have family in poland, but not in that city, so i don't know much about it.

edyta

Yes, I'm in Poznan now. We started in September just after Labor Day weekend and then had a 3 week break over the holidays. We've been back since the 10th of January and will continue until the end of June. We'll only get a month of between first and second year, which is a bit disappointing, but that's only for the first year.

The city is not bad, at all. Of course, it takes some getting used to, but overall I'm pleased. The most frustrating part is not being conversant in Polish, so if you already know the language or at least have a base knowledge then you'll definitely be in good shape because that's really the biggest obstacle. At least for me it is. But as far as a social life like going to clubs, restaurants, cinema (lots of American films), shopping, working out at the gym, etc., the city really has everything but of course with a Polish flavor to it.

First semester was challenging, but not overly difficult, so if you are really keen on travelling, that's the best time to do it. I was able to take advantage of that and go to Berlin a few times (3 hours away by train) and to London once. The workload ramps up for 2nd semester, but if you manage your time well, you can still study and have plenty of free time on the weekend, exam time excepted, of course.

I'm hearing though second year is brutal compared to first, but I won't comment anymore on that since I'm not there yet.

Oh, and I'm speaking only about the 4 year program, so take that into consideration, particulary when I'm talking about start and end times for school and workloads etc. The 6 year program is defintely different, and I don't want to give you the wrong impression.

__________________
Class of 2008, 4yr MD
Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Poznan, Poland

Student Website: www.poznanmedicine.org

University Website: www.ump.edu.pl

NY Admissions Office Website: www.mdprogram.com

"Dispel from your mind the thought that an understanding of the human body in every aspect of its structure can be given in words..."

- Leonardo da Vinci

I totally agree with mutig25 on his viewpoint here in Poznan. We are in the same class.

awesome, thanks for that

it's just frustrating at the moment, becasue i am in my second year of uni, doing a genetics major whcih is taking me nowhere, so that is why i applied for KMU, and i wanted to do it eversince highschool...but parents weren't too keen, i just turned 19...they did't want me to go there when i was 17...lol

but neways, thanks again! i am gonna have more questions for you guys soon, as you are there and can most likely help me out. (i have so many labs to finnish, need to hit the library)

btw, when did you find out if you were accepted?

You will find out that day. After the interview is over, they send you outside of the room and they decide whether to accept you into the program. So, unless you're socially inept (which I'm sure you're not!) then they should call you back in and give you the good news. That's why I said it's a good sign if you get an interview.

If you're planning to come back to Canada or the States to practice, my advice is to finish your undergraduate degree and apply there first. If you cannot get accepted then look elsewhere like Europe or the Caribbean. Although I stand by this school regarding a good medical education, it should not be your first choice, nor should any foreign school, if you're planning to practice stateside. Although it sounds like a romantic adventure to be able to study and live in Central Europe, it really is somewhat of a challenge. More importantly, there are challenges that you will have to face as an IMG that you won't otherwise face as a graduate of a Canadian or US medical school.

Regardless of your decision, good luck on the interview!

__________________
Class of 2008, 4yr MD
Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Poznan, Poland

Student Website: www.poznanmedicine.org

University Website: www.ump.edu.pl

NY Admissions Office Website: www.mdprogram.com

"Dispel from your mind the thought that an understanding of the human body in every aspect of its structure can be given in words..."

- Leonardo da Vinci

wow, i am more nervous now!...but i hope everything goes well...do you think they will let me know even for the six year md ?

it is impossible to get into canadian schools, my friend had a 88 average, and did not get accepted into any canadian med school, she is now in stanford.

do you mean that it will be difficult to get back and practice in the states? b/c when i spoke with prof stan, he said that after my thrid year there, i would switch into the second year of the 4 year md program which would enable me to practice there. how do u mean that it will be difficult? i think that i may over come the language barrier there....what troubles have you had there?

thanks so much i shall keep you posted

first and foremost, i would agree with mutig25 that you should finish your undergrad and try to apply to a us med school. only then if you are not accepted, should you look abroad.

i will add this as you are thinking about going into the 6 year program and then switching to the 4 year program. i know a number of individuals that wanted to do the same, and were even told that they would be able, but when the time came to doing it, they were denied. if stan wiktor tells you this, then i would ask to have this in writting.

now, not to scare you, i also know that they were going to modify the program so that US/Canadian students studying in poznan would get to experience the same clinical setup and be better prepared for going back. however, this was just in the talks a little ago, and it also required that they had to change the curiculum.

as for your question about getting back to the us and practiciing after doing the 6 year program, then you would have only one challange. that is your experience in a us medical program. the 6 year program (as of last year) did not give you adequate time to do electives in the us/canada. plus the setup of the clinicals in the 6 year program does not allow you finish for example surgery until your last year, or ob/gyn and when you apply for electives they ask you if you have completed the core (ob,peds,surg,im,psy). if you have not, then you chances of getting an elective and valuable experience diminish.

so, not to scare you off, but try to finish your undergrad, try to get into a us/canadian med school and only then when you don't get in, should you apply to a foreign school.

good luck

hey there,

thanks for that info. i am considering it all. i will go to the interview and see how it goes from there.

the people that you knew that did the 6 year could not switch into the 4 year? what did they do when they were denied?

what else can i be facing? will it affect me later on that i do not have a b.sc and just a md completed?

thanks so much