Thread: Medical University of Lodz

Originally Posted by Miklos

Gerry,

The agents are one issue. The cultural issue is another. As you put it: "Being able to handle it."

I'll put it another way: "It takes two to tango!"

As peacefuljourney says, North Americans have certain expectations. When we pay for a service, we expect to receive something in return. When we feel that it wasn't fair, we except to complain and to be compensated. This is a mostly alien concept in the region.

Let me try to illustrate this point. The reason, McDonald's is super successful in both Hungary and the Czech Republic (and believe me, they are!) is very simple. They deliver what they promise, at the price they promise and the customer is king. (I make no claim on the quality of their food.) This is what you are used to in North America. In fact, it it were not so, you'd go elsewhere. Here it is brand new. The customer expects to be ripped off (that's why he is highly suspicious of everyone) and knows he has no recourse. The Hungarian equivalent to the Slovak phrase is: "Sajnos nincs!" meaning that they are terribly sorry, but there isn't anything that can be had or alternatively be done.

In the same way, schools in this region are far closer to the communist way of thinking than the (let's call it this for simplicity's sake) McDonald's way. Many because (as peacefuljourney has pointed out elsewhere) you needed to be a card-carrying party member in order to advance in academia.

The question, you need to ask yourself is what recourse you have if things don't work out at the med school you choose to attend (and many who do so often do it blindly). I will tell you...you have none. So, you'd better choose wisely.

Miklos

Thanks for this post Miklos. You are right on the money with North Americans expecting value for their money, where in my opinion, nowhere in Europe is that truly practiced. North Americans born and raised in America will struggle GREATLY with any European studies. The problem I think is lack of information and mixed hearsay. By lack of information, I mean that in general, schools across Europe have poor websites, lacking across the board in galleries, information to students and overall organization of the schools. That being said, this website "valueMD" is a God-send for people looking into E-EU schools, and I'm hoping to deter as many people as possible with these threads. With Western EU school, unfortunately, the schools remain a mystery and hopefully someone will get on creating forums for these school, as the absolute lack of info in this day and age in astonishing.

With hearsay, back in N. America, this is also a problem, and I had this problem with many people. I'll put this in a list:

1. People with E-EU heritages receive ERRONEOUS information from their PARENTS. Parents who left to N. America 25+ years ago at the age of 20 are virtually MORE AMERICAN THAN EUROPEAN. There is a reason they escaped, there is reason they didn't return after the revolution, and they know NOTHING of the system apart from some info from parents who are pushing 90. This problem IS HUGE with Americans coming into any E-EU school.
2. Students who attended any EU school for 1 year for an exchange in their N. American school Bachelor degree also have a poor, unclear idea of what MEDICAL school in the EU is about.
3. Individuals who visited Europe a thousand times who have a romanticized, nonobjective view of the EU medical system, especially since they stay for 2 weeks, blow hundreds of dollars, stay at resorts or hotels, and go back to their 4000s.ft house in the suburbs and know nothing of how the socialist system in Europe truly works.
4. People lie. Or to be less antagonizing, people just see what they want to see. This is especially true coming from points 2 and 3. If you are in Europe for just an academic stay or vacation, and your life and career back home in America is basically guaranteed, your outlook on the system will be through rose-coloured glasses.
5. Hearsay from friends and family is DANGEROUS. Please believe me, especially if you come from an ethnic, tightly knit community in either the States or Canada. Why? Mostly due to the fact that kids make their own friends, separate from their parents. So information about these med schools was passed down mainly through the parents of students who attend these schools. Here's the thing: parents are very protective, and yep, you guessed it, THEY LIE!! They say everything is peaches but you don't know the truth, because that is between families. Then you go on this website and you read REAL opinions.


THANKS,

current student