Studying medicine in Bulgaria

Hi,
I wanted to ask about studying medicine at Sofia Medical University. I have applied there and wanted to get more information. What is it like studying there and living there/ How often do you have assessments?
is the course similar to UK, ie good quality teaching.
Is it hard/easy to learn Bulgarian?
I am really keen to study medicine and have also applied to third faculty Charles University and Masaryk. Out of these 3 which one would you recommend?
Thanks,
Abbas

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Medicine in Sofia is not that difficult. The teaching level is ok but not so good as UK.Bulgarian language is pretty easy,once you learn the alphabet the difficulty is over . You’re going to love the city ,it’s really cheap and full of young people and also you are going to have a lot of free time especially during your first year

Reply 2

zaidia07

OP

6

Original post by Anonymous

Medicine in Sofia is not that difficult. The teaching level is ok but not so good as UK.Bulgarian language is pretty easy,once you learn the alphabet the difficulty is over . You’re going to love the city ,it’s really cheap and full of young people and also you are going to have a lot of free time especially during your first year

Thanks, are you studying there already?

Reply 3

asif007

19

If I was you, I would have alarm bells ringing if someone told me that Medicine is “not that difficult”. Perhaps it’s because lecturers in Sofia just read off slides and leave without answering questions. The reason people have so much free time in 1st year is because no students turn up to lectures anyway. But if you want an experience comparable to medical school in the UK then you need to have discipline and attend everything whether it’s compulsory or not. You really shouldn’t be having so much free time in 1st and 2nd year when you should be focusing on learning Bulgarian and studying for hard exams like Anatomy and Physiology. I don’t know about you but I would rather go to an institution that encourages students to work hard and pass exams on their own merit instead of producing lazy unprofessional medical students who expect to pass exams without putting the work and hours in. They will struggle when they become doctors - not because they studied abroad, but because they’ve never done a full 12 hour day before.

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Well I’m in the third year and I’ve passed successfully the other 2 years.My grades were excellent and my professors wee always there to ask them my questions and I even emailed them and they answered within a day explaining me everything (it was not that common before covid).Regarding your standards, instead of having free time I should have been learning Bulgarian very very hard but guess what? I know Bulgarian from when I was a little girl! Regarding anatomy and physics etc, I studied those subjects, passed them , I have a very good knowledge right now and also managed to have free time! So don’t put your standards on others.I was able to have free time because I had a program with my studies ,not because I didn’t go to lectures.

Zaida when I say it’s not that difficult it is not because you don’t have to study.The organization of the subjects is very good and they help you learn with a continuity so you don’t mess up things.

Reply 5

asif007

19

Original post by Anonymous

Well I’m in the third year and I’ve passed successfully the other 2 years.My grades were excellent and my professors wee always there to ask them my questions and I even emailed them and they answered within a day explaining me everything (it was not that common before covid).Regarding your standards, instead of having free time I should have been learning Bulgarian very very hard but guess what? I know Bulgarian from when I was a little girl! Regarding anatomy and physics etc, I studied those subjects, passed them , I have a very good knowledge right now and also managed to have free time! So don’t put your standards on others.I was able to have free time because I had a program with my studies ,not because I didn’t go to lectures.

Zaida when I say it’s not that difficult it is not because you don’t have to study.The organization of the subjects is very good and they help you learn with a continuity so you don’t mess up things.

I was talking specifically about students coming from the UK who are learning Bulgarian for the first time. Obviously if you have learned the language since you were a child then you don’t have to dedicate as much time to it, so this doesn’t apply to you. Most students are not as well organised as you are and don’t work as hard as you do, when in fact they should be. That’s the point I was trying to make.

Reply 6

zaidia07

OP

6

Original post by Anonymous

Well I’m in the third year and I’ve passed successfully the other 2 years.My grades were excellent and my professors wee always there to ask them my questions and I even emailed them and they answered within a day explaining me everything (it was not that common before covid).Regarding your standards, instead of having free time I should have been learning Bulgarian very very hard but guess what? I know Bulgarian from when I was a little girl! Regarding anatomy and physics etc, I studied those subjects, passed them , I have a very good knowledge right now and also managed to have free time! So don’t put your standards on others.I was able to have free time because I had a program with my studies ,not because I didn’t go to lectures.

Zaida when I say it’s not that difficult it is not because you don’t have to study.The organization of the subjects is very good and they help you learn with a continuity so you don’t mess up things.

Thank you, that's helpful to know.

Reply 7

Fatima.aa01

7

Original post by Anonymous

Well I’m in the third year and I’ve passed successfully the other 2 years.My grades were excellent and my professors wee always there to ask them my questions and I even emailed them and they answered within a day explaining me everything (it was not that common before covid).Regarding your standards, instead of having free time I should have been learning Bulgarian very very hard but guess what? I know Bulgarian from when I was a little girl! Regarding anatomy and physics etc, I studied those subjects, passed them , I have a very good knowledge right now and also managed to have free time! So don’t put your standards on others.I was able to have free time because I had a program with my studies ,not because I didn’t go to lectures.

Zaida when I say it’s not that difficult it is not because you don’t have to study.The organization of the subjects is very good and they help you learn with a continuity so you don’t mess up things.

I've just applied to Sofia University too for 2020/2021 entry and it's been hard to find any information on Sofia University as most international students opt for Plovdiv. Is there a reason why Plovdiv is becoming increasingly popular despite Sofia having a better ranking?

Reply 8

asif007

19

Original post by Fatima.aa01

I've just applied to Sofia University too for 2020/2021 entry and it's been hard to find any information on Sofia University as most international students opt for Plovdiv. Is there a reason why Plovdiv is becoming increasingly popular despite Sofia having a better ranking?

Rankings according to who? You must know that rankings are extremely subjective for every uni degree but they are even less relevant for Medicine. Your degree in Medicine will be the same wherever you graduate from. Having said that, a lot of the medical students I met in Sofia said they chose it because “education is better in the capital”. That may be true in the UK but it’s not necessarily the same in Bulgaria. My best guess is that so many international students go to Plovdiv because it has a better teaching reputation than Sofia and more things to do out and about in the city. Sofia does have great clubbing though, just be careful when getting home after a night out.

Reply 9

Fatima.aa01

7

Original post by asif007

Rankings according to who? You must know that rankings are extremely subjective for every uni degree but they are even less relevant for Medicine. Your degree in Medicine will be the same wherever you graduate from. Having said that, a lot of the medical students I met in Sofia said they chose it because “education is better in the capital”. That may be true in the UK but it’s not necessarily the same in Bulgaria. My best guess is that so many international students go to Plovdiv because it has a better teaching reputation than Sofia and more things to do out and about in the city. Sofia does have great clubbing though, just be careful when getting home after a night out.

Rankings on Sofia's university website but you're very right, I've been told multiple times to choose Sofia as 'education is better in the capital', thank you for your insight, I ended up switching my application to Plovdiv in the end

Reply 10

Macdeez44

9

Are there many English speaking students in your cohorts? And I’ve heard about presentation exams? Any responses would be great thanks 😊
Also what are the terms like Can I go home in the holidays?

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 11

Springtrees

5

Ah hello, I also plan on applying as a foreign student. I was wondering, how did/are you studying for the entrance examinations?

Reply 12

Apple14

1

Original post by Fatima.aa01

Rankings on Sofia's university website but you're very right, I've been told multiple times to choose Sofia as 'education is better in the capital', thank you for your insight, I ended up switching my application to Plovdiv in the end