Medical University of Varna

[drewshaker]

Hello everyone,
Time is dwindling down to look for a school and being a prospective student of medical schools (I'm feeling very confident with Charles in Prague) I would like to know some information about the Medical University in Varna, Bulgaria. Let me tell you why I'd consider this school even though the country is not in the EU:

Pros:
- The school hates agents and has a North American office that doesn't charge a dime for any services they do

- The school uses a different accreditation system than the rest of of Europe. Also, it is similar to that of the USA's system. It used the Middle States system which my own university in the USA uses right now. Also, even though it's not in the EU, the degree is good in Great Britain.

- You can do a lot of clinicals in the USA. This is where I need help. Does anyone know how the amount of clinical work that can be done in the USA?

Cons:

- Very difficult language to learn

- Country is not in the EU


Please help me. Is this a university that is worth my while? Should I consider it or just to Charles?

Thanks very much for your time,
Andrew Shaker

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[drewshaker]

Dear Mr. Shaker:

Thank you for your interest in the Medical University of Varna's International Medical Program. From your e-mail, we understood that you are a first-year university student. You should realize at the outset that you would not be eligible to apply for the four-year program until such time that you have completed all of the required premedical courses and have been awarded your undergraduate degree. There is no exception to this policy. You may apply for the six-year European program with English as the primary medium of instruction. With this proviso in mind, we will attempt to answer your questions.

1) Does the curriculum help students in any way with USMLE prep? Yes. However, the USMLE-based curriculum is primarily in the four-year program. The six-year program is the traditional European model of medical education with less emphasis on the USMLE.

2) How much clinical time can a student spend in the USA during his clinicals? Students in the four-year program may do their entire clinicals in the US and Canadian hospitals, including elective placements at US and Canadian medical schools as ! visiting students. The students in the six-year program may do their elective rotations in US and Canada. Because of the significant curriculum differences in the six-year program, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to offer an entirely North American-based clinical education to the six-year students.

3) Are there summers between each year? Yes. School Starts in September and ends in June.

4) Does the cost of tuition increase annualy? No. Except, the tuition is increased for the clinical years in US and Canada. The increase will depend on the hos! pital placement and the hospital charges. You may estimate around $6500.00 to $7500.00 per semester, which includes the base tution of $4500.00 and the hospital charges for clinical rotations. The increase is solely due to the hospital charges.



5) Is it very competitive to get in? It varies from year-to-year and depends on the application pool. We evaluate the applicant against the application pool for that year, using a composite scoring system. If the application pool for a particular year is exceptionally strong, the admission will be competitive. Applicants with poor grades and a history of poor academic records are never accepted. Unlike many Eastern European programs where admission is granted to whoever willing to pay the tuition, the Faculty at Varna only accepts students who can successfully complete the program and pass the qualifying examinations to become a physicians in their country of choice. Therefore, a competitive academic profile is expected of all applicants.

6) Is there any alumni in the USA that are willing to speak with prospective students? There are alumni in the US, but we are not sure how updated the contact information is. We don?t use alumni as a recruiting tool. Many foreign schools use a select group of their former graduates to help them recruit students. We do not follow this practice.



7) Is the English program approved in the state of California? At the moment, no eastern European English program is approved in CA. The faculty of medicine is in the process of submitting their CA application. The CA application process takes at least two years to complete. If CA approval is an important factor in your future plans, you should not consider any Eastern European programs. Even if Varna obtains CA approval by the time you graduate, you may nevertheless be ineligible to apply for CA licensure if part of your coursework was completed when the school was not yet approved. The board may grant the school a retroactive approval but this is discretionary and by no means a guarantee.

Also, what is your phone number in the USA? The North American Office is located in Toronto. You may contact the office with additional questio! ns. The phone number is: (416) 290-6107. You may also e-mail your inquiries to the admission staff at: [email protected]

We hope this helps and wish you the very best in your future educational endeavours.

Admissions

North American Office

www.varnamed.org

 

[Miklos]

7) Is the English program approved in the state of California? At the moment, no eastern European English program is approved in CA. The faculty of medicine is in the process of submitting their CA application. The CA application process takes at least two years to complete. If CA approval is an important factor in your future plans, you should not consider any Eastern European programs. Even if Varna obtains CA approval by the time you graduate, you may nevertheless be ineligible to apply for CA licensure if part of your coursework was completed when the school was not yet approved. The board may grant the school a retroactive approval but this is discretionary and by no means a guarantee.

Well, that puts them in a bad light.

The English language programs of

Semmelweis University (Budapest, Hungary)
Szeged University (Szeged, Hungary)
Charles University, 1st Faculty (Prague, Czech Republic)

are approved in California.

I hate it when schools (or their agents/recruiters) spread misinformation. Unless, of course, they claim that Hungary and the Czech Republic are not in Eastern Europe. (All a matter of perspective, I guess.)

Miklos