Hungarian in English vs. Romanian in Romanian

[GoSundevils]

I am a Canadian (though I will be able to get US citizenship soon if it makes a difference) and would like to do my med school, residency and then practice in Europe (preferably Austria, Germany, or France). I already know French and some Italian, so I think I could learn Romanian well enough by the fall 2010 school year to take the course in Romanian.

So my question is, what would be looked upon more favorably by European residency program directors to do an English program in Hungary (such as Semmelweis, or Pecs) or to do a Romanian program in Romanian? I have read on forums the reputation of Hungarian schools is pretty good and they are supposed to be difficult, and Romanian schools (at least the English programs) easier, but would taking it in the native language offset this? I am not really sure where to go for information on this topic. Thank you for any advice.

P.S., my high school grades were not good, but I have taken college science courses and done well since then (I was a late bloomer I guess), so if you know of any other schools that that mostly decide admissions by entrance exam instead of sec. school records that would be stronger, I am open to suggestions.

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[mmmiles]

double post... sorry

 

[mmmiles]

If you are interested in remaining in the EU, why don't you do your studies in the country that you want to end up in (i.e. Austria, Germany or France)? You will be integrated (both in language and culture) from the start and will be in a more competitive position for the residency you want. Transferring between EU countries can be done but is often difficult (especially if you are not from the EU) so if you can pick a country and stay there it would be a big advantage! You might need to invest some more to get into native programs in the countries mentioned, depending on what courses you have taken and your language proficiency, but it can be done.

I did this in Germany and it worked out great- although I had to invest some time to learn the language before I started. I was able to get exactly the residency in Germany that I wanted when I finished (even though I am not from the EU) and felt very at home there. Unfortunately, transfering back to the US involves some work ...

 

[GoSundevils]

I did this in Germany and it worked out great- although I had to invest some time to learn the language before I started. I was able to get exactly the residency in Germany that I wanted when I finished (even though I am not from the EU) and felt very at home there. Unfortunately, transfering back to the US involves some work ...

Thank you for the advice. As far as Germany goes, do you know if they focus on secondary school records, or university records? From the websites it looked like their first concern was secondary school, but on this forum on the German med school topics, people seem to be talking about university records. Or does this vary widely from university to university? Thank you.

 

[mmmiles]

I applied in 2001 and they only wanted my transcripts from College (Bachelor's- 4 years) and a copy of my high school diploma, no scores. I wouldn't worry about your earlier grades... if you have decent uni grades and can score well on the language exam I think it won't be that hard to get in- although I am not really sure how competitive it is now for non-EU applicants. One of the most important things is to have a good grasp of the language- both to do well on the exam and be successful in your studies!!

Also, if you have taken some pre-med courses (Bio, Chem etc..) you can likely get credit for these, but apply for this early because it took 6 months in my case.

 

[GoSundevils]

I applied in 2001 and they only wanted my transcripts from College (Bachelor's- 4 years) and a copy of my high school diploma, no scores. I wouldn't worry about your earlier grades... if you have decent uni grades and can score well on the language exam I think it won't be that hard to get in- although I am not really sure how competitive it is now for non-EU applicants. One of the most important things is to have a good grasp of the language- both to do well on the exam and be successful in your studies!!

Also, if you have taken some pre-med courses (Bio, Chem etc..) you can likely get credit for these, but apply for this early because it took 6 months in my case.

That is very exciting!, I was very worried about high school grades ruining my plans, despite my hard work in university. You have been extremely helpful, thank you very much.

And sorry, one last question. Would current EU citizenship really be helpful for getting into the German medical school system? Looking on the internet it appears I meet the qualifications for Italian citizenship (jure sanguinis). Do you think pursuing this would be worthwhile (my family saved all their documents, so it wouldn't take an extraordinary amount of effort). Thank you very much again

 

[mmmiles]

hmmm.... i am not sure if EU citizenship would help or not. As an EU citizen you would apply through a central process (ZVS) in which you give a ranking of what schools you want to attend. Normally acceptance is based on your Abitur grade... it is fairly competitive however, often you can get in with a worse score but have to wait several semesters. I am not sure of the details but there are several Germans here that can likely tell you more.

If you apply as non-EU, you do so directly to the University that you want to attend. There are no absolute criteria for acceptance and I think you won't find anyone that can really tell you how competitive it is to get in this way. There are a certain number of positions reserved at each university for non-EU students. When I applied I was told that there were not enough qualified applicants so all that applied were accepted.... I don't know if this was the truth (a secretary at the uni told me) or if it is usually the case. Others on sdn have said that it is very competitive.... maybe someone else has more detailed info.

 

[saxophonium6]

hmmm.... i am not sure if EU citizenship would help or not. As an EU citizen you would apply through a central process (ZVS) in which you give a ranking of what schools you want to attend. Normally acceptance is based on your Abitur grade... it is fairly competitive however, often you can get in with a worse score but have to wait several semesters. I am not sure of the details but there are several Germans here that can likely tell you more.

If you apply as non-EU, you do so directly to the University that you want to attend. There are no absolute criteria for acceptance and I think you won't find anyone that can really tell you how competitive it is to get in this way. There are a certain number of positions reserved at each university for non-EU students. When I applied I was told that there were not enough qualified applicants so all that applied were accepted.... I don't know if this was the truth (a secretary at the uni told me) or if it is usually the case. Others on sdn have said that it is very competitive.... maybe someone else has more detailed info.

Thanks SunDevils for this post and mmmiles for all the info in response!

mmmiles- could you elaborate a little about your experience in med school in germany? i'm interested in entering med school in france or possibly belgium and im just curious about experiences. thanks!

 

[slight365]

If you apply as an EU resident, you go through the German ZVS and then you get ranked, and they pretty much send you where they want, based on availability, location, etc. The do take residency within Germany as a factor, as well as having family or a wife, or something else as a high priority.

You have a massively increased chance of getting into a school as a non-EU foreigner. However, then comes the language requirements, and if applicable, an interview. My interview was not fun. It was an actual test on my scientific knowledge, but in German. There was absolutely no way to prep for it, because the questions were made up along the way and I didn't know the words in German, though I understood the questions, and formulated alternate descriptive terminology to describe what I wanted to say. That was a horrible 45 minutes.

 

[elise23455]

I am a Canadian student applying to Hungarian schools. Is anyone else already study there or planning to apply?

Also has anyone got exemption from the entrance exam ( have a bachelor degree in science)?

How is the application process?