Varna Medical University (VMU) is a thriving tertiary education institution in the beautiful setting of Varna, Bulgaria. Currently VMU has a vibrant multicultural faculty and student body who study and live on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. With its Medicine and Dentistry Programmes, four affiliated hospitals, and extensive medical and scientific publications, VMU attracts thousands of students. In order to learn more about their undergraduate and graduate programmes, read on for these real first-year student testimonials. As well as sharing about their SME services experiences, students describe life in Bulgaria studying at VMU.
Hear From Donald, First-year medical student, Varna Medical University.
“My experience with SMEs has absolutely been amazing,” he shares. “So being an international student applying abroad is a daunting process,” and hence for him the SME support was invaluable. “The application process can be quite confusing but when I approached SME they did explain everything in very good detail and which made the whole process quite simple.”
What was the support like for you when you arrived to Varna in Bulgaria?
“So everything was good relocation…it was a stress-free process,” he says. In fact, “SME helped me book my flight tickets, my hotel, and when I arrived in the country I was greeted by my city manager who I spoke to.”
How did the teachers at VMU make your international student experience positive?
Undeniably he says that, “Medicine is challenging, it’s definitely not an easy course but we know that before we come here.” This is why the faculty at VMU have made his studies so outstanding so far. He explains, “One thing that we are blessed with is very well-educated teachers who explains all the concepts quite well and when you do get stuck, which you will get stuck, you can always go back to your teachers and ask for an explanation.”
How did SME help make your medicine study in Europe dream a reality?
For this student, it has been a long journey to study a medical programme as, “I was trying to study medicine since I finished Physiotherapy.” What’s more he says that “I was fighting so much to study Medicine”. After undergraduate medicine he was trying to find a medical study programme and he says, “By chance one day I was searching and I found this [SME services] page.”
Why is studying medicine in Varna at VMU so amazing?
Unquestionably he says, “Living in Varna is amazing.” And most importantly, “I can combine like doing what I love like I started Medicine. I can play football, I can meet people from different countries, I make different like relationships, I have new friends.”
Were SME available to support your application process?
Following finding SME services online he explains, “How I started to call them and they were so helpful they said, like, ‘Yes, Jose we will talk with you’.” Then they supported him throughout the application journey from that first call as SME said, “We will help you, we’ll help you with what you have to do.”
What has it been like for you settling into life in Bulgaria at VMU?
Finding community has been a positive gain he says, “For me personally the most difficult part was to move away from the family but then the friendships you make here they become your family.”
What was your journey to medical school in Bulgaria like before SME services?
SME played a crucial role in finding the right medical programme. “Before this I was struggling like for two years and applying in Germany and different other countries and it didn’t work.” Additionally, “As soon as I contacted SME they basically helped me with everything and very fast after that I was a medical student.”
Would you tell people to pursue medicine study in Bulgaria?
Emphatically, “I would tell them to study Medicine for sure if it’s their dream.” He says that this includes everyone dreaming of it, “No matter how old they are or no matter from which country they are.” Again he says that SME services were life-changing for him as they might be for someone else. In summary, “They just need the right connections just an SME…somebody who helps them with one thing.”
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