[Semmelweis University](https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/semmelweis-university)
**University of Szeged**
University of Debrecen
University of Pécs
They all seem good options and each one is in a different city, Which one do you think is the best option out of these?
I have looked at the rankings and all of them are one of the top universities in the world but I would like to know the perspective from the Locals as it would give me a much clearer picture of each of those unis.
14 comments
Semmelweis University is by far the best
All of them are good, Sote is probably the most famous.
SOTE, also for life outside of uni, if you get any as a med student, Budapest is probably the most worthy city.
As I’ve heard the first few years are better in Debrecen, while the practices are way better at SOTE.
The environment of the university is better in Debrecen, the whole university and all campuses and dormitories are located in the “Nagyerdő” area of the city, which is really beautiful. However, Debrecen is a smaller town with limited cultural and entertainment possibilities.
Budapest has more opportunities, but the clinics and hospitals are located in several parts of the city, and sometimes the travelling is difficult between them.
The international community is really great at both places.
There are pros and cons, but you should evaluate your priorities. 🙂 This is what I heard from foreign and hungarian students, and what I have experienced. I have no friends from Pécs or Szeged.
Szeged pretty good. University is good. Important: City is very-very nice. Foreign peoples for locals is pretty a norm (even in the 1980′ (!)) due the universities.
One student friend of mine say to me: M family is not rich, so we cant afford the Sorbone in Paris, so i go to Szeged.
Disclaimer: i born and live for a while in Szeged.
Easy, Budapest: Pros: Best uni, you can find a rich Norwegian boyfriend/girlfriend you can leech off of. Cons: lots of Germans and liberals.
Well, depends on what you’re looking for. As I am a med student at SOTE, I can tell you about my experience. The first 3 years were challenging, to say the least. We literally had little to no life outside of the uni. Then with the clinical practices it got much better, most of us have jobs, and have a lot of freetime. I feel like we are quite good in theory, learned a huge amount of information about basically everything, but have zero practical skills, which can be worrying. As far as I know, according to international toplists, SOTE is the most acknowledged medical university of Hungary, so if you want to work somewhere else in the world, it’s probably your best shot. Also, Budapest is a big plus, of course, full of life and possibilities. Altogether, I’m happy that I winded up at Semmelweis. I wish you the best of luck!
My friend choose Pécs and he isn’t complaining. Could have gone anywhere, but I assume he had his reasons, medical professions run in his family so he probably had good insight to the hungarian medical system.
None, go to the west.
Semmelweis!
My brother just finished in PTE last year. The first 3 years were basically hell for him, but i would imagine this is the same for all medical unis.
Pécs is fully a students’ city, it has a huge foreign community, who are mostly there for the medical and medicinal studies. I don’t have a big enough sample group of cities, but in my experience it is a multicultural melting pot, with a variety of languages spoken on the streets. While it’s far from Budapest, there’s still a direct train and bus connection for important places. It’s easy to navigate with public transport, and they’ve been building new bicycle lanes for the last years. Streets are usually safe, but there are always exemptions. (Please whatever place you choose to move to, always! ask some locals about parts of the city and how safe they are!!) You also have opportunities for any free time activity you like, apart from maybe skiing, but i suppose you ruled that out already when opening the “Hungary” box.
Again, I don’t know much about the other cities, but i hope i contributed at least something to the thread.
I’m finishing in Pécs right now. The first 3 years are really rough, but after that is enjoyable. There are old and modern clinics as well, but it’s getting better. I would recommend it, because it has a good community, average social life, etc. the cons is that Pécs is the smallest of the 4 cities
Some of my friends transferred to Poland, Czechia and had a much much easier time. I would seriously consider other countries especially if you are not used to oral exams. Also consider that most people don’t finish on time, you probably have to add two years to your education.
Studied pharmacy in Debrecen. I believe we have the largest number of foreign students between the 4 universities here, so that’s something to consider.
If you’re planning to study general medicine, then honestly any of the 4 is great. Semmelweis is of course located in Budapest, which is by far the largest city here and offers many many opportunities for hobbies, recreation, concerts etc. From what I heard Debrecen puts the most emphasis on practical teaching, so that’s also something to keep in mind. Also the environment of the university is beautiful. It’s all concentrated in and around the Debrecen Clinics, which itself is in a green, foresty area. You can find several parks, woods and a botanic garden here. Don’t know much about Szeged or Pécs, but I’m sure they’re great too.
If you’re planning to study pharmacy or dentistry though, then I recommend Debrecen for sure. The quality of complimentary practical education here is incredible.