My First Year of Medical School in Bulgaria

What was the start of medical school in Bulgaria like?

I came to Sofia in 2015 to study dentistry in English. The beginning was a plunge into the deep end: an unfamiliar city, Cyrillic script on every street sign, and a degree whose workings I knew only second-hand. After twelve months it was clear the decision had held up.

The overview below summarises my first year of study, as I wrote it down in 2017.

Why a flatshare makes such a difference in the first year

Right at the start I met another German student from Munich at the Medical University of Sofia. Without much deliberation we set up a two-person flatshare. Everything was easier together: the supermarket run just as much as revising during the exam period.

That sounds banal. But it is the point at which many people find out whether their first year abroad holds up or turns into a slog. Anyone sitting alone in an unfamiliar city while learning anatomy has two problems instead of one.

How much do you miss home?

I almost never felt homesick. The main reason was distance on paper against distance in practice: Sofia is around two hours’ flight from Germany, and during my studies I rarely paid more than the price of a train ticket for a weekend at home.

An honest note on that: the flight prices I noted down in 2017 are no longer the rule today. The connection has stayed; the price varies considerably by season and booking date. Anyone planning with a fixed travel budget should allow more generously than I did back then.

How good is the training really?

At first I was sceptical about the quality of the training. On the websites of various placement agencies I read about good teaching at the Medical University of Sofia; I was not convinced. That scepticism disappeared during the first year.

Three things were decisive for me: the group size of no more than ten students per tutor, direct access to teaching staff, and the oral examinations, where you have to explain rather than tick a box. Anyone who has not understood the material stands out immediately in that format, which is uncomfortable and instructive at the same time.

How does the degree change in the second year?

My first semester was exciting and demanding. I was nervous before the exams and did not know which way was up. At the start it was not easy to learn anything at all in English. Over time it turned out that the material was manageable with hard work and that you did not have to be a genius for it.

In the second year the pace picks up noticeably. More is demanded, but you are also capable of more, because the settling-in phase is over.

What I judge differently today, in 2026

Two points I read differently now, with distance. First, the language: I treated Bulgarian as a side issue in the first year. On the wards from the third year onwards it is no longer that, because you have to speak with patients. Second, money: Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 at a conversion rate of 1.95583 lev to the euro; since 1 February 2026 the lev is no longer legal tender. All price figures in older accounts, including mine, have to be read accordingly.

What has stayed the same: the first year decides less about subject knowledge than about whether you build a life in a new place. What that looks like at a specific location is something we are happy to clarify free of charge in a personal conversation.