Studying medicine is difficult in Warsaw!

Why did you choose to go to Warsaw, Poland?

I chose it because I thought it would be the best option, being the capital, but I was wrong.

How long did your scholarship last? How much were you paid?

I went two years ago, and was paid for the whole year. Now they only pay you for five months of the year, and they don't give you very much since Poland is quite a cheap country to live in. Understandable, but in Warsaw everything is more expensive and costs just as much as living in Spain does.

What's the student life like in Warsaw?

The student life is the only good thing about the place if you're going there to study medicine, but really you can find the same atmosphere anywhere in Poland.

Would you recommend the city and University of Warsaw to other students?

It depends. If you study medicine like I do, then I definitely wouldn't recommend it, because they demand just as much work from you as they do in Spain, so you end up staying shut up in your room studying when you should be out enjoying your Erasmus and having new experiences. Despite putting in all this effort, you also get very mediocre marks, whereas if you went somewhere else you could easily get high grades though you hardly studied at all...

What's the food like in Poland?

Too much dry meat and sauces, which is typical due to how horribly cold it is there. I didn't like it very much as I'm not really into meat.

Did you find it hard to find somewhere to live in Warsaw?

Not really, but you have to search for ages to find someone who speaks Polish who can help you, because foreigners often get swindled here. In other Polish cities this doesn't happen, since they're not as touristy.

How expensive is everyday life in Warsaw?

Expensive if you compare it with the rest of Poland, or with cities like Bratislava and Košice. Living in Warsaw costs about 750 euros a month.

How are you finding the language? Have you signed up to a language course at the university?

Polish is super difficult, and people don't often know English either since it's not a very university-centred city. The medics you do practical training with, for example, don't speak any English, so you can't communicate with them at all.

What's the cheapest way of getting to Warsaw from your home city?

Ryanair.

What are the best places for partying in Warsaw?

There are lots.

What about eating out in Warsaw? What are your favourite places?

I didn't really like eating out, so we always ended up in Italian or Mexican restaurants.

What does Warsaw have to offer in terms of culture?

The city centre, the cathedral and the library. In terms of monuments, Kraków and Wrocław are better, as they have more interesting things to see.

Do you have any advice for future students coming to Warsaw?

If you study medicine, I really wouldn't recommend you go to Warsaw on your Erasmus exchange if you have other options to choose from, because it's an expensive city and at the university you have to cram just as much as you do in Spain. It's better to go somewhere else in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary or Bulgaria. Here's another medic's similar experience in Warsaw:

http://erasmusu.com/es/erasmus-varsovia/experiencias-erasmus/estudias-medicina-no-vayas-a-varsovia-213172