USA, Canada / Applying for a US Visa in Krakow? Good and Bad Stories. [18]

There is always talk in the media about putting pressure on the US gov't whenever a top ranking official visits there, but so far without success. Our neighbours and former socialists such as the Czechs, Slovaks, and Lithuanians can now travel easy via the Visa Waiver Program

travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

...Poland remains the only Central European country that is not a participating nation in the VWP as of 2010, due to a visa refusal rate above the critical threshold of 3%.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Waiver_Program

Funny enough, one would think the key criterion excluding a country from the Visa Waiver Program would be the overstay %, and not the rather ambiguous refusal %.

I am sure many people will have both good and bad experiences with the US immigration, consular, and customs services wherever if you were you to google it. I could tell you that I once had an unpleasant personal experience with a consular officer in London, and also from talking to some Aussie and Kiwis who had the choice when flying home either via US or East Asia, they said they would rather not have to deal with US customs/immigration again - but that would not really be specific enough for this thread.

Genealogy / Record office enquiry (grandfather born in Brzozow, Poland) [3]

Have you tried phoning the gmina offices of Brzozów? In small places like that you may or may not be able to communicate in English, so if you do not speak the language, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask someone with good Polish to help you with the call.

Urząd Miejski w Brzozowie
ul. Armii Krajowej 1
36-200 Brzozów
tel. (13) 43 410 50
fax (13) 43 410 55

um_brzozow@brzozow.pl
brzozow.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=34

Travel / Museums in Warsaw [8]

Two months would certainly allow you the opportunity to travel outside of ther capital - that obviously depends on your time commitments,etc. Knowing the language helps a lot if you were to go off the beaten track of the major tourist attractions, as does travel experience in this part of Europe.

There are definitely less books in English about Poland than say neighbouring Russia or Germany, but then again scale/significance factor would apply it seems.

BTW I've only started Davies's Rising '44. The Battle for Warsaw in English and I thought Davies was English (raised and eductated) only of Welsh descent?

Genealogy / i am doing a halik family tree [6]

Hi Crystal,

I am not sure of how much help this will be to you, but there was a well known traveler and explorer by that surname (Tony Halik) - he also had a TV show about exotic places (anyone remembers?).

Link en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Halik - you may want to click the Polish language version as it contains more information. Hope this helps.

Travel / Museums in Warsaw [8]

Hi Zooey, where will you be travelling from, how long will you be staying, and are you considering seeing places outside of the capital?

Based on your interests, I would have to say definitely the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and there's the Museum of History of Polish Jews opened just last month that could be worth a visit...

Study / How hard is it to get accepted to Wroclaw University of Technology? / Unis in general? [37]

Dear delphiandomine, no need to be repeating yourself, it's clear you're clueless. There's nothing wrong in living in your own world, believing whatever makes you happy... But you are misinforming and thus discouraging potential students from coming to study in Poland. Believe me, competition is tough in this field, as there are tens of similar programmes in Central Europe. Also, by spitting bitterness and spreading bias in public space, you are effectively dragging the level of the forum down, and I refuse to partake in it.


Now I am certain you've got issues I certainly can't help you with. I dread to think a poor foreigner visiting Poland should run into you by chance - God help him ;-) So, have a nice life - just stay away, especially from Poznań, which I am frequenting!

Study / How hard is it to get accepted to Wroclaw University of Technology? / Unis in general? [37]


I know that it's off the topic of the original poster, but wow, for someone relying on hearsay, with obviously little knowledge and understanding of how the medical programmes in English work, without going into the specifics of what they aim to achieve, foreign certification requirements, US state loans approvals, USMLE testing requirements for alumni, you don't hesitate to show off your bias and bitterness... I wonder why?

It seems you are missing the boat entirely by failing to make the effort to understand what these programmes aim to achieve. Competing/comparing with the Polish programme alumni and teaching methods/requirements would probably not be on top of their agenda. You are also wrong when you said that these programmes only require HS diploma. While that may be true for the 6yr MD programme, the 4yr MD I made reference to in previous post requires a set of 'pre-med' education, which you could have easily checked. As a result, most of the students entering this programme already have a BS degree in related sciences.

mdprogram.com/medical-programs-4-year-md.php
But why bother checking, right?

Do you think that the gov'ts guaranteeing loans and respective medical bodies would be willing to consider accrediting a programme they were not happy with? It seems your understanding of accreditation requirements is limited to the ability to conduct teaching in English.You are very quick to label foreign students as essentially inferior/brainless because they have means to pay the tuition, which, for average Polish programme student, surely seems outrageous... Yet most of these students end up having to repay the loans, some are subsidised through their governments.

Note also, most of these alumni have no intention of staying/working in Poland, so they are not a threat to the 'superiorly grilled' Polish programme alumni when competing for work on the local market... I personally know a certain graduating class, where all those dedicated/mature about their studies were successfully accepted in residencies in US/Canada, some are now working in highly selective hospitals in the country... So my question to you, delphiandomine, would be: where is the 'joke'?

Travel / Best places to visit in Poland [87]

If you are going to see Krakow, I would definitely do trips to the Wieliczka Salt Mines and Aushwitz nearby. Other points of interest in the SE of the country would be Rzeszow (and the Lancut Palace Estates) and Przemysl. Further away Torun, Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia, Wroclaw, Poznan are the major cities worth a visit. A lot of people enjoy the nature in the NE corner: Europe's last primeval forests in Puszcza Bialowieska, and the undeveloped Suwalszczyzna would be my recommendations. In the north there are Kaszuby and the Tuchola Pinewoods. In the South you will find numerous mountain/hilly areas with pictoresque trails, palaces, castles, ruins... And the Baltic Coast with the sand dunes is not bad when the weather is good... As there are loads of places worth visiting, it all really depends on what you would like to see and how much time you've got - we would also be able to give you more detailed info then.

Work / Krakow: possible job offer: 6.500 PLN [20]

Warsaw is the capital + business centre, so it tends to be over-priced and over-hyped. Although I still like the old sections of the city with a lot of character.

Kraków is the cultural capital of the country, has a lovely old town. Location wise - is closer to the mountains, and also is closer and probably better connected by train with Bratislava, Praha, Budapest, Vienna, etc. should you want to travel abroad. Hence 1 more vote for the town of Krak.

Study / How hard is it to get accepted to Wroclaw University of Technology? / Unis in general? [37]


Hi again, Dominic. Very sobering observation indeed. As you have been around the academics at several institutions and countries, it would be interesting to know how do you find the faculty at WUT?

I would like to share the following story: Having earned my BS & MS in civil engineeriong from the US, I had met with dean of civil engineering at PUT (Poznań Uni. of Tech.) to discuss my options regarding the dreaded 'nostryfikacja', maybe even a PhD. Once he learned that my alma mater was not a readily recognised name, he started going in the general direction of how superior the Polish higher education system was in maths and sciences to the one I was coming from, how much more the alumni would need to take in order to pass exams and graduate, that a master's degree in Poland would be equivalent to a PhD at most US institutions of higher learning... Needless to say, I was a bit confused, but as I obviously felt obliged for the meeting, I did not want to be rude by asking the question - and knowing the answer - just how many laureates of internationally recognised awards in maths/science have come out of PUT - or any other Polish institution of higher learning for that matter? As far as I know, not one of the Fields Medals or Noble Prizes (sciences) went to a Polish university based academic... ever. Subsequently, I was surprised to find that this is a conviction that is held rather universally by the Poles, grounds typically cited are 'higher levels of teaching/material to covered' at all schooling stages, including the university...;-)

Study / How hard is it to get accepted to Wroclaw University of Technology? / Unis in general? [37]


I would challenge that sweeping statement, even though you would probably not have to look very hard to find programmes meeting above criteria. But again, I would be surprised if you didn't in pretty much any other country.

In the medical sciences, for instance (which may not quite reflect the status quo of the technical fields), the US/EU acredited MD (Medical Doctor) programmes in English in Poznań and Kraków do the trick for many by allowing their alumni to successfully compete for specialty trainings/residencies worldwide (in Poznań, for instance, the majority of student come from US/Canada, Norway and Taiwan and work in their home countries upon graduating). I don't know how much it costs today, but several years back the cost of tuition - not to mention living - was 1/3 to 1/2 of those in the US. And obviously the admission criteria are reasonable - not as forbidding as those in some countries. I am told the teaching/theoretical preparation for the US medical exams medical is not that aweful (in Poznań at least), although the practical side is probably lagging behind "western" standards in many areas. But in general, it seems to be doing what it is selling itself for: prepares alumni to successfully enter their respective job markets, is reasonable in terms of admission criteria, wins hands down as far as costs/loans alumni end up accumulating. So overall not a bad option for many for my thinking.

Life / Living Costs and life in Poznan? [70]


[I know it's a late reply, but may still be useful.]
That may be true, but it is nowhere near as it is made out to be or as bad as it used to be years ago... In terms of architecture and feel, these 3 would be my favourite parts of the city. Try any of the Ataner buildings scattered across town and you should be safe, as there are foreigners living there, including students of the medical programme thought in English, which could offer some chances if you ever wanted to chat in English.