This page is about the first day of classes, not your first week in the country. For arrival, SIM cards and paperwork, start with Your First Week in Pleven.
What to bring
- Your passport. Carry it, or your residence card once you have one.
- Your student ID card (лична карта) once the university issues it. It’s not just identification — it’s what gets you the subsidised price in the canteen and the student discount on city transport.
- Your admission and enrolment documents. Keep the originals together in one folder for the whole first month; you will be asked for them more often than you expect.
- Passport photos. Several. They get consumed by forms.
- A notebook and pens. Not everything is digital, and not every hall has power sockets you can reach.
- Water and something to eat. Days can be long and the gaps between sessions are not always when you’d like them.
What to wear
A white coat (престилка) is standard for medical students in Bulgaria — for laboratory sessions, anatomy, and any clinical setting. Assume you’ll need one.
What we can’t yet tell you with confidence is the detail that actually matters on the day:
Still to confirm with the university:
- From which day you need the white coat — the first day of classes, or only when practicals begin?
- Where to buy one in Pleven, and what it costs
- Whether the university supplies or sells them, or you’re expected to arrive with your own
- Whether scrubs are required for particular subjects, and in what colour
- Whether there’s a name badge or embroidery requirement
- What footwear is required for labs and clinical work
We’ve asked. As soon as we have an answer from the university, it goes here. Know the answer? Tell us →
Ask your own faculty, not the internet — requirements differ between Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and the Medical College. The International Students Center in Room 138 is the right place to ask, and they answer in English.
Otherwise, dress as you would for any European university. There’s no dress code beyond the clinical requirements, and Pleven is a relaxed city. Bear in mind that September is still hot and November is genuinely cold — the academic year spans a 30-degree swing.
Before the first day
- Find your building. The university’s virtual tour is worth ten minutes the night before. Better still, walk there once so you know how long it takes.
- Sort out your transport. If you’ll use the bus or trolleybus daily, the student card pays for itself in a fortnight — but you need your student book to get it.
- Go to the campus orientation. The Student Council shows new students the lecture halls, the library and what you need for day one. It is the single most efficient hour of your first week.
- Find your year’s group chat. AIMS is the usual route in. Half of what you need to know on any given day will arrive there before it arrives officially.