Szeged · Preparation
How to prepare for the Szeged entrance exam
Checked against the University of Szeged's official pages on 26 October 2026. Szeged's 2027/2028 Admission and Academic Bulletin is not out yet (it says by the end of November 2026); everything here is from its admission pages as read on the date above.
Key figures
- questions in minutes, one at a time, no going back
- 60 in 60
- Biology, Chemistry (or Physics) and English, one point each
- 3 × 20
- official Biology and Chemistry topics (28 for Physics instead)
- 69 + 30
- exams at most in one application period
- 2
The University of Szeged's written test is 60 questions in 60 minutes: 20 Biology, 20 Chemistry (or Physics, on request) and 20 General and Medical English. Questions come one at a time, you must pick an answer to move on, and you cannot go back. An oral exam on Zoom follows. Preparing well means covering three equal blocks, practising in one pass, and getting the oral ready too. This page sets out what each block asks, what Szeged gives you to prepare with, and a plan for the time you have.
In short
- Each block is worth 20 of the 60 points. A correct answer scores one point, a wrong one costs nothing, and every question must be answered before you can move on.
- Szeged publishes a topic list for Biology, Chemistry and Physics, with recommended reading for each, and four sample tests without answers. There is no topic list for English.
- Physics can replace Chemistry in exams hosted by the Admissions Office, but not for Stipendium Hungaricum applicants. Decide early, because the two need different preparation.
- The oral is about 20 minutes on Zoom: a general conversation, then two Biology and two Chemistry questions in English. It comes a day or two after the written test.
What each block asks
The written test runs on Coospace, Szeged's online testing platform, for 60 minutes with no time limit per question. Szeged's exam page says each question has '4-5 choices'; its sample tests have five in the sciences and four in English.
| Block | Questions | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | 20, five options | The official list: 69 topics in four sections, Cell Biology (26), Physiology (32), Genetics (9) and Evolution (2). Recommended reading: 'Life, The science of biology' (last edition). |
| Chemistry | 20, five options | The official list: 30 topics, 15 in General and Inorganic Chemistry and 15 in Organic Chemistry. Recommended reading: McMurry and Fay, Chemistry, 6th edition. You need a periodic table and a calculator. |
| Physics (instead of Chemistry) | 20, five options | The official list: 28 topics, from kinematics and thermodynamics to circuits, optics and the atom. Four recommended books, including Serway and Jewett, Physics for Scientists and Engineers. |
| General and Medical English | 20, four options | No published topic list. The sample test has two tasks of ten: grammar and vocabulary, then medical English. |
What Szeged gives you to prepare with
The Entrance / Evaluation Examination page links two kinds of material, both free.
- The Entrance Examination Topics, a four-page PDF: the Biology, Chemistry and Physics topics, each with its recommended reading. Physics is marked 'upon request instead of Chemistry'.
- Four sample tests as PDFs: Biology, Chemistry, English Language and Physics. Each has 20 questions and none comes with answers.
Szeged publishes no past papers. The Physics sample is the 2022 edition; the other three print no year.
Six things that make the difference
01
Practise in one pass
You see one question at a time and cannot return to it. Practise the same way: read, decide, move on. A habit of flagging questions for later has no use on the day.
02
Pace a minute a question
There is no limit per question, only 60 minutes for 60. Time you save is worth something only if you use it on the questions still ahead, so keep an even pace rather than racing the easy ones.
03
Train elimination, not only recall
You cannot leave a question blank, and a wrong answer costs nothing. So every question you do not know becomes a guess, and the more options you can rule out first, the more that guess is worth.
04
Give English a full third
General and Medical English carries 20 points, the same as Biology. It has no topic list, so work from the sample's two tasks: grammar and vocabulary, and medical terms with their everyday words, such as clavicle and collar bone.
05
Choose Chemistry or Physics early
Physics replaces Chemistry; it does not add to it. It is offered in exams hosted by the Admissions Office and not to Stipendium Hungaricum applicants. Compare its 28 topics with Chemistry's 30, pick the subject you are stronger in, and stay with it.
06
Prepare the oral from the start
The oral asks two Biology and two Chemistry questions in English after a general conversation. Szeged does not say whether a Physics candidate is asked Physics instead, so if you take Physics, ask the Admissions Office.
A plan for the time you have
These are IvyTest's suggestions, not Szeged's. Start with a diagnostic sat as the real test runs: 60 questions, 60 minutes, one pass. Read the result block by block: each is worth 20 points.
| Time to the exam | Focus |
|---|---|
| 12 weeks or more | Decide on Chemistry or Physics. Equal time for the three blocks. Work through the official topic list from the recommended reading, keep a list of medical terms with their everyday words, and practise one question at a time from the start. |
| 8 weeks | Rank the three blocks by points lost and repair the weakest first. One full 60-question mock a week, in one pass, reviewed the same day. For each question you could not answer, write down which options you ruled out and why. Start oral practice. |
| 4 weeks | Two full mocks a week at 60 minutes. Keep an even pace of about a minute a question. Rehearse the setup: two devices, Zoom, and a periodic table and calculator for Chemistry. |
| Under 4 weeks | No new topics: consolidate the ones you know and spend the time saved on medical English terms. Two full mocks in the last ten days, then rehearse the oral out loud. |
Count back from the session you want: Szeged asks for your application at least 10 days before that session's registration deadline, and you can register only after it has evaluated your documents.
What Szeged prep should cover
Whatever you prepare with, a course, a tutor or books, check it against the exam as Szeged describes it. IvyTest is independent and not affiliated with the University of Szeged.
- All three blocks at equal depth, General and Medical English included, not only Biology and Chemistry.
- Every topic on Szeged's own list for Biology and for the science you will sit, Chemistry or Physics.
- Timed practice that shows one question at a time, needs an answer to move on and never lets you go back.
- Practice for the oral: a general conversation, then Biology and Chemistry questions answered aloud in English.
- Material you can start now: the 2027 sessions begin in January, and you may sit at most two exams in an application period.
Questions
How long does it take to prepare for the Szeged entrance exam?
Szeged gives no figure. Twelve weeks or more lets you cover the three blocks at equal depth and practise the oral; with less, focus on timed one-pass practice and medical English. The 2027 sessions run from January to June, so you can choose one that gives you the time you need.
What books does Szeged recommend?
Its topic list names 'Life, The science of biology' (last edition) for Biology, and McMurry and Fay, Chemistry, 6th edition, for Chemistry. For Physics it lists four, including Holzner's Physics Essentials for Dummies and Serway and Jewett's Physics for Scientists and Engineers. It recommends nothing for English.
Is there a syllabus for the Szeged English section?
No. The Entrance Examination Topics cover Biology, Chemistry and Physics only. The English sample test has ten grammar and vocabulary questions and ten medical English questions, and it is the only official guide to that section.
Should I take Physics instead of Chemistry at Szeged?
Only if Physics is clearly your stronger subject and you are not a Stipendium Hungaricum applicant, who cannot choose it. It replaces Chemistry, so you still sit 60 questions. Szeged does not say whether the oral then asks Physics or Chemistry, so ask the Admissions Office before you choose.
Official sources
Every figure on this page was read on the source itself on the date above. (26 October 2026)
Practise in the real format
The free sample test has the full 60-question paper (20 Biology, 20 Chemistry, 20 General and Medical English) plus the 20 Physics questions you would sit instead of Chemistry, taken in order with no going back and every answer explained. When you want more, the IvyTest Szeged package adds a full simulator in the same one-pass format, the study guide and lessons.
The Szeged entrance exam, one question at a time
- How to prepare for the Szeged entrance examYou are here
- Szeged exam dates 2027: sessions and deadlines
- Szeged scoring: pass mark, no penalty, no blanks
- Szeged past papers and sample tests: what exists
- The Szeged online exam: Coospace, Zoom, two devices