Studying at Two Universities: An Opportunity or a Challenge?

AUBG is one of the few universities in Bulgaria that allows its students to graduate with two majors simultaneously. However, some students decide that they are passionate about another area of study that is not part of the academic catalog. Hence, they enroll in a second university while also studying at AUBG.

Among these students is Georgi Pandev, a junior majoring in Business Administration and Political Science. Apart from his studies at AUBG, he is a part-time Law student at Southwest University in Blagoevgrad. He describes his experience as a student in two universities as a very rewarding one.  

“I am building knowledge in several fields that are very much connected and complement each other in various ways,” Georgi explained.

Georgi graduated from the American College of Sofia. Studying in the American educational system was a natural choice, but he dreamed of becoming a lawyer in Bulgaria. There was an option that combined all of his wishes: studying at AUBG and Southwest University at the same time. He started the two universities at once. Initially, he was a bit anxious about whether he would manage to combine them. Then, he found out that the Southwest Law Department was on the third floor of AUBG’s Main building.

“This fact struck me because I really did not know it, and I took it as a sign from above. It made me feel like, yeah, that is the thing for me. Surely, I should try it and do my best to achieve the results,” he said

Unlike him, Liliya Lazarova is a regular student in two cities: Blagoevgrad and Sofia. She is currently majoring in Business Administration at AUBG and Fashion Design at the National Art Academy. From a very young age, she wanted to study something related to design, but then, in high school, she developed a strong interest in business. She decided to pursue a degree in the two fields because, in the future, she thinks she can combine them career-wise.

“These majors give me the freedom to be creative and also view the business aspect of it,” said Liliya.  

Eva Kortezova, a junior majoring in Business Administration and Economics, enrolled in a second university because she has always been good at mathematics. She has given private math lessons since sixth grade and she wanted to make sure that if something goes wrong with her business career, she can always rely on her teaching skills. 

“I knew that I was good at this. I have had lots of experience already, and I have had lots of amazing feedback from my students,” said  Eva.

She enrolled at Southwest University as a part-time student in Pedagogy of Education in Mathematics, Informatics, and Information Technologies. As a part-time student, ten days a semester she has to attend lectures on-ground. 

“There was one day when I had 12 lectures, which was horrible. I woke up every day at 6:00. I had lectures in AUBG, and then I ran to the Southwest because the mathematics campus is at the end of the city,” Eva said. 

Time management is the biggest problem for all students studying at two universities, no matter how near or far they are from one another. Georgi said that there is a part of the semester when it becomes full of exams and assignments.

“It is too many things to process, and I personally want to cover everything with the best effort that I can possibly give. I catch myself digging too deep into some things, maybe without the need to,” he said.

At Southwest University, there are two exam sessions, which helps students spread their exams evenly.

“I approach the two exam seasons strategically. For example, I take half of the exams during the first session and the next couple in the next exam session,” explained Georgi. 

Liliya shared another problem with time management while studying at two universities.

“A lot of the time, you just get used to being always in a rush, always having something to do, always having a to-do list, and sometimes you just need to take a step back and relax,” she said.

This is not the case for everyone. Lilia Petrova studies Journalism and Mass Communication, and European Studies at AUBG, and her third major is Contemporary Choreography at Southwest University. 

“It has always been a passion of mine that I want to keep part of my life, and in a way, going and dancing for hours helps me get my mind off of things because AUBG tends to be really busy,” Lilia explained. 

Lilia shared that at Southwest University, she got the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone and explore a completely different university with a different educational system and people. 

“The people that I communicate with in the other university are actually much different than the people that I communicate with here. So, I get to see a whole new perspective of people who are my age,” said Lilia.

Despite the positive and negative aspects of studying at two universities, Liliya Lazarova believes that people should enjoy the process. 

“It does not matter whether you graduate with two, three, or five majors. At the end of the day, it is what you have learned and how you have developed as an individual. If only one major brings you that type of enjoyment, fulfillment, and development, then that is completely fine, and the quality is more important than the quantity,” she said. 

Edited by Vasil Pakov and Niya Manditsch