Iowa (Carver) vs UCF

[SunriseEducation]

Iowa



Pros:

-higher ranked and name Carries some weight for residencies (really solid match list)

-more colleges and resources for competitive specialties (I’m interested in Ortho)

-can do all rotations within the school’s massive hospital system

-Pass/Fail (I think there’s no internal ranking but correct me if I’m wrong)



Cons:

-$57K OOS tuition

-Very far away from Florida

-Not very diverse Region or class (URM)

-I’d probably have to get rid of my 5.0 mustang 🤣



UCF



Pros:

-$25k tuition

-an hour drive away from home

-FIRE program (required research) although I plan to do research anyway

-New school with a new medical center that will continue to grow while I’m there

-Can keep mustang



Cons:

-Newer, not as established so there aren’t many dedicated programs for specialties (I don’t want the school to be a limiting factor for matching into competitive fields — although I know my actions matter more than the school, I’m thinking ease of access and school reputation)



-no longer affiliated with some of the big FL hospitals (now an HCA affiliate)



-Letter grading system

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DZ2106]

I basically am in your shoes bc I’m in Florida and would have had the same decision btwn USF and Iowa.

I think personally if I was in your shoes, I’d go with Iowa. It has a literal top 10 ortho program. Plus the people are so nice, and the place itself is super cheap. Have you factored CoL into your math yet?

Btwn the much weaker reputation and the letter grading system, going to UCF will make your life a lot harder to match into ortho.

Meanwhile, in Iowa your life will suck pretty hard during the winter but it’ll be for only four years. Along the way you will still make amazing friends and connections and will be much more likely to match well.

Have you called Iowa and let know about the difference in tuition? Maybe they can offer some fin aid as well 😌

 

[SunriseEducation]

I basically am in your shoes bc I’m in Florida and would have had the same decision btwn USF and Iowa.

I think personally if I was in your shoes, I’d go with Iowa. It has a literal top 10 ortho program. Plus the people are so nice, and the place itself is super cheap. Have you factored CoL into your math yet?

Btwn the much weaker reputation and the letter grading system, going to UCF will make your life a lot harder to match into ortho.

Meanwhile, in Iowa your life will suck pretty hard during the winter but it’ll be for only four years. Along the way you will still make amazing friends and connections and will be much more likely to match well.

Have you called Iowa and let know about the difference in tuition? Maybe they can offer some fin aid as well 😌

I figured as much. Everything you said has been my thought process. Hard to face the idea of paying double the tuition for potential opportunities. Especially considering I’m interested in ortho but if I decide to pursue a non competitive field it defeats the purpose lol. But I guess the point is to not limit myself before starting the race.

Cost of living didn’t factor in too much but Im sure Orlando is a tad more pricey but no where near evening out tuition. I will definitely check with financial aid to get some options. Thank you for your input!

 

[chilly_md]

I figured as much. Everything you said has been my thought process. Hard to face the idea of paying double the tuition for potential opportunities. Especially considering I’m interested in ortho but if I decide to pursue a non competitive field it defeats the purpose lol. But I guess the point is to not limit myself before starting the race.

Cost of living didn’t factor in too much but Im sure Orlando is a tad more pricey but no where near evening out tuition. I will definitely check with financial aid to get some options. Thank you for your input!

Do see if you can get some more out of Iowa, but 100k or so more after accounting for a bit more in cost of living is not worth it. Check the match lists, UCF sent 7 for ortho and Iowa does not have significantly more students going that route. I believe they’ve had less in fact the past year.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

If you want to match a competitive speciality, I would go with Iowa.

UCF if you want to do primary care (mainly due to cost differential)


Congrats on your successes

 

[DZ2106]

I figured as much. Everything you said has been my thought process. Hard to face the idea of paying double the tuition for potential opportunities. Especially considering I’m interested in ortho but if I decide to pursue a non competitive field it defeats the purpose lol. But I guess the point is to not limit myself before starting the race.

Cost of living didn’t factor in too much but Im sure Orlando is a tad more pricey but no where near evening out tuition. I will definitely check with financial aid to get some options. Thank you for your input!

Yea but I think CoL differences will bring it within 100k which even after interest is definitely manageable for ortho. It will depend on how badly you want to go into ortho at that point and whether you care about going to some random ortho residency in the middle of nowhere or Mayo Clinic for the same amount of work.

The cycle isn’t even over though and you probably haven’t gotten your aid yet. Who knows what Iowa will offer you? Maybe UF will give you an II, which might make the choice a bit easier

 

[chilly_md]

Yea but I think CoL differences will bring it within 100k which even after interest is definitely manageable for ortho. It will depend on how badly you want to go into ortho at that point and whether you care about going to some random ortho residency in the middle of nowhere or Mayo Clinic for the same amount of work.

The cycle isn’t even over though and you probably haven’t gotten your aid yet. Who knows what Iowa will offer you? Maybe UF will give you an II, which might make the choice a bit easier

UF would definitely make a difference if they come along. Iowa had last sent someone to Mayo in 2018. For 2020, Iowa had 5 ortho matches: UW, 2 who stayed at Iowa, Western Michigan and University of Wisconsin.

UCF had Indiana (Indianapolis campus), U Colorado, 2 at UF (one in Jacksonville, the other at Shands Hosp), U Miami/Jackson Health System (I assume you all know more about the quality in-state), University of Wisconsin, and then UCF GME Consortium. I think in a previous year they had Walter Reed and 2018 I saw Mayo, so pretty good placements on the surface. If anything, better locations than living in Kalamazoo or Cedar Rapids (though I assume the ortho residency is pretty good at Iowa) if you want to stay in Florida.

 

[Morningnight]

Late reply and not sure if this will affect your choice ultimately, but Iowa Carver does have a graded pre-clinical policy (Honors/Near Honors/Pass/Fail). Not sure if students are internally ranked, but there is AOA. Apparently class averages are quite high (85-90%), so you'll need to do quite well for AOA.