Florida schools - interviews?

yrodi,

To be quite frank, there is nothing strongly negative I can tell you about the school.... and I am become completely honest. I really had a great time in medical school at UF. The one thing that might go against UF is location (yes its gville). But gville kinda grows on you. I did undergrad at UM, and it was a night and day switch moving up to the northern part of the state. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time in gainesville. It's cheap to live and there are definitely things to do. If you can't stand a college town, than maybe you might want to stick to miami. Personally, I didn't find the cost increase justified (If you are in the position to choose between state and private schools). One other thing I might add is the basic sci curriculum. I know people down at UM and they revamped their curriculum a few years ago to an "organ-system" based one (i.e. You will learn the heart and everything you ever needed to know about the heart within a short period of time). I liked the curriculum I learned under (traditional subject-based) much more as it was just like how you learn in college (albeit way more material, and only focused on science 🙂 ). You should definitely ask around about the pros and cons of each type.

The atmosphere at UF in general is very friendly-- every medical school will have its group of cutthroat gunners, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Yes it is quite difficult to get AOA.... but at UF (I think this is true at most schools), its as much about your connections as it is about your grades. People in AOA choose new AOA members, so there is obviously some bias built into it. Plenty of people match without being AOA into residencies they want (competitive ones too).

yrodri15 said:

If the tallied numbers reach a certain threshold, then you fire an action potential... haha no, you get an interview invite.

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I've been reading these posts by current and former med students, and I'd like to make a request to you guys (or gals). If you would really like to help current applicants make informed choices among the FL schools, can you please try to give a relatively balanced assessment of your school? What are its strongest areas and conversely, what are its weaknesses? nogoodfsu, there has to be *something* about FSU that you liked, or you wouldn't have gone there, right? medgator, there must be some downsides to UF, or at least some things you'd like to see changed. Some questions that I particularly would like to know about each school are things like:

1. Did you and/or many of your classmates participate in research while you were in med school? How easy is it to do research while taking classes (or do you just do research during the summers when you don't have classes?) Would you say that research by med students is encouraged and supported at your school?

2. What is the camaraderie like at your school? Do students support one another? How well do non-traditional students (older students, married students) fit in at your school? Realizing that med school is stressful and often not fun in general, would you nonetheless say that most students at your school are happy there?

3. What would you say are the best and worst things about your school? Do you feel that the administration is responsive to students and their problems? Do students have any input in policies that affect them?

4. What kind of practical advice do you have for new students at your school? Like, do you need a car at your school? Is it easy to find affordable housing close to the school? Does the school help new students with finding housing and roommates? Do you feel safe in the area around the school?

5. What is the clinical training like at your school? Do you stay in the same city, or do you go to several different hospitals in different cities? Is it common for students to do electives off-campus (at other med schools in the US, or even abroad)? If you go train at hospitals in other cities, what do you do about housing arrangements while you are gone?

Maybe some of the other applicants can come up with other questions that they would like to see answered, but if nothing else, these would be a great start IMHO.

Ya, those are great questions....having those answered by current or former med students would really help in deciding which school to go to....if I get accepted to one or more than one anyway 🙂

these forums are back up finally....

I'll try and answer your questions the best I can Quimica.

1. Research - UF is a VERY research-friendly school. They definitely encourage it and recognize those at graduation who perform meaningful research during medical school. They have started a new program which I really cant tell you about since it was started just a year or two ago. From what I know, this program wil allow you to do research during school and in between first and second year (UF gives you 10 weeks off btw 🙂 ) with the intent of doing a major project/publishing/presenting. If you successfully complete the program, you get a certificiate along with your MD when you graduate. I did some research during medical school, but it was more clinically focused (looking at charts, patient outcomes etc.) During 4th year, you can choose to do research electives for months at a time if you so desire. I believe the US news rankings are based on research funding, so in that respect, I think UF is probably tops in the state with the amount of NIH funding it receives, though I could be mistaken.

2. Quality of Life - UF is a very friendly school. Most students are supportive of each other and people will cooperatively study in groups. I remembered when I came to the interview, the current students were genuinely happy to be there-- I really think its the biggest selling point of the school, statistics aside. Whereever you go to interview, you should be given the opportunity to talk with students (without faculty there) to get an idea of how happy people really are. If you interview here, I think you will find most UF students to be very happy with their medical school experience-- UF really treats students well and actively adjusts its curriculum based on student feedback each year.

A former pharmacology professor and founder of the UF COM (Dr. Thomas Maren) developed a big blockbuster glaucoma drug, and when he passed away, he and his family bequeathed a large donation to the COM to create a reading room full of books, AV equipment, nice furniture, and a piano dedicated only to med students only at UF. Its purpose is to allow UF medical students to explore the humanities/literature outside of medicine. Its a really nice room to just relax in between classes (you are NOT supposed to study in it as this defeats the meaning of the room). During the year, The Maren Reading Room hosts book clubs/discussions, art exhibitions by medical students and other literary/humanity events.

Also, there were a fair number of non-trad students in my class. The oldest person was 43. In the class below me, the age ranged all the way up to 50. There were a significant number of people over 30. I think they were able to integrate into the class just fine. There was also a good mix of married and single people. There were at least 3-4 students with families when we started, and a number of people got married and/or engaged the last year of med school.

3. Best and Worst -- I think I've mentioned some of the good things. I'll try and rack my brain for the bad stuff. As I mentioned before, it is Gainesville. It's great if you are in college... but some young professionals may get sick of it after awhile. The administration in general is very concerned about the students. At the end of every class we took in med school, a handful of us were selected to participate in debriefing sessions with the pertinent faculty members in an informal setting with refreshments. We were encouraged to be honest and candid, and from what I saw, the classes we took had already improved from the feedback given during previous years. That said, medical school is not a walk in the park as Im sure you can imagine. A fair number of people in my class had to re-do a year (more than 8 people sometime during 1st or 2nd year). The administration is willing to help, but if emergencies come up and you do miss too much of class, you will need to be prepared to repeat if your performance significantly suffers. In that regard, the administration may not be sensitive to your needs (although I think that may be true at any school). Most of those who had to repeat did have a major emergency come up; however, some of them simply didn't work hard enough (or didnt anticipate how hard it might be). As stated elsewhere, UF is stellar in preparing people for the USMLE Steps 1 and 2, and placing people into some of the best residencies in the country. A big strength they also have is the use of a stand alone standardized patient facility during all years that prepare you for the wards (in years 1 and 2), and eventually for Step 2 Clinical Skills (year 4). All of your tests during Years 1 and 2 are computerized and fashioned similar to the boards (which is great when you finally take them, and feel at home on a computer).

4. Practical - Gainesville is a small town. You will probably need a car to make your life easy, although there is a bus system that's in place due to the large number of undergrads. Most people in med school have a car. Housing is cheap, and you can find housing within walking distance of the school (albeit not the newest, but still safe). I guarantee its probably the cheapest in the state (comparable to tally, <<<tampa, miami etc). Compared to most major medical centers, Shands in gainesville is in a relatively safe area as Gainesville is a much smaller city than most. I walked home at all hours of the night, and never felt unsafe when I had to. That said, there have been murders and rapes in gville before (the infamous one 10-12 years ago), so its like any other place. Shands Jax on the other hand is in a pretty unsafe area.... but it is ok when you are within the hospital complex/dorms.

5. Clinical training - You do your clinical training at 1 of 3 sites during third year (Shands UF in Gainesville, Shands Jacksonville, or the VA in Gainesville). It will be a mix of all three when you go through third and fourth year. Its a good variety of cases. Shands UF in gville will give you exposure to a major medical center, where you will see a mix of normal stuff and some of the esoteric cases brought in from all over the state. The VA will give you a good VA experience (VA's are pretty standard wherever you will go). When are you in Jax (youll probably need a car by this point), you are given housing and a meal card with some money on it to use in the caf there. While in Jax, you will do a lot as a student. There is a lot of indigent care. I did plenty of procedures (1 Central line, 3 lumbar punctures, many arterial sticks, IVs, NG tubes) on rotations there, and was given a lot of autonomy with respect to patient management. The accomodations are decent... there's AC and high speed net.

As a fourth year, you can choose to do your acting internship (aka subinternship or sub-I) at either facility or at ORMC in Orlando, FL. Also, you can do up to 3 electives outside of the UF system during 4th year (most schools allow this during 4th year, its necessary as an "audition" for programs you may be interested in-- schools differ in how many they give you). UF supposedly has the right to limit your non-UF rotations during 4th year if you rank in the lower 1/3rd of the class. I have never heard of this being issue. Also, the 4th year is pretty sweet in that there are only 2.5 months of requirements (1 months sub-I in int med, peds, or FP, 1 month ER, 2 weeks anesthesia). This leaves you a lot of room to explore during your senior year-- they do offer a wide spectrum of electives that count for credit including a trip to nicaragua (primary care/international health elective), reflective writing electives and local volunteer activites among other things. There are of course all specialties and areas of medicine available to rotate through-- 4th year is a chance to see things you may not see again when you specialize in residency.

Hope that helps.... that took a long time to write 🙂 Good Luck!

It does, medgator; thanks a lot for your input. 🙂 Anyone around here who can do the same kind of post for the other FL schools?

medgator said:

A fair number of people in my class had to re-do a year (more than 8 people sometime during 1st or 2nd year).

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😱 That seems to be a lot of people... is that something that is unusual or something that just doesnt get mentioned a lot?

DrMike,

I didn't mean to scare you. My class was unusual that year. We had a couple of people with personal and family issues that were probably out of their control. Nevertheless, there are at least 1-3 people each year that have had to repeat a year (during 1st or 2nd year) for varying reasons. The main point I want to make is that you should be ready for the long-term commitment and intensity of a med school curriculum when you start out. Bad things can happen, and the admin will work with you the best they can. If you can't hack it, they will cut you some slack, but ultimately, you will need to get to the bottom of it quickly to make sure you remain where you need to be. The above is probably NOT applicable for >95% of people in medical school. Don't forget, everyone starting med school has worked extraordinarily hard to get in. Those skills will get you through just fine. 😀

Are you talking about actually redoing a whole year of med school? Or coming back after a small hiatus? That redoing a year cant look too good for residency...

Also, whats goin on with USF interview feedback? I looked today and there is only one? Some people are slackin...

DrMike24 said:

Also, whats goin on with USF interview feedback? I looked today and there is only one? Some people are slackin...

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Some schools like UF specifically tell you to write a feedback on the SDN interview website. They even stressed about this in their conclusion of the intervew day. This is because they don't prepare a feedback sheet themselves for students to answer at then end of the interview day.

However, USF does have their own feedback sheet so they don't tell interviewees to go post opinions on SDN website.

That's probably why...

Kiroro said:

Some schools like UF specifically tell you to write a feedback on the SDN interview website. They even stressed about this in their conclusion of the intervew day. This is because they don't prepare a feedback sheet themselves for students to answer at then end of the interview day.

However, USF does have their own feedback sheet so they don't tell interviewees to go post opinions on SDN website.

That's probably why...

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i see, thanks for clarifying....

Kiroro said:

Some schools like UF specifically tell you to write a feedback on the SDN interview website. They even stressed about this in their conclusion of the intervew day. This is because they don't prepare a feedback sheet themselves for students to answer at then end of the interview day.

However, USF does have their own feedback sheet so they don't tell interviewees to go post opinions on SDN website.

That's probably why...

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Miami also tells the students to do the interview feedback as well.

gujuDoc said:

Miami also tells the students to do the interview feedback as well.

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I personally think the way UM and UF do it (telling interviewees to post their feedback on SDN website) causes some miss representation of the schools.

Please check this post made to UF by an recent inteviewee:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/show_entry.asp?ID=12183

If you read his "Specific Questions" section, you'll notice that two out of three questions he posted is totally directed to him only. I mean how many applicants get asked questions like "Why do you always refer to yourself in third person?" and "Do you really believe you were Galen in a previous life?"

At the same time, this guy gives perfect rating (10 out of 10) for UF in each categories. Basically he thought that UF adcom would review this website for the feedbacks, recognize the post was made by him and that he gave the highest rating for UF. Which is a total "Kiss Ass" behavior.

I mean how many applicants honestly thought that location of UF is 10 out of 10 anyways?

Because of students like him who actually thinks he could improve his chance of getting in by posting good reviews, the feedbacks for schools like UF and UM may get contaminated of not so accurate reviews.

Do they really look at the feedback and questions and try to match people to their comments? 😱

Kleintje said:

Do they really look at the feedback and questions and try to match people to their comments? 😱

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I sincerely doubt that is the point of why they are asking you to fill out the feedback. The way I see it, they ask you to fill it out so they know where to improve for next time.

It is the same concept behind any customer service survey too, like at restaurants, auto services, etc. The point is not to match the person to the response, but to find ways to improve where things may not have been good and know what the students liked at the same time.

Kiroro said:

Please check this post made to UF by an recent inteviewee:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/show_entry.asp?ID=12183

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Come on, you guys, be reasonable here. I don't know if someone analogous to Xaelia for mdapplicants can remove fake interview feedback, but this one is totally a spoof. 🙄 Look at his positives and negatives. Blue sky? Green trees? Bad water in the water fountains? And then the interview questions....No one would ever get asked ANY of those interview questions, except possibly Question 3. Think about it: if this guy were really an ex-con who was talking to himself and telling the interviewer that he believed he was Galen in a previous life, don't you think UF might think twice about his mental stability??? I don't think that feedback would help him get into medical school nearly as fast as it would help him get himself committed to an insane asylum. Y'all have been Punked.

gujuDoc said:

I sincerely doubt that is the point of why they are asking you to fill out the feedback. The way I see it, they ask you to fill it out so they know where to improve for next time.

It is the same concept behind any customer service survey too, like at restaurants, auto services, etc. The point is not to match the person to the response, but to find ways to improve where things may not have been good and know what the students liked at the same time.

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That is what I thought. I was just checking in case someone knew something I did not...

Thanks!

Kleintje said:

Do they really look at the feedback and questions and try to match people to their comments? 😱

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No, I'm sure adcom don't try to read the feedback and match the students. My point is that this clueless applicant probably thought rating the school perfectly and then identifying himself would give him some kind of advantage. And this made the feedback a not reliable source for other intervewees to consult.

Kiroro said:

No, I'm sure adcom don't try to read the feedback and match the students. My point is that this clueless applicant probably thought rating the school perfectly and then identifying himself would give him some kind of advantage. And this made the feedback a not reliable source for other intervewees to consult.

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I'm sure people who saw that would have flagged it. But the rest of the one's I've seen on there have always seemed to be reliable.

DrMike24 said:

Are you talking about actually redoing a whole year of med school? Or coming back after a small hiatus? That redoing a year cant look too good for residency...

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DrMike,

The people in question had to come back and repeat the year, since they had a poor performance in a major class (i.e. significant amt of credits for that semester). In some cases, they wouldn't have to re-do every class (i.e. the ones they did ok in). It doesn't look great for residency, but if you can pull off decent scores on your boards and show improvement the rest of the way, I think PDs will give you some slack. They will also look at the circumstances obviously (death in family, personal illness etc.) It also depends on what residency you're going for. With each individual, it goes on a case by case basis. Some people didnt reach that "critical point" where they would have to repeat the whole year, even though they did miss weeks. I think the admins will look at your whole record up to that point to get an idea of whether this is a pattern, or an isolated occurrence.

Good questions...
I loved my first year at FSU. Then the "niceness" left as FSU started hiring and faculty was trying to get into higher positions. Too much to say.
I loved my fellow classmates and those behind mine...including pepsid; Heard the classes are not quite as friendly since they have growing in size each year. Mine was 30 students and now it is around 85 in a class
I loved many of the faculty---truly there to teach.
During the first year the school would listen to our "opinions", 2-4 year the opinions became complaints and we became a nusiance.

I dislike many things.

Research: There is none. FSU now has a huge building for research. Most of it is biologist from Biology doing research and no "human" research. One of my classmates, missed a year because he wanted to do research and did so at the NIH, so it is available, but not really---if you know what I mean. There is no hospital in tallahassee that does research. The research they do is pulling data and giving it to larger schools. NO hospital on campus. The fauclty that the school has mainly practices medicine( a good thing) or administration.

FSU loves non traditional students and many with families there

Most students are happy there---because they are nice people. Most hate the school(opinion, but I have spoken with all of the classes, except the newest one and I have heard bad things). Some love the way the school is too.

FSU is not responsive to complaints any mor

You need a car unless you live right next to the school and your friend can take you 1 mile away to get groceries, unless you ride the bus. The school has a "scholarship house"---where you a pay a set fee for living for the year and supposed to be cheap. Housing is reasonable in tallahassee and FSU might help you with roommate situation---i dont really know.

Clinical rotations are usually what you make of them. Pretty good, but I cannot say as I have not been to other schools. I felt prepared and comparable to visiting students or on away rotations.
The school limits your rotations during 4th year. YOu HAVE to do geriatrics( the only one in the nation), Adv Family, Adv Internal medicine, and ER. The 2 adv elective are there because FSU is primary care oriented. Not necessarily a bad thing but it takes away from doing alot of cool rotations. So you get to do some, but less than your norm. Also, they will only let you do 2 rotations in the same field. Let's say you wanted to do DERM. You would need to do as many derm rotations to get to meet as many program directors as possible. But 2 limits you. It applies to all competitive programs(ortho, EENT, plastics,etc)

Good luck to all

QofQuimica said:

I've been reading these posts by current and former med students, and I'd like to make a request to you guys (or gals). If you would really like to help current applicants make informed choices among the FL schools, can you please try to give a relatively balanced assessment of your school? What are its strongest areas and conversely, what are its weaknesses? nogoodfsu, there has to be *something* about FSU that you liked, or you wouldn't have gone there, right? medgator, there must be some downsides to UF, or at least some things you'd like to see changed. Some questions that I particularly would like to know about each school are things like:

1. Did you and/or many of your classmates participate in research while you were in med school? How easy is it to do research while taking classes (or do you just do research during the summers when you don't have classes?) Would you say that research by med students is encouraged and supported at your school?

2. What is the camaraderie like at your school? Do students support one another? How well do non-traditional students (older students, married students) fit in at your school? Realizing that med school is stressful and often not fun in general, would you nonetheless say that most students at your school are happy there?

3. What would you say are the best and worst things about your school? Do you feel that the administration is responsive to students and their problems? Do students have any input in policies that affect them?

4. What kind of practical advice do you have for new students at your school? Like, do you need a car at your school? Is it easy to find affordable housing close to the school? Does the school help new students with finding housing and roommates? Do you feel safe in the area around the school?

5. What is the clinical training like at your school? Do you stay in the same city, or do you go to several different hospitals in different cities? Is it common for students to do electives off-campus (at other med schools in the US, or even abroad)? If you go train at hospitals in other cities, what do you do about housing arrangements while you are gone?

Maybe some of the other applicants can come up with other questions that they would like to see answered, but if nothing else, these would be a great start IMHO.

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If you have already interviewed at UM, you might want to check the status page.... 😉

http://www.mededu.miami.edu/Admissions/statustrack/index_html

Kleintje said:

If you have already interviewed at UM, you might want to check the status page.... 😉

http://www.mededu.miami.edu/Admissions/statustrack/index_html

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Holy cow 😱 ! Did you get some good news as well?!! If so, congrats!

No, my interview is not until 10/14, but check out the Oct 15: Please let it all be over thread!!!!

So you guys are in?? How could they tell you before the 15th? Congrats!

I called them today about OOS interview invites and they are probably going to start next week. Wish me luck!

Kleintje said:

No, my interview is not until 10/14

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well just remember that when you do get into UM I was the first one to congratulate you...even if it was a little premature 😀

also, how long did you have a ranked list status before hearing anything new? I understand that whether an applicant receives an interview depends on their rank but I just wanted some input...from anybody.

Mike4284m said:

So you guys are in?? How could they tell you before the 15th? Congrats!

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They did not "tell" anyone, the stutus page apparently was updated. My interview is not until 10/14, so I don't know personally, but there was a post on the OCt 15th thread, and thought I would share the news in case anyone interviewed earlier and wanted to check....

jj08 said:

well just remember that when you do get into UM I was the first one to congratulate you...even if it was a little premature 😀

also, how long did you have a ranked list status before hearing anything new? I understand that whether an applicant receives an interview depends on their rank but I just wanted some input...from anybody.

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I was complete on 8/4 and got the interview invite on 9/6...i do not remember when it said i was on the ranked list...

For people interviewed at UF and/or FSU in sept...did you remember what they said about how/when they would be notifying people about acceptances?

DrMike24 said:

For people interviewed at UF and/or FSU in sept...did you remember what they said about how/when they would be notifying people about acceptances?

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UF is supposed to send letters on Saturday.

YEAH MIAMI!!!! Congrats, guys!!

DrMike24 said:

For people interviewed at UF and/or FSU in sept...did you remember what they said about how/when they would be notifying people about acceptances?

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Hey whats up, i intervied at FSU on the 30th and i believe the lady said sometime this week. If we don't hear anything i'll just call them beginning of next week.

MrBurns10 said:

YEAH MIAMI!!!! Congrats, guys!!

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So does the YAY MIAMI mean that you are in????????????/

If so, CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

Ok, now that I've read back through this thread and seen what all the excitement was about, congrats to everyone who got into Miami. 😀

gujuDoc said:

So does the YAY MIAMI mean that you are in????????????/

If so, CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀

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Yep!! Thanks!!! And congrats to all those you've heard, and all those that will hear very soon. 🙂

Congrats to all you miami people. They have disabled their status tracker page !

Although my status said "accepted," I am weary... how reliable is it? Did anyone confirm their status? 😀

yrodri15 said:

Although my status said "accepted," I am weary... how reliable is it? Did anyone confirm their status? 😀

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I thought you said in the Oct 15 thread that you called to check and they said yes? Or was that someone else?

It was someone else. A girl, thats all I remember.

Congrats to all of you who got the "acceptance" status page on miami's site. I have no doubt that it is all good. My guess is they are updating their system and loading the acceptances but goofed and were not supposed to make them visible to everyone yet (until the 15th). That explains why they took it down so fast. That's awesome guys, congratulations! 👍


On a side note, is anyone on here going to be interviewing up at UF with me on Oct 28?

Hurricane95 said:

On a side note, is anyone on here going to be interviewing up at UF with me on Oct 28?

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I am actually. Unless I get some status page action next week...

anyone know what time FSU interviews start on fridays and how long they go til? thanks.

medgirl? said:

anyone know what time FSU interviews start on fridays and how long they go til? thanks.

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OMG-- you got accepted at UM and you are still considering FSU? 😱 What in the world...

jj08 said:

OMG-- you got accepted at UM and you are still considering FSU? 😱 What in the world...

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check your pm's.

medgirl? said:

check your pm's.

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the day at fsu starts around 11 in the morning. you get the talk with the dean and lunch. the interviews usually start around 2 in the afternoon and you usually have 2 interviews lasting around an hour each. You should be out of there around 4 in the afternoon.

thanks busthwt. two interviews? both by faculty or one by faculty and one by a current student?

I saw my "ranked list" for an interview status before they took the website down (for U miami).

I am out of state, and haven't seen any of out of staters with interviews yet, although I may have overlooked some on this larger thread.


Have any of you OOS applicants been invited to an interview?

I wish I knew what rank I was on the list..

UM said they were probably starting to give out OOS interviews next week.

medgirl? said:

thanks busthwt. two interviews? both by faculty or one by faculty and one by a current student?

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Hey there. yea FSU does two interviews. It depends I ended up interviewing with a geriatric physician, and by one of the deans of admisisons. They won't give you a student to interview you because all the 4th years are away on rotations. Hope that helps

Does anyone know when fsu will be letting the interviewees know when they got in? Will it be tomorrow by phone?