I'm not going to say one is better then the other as both are very different. I'm just going to give my input on the differences I see in the school.
Starting with location:
Location:
FSU's in the state's capital but its in an area that is far closer to the true southern america feel with more rural communities that are quite small for the first couple of years, compared to USF's Tampa location which is more urban. Of course being at FSU and being in tally if health policyis ur thing you could potentially be involved in getting to be more up to date on things being in the state capital. But FSU's location is a more true university town too in my opinion from my visit there back in 2004. On the other hand, USF is more a real city though no NYC, Boston, Chi, LA, London feel it is far less rural. its not really ur university town feel either because USF used to be a commuter school before the past decade or so. So the atmosphere surrounding the two schools is very different.
Clinical Sites:
At USF you'd know where all your clinical sites are and except for a few in St. Pete due to the children's hospital being out there the majority are in Tampa (TGH, VA, Moffitt, etc.). This is not hte case at FSU. FSU you will not be guaranteed that you get your first location. Could be my home town Sarasota, Florida and Sarasota Memorial more specifically, could be Ft. Pierce or rural pensacola. Or it could be ORMC/Fl. Hospital system of Orlando now also used by UCF med or one of their other locations. I think I missed a few in there. So clinically you will get sufficient clinical experience but if u are not ready to move for 3rd and 4th year then USF is a better bet. If you are excited by the prospect of moving after 2 years for the change in scenery then perhaps FSU is a better bet.
One advantage though that FSU has over USF is that at most of FSU's clinical sites except for ORMC/Fl. Hospital system, the hospitals were not traditionally teaching hospitals with residency programs. Sarasota Memorial used to be teaching only in terms of nursing schools in sarasota area like the technical schools that had LPN programs or MCC now State college of Florida's RN program or USF Sarasota's RN and MSN nursing programs.
The advantage of this in a way is that you get to be more hands on as a medical student because there is not that hierarchy of first chief resident below resident then the other residents, then the interns, and then medical students. There is only the medical students and those who work there. Some see this as a disadvantage because it means they may not be big on teaching, but some see this as an advantage because it means you get to get in there and learn to do more. I tend to think the latter is true. While I've been a big fan of USF for years, I think if there's one thing I've learned in the last year it is that not having a lot of other hands to teach means you really get to get in there and do more and see more.
I'll give you an analogy. I've been a lab research assistant and grad student doing thesis the last year. My lab PI and supervisor of that division has 5 projects going on and only now has 1 ugrad studenta and a PhD who is aiding on a couple of those projects. At the time I joined, I was the only lab assistant in the lab and no other students were there but the two of us. One of the other 2 labs had a full time lab assistant with years of paid research experience and the other had tons of ugrads, grad students, etc. So the ugrad that came to my lab and myself both have learned a lot under my PI because we were able to get in there cuz she needed what other helping hands she could get to get help to get all the work done. On the other hand, when the ugrad was in the other highly staffedlab she was learning stuff and doing stuff and seeing stuff but she didn't learn it to the point she could remember it and explain it to someone else without ounce of doubt in her mind. We've both learned a lot because our PI let us get in there. If we were in the lab where there was a hierarchy of people (PhD students, ugrads with years of experience, etc. we'd prob. get to do a lot less because there are already a lot of highly skilled people who get to do more). This is the same phenomenon here. You get to do more by being in a hospital where there's less people to help like no interns, no residents, no chief resident. Just u med students and the attending. And other then ORMC/Fl. hospital system, a lot of FSU's other teaching facilities are not residency program affiliated teaching hospitals so you will get to do a lot more.
The downside is that being hospitals not affiliated with residency programs, you may not get to build connections with those in the teaching hospitals in 3rd year. But in any case, that can be taken care of by away rotations at your true first choice places in 4th year electives which is what most people do even at USF and elsewhere.
The one downside I see for FSU is that they do focus heavily on primary care. So even if they have matched people into rads and other specialty fields, my guess is these kids were having to be independent and innovative in finding their own means to building connections on their own to get there. But for the strongly ambitious med student there's always a way if there is a will to do it. And most people in medicine are not short in the area of ambition.
In terms of facilities:
I've seen USF and FSU medical school before. One thing that really impressed me at FSU is their learning communities. they are like all out 1 bedroom apartments in the school. Full kitchen, full bathroom, conference room, etc. etc. USF, however, while renovating now has had some pretty run down conference rooms except for the library ones. USF's newer lounges are ok but the old ones are kinda shabby. USF is redoing a lot of things though. They are one of the few schools that has always been up to date in renovating the student teaching and learning facilities and lounges and stuff compared to even BUSM which has worlds more money then then. Only now is BUSM catching up on such. To that extent I was impressed with USF. The library is the one area of USF I think that needs massive renovation. I think its small, there's less resources, some of its ceiling looks like there were spots on it from leaks in the past, etc. But most med students barely use it from what I saw except in 3rd and 4th year. Mostly it was sadly ugrad or grad students using the med library. I do have to say I'm impressed by the gym at USF med though. I've heard FSU is trying to build a new gym for med students too though on this thread.
One thing I've heard about FSU is, and mosspoh or sammich will have to confirm, but it is that they have mandatory attendance. I think this ties into their community learning and stuff they do with the group learning and stuff. at least this is how it was in the past. I do not know if there have been changes since that time when I heard this. USF, however, for the most part does not have such mandatory attendance. A lot of people after a while find themselves more effective watching lectures at home again later on and studying on their own schedule works better. I used to not be a big fan of FSU but I've heard some great things in the last year from the students on this thread so I've slowly changed my tune a bit but if it were me because I am not a rural loving person and prefer a proper city I'd still prob. choose usf.
But if I ended up at FSU I don't think I'd be miserable either.
Think about the curriculum, the location, the cost, the people and atmosphere.
You will find that every school in Fl. has its own flavor and one will fit you. UCF is different from USF which is different from UF which is different from Umiami which is different from FIU which is different from FSU which is different from FAU. some will fit ur goals and visions and some will not. So find what is right for you. Good luck to you.