2011-2012 University of Florida Application Thread

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I am looking to carpool with anyone coming from places south of Fort Myers and driving to Gainesville. There are very few travel options that are cheap or reasonable from Fort Myers to Gainesville. If you will be traveling to Gansville on Nov 17 for the Nov 18 interview, kindly PM me and let's see if we can carpool and/or split the long drive.

Thanks!!
 
Interview Invite today! Complete mid-september, in-state.
 
for those who received an invite today, what month are the next available dates? thanks!
 
Mine is December 16th, that's the last day of finals week for UF so the rest are probably going to be in January
 
to any current med students that may be lurking this thread:

so at my interview day, i absolutely loved Dr. Lynch (the new assistant dean of admissions). i think more than any other school i've interviewed at, he really gave UF a personality and feel. it seemed like he really loved what he did as a doctor and teacher and strives to produce doctors with not just the medical knowledge, but with compassion and integrity. is he an anomaly or are there many other professors like that at UF?

thanks!
 
- 😎 Hi, does UFCOM's "prestige" (relative to other schools in florida...say FSU, UCF or USF) contribute to a student's residency application??
(anyone/everyone's 2 cents is appreciated!)

-Also, does anyone know (or have a link that shows) how many students applied/matched in orthopedics last year??

😀 Thanks!! 😀
 
Are UF's interviews rolling out very slowly? I haven't heard a thing since september!
 
imadoctor said:
Are UF's interviews rolling out very slowly? I haven't heard a thing since september!
Click to expand...

From what I've heard, they're moving relatively slow this year. I got an interview invite last Tuesday and I was complete September 7th.
 
CocoNutCase said:
to any current med students that may be lurking this thread:

so at my interview day, i absolutely loved Dr. Lynch (the new assistant dean of admissions). i think more than any other school i've interviewed at, he really gave UF a personality and feel. it seemed like he really loved what he did as a doctor and teacher and strives to produce doctors with not just the medical knowledge, but with compassion and integrity. is he an anomaly or are there many other professors like that at UF?

thanks!
Click to expand...

That's pretty much who Dr. Lynch is, he's just a great example of what it means to be a kind, compassionate physician. He's an oncologist who teaches us in the 2nd year, and the very first lecture we ever had from him, he said "I know it sucks, I know how frustrating it can be sometimes, but I just want you to know that all of this, all of it is worth it." Very cool guy.

markanthony1604 said:
- 😎 Hi, does UFCOM's "prestige" (relative to other schools in florida...say FSU, UCF or USF) contribute to a student's residency application??
(anyone/everyone's 2 cents is appreciated!)

-Also, does anyone know (or have a link that shows) how many students applied/matched in orthopedics last year??

😀 Thanks!! 😀
Click to expand...

Prestige doesn't matter much. That being said, you do get a quality education here. I can't speak for the other schools since I obviously don't attend them.

We had 6 people try to match in Ortho last year, 1 was successful. However, from my MS4 friends who told me about it, they said that the Ortho department got reamed out for having such an abysmal match rate, and that normally we do have successful matches for nearly our entire class. For example, we had 6 people apply to RadOnc which is THE most competitive specialty, and 6 got into it, so last year's number's are just an anomaly. I remember when I was an MS1, 5 out of 5 applying for Ortho got into it. Don't choose your specialty just yet though, it will likely change 100x over during your career.
 
CocoNutCase said:
to any current med students that may be lurking this thread:

so at my interview day, i absolutely loved Dr. Lynch (the new assistant dean of admissions). i think more than any other school i've interviewed at, he really gave UF a personality and feel. it seemed like he really loved what he did as a doctor and teacher and strives to produce doctors with not just the medical knowledge, but with compassion and integrity. is he an anomaly or are there many other professors like that at UF?

thanks!
Click to expand...

I'll echo Cweave's comments and say that Dr. Lynch is indeed a great guy. Extremely compassionate, funny and entertaining. He gave a lecture titled "Zombie Oncology" on Halloween, and he gave another lecture with a very amusing theme. I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say I now know the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. Not all of the faculty is like that (how could they be?), but I wouldn't say he's an anomaly.

On the notion of prestige, no, it doesn't matter too much. But it does matter some. Here comes the data.

http://journals.lww.com/academicmed..._Criteria_for_Residency__Results_of_a.24.aspx

Reputation of medical school is ranked as the 9th most important thing to the powers that be. Obviously, other things matter more, but it does have some effect. Personally, as a person who doesn't enjoy research, I'm just happy to see research as not playing a big role (unless you want to match dermatoplasticradiation oncology).
 
cweave16 said:
Prestige doesn't matter much. That being said, you do get a quality education here. I can't speak for the other schools since I obviously don't attend them.

We had 6 people try to match in Ortho last year, 1 was successful. However, from my MS4 friends who told me about it, they said that the Ortho department got reamed out for having such an abysmal match rate, and that normally we do have successful matches for nearly our entire class. For example, we had 6 people apply to RadOnc which is THE most competitive specialty, and 6 got into it, so last year's number's are just an anomaly. I remember when I was an MS1, 5 out of 5 applying for Ortho got into it. Don't choose your specialty just yet though, it will likely change 100x over during your career.
Click to expand...


Wow! Very interesting..Thanks so much for the quick response! So, if you dont mind my asking, why did you choose to attend UF?!
(also, thx for the words of advice ; )
 
Neatloaf said:
I'll echo Cweave's comments and say that Dr. Lynch is indeed a great guy. Extremely compassionate, funny and entertaining. He gave a lecture titled "Zombie Oncology" on Halloween, and he gave another lecture with a very amusing theme. I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say I now know the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. Not all of the faculty is like that (how could they be?), but I wouldn't say he's an anomaly.

On the notion of prestige, no, it doesn't matter too much. But it does matter some. Here comes the data.

http://journals.lww.com/academicmed..._Criteria_for_Residency__Results_of_a.24.aspx

Reputation of medical school is ranked as the 9th most important thing to the powers that be. Obviously, other things matter more, but it does have some effect. Personally, as a person who doesn't enjoy research, I'm just happy to see research as not playing a big role (unless you want to match dermatoplasticradiation oncology).
Click to expand...

hey thanks for the data! Very helpful! I wanted to ask you the same question i asked cweave...What was it about UF that really sold you?? (i really appreciate yall's time...great insight, thx again)
 
Hey, everyone. Jacksonville resident here. (Go Jags! Even though we aren't all that great this year.)

My interview with UF is on 12/2. I can pick someone up at the airport or meet other Jax residents to carpool. I know how expensive all the traveling can be, so if I can help save you a few bucks, I'm more than happy to. I work until 5pm or so on Thursday, so I'm available anytime after then.

If you want to carpool or need a lift from the airport, message me! We'll split gas prices.

For Jax residents, I live on the southside.
 
markanthony1604 said:
What was it about UF that really sold you??
Click to expand...

It seemed to me like UF is trying to construct a particularly compassionate, humanistic, altruistic class this year, and to cultivate that sort of philosophy as the foundation for its medical education program. Dr. Lynch made this much pretty apparent throughout the day, and overall the day really convinced me that it was true. So when I think of UF, I think of the type of doctor they're trying to produce, and I like the idea. Best of luck! 👍
 
CocoNutCase said:
to any current med students that may be lurking this thread:

so at my interview day, i absolutely loved Dr. Lynch (the new assistant dean of admissions). i think more than any other school i've interviewed at, he really gave UF a personality and feel. it seemed like he really loved what he did as a doctor and teacher and strives to produce doctors with not just the medical knowledge, but with compassion and integrity. is he an anomaly or are there many other professors like that at UF?

thanks!
Click to expand...

UFCOM feels like a family; That was my feeling when I interviewed and it is still my feeling now that I am riding the roller coaster. UFCOM admissions is one of the few schools that really looks at the overall picture and not just at your scores. The result is an awesome class full of very interesting people that are not just a number but a person with a story. You will love UFCOM!!!
 
markanthony1604 said:
hey thanks for the data! Very helpful! I wanted to ask you the same question i asked cweave...What was it about UF that really sold you?? (i really appreciate yall's time...great insight, thx again)
Click to expand...

Most of it had to do with the school's very strong performance on the step (last two years the average has been 232), its reputation and the school's location next to much of my extended family. Now that I'm here, I wish I had known how much good food and drink there is in Gainesville. It would have made the area seem a lot more appealing.

In years past, popular opinion was that UF had more competitive and, consequently, negative classes. This nearly turned me off from the school, but I'm glad it didn't. It turned out to be completely untrue, and most my class, and the current first year class, gets along famously. A very good environment for learning has been cultivated here.
.
 
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cweave16 said:
We had 6 people try to match in Ortho last year, 1 was successful. However, from my MS4 friends who told me about it, they said that the Ortho department got reamed out for having such an abysmal match rate, and that normally we do have successful matches for nearly our entire class. For example, we had 6 people apply to RadOnc which is THE most competitive specialty, and 6 got into it, so last year's number's are just an anomaly. I remember when I was an MS1, 5 out of 5 applying for Ortho got into it. Don't choose your specialty just yet though, it will likely change 100x over during your career.
Click to expand...

Based on what grounds? Certainly not unmatched rate; the unofficial "Gold Standard" of ranking specialties on competitiveness.
 
When you talk about what is the most competitive specialty, it's kind of hard to nail one down, but there is little debate that rad-onc is among the top three (along with probably derm and plastics). This is mostly due to a necessary high step one score for entry, and the fact that significant research experience is practically a necessity for a successful match. This is owed to the fact that rad-onc is a more research heavy field.

Issues of supply and demand (rad-onc is a relatively small field) and relative ease of lifestyle (a more "9-5" field) make rad-onc a very competitive match, and it's very impressive that UF was able to achieve a 100% match season last year.

Looking only at unmatched rate doesn't consider that people can apply for programs for which they're unqualified. This happens more often in competitive fields which are larger, increasing the risk of a successful match for a less than competitive applicant. These fields would include radiology, ortho and probably a few others. I'd say it isn't necessarily a gold standard.
 
Neatloaf said:
When you talk about what is the most competitive specialty, it's kind of hard to nail one down, but there is little debate that rad-onc is among the top three (along with probably derm and plastics). This is mostly due to a necessary high step one score for entry, and the fact that significant research experience is practically a necessity for a successful match. This is owed to the fact that rad-onc is a more research heavy field.

Issues of supply and demand (rad-onc is a relatively small field) and relative ease of lifestyle (a more "9-5" field) make rad-onc a very competitive match, and it's very impressive that UF was able to achieve a 100% match season last year.

Looking only at unmatched rate doesn't consider that people can apply for programs for which they're unqualified. This happens more often in competitive fields which are larger, increasing the risk of a successful match for a less than competitive applicant. These fields would include radiology, ortho and probably a few others. I'd say it isn't necessarily a gold standard.
Click to expand...

Very few people will argue that RadOnc isn't competitive, and it IS impressive to have 6/6 match. However, few will argue it is more competitive then Plastics and Derm. As I find little use in generalizations, I'm sure you would agree, I submit the following from 2011 match averages for US Applicants (http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html):

Plastics: 249 Step I, 45.9 AOA, 3.8 Research Xp
Derm: 244 Step I, 50.8 AOA, 3.7 Research Xp
RadOnc: 240 Step I, 31.2 AOA, 4.2 Research Xp

Just for comparison, Oto which is also considered a very competitive field:
Otolaryngology: 243 Step I, 41.6 AOA, 3.5 Research Xp.

While RadOnc is undoubtedly competitive (Top 5 in my Opinion), it is not the most competitive as your classmate stated, unless one considers average research experiences the gold standard for comparison. Not a commonly held belief. I only make a point because I believe premed applicants should be supplied with the most accurate information possible in order to make an informed decision. I don't want to hijack the thread with arbitrary discussion, so this will be the last I say on this particular matter.
 
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I thought UF was giving out acceptances today....am I wrong? Does anyone know the next day they are giving out acceptances?
 
I thought so too

Should we call admissions or give it a few more days?
 
Last edited:
No it was over a phone call. They said that its been really hectic in the admissions office so they are kind of slow getting back to people....
 
Neatloaf said:
Most of it had to do with the school's very strong performance on the step (last two years the average has been 232), its reputation and the school's location next to much of my extended family. Now that I'm here, I wish I had known how much good food and drink there is in Gainesville. It would have made the area seem a lot more appealing.

In years past, popular opinion was that UF had more competitive and, consequently, negative classes. This nearly turned me off from the school, but I'm glad it didn't. It turned out to be completely untrue, and most my class, and the current first year class, gets along famously. A very good environment for learning has been cultivated here.
.
Click to expand...

Gainesville has awesome restaurants, totally not that important, but I grew up there, great town!

Also, Dr. Lynch is amazing and has a great reputation. Went to school with Dr. Good's kids, really nice, well-respected family. Basically, the school is run by great people, which puts it high on my list.
 
I didn't get a phone call or an email, but I just checked the website and it says, "Congratulations!" Is this real life?! So excited
 
Congrats pandaman88....just paid my deposit now after seeing your post
 
pandaman88 said:
I didn't get a phone call or an email, but I just checked the website and it says, "Congratulations!" Is this real life?! So excited
Click to expand...

Sweeeeeeet! Anyone kno the accepted/interviewed ratio? Also, what are yalls stats if u dont mind sharing?!? (Curiosity killed the cat, i kno) Congrats again dude! ; ) PEACE
 
pandaman88 said:
I didn't get a phone call or an email, but I just checked the website and it says, "Congratulations!" Is this real life?! So excited
Click to expand...

You prompted me to do the same, and same result! High fives are in order! :highfive:
 
markanthony1604 said:
Sweeeeeeet! Anyone kno the accepted/interviewed ratio? Also, what are yalls stats if u dont mind sharing?!? (Curiosity killed the cat, i kno) Congrats again dude! ; ) PEACE
Click to expand...

i don't have exact numbers, but they said that they usually end up accepting 2/3 of those who interview because they screen pretty heavily pre secondary and for IIs. however, the majority of applicants get put on hold first and then accepted in December or March. so your odds are very good by the time you get to the II stage.
 
To be considered complete, do we need to upload a picture? I just realized that there's an option for us to do that on the secondary site. I submitted back in August and still have not heard anything from UF and I'm just wondering if that could be the cause...
 
onemorepremed said:
To be considered complete, do we need to upload a picture? I just realized that there's an option for us to do that on the secondary site. I submitted back in August and still have not heard anything from UF and I'm just wondering if that could be the cause...
Click to expand...

I believe so. When I submitted my secondary, I received an email with the subject titled "UF College of Medicine Admissions App : Your UF COM Secondary Application has been completed"
 
onemorepremed said:
To be considered complete, do we need to upload a picture? I just realized that there's an option for us to do that on the secondary site. I submitted back in August and still have not heard anything from UF and I'm just wondering if that could be the cause...
Click to expand...

That's some serious BS if that's true. I submitted my app in August and haven't heard anything as well, including the complete e-mail. I just uploaded my picture so let's see if it makes a difference.

Under the "Home" section, it says my app is ready, though.
 
mquidgley said:
I believe so. When I submitted my secondary, I received an email with the subject titled "UF College of Medicine Admissions App : Your UF COM Secondary Application has been completed"
Click to expand...

I got that email when I submitted too.
 
CocoNutCase said:
i don't have exact numbers, but they said that they usually end up accepting 2/3 of those who interview because they screen pretty heavily pre secondary and for IIs. however, the majority of applicants get put on hold first and then accepted in December or March. so your odds are very good by the time you get to the II stage.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, thx dude 👍
Wait, 😕 whats up with most students getting put on hold first...
 
markanthony1604 said:
Oh ok, thx dude 👍
Wait, 😕 whats up with most students getting put on hold first...
Click to expand...

i think quite a few schools operate this way. they do this for fairness, so that all interviewees have the same opportunity for an acceptance. (e.g. they don't want to have 50 interviewees competing for the last 3 spots). or atleast, this is what i was told by the admissions office.

i know, the next question is, then why do they accept some people right off the bat? i have no idea.
 
Hey guys, what happens if I exceed 500 words limit? Though I didn't click "section complete," my 550 words essay was still saved. 😕
 
My file was complete since early September. My stats are: 31 MCAT - 3.95 sGPA - many extracurricular activities - honors thesis project. Still not invite!!!! 🙁 Every time I contact their office, they till me to wait from now till March to hear back. Any advice?
 
Butler said:
Very few people will argue that RadOnc isn't competitive, and it IS impressive to have 6/6 match. However, few will argue it is more competitive then Plastics and Derm. As I find little use in generalizations, I'm sure you would agree, I submit the following from 2011 match averages for US Applicants (http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html):

Plastics: 249 Step I, 45.9 AOA, 3.8 Research Xp
Derm: 244 Step I, 50.8 AOA, 3.7 Research Xp
RadOnc: 240 Step I, 31.2 AOA, 4.2 Research Xp

Just for comparison, Oto which is also considered a very competitive field:
Otolaryngology: 243 Step I, 41.6 AOA, 3.5 Research Xp.

While RadOnc is undoubtedly competitive (Top 5 in my Opinion), it is not the most competitive as your classmate stated, unless one considers average research experiences the gold standard for comparison. Not a commonly held belief. I only make a point because I believe premed applicants should be supplied with the most accurate information possible in order to make an informed decision. I don't want to hijack the thread with arbitrary discussion, so this will be the last I say on this particular matter.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was basing my numbers off of a residency packet I got a while back, guess things have changed (though not by much). Still, Derm, Plastics, RadOnc are definitely up there....

Kiro90 said:
My file was complete since early September. My stats are: 31 MCAT - 3.95 sGPA - many extracurricular activities - honors thesis project. Still not invite!!!! 🙁 Every time I contact their office, they till me to wait from now till March to hear back. Any advice?
Click to expand...

It's not all about grades and MCAT. Define "many." Any leadership? How were the LoRs? Personal Statement? All of those factors come into play (especially with the new head of the AdCom).
 
cweave16 said:
It's not all about grades and MCAT. Define "many." Any leadership? How were the LoRs? Personal Statement? All of those factors come into play (especially with the new head of the AdCom).
Click to expand...

I do have strong letters of recommendations, extensive clinical experience (HELP program and CNA), some leadership experience as a student committee chair for the Phi Beta Kappa chapter at FSU and as a TA and tutor for biology. My personal statement is also well-written. I have already been accepted at FSU COM and interviewed last Friday at UCF.

With all that, I think UF is just looking at numbers. It seems like all applicants who interviewed and had their file complete around the same time I completed mine have 32+ MCAT range.
 
Kiro90 said:
I do have strong letters of recommendations, extensive clinical experience (HELP program and CNA), some leadership experience as a student committee chair for the Phi Beta Kappa chapter at FSU and as a TA and tutor for biology. My personal statement is also well-written. I have already been accepted at FSU COM and interviewed last Friday at UCF.

With all that, I think UF is just looking at numbers. It seems like all applicants who interviewed and had their file complete around the same time I completed mine have 32+ MCAT range.
Click to expand...

I know people with my exact stats that are already accepted to UF, but I haven't heard back either. I know it's frustrating, particularly if it's one of your top schools as is the case with me, but there is still time. Just be happy you already have an acceptance 🙂. I'll keep my fingers crossed for us both.:xf:
 
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