2011-2012 University of South Florida Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Hey! Would someone share their experience with the SELECT interview process? I noticed that the day's schedule includes a 20 introduction to the interview process, so I'm assuming these interviews are slightly different that the typical interview? Thanks!
 
tcritty said:
Hey! Would someone share their experience with the SELECT interview process? I noticed that the day's schedule includes a 20 introduction to the interview process, so I'm assuming these interviews are slightly different that the typical interview? Thanks!
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Everyone who interviews for SELECT must sign a non-disclosure agreement. Thus, you should not find anyone willing to detail their experiences.

I can assure you it's not a big deal. It is just another interview day, just a little more structured. You will get a good orientation that morning, and the interviewers are very friendly and nice. No grilling 🙂 It only differs from the traditional USF interviews in that the SELECT program is tailored for a specific purpose, which is well detailed in the informational materials on the USF website.
 
CanHasNaps said:
Everyone who interviews for SELECT must sign a non-disclosure agreement. Thus, you should not find anyone willing to detail their experiences.

I can assure you it's not a big deal. It is just another interview day, just a little more structured. You will get a good orientation that morning, and the interviewers are very friendly and nice. No grilling 🙂 It only differs from the traditional USF interviews in that the SELECT program is tailored for a specific purpose, which is well detailed in the informational materials on the USF website.
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This makes sense! Thanks for the response!
 
Are all Select interviews in PA or can you interview for that at USF?
 
ejw5075 said:
You have the option of interviewing at either LVHN in PA or USF.
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So if you are invited to interview for Core AND Select, you have the option to do two interviews in Tampa? Or just one in Tampa, and opt our of the PA interview?

I was under the impression that to be considered for the SELECT program, you have to interview in PA. So that is wrong? If you have the choice, does interviewing in Tampa look like you do not care about the program?
 
I only applied to SELECT and received an II for Dec in Tampa. I also live in FL so maybe that has something to do with it. I couldn't make the date so they had another Tampa date in January I signed up for instead. Hope that helps. 🙂
 
rcbbank said:
So if you are invited to interview for Core AND Select, you have the option to do two interviews in Tampa? Or just one in Tampa, and opt our of the PA interview?

I was under the impression that to be considered for the SELECT program, you have to interview in PA. So that is wrong? If you have the choice, does interviewing in Tampa look like you do not care about the program?
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Not at all, they understand that it's more convenient for you to interview in Tampa but the interview in PA is a great experience and the hospital is really amazing so I urge you to check it out.
 
It was a momentous event! I'm glad I missed lunch to see it.😀 Updates would definitely be nice. We will just have to save it all for the interview! :xf:

Guy Montag said:
That's awesome! I called last week and was assured that USF interviews through April, so there are plenty of invites still to go out :xf:. I wish USF took updates though...
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USF accepts updates ONLY if you are invited to interview.

And we have a ton of interviews to go.
 
Anyone have recommendations for student living? I might be purchasing a house and living there with a few other USF COM classmates. Which areas and, more specifically, housing communities/developments are the best in terms of safety/closeness to the COM? Thanks.
 
There are a couple of places near Busch Gardens that are right across Fowler and the COM. My friend from the USF Master's program lived at Lodge at Lakecrest and loved it. I thought it was a very nice place to live and its proximity is definitely something to keep in mind. It looks pricey but split between multiple people I don't think it would be terrible. They are luxury apartments. Plus, since it is off Fowler you are close to tons of food establishments and the interstates (I-4/75/275). On the other hand, I lived at St. Croix on Bruce B Downs (two streets over going north) which is dubbed a "luxury apartment" community, and I hated it. They are not luxury apartments IMO and very expensive for the cheap-feeling inside. I would also stay away from Avalon Heights. Although it is literally a stone's throw from the north edge of campus, this place is full of loud undergrad students. So I would not say that it would be very conducive to studying. Just something to keep in mind. 😀

Perhaps somebody else could comment on getting a house. I'm not too knowledgeable on that front.

neelyboy said:
Anyone have recommendations for student living? I might be purchasing a house and living there with a few other USF COM classmates. Which areas and, more specifically, housing communities/developments are the best in terms of safety/closeness to the COM? Thanks.
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Thanks a lot for the quick reply! I remember talking to COM students at USF earlier this year and they told me to stay away from one particular direction, and living towards another was better (I think North part of campus they said was better).
 
No problem!

Did they mention Tampa Palms area? There are in fact plenty of condos in that area which you could buy/rent. And it is only north on Bruce B Downs like 5-10 minutes depending on traffic. There are several elementary and middle schools around there, so traffic can sometimes be an issue but it just depends on how north you decide to live.

There are a couple of apartment complexes near St. Croix that I probably should have looked at before settling. I forgot the names but I sometimes pass by them so next time I am down that road I will look for you.

EDIT: So I went down that road this morning on the way to work. The names of the apartments I was trying to think of are: Lakeview Oaks, The Pointe, and Cambridge Woods Apartments. The first two are more appealing externally.


neelyboy said:
Thanks a lot for the quick reply! I remember talking to COM students at USF earlier this year and they told me to stay away from one particular direction, and living towards another was better (I think North part of campus they said was better).
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Last edited:
When submitting your secondary applications, did you strictly comply to the 2,000 character limit in each essay? One of mine is 2,005 characters, and the website lets me save it. But will the system allow me to complete the section and submit application?

I would really appreciate the answer to this question. Thank you!!
 
Yes I followed the 2,000 character limit. On other apps I heard others having stuff being chopped off after saving. Honestly, 5 characters is so little that you can probably find an extra word (or two) that you can delete and not have to worry about going over the limit. That's my 2 cents. Hope this helps and good luck!!

libraryismyhome said:
When submitting your secondary applications, did you strictly comply to the 2,000 character limit in each essay? One of mine is 2,005 characters, and the website lets me save it. But will the system allow me to complete the section and submit application?

I would really appreciate the answer to this question. Thank you!!
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Interviewed on Tuesday and fell in love with the University, curriculum, faculty, and the progressive nature of the university.

I am also an OOS applicant and it was my first time to Tampa. Also, a great city!

Now comes the long of wait of waiting on an acceptance!!!:xf::xf::xf::xf::xf:
 
Missions740 said:
Interviewed on Tuesday and fell in love with the University, curriculum, faculty, and the progressive nature of the university.

I am also an OOS applicant and it was my first time to Tampa. Also, a great city!

Now comes the long of wait of waiting on an acceptance!!!:xf::xf::xf::xf::xf:
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That sounds like a great interview day! 🙂

What do you mean by progressive nature?
 
rcbbank said:
That sounds like a great interview day! 🙂

What do you mean by progressive nature?
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How Dr. Stevenson has come in and in two years implemented many changes to the curriculum. Such as switching to a pas/fail only system and implementing problem-based learning along with the traditional lecture style of teaching.

What I mean by progressive is that it seems when they feel changes are needed or that changes may benefit the school they seem to implement them. Some of the other medical schools I will have interviewed at are very concerned with tradition and seem less likely to implement changes that many other schools have already done.Also, the large donation that the Morsanis gave to the school shows they also believe the school will use the money in a positive manner to make changes to the school.

Overall, it was a great day, and I feel they are leading the pack into the future with the way they have structured there learning environment.
 
CanHasNaps said:
There are two committees who meet independently.
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Sorry if this is a dumb question, but (assuming you don't mind either of the two tracks) why would anyone not choose both CORE and SELECT on their secondary, since it would give you an "extra" chance for admission?
 
Domestic said:
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but (assuming you don't mind either of the two tracks) why would anyone not choose both CORE and SELECT on their secondary, since it would give you an "extra" chance for admission?
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SELECT does their clinical experience in PA, and because of this, you are considered out of state for the entire 4 years even if you are a PA or FL resident. So financially it may not be a good option for some people.

Also, CORE is traditional medical school. SELECT is designed to look for and foster "leadership" - whatever that means to the committee and the adminstration. Some people just want to go to medical school and do their own thing. SELECT is a bit more structured for a specific goal.

Either way, at the end of four years you get an MD and a residency. Depending on your residency status, it might be the difference of 200k in loans vs 500k in loans.
 
CanHasNaps said:
SELECT does their clinical experience in PA, and because of this, you are considered out of state for the entire 4 years even if you are a PA or FL resident. So financially it may not be a good option for some people.

Also, CORE is traditional medical school. SELECT is designed to look for and foster "leadership" - whatever that means to the committee and the adminstration. Some people just want to go to medical school and do their own thing. SELECT is a bit more structured for a specific goal.

Either way, at the end of four years you get an MD and a residency. Depending on your residency status, it might be the difference of 200k in loans vs 500k in loans.
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While what most of what you are saying is true, I do not know any of my classmates who will be taking 300k extra in loans over the four years. That is absurd. Our tuition is 55k a year, yes that is a lot. USF is somewhere in the 30s for IS and 50s for OOS I believe. Coming from Pa myself, there is 0 extra cost bc we don't have a cheap state school. If you are coming from a state with a cheap state school, you will obv be spending more.

You will get the "traditional" experience through either program, though I wouldn't call USF traditional at all. SELECT has added experiences and is geared towards leadership as CanHasNaps pointed out, but it is still just like the CORE program 80% of the time.

Years 3-4 are in Allentown, PA in SELECT so many of my CORE classmates opted to not apply because they want to stay in FL and avoid the snow 😉
 
ejw5075 said:
While what most of what you are saying is true, I do not know any of my classmates who will be taking 300k extra in loans over the four years. That is absurd. Our tuition is 55k a year, yes that is a lot. USF is somewhere in the 30s for IS and 50s for OOS I believe. Coming from Pa myself, there is 0 extra cost bc we don't have a cheap state school. If you are coming from a state with a cheap state school, you will obv be spending more.

You will get the "traditional" experience through either program, though I wouldn't call USF traditional at all. SELECT has added experiences and is geared towards leadership as CanHasNaps pointed out, but it is still just like the CORE program 80% of the time.

Years 3-4 are in Allentown, PA in SELECT so many of my CORE classmates opted to not apply because they want to stay in FL and avoid the snow 😉
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Which is why I said "might be" the difference in that much total loan amounts. Your class was subsidized with grants and in house money. Future classes won't get that benefit. And with the increases in tuition as determined by the state of Florida for all public schools each year, I have seen my tuition increase from 16K to over 30K during my four years. So it is not unreasonable once you consider living expenses (which account for 1/3 to 1/2 of your loans) to bump up the total loan amounts. As an instate student who has taken the max federal loans every year, I am looking at close to $250K due to tuition increases and the fact that your loans increase every year because you are in "school" for a greater number of days each year. Does this bother me? Not really, but it's something for people to be aware of.


And USF is has a traditional medical school program with progressive clinical integration. We are a 2+2 program, with two years of didactics followed by two clinical years. Other schools do that differently (Duke is one example, as are some of the UC programs), but the vast majority follow that set up. What we do extreemely well is our clinical education which is something the SELECT students will be doing at LHV - theoretically it will be as good or better there, but no one can accurately comment on that yet as no one has gone through it and there are always bumps along the road for the first class.

What the SELECT committee looks for in applicants is a little different than for CORE, because of the slight differences in the program (in which I am referencing to my earlier post about the leadership aspects.) So depending on how you are looking at it, they are at the same time very similar programs and vastly different.

Everyone chooses medical school for different reasons. The most important factor, in my opinion, is to get as much information about the programs as possible and go where you feel your best fit is.
 
Lehigh Valley Health Network has been teaching medical students for years, tons of students from Penn State, Drexel, and PCOM do third and fourth year rotations there, we will not be the first students there. I agree USF excels in clinical education which is why they chose to partner with LVHN. If they doubted the experience we'd get there, they wouldn't put their name on it.

Either program will prepare you for residency, and select will not give you an extra 300k in debt.
 
And I have to put it out there: It's easy to read about either program or listen to what may or may not be accurate from online forums but I urge you to contact our admissions department. They are very receptive and want to answer your questions.

You never know if people on Sdn are who they say they are. Just saying.
 
ejw5075 said:
Lehigh Valley Health Network has been teaching medical students for years, tons of students from Penn State, Drexel, and PCOM do third and fourth year rotations there, we will not be the first students there. I agree USF excels in clinical education which is why they chose to partner with LVHN. If they doubted the experience we'd get there, they wouldn't put their name on it.

Either program will prepare you for residency, and select will not give you an extra 300k in debt.
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My only comment was that with any new program, there are always things that come up for the first group that goes through. The really neat thing is that LHV created a separate teaching ward for SELECT.

ejw5075 said:
And I have to put it out there: It's easy to read about either program or listen to what may or may not be accurate from online forums but I urge you to contact our admissions department. They are very receptive and want to answer your questions.

You never know if people on Sdn are who they say they are. Just saying.
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Very true.
 
Can I please please please have an interview here, I know my mcat and gpa are unworthy but pleeeeaaaase

If my secondary was complete in early November (very late.. not proud of it) by around what month should I assume I'm not getting an interview from USF? any guesses? thanks 🙂
 
generator said:
Can I please please please have an interview here, I know my mcat and gpa are unworthy but pleeeeaaaase

If my secondary was complete in early November (very late.. not proud of it) by around what month should I assume I'm not getting an interview from USF? any guesses? thanks 🙂
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If you haven't heard back by March, then it's probably not going to happen. Since you submitted so late, I would give yourself at least another month before panic starts.
 
generator said:
Can I please please please have an interview here, I know my mcat and gpa are unworthy but pleeeeaaaase

If my secondary was complete in early November (very late.. not proud of it) by around what month should I assume I'm not getting an interview from USF? any guesses? thanks 🙂
Click to expand...

I was complete during the first week in October, and I didn't hear back until early December. Since the admissions office has been closed for the past few weeks, I am sure there has been very little movement. Try to focus on something else and hang in there.
 
Cramer said:
I was complete during the first week in October, and I didn't hear back until early December. Since the admissions office has been closed for the past few weeks, I am sure there has been very little movement. Try to focus on something else and hang in there.
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CanHasNaps said:
If you haven't heard back by March, then it's probably not going to happen. Since you submitted so late, I would give yourself at least another month before panic starts.
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Phew alright. Thanks 😳
 
generator said:
Phew alright. Thanks 😳
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I was wondering myself where they were at in the application process. I was complete at the last couple of days in October. I was curious if I was going to hear something back from USF or not 🙄 I would really hate to think I busted my butt here and don't even get an interview 😱
 
GenusTide said:
I was wondering myself where they were at in the application process. I was complete at the last couple of days in October. I was curious if I was going to hear something back from USF or not 🙄 I would really hate to think I busted my butt here and don't even get an interview 😱
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You will hear back. The question is when. There were a record number of applications this year, and due to the way all applications are evaluated, it can take some time to work through everyone. Interviews run through the spring, so you have some buffer time before any panic needs to occur.
 
After an interview, do you receive your fate via e-mail, standard mail, or phone call?
 
met85 said:
After an interview, do you receive your fate via e-mail, standard mail, or phone call?
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I want to know this too. I interviewed December 13 which was the last interview before the holiday, and am really anxious for a decision. :xf::xf::xf:
 
From what I've read in past USF threads, applicants who get accepted usually get calls. I've also seen individuals get accepted via snail mail, without the call. For students who've been rejected or waitlisted, they've been notified via snail mail. I do have a friend that was waitlisted and then accepted during the summer, both via snail mail.

Granted, everything I know is from reading through past threads and speaking to current USF students so I cannot guarantee any of this.
 
gatorman8 said:
From what I've read in past USF threads, applicants who get accepted usually get calls. I've also seen individuals get accepted via snail mail, without the call. For students who've been rejected or waitlisted, they've been notified via snail mail. I do have a friend that was waitlisted and then accepted during the summer, both via snail mail.

Granted, everything I know is from reading through past threads and speaking to current USF students so I cannot guarantee any of this.
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Everyone gets a letter. I don't know about the call question.
 
Looking at last year's thread, it seems like USF makes calls to accepted applicants. Interviewed 12/12 for SELECT. Seems like I'm destined for that dreaded waitlist/reject letter.
 
met85 said:
Looking at last year's thread, it seems like USF makes calls to accepted applicants. Interviewed 12/12 for SELECT. Seems like I'm destined for that dreaded waitlist/reject letter.
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I interviewed December 13 for the CORE program. However, on the interview day Mr. Perez said not to expect to hear anything until at least the second week of January ( next week). He told us that the committee was not going to meet until after the holiday break to make a decision about our interview day. I do not know if this is the same as SELECT, but if so I think you still have at least a week until you need to feel as if your fate has been sealed for a wait list.
 
met85 said:
Looking at last year's thread, it seems like USF makes calls to accepted applicants. Interviewed 12/12 for SELECT. Seems like I'm destined for that dreaded waitlist/reject letter.
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Don't worry that you haven't gotten a call yet, with the holidays it's bound to take longer. Even so, I heard back from CORE 9 days after my interview but it took 4 weeks to hear back from SELECT.
 
Is there anybody that had their secondary in around the beginning of November that has heard back from either program?
 
Michaelmp6 said:
Is there anybody that had their secondary in around the beginning of November that has heard back from either program?
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I was complete a little before you and I have not heard anything though. Hopefully due to the holidays :xf:
 
Hopefully, this is decision week. Knowing one's future, whether bad or good, is better than uncertainty.
 
Has anyone, who had interviewed in December, heard anything?
 
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