2013-2014 University of Central Florida Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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Thank you for presenting the other side. As an applicant to both schools, this was very helpful - especially since no student has posted in the USF thread.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk
 
Also, saw some clips of the white coat ceremony during a news piece last night.....looked awesome
 
tien403 said:
This is a lengthy response to Rel's previous observations about USF MCOM. So I know that this will look a little bit petty since I'm just clearly snooping around forums, but I must offer some of the USF MCOM insight into Rel's "candid observations." However, if someone is going to secretly bad mouth my school and give limited information that will lead to false assumptions then of course I need to clear things up. And to preface myself so this does not sound like a rant from a bitter person, I am a currently a student at USF MCOM, but I was accepted to UCF COM when applying (with a 35R and 3.7 GPA so I had choices), and turned them down (but I will get to that later).

First off, Rel makes completely valid points about our FORMER dean, meaning he has left and no longer influences things at USF, a lot of his efforts seemed misguided, and they did ruffle a lot of feathers. Practitioners in the area had made this known, and we wish our dean the best of luck in his future endeavors. We now have an interim dean who is a USF Health Neurosurgeon, and we are beginning our national search for a new dean which is composed of a panel of students, practitioners, and people of the community. This is a large fact that Rel didn't feel needed mentioning I suppose.

Next, I find the use of the word "deterioration" to be a little dramatic when referring to USF's hospital relations. TGH could not function without the USF residents, and a new CEO at TGH and a new leadership here already highlight a stronger relationship between us. I had not personally heard that UF was moving in on Moffitt. A google search shows that the two did partner in 2008 to make a cancer research program for UF in Gainesville, but little has come of the relationship since (I couldn't find any news stories). USF Residents and medical students still continue to be a large working force at this hospital as well. Making us the only school in the state affiliated with Primary Cancer Center Hospital. I do believe UCF only shares space with MD Anderson or that's all I could find… Finally, All Children's is now affiliated with Johns Hopkins, but they did in 2012 renew an 8-year contract with USF health which to me does not sound like deterioration. Also, the partnership with Lakeland Regional was a brain child of our former dean, but it was spearheaded by one of our most ambitious students with the good intention of creating more GME spots since Florida and the nation are in desperate need of them. Not to mention, Rel also forgot to talk about how our partnership with the Haley VA (the busiest VA in the nation), and Bay Pines VA (the largest VA in the nation) are still fundamentally strong. And one last thing… CAMLS is pretty cool there is no denying it, and it is being incorporated into our clinical training as well. So Rel, you may still live in Tampa, but it seems like you've missed a couple of news stories.

I cannot fully comment on the positives and negatives of select, but I absolutely know that the statement about USF not having clinical space is untrue since the CORE class is still the same size as it always was.

Finally, since Rel very honestly commented on his issues with USF, I will make the same observations about why I did not choose UCF. During my interview day, I was deterred by the fact that current students were making blatant comments about how they disliked the other class years. The environment produced by current students on my interview day did not seem supportive at all. The use of a A-F grading system at UCF also discouraged me because students commented on how cut throat it could be, and even the admissions employees said the need for grades was to prove that UCF was providing a quality medical education. Finally, the idea of the medical city, and the growth that UCF is trying to achieve made me feel as if I would be a means to an end. That I might get overlooked as part of a bigger picture which is a huge problem, I'll admit, that I had with our FORMER dean. Classmates of mine who were also accepted to UCF also spoke of similar feelings at their UCF interview day. I also found some of the employees at UCF to be off-putting in a professional sense. I distinctly remember one trying to talk to me about binge drinking (which I have no problem with, but on an interview day it seemed out of place&#8230😉 Also, I find bad-mouthing on informal website forums for recruiting efforts to be in slightly bad taste and immature. It seems like an admissions committee should be more interested in selling their own program instead of highlighting the faults of another. Kind of middle school-esque if you ask me. Finally, money is always an issue, and while USF doesn't have the luxury of being a new school that the state throws crazy amounts of money at, all of us will be in debt at the end, and we are lucky enough to be entering a career that will allow us to pay this back. We also got that huge donation from the Morsanis in 2012 for a big fancy new school which is exciting. The big thing that matters for this incredibly stressful four years is where you feel that you will thrive! I chose USF because I am truly a part of a family here where there is always support for me, and our medical education has been tried and tested over the years. We also match very well which was appealing to me too. I have no doubt both programs produce wonderful doctors, but I found a better fit in Tampa.

Yes, USF MCOM, has had a few rough years, but our fundamentals have not changed, and I feel that I am receiving a superiorly quality education in a program that is adapting to the rapidly changing field of healthcare. Our faculty and staff are changing some (not everyone was so awful here as Rel insinuated, we have a great deal of awesome faculty and staff), and I am confident that we will find a new Dean who is devoted to our medical education, because Rel was right, people were not happy, and we are clearly going to search for someone who will make us happy!!!

Well thank you for sticking with me until here. I know this was long, but I am very passionate about the great education I am receiving here at USF, and I want people to know the truth about it. I hope my observations are helpful, and don't come across as petty. As you can see by the length of this post I am very proud of my school and the education I am receiving. I just know all the facts were not presented in Rel's paragraph so I thought I could help clear things up some for all of you. Best of luck in the interview process! Medicine really is the best thing you can go into as a career no matter where you get your education!
Click to expand...

Thanx for the response. Since I dont know your name, I am going to address you as CC. So CC, based on your emotion I suspect that you have a close history in the Tampa area, and that maybe, just maybe you are completing your second rotation of the 3rd year there. I also feel that your emotion helped you to lose site of the original conversation. My response was to a question regarding adding LRMC to the USF family of clinical training sites. My response therefore was discussing the reason why it seems like a big thing -- but only seems so because of my "perception" of poor leadership at the top which caused some deterioration in the clinical training opportunities. It seems that your response indicated some agreement with the perception of lackluster leadership. I feel that my comments were focused to that end, mentioning that the lost clinical opportunites supported the need to finally add LRMC. I still submit LRMC is a solid facility, but not yet on par with the loss of All Kids, the splitting of usage of Moffitt with UF (you will find that there is actually more UF participation than you know), and the ever-continuing bickering with TGH (always a rough marriage, but a needful marriage as you note).

Maybe it was not clear to you, but I never mentioned that the full 4 year MD students (CORE) lacked for clinical opportunities in Tampa. They dont. I did suggest that the program with Lehigh valley was because of Lehigh's clinical assets and need for affiliation with a med program for the teaching of the first two years. I am pretty sure that no medical student at any medical program has any real insight into what is necessary to set up clerkship rotations at clinical teaching sites. I can assure you that a 50% increase (120 to 180) in clinical teaching in both the 3rd and 4th years would be a killer task making it very difficult to provide quality clinical training.

LRMC has tried to court USF since at least the late 90's and with the losses I previously mentioned there was more need to add clinical options. If I were to hazard a guess, there is a good chance that the USF med student who helped facilitate this relationship very well may have been the daughter of one of the leaders at LRMC who has been clincally involved with USF clinically for many years.

There is a whole lot more to all of this than any medical student would ever know. They are too busy learning the skills of their future and are simply not involved with these administrative duties of the school. Not only do I choose maintain my residence in the shadow of Tampa, you may also remember that my child also graduated from that M.D. program. We are still close to many of the faculty, administrators, and even students there. I have no reason to bash the program or the city. If I recall correctly I think I did state in the recap of my previous response that USF is a solid program, I still believe this to be true.

CC, I am very pleased that you are happy there. I do suspect that you probably overlooked the initial reason for the conversation. You just dont get enough sleep in the clerkship years, you will adjust and things will be a lot better. You will receive a good medical education there and become a good physician. I have faith in you.
 
I have an update for my submitted application. Does it have to be official or can I just include it in an email? If it has to be more official what do I have to do to make it that way?
 
Dear "REL",

This thread has come to my attention. It seems to be a well-known fact that you are Robert Larkin, the Director of Admissions for UCF COM. As a physician, and a graduate of USF MCOM (who matched to the residency program of his first choice), I find your comments and derogatory remarks towards USF to be completely unprofessional, petty, and self-serving. Not only is your information inflammatory, more importantly, it is inaccurate. As previously mentioned, TGH and USF cannot survive without one another and there is no splitting of the two institutions, only moving forward with solutions and quality clinical education for MCOM students and residents; Moffitt Cancer Center sits on USF land, is run by USF Faculty and Residents, its website even sits on USF servers (http://moffitt.usf.edu), and there is no training agreement between UF and Moffitt for their medical students or residents; All Children's was bought by Johns Hopkins as a result of financial trouble that the hospital found itself in after a massive expansion and building of a new hospital, not as a result of USF mishandling, and, as mentioned, there is an educational agreement in place until 2020; and finally, LRMC is a response to a need for increased GME residency spots. Dr. Steven Klasko is now our former Dean (big "D"), who was heavily recruited nationwide, and is now the President of Thomas Jefferson University, and Dean of the Jefferson Medical College- for some reason, I do not see that as "limited vision and little leadership."

Mr. Larkin, it is my sincere hope that the Dean of the UCF College of Medicine and the President of UCF become acutely aware of your unprofessional behavior, and that they take appropriate action as a result.

To any applicants, I would only encourage you to look at both programs with an open mind, ask plenty of questions, stay for a period of time in the respective cities, and matriculate to the program that is your "best fit." At the end of the day, any program that is accredited by the LCME in the United States is going to give you a great education. The key is finding the place that fits your personality and your career goals. Applying to medical school is rough enough without individuals with their own personal vendettas making politics out of education. Take the comments on this forum with a grain of salt (mine included), and make the decision that is best for you and your loved ones.
 
REL said:
Thanx for the response. Since I dont know your name, I am going to address you as CC. So CC, based on your emotion I suspect that you have a close history in the Tampa area, and that maybe, just maybe you are completing your second rotation of the 3rd year there. I also feel that your emotion helped you to lose site of the original conversation. My response was to a question regarding adding LRMC to the USF family of clinical training sites. My response therefore was discussing the reason why it seems like a big thing -- but only seems so because of my "perception" of poor leadership at the top which caused some deterioration in the clinical training opportunities. It seems that your response indicated some agreement with the perception of lackluster leadership. I feel that my comments were focused to that end, mentioning that the lost clinical opportunites supported the need to finally add LRMC. I still submit LRMC is a solid facility, but not yet on par with the loss of All Kids, the splitting of usage of Moffitt with UF (you will find that there is actually more UF participation than you know), and the ever-continuing bickering with TGH (always a rough marriage, but a needful marriage as you note).

Maybe it was not clear to you, but I never mentioned that the full 4 year MD students (CORE) lacked for clinical opportunities in Tampa. They dont. I did suggest that the program with Lehigh valley was because of Lehigh's clinical assets and need for affiliation with a med program for the teaching of the first two years. I am pretty sure that no medical student at any medical program has any real insight into what is necessary to set up clerkship rotations at clinical teaching sites. I can assure you that a 50% increase (120 to 180) in clinical teaching in both the 3rd and 4th years would be a killer task making it very difficult to provide quality clinical training.

LRMC has tried to court USF since at least the late 90's and with the losses I previously mentioned there was more need to add clinical options. If I were to hazard a guess, there is a good chance that the USF med student who helped facilitate this relationship very well may have been the daughter of one of the leaders at LRMC who has been clincally involved with USF clinically for many years.

There is a whole lot more to all of this than any medical student would ever know. They are too busy learning the skills of their future and are simply not involved with these administrative duties of the school. Not only do I choose maintain my residence in the shadow of Tampa, you may also remember that my child also graduated from that M.D. program. We are still close to many of the faculty, administrators, and even students there. I have no reason to bash the program or the city. If I recall correctly I think I did state in the recap of my previous response that USF is a solid program, I still believe this to be true.

CC, I am very pleased that you are happy there. I do suspect that you probably overlooked the initial reason for the conversation. You just dont get enough sleep in the clerkship years, you will adjust and things will be a lot better. You will receive a good medical education there and become a good physician. I have faith in you.
Click to expand...
First off Rel, I do not appreciate your condescending remarks. Even if I was over-tired, I could still handle chatting on a forum with you. You also continue to spread inaccurate information as I am neither a 3rd year nor do I have a long history with Tampa, and clearly you are bashing our program because even though you said that we are a solid program, you also commented that it is heading in an opposite direction of UCF, so at least own what you say.

Also, I did not miss the point of your first posting, I just needed to correct your inaccurate statements. I will only say once again that USF has NOT suffered the loss of clinical sites that you seem so adamant about, and USF students do not even rotate at LRMC. It is clear that you are only going to try to discredit me with sarcasm while actually avoiding the truer points to try to save face so I wish you the best in using these interesting recruiting techniques. I know USF will be able to attract students based on our program alone, and we won't have to rely on highlighting the shortcomings of other programs.

Now, more than ever, I am extremely happy that I chose the University of South Florida for Medical School.
 
ProfessionalMD said:
Dear "REL",

This thread has come to my attention. It seems to be a well-known fact that you are Robert Larkin, the Director of Admissions for UCF COM. As a physician, and a graduate of USF MCOM (who matched to the residency program of his first choice), I find your comments and derogatory remarks towards USF to be completely unprofessional, petty, and self-serving. Not only is your information inflammatory, more importantly, it is inaccurate. As previously mentioned, TGH and USF cannot survive without one another and there is no splitting of the two institutions, only moving forward with solutions and quality clinical education for MCOM students and residents; Moffitt Cancer Center sits on USF land, is run by USF Faculty and Residents, its website even sits on USF servers (http://moffitt.usf.edu), and there is no training agreement between UF and Moffitt for their medical students or residents; All Children's was bought by Johns Hopkins as a result of financial trouble that the hospital found itself in after a massive expansion and building of a new hospital, not as a result of USF mishandling, and, as mentioned, there is an educational agreement in place until 2020; and finally, LRMC is a response to a need for increased GME residency spots. Dr. Steven Klasko is now our former Dean (big "D"), who was heavily recruited nationwide, and is now the President of Thomas Jefferson University, and Dean of the Jefferson Medical College- for some reason, I do not see that as "limited vision and little leadership."

Mr. Larkin, it is my sincere hope that the Dean of the UCF College of Medicine and the President of UCF become acutely aware of your unprofessional behavior, and that they take appropriate action as a result.

To any applicants, I would only encourage you to look at both programs with an open mind, ask plenty of questions, stay for a period of time in the respective cities, and matriculate to the program that is your "best fit." At the end of the day, any program that is accredited by the LCME in the United States is going to give you a great education. The key is finding the place that fits your personality and your career goals. Applying to medical school is rough enough without individuals with their own personal vendettas making politics out of education. Take the comments on this forum with a grain of salt (mine included), and make the decision that is best for you and your loved ones.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response as well. It is no secret who I am and how I run an open process for applicants unlike any in the nation. I dont hide behind an anonymous moniker so there is some degree of responsibility implied. I know of what I speak whether you believe it or not. I am also known for stating that there is not a bad M.D. program in the state and there is not a top 25 program in the state and that "best fit" is the answer to the question. Your keen grasp is appreciated, we need more like you.
 
Last edited:
tien403 said:
First off Rel, I do not appreciate your condescending remarks. Even if I was over-tired, I could still handle chatting on a forum with you. You also continue to spread inaccurate information as I am neither a 3rd year nor do I have a long history with Tampa, and clearly you are bashing our program because even though you said that we are a solid program, you also commented that it is heading in an opposite direction of UCF, so at least own what you say.

Also, I did not miss the point of your first posting, I just needed to correct your inaccurate statements. I will only say once again that USF has NOT suffered the loss of clinical sites that you seem so adamant about, and USF students do not even rotate at LRMC. It is clear that you are only going to try to discredit me with sarcasm while actually avoiding the truer points to try to save face so I wish you the best in using these interesting recruiting techniques. I know USF will be able to attract students based on our program alone, and we won’t have to rely on highlighting the shortcomings of other programs.

Now, more than ever, I am extremely happy that I chose the University of South Florida for Medical School.
Click to expand...

Again, congratulations on your choice, I am still happy for you. If stating these insights and perceptions as noted tightens you this much, imagine if I actually spoke badly about the program or a spedific incident in the interview process, etc., etc. Cant do that, it wouldnt be professional. I dont have much more to say about the USF and LRMC agreement. As it grows it will be helpful to both, and USF will still be a solid program and it's graduates will match as well as they ever have.
 
My school's letter packet literally took forever. If it hasn't made it yet, do you think they will wait to review my app?
 
REL, could you give us an estimate of when II will begin to roll out?
 
BundleofHis said:
REL, could you give us an estimate of when II will begin to roll out?
Click to expand...

My best guesstimate is late this week or definitely by early next week. The inital interview day is the first Friday in September and we try to make invites at least 3 weeks in advance.
 
REL said:
My best guesstimate is late this week or definitely by early next week. The inital interview day is the first Friday in September and we try to make invites at least 3 weeks in advance.
Click to expand...

Thank you REL,

Is UCF receptive to in the area? I am going to be in Florida during Sep end and it would be financially helpful to interview at UCF at the same time. I am currently at EFI status. This is definitely one of my top choice schools!
 
REL said:
My best guesstimate is late this week or definitely by early next week. The inital interview day is the first Friday in September and we try to make invites at least 3 weeks in advance.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks for the response!
 
gobigorgohome22 said:
Thank you REL,

Is UCF receptive to in the area? I am going to be in Florida during Sep end and it would be financially helpful to interview at UCF at the same time. I am currently at EFI status. This is definitely one of my top choice schools!
Click to expand...

As long as your file has been reviewed by the committee there is no problem with letting us know when you may be closeby, especially if you come from a distance. No guarantees, but no harm done to let us know.
 
I don't know about you guys, but I wish every school had a representative that was willing to answer our questions on a forum.
 
DayInTheLife said:
yes definitely! REL is truly one of a kind!
Click to expand...

Now wrapping up Orientation week for the class of 2017, I can truly say this place possesses a spirit that I'm glad to be a part of. The class is so cool! New laptops, new ipads, and out of this world M2's walking around being of any help they can. They are trying to imitate REL haha. Wish everyone well this application season. It is soooo worth it.
 
Congratulations, joshturnerfan, and best of luck in your endeavors; and thank you for the feedback. Hopefully I shall be writing a similar post this time next year, if I am as fortunate!
 
I've kept my ringer on all day today hoping to get a phone call, and, judging by the lack of activity, no invites went out today. Looking forward to next week!!

Go figure, there is actually a scenario that makes me not look forward to weekends... The med school application cycle! Hurry up Monday!!
 
CanePreMed said:
I've kept my ringer on all day today hoping to get a phone call, and, judging by the lack of activity, no invites went out today. Looking forward to next week!!

Go figure, there is actually a scenario that makes me not look forward to weekends... The med school application cycle! Hurry up Monday!!
Click to expand...
Same here! I jumped every time I got a phone call 🙂
 
I recently moved out of Orlando. Yesterday I received a call from an Orlando number while I was on the other line and I got really excited. Ended up being my cable company talking about some survey. Talk about a let down.
 
REL, is there a time of the day when the interview invite phone calls are more likely to happen? I just want to make sure that I keep an eye on my phone at that time. Thank you!
 
Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Just checked my status and I am EFI!!!

So excited 🙂
Submitted 7/22
Complete email 7/27
OOS with ties
 
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