2013-2014 University of South Florida Application Thread

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flstudent18 said:
Offered an interview for SELECT in Allentown! I wanted to know how the process works if you decide you'd rather do CORE. The program looks great but after reading this forum I realized OOS tuition is a huge factor in preferring CORE over SELECT for me. Does anyone know whether you can switch/ask for a CORE interview, or has anyone interviewed for SELECT and requested CORE instead? If so, do you need to interview again?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you can interview for both tracks someone will have to chime in on that. But I do know that if they choose you for SELECT then you are stuck with that route (at least for that interview). I believe that is why they ask you in the application.
 
flstudent18 said:
Offered an interview for SELECT in Allentown! I wanted to know how the process works if you decide you'd rather do CORE. The program looks great but after reading this forum I realized OOS tuition is a huge factor in preferring CORE over SELECT for me. Does anyone know whether you can switch/ask for a CORE interview, or has anyone interviewed for SELECT and requested CORE instead? If so, do you need to interview again?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Congrats!! I wonder if they send out IIs for SELECT before Core. Anyone not EDP get a Core II yet?
 
I got an II here on Friday for SELECT! So stoked because its my first II and I have low stats. Really love the 2+2 program because I have ties to the Lehigh Valley
 
flstudent18 said:
Offered an interview for SELECT in Allentown! I wanted to know how the process works if you decide you'd rather do CORE. The program looks great but after reading this forum I realized OOS tuition is a huge factor in preferring CORE over SELECT for me. Does anyone know whether you can switch/ask for a CORE interview, or has anyone interviewed for SELECT and requested CORE instead? If so, do you need to interview again?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You can apply for and interview for both CORE and SELECT but they are two separate interview processes. My understanding is that you cannot be accepted to one and then switch or ask for an interview in the other. If you only want CORE then you should only apply for CORE
 
Can anyone who has interviewed for SELECT give any advice or even a rundown of the day? Im interviewing in Allentown in a few weeks and its my first II so I'm a little nervous
 
Mr. Wonderful... mind sharing stats... I also applied to SELECT and I think mine are low.
 
So can any current students elaborate on some student life/campus questions I have? I'll be interviewing for select in Allentown since Im from the philadelphia area, so i wont have an opportunity to see the Tampa campus for some time

How is the campus?
How are the facilities?
Where do students opt to live? Any suggested apartments close to campus?
What is closest hospital to the campus distance wise (doesn't necessarily have to be an affiliated hospital.. i ask because I have a health issue that sometimes requires me to get to an ER)
What do you like/dislike about USF?

Thanks so much
 
Oh and I forgot to ask.. How are food options on/near campus? Easy to grab a quick bite?
 
I am having difficulty finding the coursework for the scholarly concentration I am writing about for the secondary: public health.

Can somebody link me to more information about it? I have been assuming that it is similar to the public health concentration that Stanford offers and simply responding to it as if it were the same.
 
ewelling said:
Congrats!! I wonder if they send out IIs for SELECT before Core. Anyone not EDP get a Core II yet?
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I think you're right; Core interviews go out later. According to last year's thread, first SDN II's for Core were like 9/28 or thereabouts.
 
Hi! First off, congrats! I'm going to do a few replies since there are a ton of questions and I don't want people to have to great whole paragraphs just to find the answer to their question.

1.) Applicants WILL NOT receive an interview to both programs. If you do get an interview, you will only get it for either CORE or SELECT. They don't interview students for both, for obvious reasons. So don't ask to switch your interview for the other program; it will look bad.

2.) I am not sure where your interview is since SELECT students are interviewed either at the USF campus or at Lehigh. I was interviewed at Lehigh and the hospital is incredible. We are not allowed to discuss questions asked and had to sign a confidentiality form. Your interview for SELECT will also be video recorded. Right before your interview, however, they will go through the questions you will be asked. It is a 2-on-1 interview.
 
MrWonderful said:
So can any current students elaborate on some student life/campus questions I have? I'll be interviewing for select in Allentown since Im from the philadelphia area, so i wont have an opportunity to see the Tampa campus for some time

How is the campus?
How are the facilities?
Where do students opt to live? Any suggested apartments close to campus?
What is closest hospital to the campus distance wise (doesn't necessarily have to be an affiliated hospital.. i ask because I have a health issue that sometimes requires me to get to an ER)
What do you like/dislike about USF?

Thanks so much
Click to expand...

1.) I don't think I really understand this question, but I like/dislike the campus. The campus itself is beautiful, but all the buildings are really spread out (I'm talking about the campus in general here). For the health schools (nursing, med, pharm, public health), all the schools are close together and Moffit Cancer Center is right next to the school as well. Personally, I wanted to go to a medical school that was connected to an undergrad campus because 1.) there are more events 2.) there is usually more research and 3.) I am interested in academic medicine and these schools usually have an emphasis on education. The VA is also connected to the med school through a skywalk.

2.) The facilities are good. Med students get their own workout facilities, which we have 24/7 access too. We also have our own library as well, again with 24/7 access. Anatomy still has a gross dissection component, which some med schools are moving away from, but USF faculty are really adamant about the importance of dissection and do not want to move away from this. We also have 24/7 access to the med school itself and often use classrooms for group study. All rooms are equipped with TVs that you can use to pull up slides, and for SELECT, we often use them for skype sessions with faculty who are at Lehigh. One thing I've been really impressed with is the standardized patient interview facilities, particularly a place called CAMLS. You can read more about CAMLS here--http://www.camls-us.org.

3.) I answered this question earlier if you read through the thread (I think at the bottom of page 2.) Students live all over. I also linked to website the second years put together for us that lists restaurants and apartments.

4.) The VA hospital you can get to by a skywalk from the med school. Florida Hospital is also on the north side of the health schools across the street (you could walk, sometimes I park over there), so you'd have your pick.

5.) Pros: Faculty are really receptive; VERY early standardized patient experience (3rd day of orientation); I like their integration of bioethics and medical humanities as well as scholarly concentrations to help tailor your medical education to the type of medicine your interested in; connected to an undergrad institution; dual programs; received a $40 million donation (the largest donation in med school history) so they're making some really big awesome changes

Cons: Anatomy has undergone some changes this year due to feedback from last years students that has created some problems for us, but the faculty are addressing our concerns; parking is terrible

For me, most of my cons about the school are actually more about getting used to southern culture than about the institution itself.

Hope this helps!
 
mdorbust1 said:
1.) I don't think I really understand this question, but I like/dislike the campus. The campus itself is beautiful, but all the buildings are really spread out (I'm talking about the campus in general here). For the health schools (nursing, med, pharm, public health), all the schools are close together and Moffit Cancer Center is right next to the school as well. Personally, I wanted to go to a medical school that was connected to an undergrad campus because 1.) there are more events 2.) there is usually more research and 3.) I am interested in academic medicine and these schools usually have an emphasis on education. The VA is also connected to the med school through a skywalk.

2.) The facilities are good. Med students get their own workout facilities, which we have 24/7 access too. We also have our own library as well, again with 24/7 access. Anatomy still has a gross dissection component, which some med schools are moving away from, but USF faculty are really adamant about the importance of dissection and do not want to move away from this. We also have 24/7 access to the med school itself and often use classrooms for group study. All rooms are equipped with TVs that you can use to pull up slides, and for SELECT, we often use them for skype sessions with faculty who are at Lehigh. One thing I've been really impressed with is the standardized patient interview facilities, particularly a place called CAMLS. You can read more about CAMLS here--http://www.camls-us.org.

3.) I answered this question earlier if you read through the thread (I think at the bottom of page 2.) Students live all over. I also linked to website the second years put together for us that lists restaurants and apartments.

4.) The VA hospital you can get to by a skywalk from the med school. Florida Hospital is also on the north side of the health schools across the street (you could walk, sometimes I park over there), so you'd have your pick.

5.) Pros: Faculty are really receptive; VERY early standardized patient experience (3rd day of orientation); I like their integration of bioethics and medical humanities as well as scholarly concentrations to help tailor your medical education to the type of medicine your interested in; connected to an undergrad institution; dual programs; received a $40 million donation (the largest donation in med school history) so they're making some really big awesome changes

Cons: Anatomy has undergone some changes this year due to feedback from last years students that has created some problems for us, but the faculty are addressing our concerns; parking is terrible

For me, most of my cons about the school are actually more about getting used to southern culture than about the institution itself.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...

I appreciate you taking the time to address these questions
 
Bisonman80 said:
I am having difficulty finding the coursework for the scholarly concentration I am writing about for the secondary: public health.

Can somebody link me to more information about it? I have been assuming that it is similar to the public health concentration that Stanford offers and simply responding to it as if it were the same.
Click to expand...

Hey, here is a link to a bit about the program: http://health.usf.edu/medicine/educationalaffairs/scholarly_concentrations/

I know it's not much, but I think what the school is mostly interested in in asking that question is to see how your medical career goals intersect with that program and how you hope that program will help you shape your skills—skills you've acquired from previous experience (mention your experiences)—in order to get you to where you want to go. Basically, they want to see if you've thought about what you're going to do with your MD. Talk about past experiences that have led you to your future goals and how their program is a means to get you there.
 
Also, don't worry about stats. Once you have an interview, they're confident in your academic abilities--now they want to see what kind of person you are.
 
flstudent18 said:
Offered an interview for SELECT in Allentown! I wanted to know how the process works if you decide you'd rather do CORE. The program looks great but after reading this forum I realized OOS tuition is a huge factor in preferring CORE over SELECT for me. Does anyone know whether you can switch/ask for a CORE interview, or has anyone interviewed for SELECT and requested CORE instead? If so, do you need to interview again?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would not make a significant decision on SELECT based on the tuition alone. Many of my SELECT classmates who are also Florida residents have received scholarships to match the cost difference.
 
Are there any pictures online--besides the ones on the USF website--of the campus?
 
MrWonderful said:
Are there any pictures online--besides the ones on the USF website--of the campus?
Click to expand...

Not sure, but the medical school is not very fancy looking from the outside. The interior areas where the students mostly are is very nice, especially the anatomy lab, auditorium, and group learning areas, but the outside does not reflect this.

There is a new school building in the works, but will not be completed for a couple years.
 
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xffan624 said:
Not sure, but the medical school is not very fancy looking from the outside. The interior areas where the students operate is very nice, especially the anatomy lab, auditorium, and group learning areas, but the outside does not reflect this.

There is a new school building in the works, but will not be completed for a couple years.
Click to expand...

Id rather have a beautiful interior with an ugly outside than a seemingly gotgeous building filled with rundown and outdated facilities 🙂
 
xffan624 said:
Not sure, but the medical school is not very fancy looking from the outside. The interior areas where the students mostly are is very nice, especially the anatomy lab, auditorium, and group learning areas, but the outside does not reflect this.

There is a new school building in the works, but will not be completed for a couple years.
Click to expand...

Completely agree, although I've come to appreciate it's exterior a bit. The nursing school is gorgeous--both inside and out--which the med school is connected to. The med school is built around two court yards, and from an aerial view, would look like a figure 8. Most of the lecture halls are accessed from the outside, with entrances facing the courtyards. Being outside in the warm weather more between classes and breaks, though, has been pretty therapeutic, so like I said, I've come to appreciate it 🙂 None of the other schools I interviewed at were set up this way, but they were all northern medical schools so I can't speak about other schools in the south. The interior is super nice and looks like it was recently updated (basically looks like it was completely redone compared to the exterior and interior) in the past 2-3 years.
 
mdorbust1 said:
Completely agree, although I've come to appreciate it's exterior a bit. The nursing school is gorgeous--both inside and out--which the med school is connected to. The med school is built around two court yards, and from an aerial view, would look like a figure 8. Most of the lecture halls are accessed from the outside, with entrances facing the courtyards. Being outside in the warm weather more between classes and breaks, though, has been pretty therapeutic, so like I said, I've come to appreciate it 🙂 None of the other schools I interviewed at were set up this way, but they were all northern medical schools so I can't speak about other schools in the south. The interior is super nice and looks like it was recently updated (basically looks like it was completely redone compared to the exterior and interior) in the past 2-3 years.
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Yeah, I love the courtyards too. It's a bit hot now, but they will be awesome once fall/winter gets going.
 
Hey everyone!

Good luck this application season! I'm an MS4 here at USF and I've lived in Tampa for the past 7 years, so if you have any questions about the program or the area in general, let me know! I will try to make it a point to get on here once a week and see what kind of questions there are and check my messages. Feel free to ask away!
 
I am not EDP and got a core II on Friday September 13th and scheduled for October 1st! First II and my top choice so I'm stoked!
 
I'm not early decision either got a core II today!!!! Wooo have yet to schedule...my mom went to USF med and its also one of my top picks... So excited keep the faith underdogs!!

Complete 8/27, 3.44 cGPA, 31 mcat, in state
 
vassiliades21 said:
I'm not early decision either got a core II today!!!! Wooo have yet to schedule...my mom went to USF med and its also one of my top picks... So excited keep the faith underdogs!!

Complete 8/27, 3.44 cGPA, 31 mcat, in state
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Congrats!! Via email?
 
Try hotwire.com. They have pretty good deals. I would stick to the Temple Terrace area. You could look in the Busch Gardens area, but don't stay anywhere south of Busch Blvd or too far west of Bruce B Downs. The area gets kinda sketchy when you start venturing that far from school. North and east of campus are your best bets for nice hotels that are in good areas.
 
Anyone know if USF is receptive to "in the area" type emails? I heard they only interview on Tuesdays, which is the only day I have class (orgo lab which I can't miss). There are 1 or 2 weeks where I don't have a lab, so if I were to luckily get an II I would need it to be on one of those days. Anyone have any advice?
 
ewelling said:
Anyone know if USF is receptive to "in the area" type emails? I heard they only interview on Tuesdays, which is the only day I have class (orgo lab which I can't miss). There are 1 or 2 weeks where I don't have a lab, so if I were to luckily get an II I would need it to be on one of those days. Anyone have any advice?
Click to expand...

Apply to SELECT, they interview on Mondays 🙂 .

I don't think that's a fully legit reason for requiring an interview on those days. Most schools understand that college is not the end all, be all and support your professional development. Have you asked your prof if you could potentially miss a lab for a medical school interview?

They don't even interview every Tuesday so the days when you don't have lab might not be the days when you would be able to interview anyway. Also, there's always next semester to interview.
 
xffan624 said:
Apply to SELECT, they interview on Mondays 🙂 .

I don't think that's a fully legit reason for requiring an interview on those days. Most schools understand that college is not the end all, be all and support your professional development. Have you asked your prof if you could potentially miss a lab for a medical school interview?

They don't even interview every Tuesday so the days when you don't have lab might not be the days when you would be able to interview anyway. Also, there's always next semester to interview.
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Thanks for the quick response! Unfortunately we are not allowed to miss any or makeup any 🙁. That has been a common trend for my chem/orgo labs.

I didn't think about next semester though...that would make more sense 🙂
 
ewelling said:
Thanks for the quick response! Unfortunately we are not allowed to miss any or makeup any 🙁. That has been a common trend for my chem/orgo labs.

I didn't think about next semester though...that would make more sense 🙂
Click to expand...

In that case, I would at least let them know your limitations (i.e. you might have to delay till next semester) and ask if your available dates are even available for interview.
 
Once you're offered an interview, they have a contact for scheduling constraints. I would advise not reaching out to them until you receive the ii, though. It seems, at least to me, a bit arrogant. While obviously that is not your intention, it is really up to interpretation of the admissions office. I can easily see it being taken the wrong way, depending on the school/person reading your potential email.

That being said, it is certainly a predicament and I wish you the best
Of luck in getting it worked out 🙂
 
MrWonderful said:
Once you're offered an interview, they have a contact for scheduling constraints. I would advise not reaching out to them until you receive the ii, though. It seems, at least to me, a bit arrogant. While obviously that is not your intention, it is really up to interpretation of the admissions office. I can easily see it being taken the wrong way, depending on the school/person reading your potential email.

That being said, it is certainly a predicament and I wish you the best
Of luck in getting it worked out 🙂
Click to expand...

I agree that's why I hesitate to send any "in the area" emails that many ppl on SDN say they do. It probably comes off arrogant/overconfident. Thanks for your input!
 
MrWonderful said:
Once you're offered an interview, they have a contact for scheduling constraints. I would advise not reaching out to them until you receive the ii, though. It seems, at least to me, a bit arrogant. While obviously that is not your intention, it is really up to interpretation of the admissions office. I can easily see it being taken the wrong way, depending on the school/person reading your potential email.

That being said, it is certainly a predicament and I wish you the best
Of luck in getting it worked out 🙂
Click to expand...

I wholeheartedly disagree with this. The only way to go about "in the area" without risking seeming arrogant, is to mention you will be in the area on a given date/weekend/etc, mention that you are not certain where your app is in the review process, and request (and say "if at all possible") if they can push forward the review of your app, so if the committee decides they would like to invite you, perhaps it could be coordinated with when you will be in the area.

You could also call the office, so that it becomes more conversational and he email isn't left to interpretation with regard to tone of writing.

I did this for Florida International University (called) and it worked out just fine.
 
YankeeBean said:
I wholeheartedly disagree with this. The only way to go about "in the area" without risking seeming arrogant, is to mention you will be in the area on a given date/weekend/etc, mention that you are not certain where your app is in the review process, and request (and say "if at all possible") if they can push forward the review of your app, so if the committee decides they would like to invite you, perhaps it could be coordinated with when you will be in the area.

You could also call the office, so that it becomes more conversational and he email isn't left to interpretation with regard to tone of writing.

I did this for Florida International University (called) and it worked out just fine.
Click to expand...

Some very good points here, Yankee. Part of my reason for not sending this type of email, I suppose, stems from the fact that USF seems very adamant about not having any correspondence with applicants unless said applicants have been offered an interview.

Of course you should also note that I can be a bit of a worrywart so take what I say with a grain of salt.
 
MrWonderful said:
Some very good points here, Yankee. Part of my reason for not sending this type of email, I suppose, stems from the fact that USF seems very adamant about not having any correspondence with applicants unless said applicants have been offered an interview.

Of course you should also note that I can be a bit of a worrywart so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...

If they are even remotely interested in your app, they will consider it. People are people, regardless of the school. This does not apply to schools doing MMI, as those interview formats create resource limitations for scheduling :/
 
MrWonderful said:
Once you're offered an interview, they have a contact for scheduling constraints. I would advise not reaching out to them until you receive the ii, though. It seems, at least to me, a bit arrogant. While obviously that is not your intention, it is really up to interpretation of the admissions office. I can easily see it being taken the wrong way, depending on the school/person reading your potential email.

That being said, it is certainly a predicament and I wish you the best
Of luck in getting it worked out 🙂
Click to expand...

I agree that's why I hesitate to send any "in the area" emails that many ppl on SDN say they do. It probably comes off arrogant/overconfident. Thanks for your input!
 
ewelling said:
I agree that's why I hesitate to send any "in the area" emails that many ppl on SDN say they do. It probably comes off arrogant/overconfident. Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

That's why I would start with the question of when their interview dates are and if they can even accommodate your lab conflict (anonymous question from the phone). If they don't fall on dates you don't have a lab, then all this is a moot point. If they do, then "in the area" might be a consideration.
 
Core II! I called and am waiting for a call back 🙂 does anybody know what days USF interviews?
 
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