These are things I will consider if I get accepted to UK as well.
Louisville has a higher crime rate than Lexington.
Louisville's grading system is HP (90%+), Pass, and Fail. UK's is percentage. If you're looking for a less competitive environment, I would say that favors UL's system.
Louisville emphasizes the ability of every student to do procedures and really be involved with treatment. I did not get that impression from UK.
Both have rural track programs.
Both campuses are located in downtown. I got the impression that UL's campus is in a kind of shady area, since it is across the street from a correctional facility. Despite that, the crime map for that part of Louisville does not appear to be bad.
UL has advisory colleges. They are advertised as a way to get closer to other people in your class, but it looks more like a way to limit who you interact with regularly (randomly I assume).
UL seems to have more diversity of extracurricular/community service opportunities. This could be inaccurate, but if UK had much more than the three things listed on their webpage, I think they would demonstrate this fact more obviously.
As far as I know, UL's accreditation is currently on probation but should be restored for the next (15-16) academic year. They said this isn't a big deal, but it doesn't inspire faith in the school when they cannot adapt to standards in medical education quickly enough to avoid probation while almost every other school manages this.
Just my two cents on a couple of these. With regards to community service at UK, I assume the three you found on their website are the Community Health Fair, Salvation Army Clinic, and Shoulder to Shoulder Global. There are definitely lots more community service opportunities! A lot of these are done through interest groups, for example, the pediatrics interest group is very involved in Dance Blue and often sponsors a family during Christmas. We also periodically get emails about service projects you can be involved in, either from classmates or from student affairs. I also know classmates who have done volunteer work that they were interested in and found on their own, which I think is fairly easy as the large undergrad student population means lots of opportunities.
At UK, I think if you aren't really interested in doing procedures, no one is going to push you to do that many (with the exception of your surgery rotation). If you are interested and proactive though, you can. I think my classmates in the rural tract probably had more opportunities than at UK's main campus. I did feel like, for the most part, that I was involved in my patients' treatment, but again, that is sort of what you make of it and how involved you choose to be.
does UK have a simulation center, I am pretty sure they mentioned it on the tour but we never had chance to see it
UK does have a simulation center. I don't know what UL's is like, but honestly I wouldn't get too hung up on this point. At UK, you will likely not use the simulator much (if at all) your first two years, unless the curriculum has changed substantially. We did use it in our third year to practice some techniques (central lines, catheters, intubation, lumbar puncture, NG tubes, phlebotomy, etc.) and in fourth year (mostly simulator scenarios to prepare you for intern year). The simulator they do have is pretty cool; he is hooked up to all the monitors, you can administer drugs and it reacts physiologically to the type of drug and dose, you can do a limited number of procedures on it. There's also a couple pediatric simulators. It's pretty neat, but you won't use it much and I would guess you wouldn't either at UL (though I can't say for sure).
We also have a Minimally Invasive Surgery lab, which is pretty cool, especially if you are interested in surgery. You basically can practice a lot of the laparoscopic surgery techniques, they are timed and have records if you're a competitive type. The director of the lab is a nice guy, and will let you use the lab often.
