2014-2015 University of South Florida Application Thread

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Just a heads up for anyone who didn't make the second look that's considering USF, they just told us they are moving away from pass/fail to a tiered grading system starting in the fall.

The majority of people here (including myself) seemed surprised (and unhappy) by this change - I wouldn't have been happy finding this out at orientation and just wanted to pass it on incase that weighs into your decisions like me.
 
ZillaFCH said:
Just a heads up for anyone who didn't make the second look that's considering USF, they just told us they are moving away from pass/fail to a tiered grading system starting in the fall.

The majority of people here (including myself) seemed surprised (and unhappy) by this change - I wouldn't have been happy finding this out at orientation and just wanted to pass it on incase that weighs into your decisions like me.
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What was their justification for the change?
 
They said "students requested it" and it would "improve board scores" - it pretty much became the sole focus of the dean to defend the change after that
 
What type of tiered system? Like Honors, satisfactory, low satisfactory, fail?
 
Just got back from Tampa Second Look. Could have not been more fun. They answered all of my questions and everyone there was really nice. The CAMLS center is mind blowing and they mentioned a change in the curriculum towards incorporating some Sim during pre-clinical years; which is awesome b/c as a SELECT student I will be moving to LV after M2. Financial Aid was also really helpful; they stressed their commitment to keeping costs low, with one Dean saying they have frozen tuition/fees for the next three years. They all spoke very passionatably about their commitment to education and patient care. Overall a really good experience.
 
Also attended Second Look today and totally loved it! A few comments on the previous posts...

Having a tiered grading system will essentially have no negative effect on students. It won't increase competition because everyone has the same chance of getting each mark. I believe it will just encourage students to work a bit harder instead of only "learning to pass." The deans both mentioned that it should not cause competition amongst students, but will motivate them to fully prepare for the boards. In prior years, students admitted that they became a bit lazy in regards to learning the material to their best ability. So I highly believe that this change is being considered for our benefit. I welcome any change that will not only improve my performance on boards, but also encourage me to learn as much as possible to help future patients.

I found it highly disrespectful and unprofessional that certain students were rudely questioning the deans (who continued to be pleasant and lovely during the entire showdown) on a matter that is not even developed yet. But maybe that's just me (and the large group of students looking around anxiously during this portion of the session) that thinks this way.

FindMeOnTheLinks said:
I wonder why there was absolutely no mention of the possibility of this grading scale change at the interview day
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It seems like it is a recent idea and the dean mentioned several times that it has not been officially discussed or agreed upon yet. Again, it's a change but not a huge or life-altering change.

[Posting this anonymously because I would like to start medical school off on a friendly note with everyone, regardless of our differing opinions on etiquette and professionalism.]
 
I disagree; when the young lady initially asked the dean laughed her question off and then initially said he wasn't going to answer questions about the change. Someone else had the courage to tell him she was going to ignore his "rule" since it directly impacts us as a class.

Instantly the room became toxic - I'm glad some people stood up for those of us that we're really concerned.

I for one don't care what the system is; but this came from left field. I will be dropping my acceptance to USF and wish everyone else well - I hope it works out for all of you.
 
I'm glad you all enjoyed the Second Look event! Feel free to message me if you have any questions at all!
 
The grading scheme change does not really affect whether I would want to go there (I'm on the waitlist but it is my top choice), but it just seems a bit shady if they were to implement this change so late. I am betting that for the 2015 matriculating class the change does not come into effect, and it would be entering class of 2016 at the earliest.
 
MD_in_2019 said:
I disagree; when the young lady initially asked the dean laughed her question off and then initially said he wasn't going to answer questions about the change. Someone else had the courage to tell him she was going to ignore his "rule" since it directly impacts us as a class.

Instantly the room became toxic - I'm glad some people stood up for those of us that we're really concerned.

I for one don't care what the system is; but this came from left field. I will be dropping my acceptance to USF and wish everyone else well - I hope it works out for all of you.
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This right here tells you alot about how much they value student input. I doubt anyone but the fanbois thought this was a good idea and "wouldn't cause competition." Competition is the whole point of the change. They felt like students werent trying so now they are gonna "incentivize" you to try by making you less competative for match if you just 'pass' as compared with your high pass or honors peers. This will be good for the top of the class and no one else.

I am sorry but anyone who thinks this wont increase competion and change the culture is wrong. Whether thats to your benefit is for you to decide. But if 90% of the class is gonna be 'honors' then that bar will be moved up, you can count on it.
 
HandsomeRob said:
This right here tells you alot about how much they value student input. I doubt anyone but the fanbois thought this was a good idea and "wouldn't cause competition." Competition is the whole point of the change. They felt like students werent trying so now they are gonna "incentivize" you to try by making you less competative for match if you just 'pass' as compared with your high pass or honors peers. This will be good for the top of the class and no one else.

I am sorry but anyone who thinks this wont increase competion and change the culture is wrong. Whether thats to your benefit is for you to decide. But if 90% of the class is gonna be 'honors' then that bar will be moved up, you can count on it.
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I'm a current MS1, and the administration ABSOLUTELY values student input. The curriculum and labs and small group sessions are constantly changing and adapting to optimize our education. We have student council and course liaisons that are responsible for immediate communication of our concerns to both the administration and the course directors, and any issues are very quickly resolved. I don't want there to be any confusion about faculty responsiveness to input because the faculty at USF is incredibly responsive to input from the students. This is coming from experiencing it, first-hand, for almost a year.
 
HandsomeRob said:
This right here tells you alot about how much they value student input. I doubt anyone but the fanbois thought this was a good idea and "wouldn't cause competition." Competition is the whole point of the change. They felt like students werent trying so now they are gonna "incentivize" you to try by making you less competative for match if you just 'pass' as compared with your high pass or honors peers. This will be good for the top of the class and no one else.

I am sorry but anyone who thinks this wont increase competion and change the culture is wrong. Whether thats to your benefit is for you to decide. But if 90% of the class is gonna be 'honors' then that bar will be moved up, you can count on it.
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Pretty sure you misinterpreted the deans each time they restated their reasoning. They clearly stated that competition amongst people in the class shouldn't be an effect of the change. Instead, it'll allow all students to be as competitive as possible against students from OTHER schools for match purposes.
If you want to be competitive for match, do your best. Why shouldn't those who excel get acknowledged? And the best part is, EVERYONE HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL. If everyone gets a decent grade, they all get the mark acknowledging it.
Even if they didn't have a tiered grading system, you would still get percentage results from an exam and the faculty would still be aware of the 90% kicking butt on an exam and they would probably still raise the bar on the next exam.
I guess my question is, why go to medical school if you aren't ready to work hard and be challenged? P/F or a tiered grading system won't make a difference on how you do, only you will determine that. USF is an exceptional school with an exciting potential in these next few years, why focus on a small aspect?

MD_in_2019 said:
I disagree; when the young lady initially asked the dean laughed her question off and then initially said he wasn't going to answer questions about the change.
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He didn't laugh her question off though... She asked a question mentioning a "rumor" (which, to me, seemed intended to get a few chuckles out of the Dean) and they simply reacted. He acknowledged it when speaking and asked people not to focus on it because it wasn't something solidified yet. It wasn't an unfair rule, just a plea to not waste everyone's time asking questions about something that they haven't decided on.
 
medstudent1993 said:
Pretty sure you misinterpreted the deans each time they restated their reasoning. They clearly stated that competition amongst people in the class shouldn't be an effect of the change. Instead, it'll allow all students to be as competitive as possible against students from OTHER schools for match purposes.
If you want to be competitive for match, do your best. Why shouldn't those who excel get acknowledged? And the best part is, EVERYONE HAS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL. If everyone gets a decent grade, they all get the mark acknowledging it.
Even if they didn't have a tiered grading system, you would still get percentage results from an exam and the faculty would still be aware of the 90% kicking butt on an exam and they would probably still raise the bar on the next exam.
I guess my question is, why go to medical school if you aren't ready to work hard and be challenged? P/F or a tiered grading system won't make a difference on how you do, only you will determine that. USF is an exceptional school with an exciting potential in these next few years, why focus on a small aspect?



He didn't laugh her question off though... She asked a question mentioning a "rumor" (which, to me, seemed intended to get a few chuckles out of the Dean) and they simply reacted. He acknowledged it when speaking and asked people not to focus on it because it wasn't something solidified yet. It wasn't an unfair rule, just a plea to not waste everyone's time asking questions about something that they haven't decided on.
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Lemme try to explain, right now if I am a guy who gets passes and has a great USMLE, I am pretty much set for any residency (with normal amounts of pubs plus EC's etc). Next year if I 'just' pass everything, and get a great USMLE I am not set at all. I have to explain why I didnt honor or w/e. I agree this is for the higher end of students who prob wish that the had some differentiator besides being AOA. But the problem is it can be rather hard to predict which end of the spectrum we will be on. And most of us won't be the tippy top.

But what I can predict is that next year all passes will be the same as getting all C's. So now I must run at a breakneck pace trying to 'honor' as much as I can, even tho it will have negliable impact on board scores. Leaving me with less time for EC's or research, and generally lowering my quality of life while potentially hurting my chances at competative residencies if I get anything less than honors. So in short the only person this helps is the guys at the very very top who honor everything with ease. Everyone else is lowered by this system, and their quality of life decreases, while the USF deans gets to pat themselves on the back that medical school is 'back to how it should be,' and the students are 'trying harder' while the board scores stay about the same.

PS - the student ambassadors claiming they are 'pretty lazy' right now. Your not only a gunner for sabatoging an entire class after you, but a jerkoff to boot.
 
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HandsomeRob, medstudent1993 just said that the dean said it wasn't something solidified yet. They wouldn't implement a major change like that without it being solidified ahead of interviews/second look. They don't want people to be in limbo. They want them to know exactly what will happen next year.
 
HandsomeRob said:
Lemme try to explain, right now if I am a guy who gets passes and has a great USMLE, I am pretty much set for any residency (with normal amounts of pubs plus EC's etc). Next year if I 'just' pass everything, and get a great USMLE I am not set at all. I have to explain why I didnt honor or w/e. I agree this is for the higher end of students who prob wish that the had some differentiator besides being AOA. But the problem is it can be rather hard to predict which end of the spectrum we will be on. And most of us won't be the tippy top.

But what I can predict is that next year all passes will be the same as getting all C's. So now I must run at a breakneck pace trying to 'honor' as much as I can, even tho it will have negliable impact on board scores. Leaving me with less time for EC's or research, and generally lowering my quality of life while potentially hurting my chances at competative residencies if I get anything less than honors. So in short the only person this helps is the guys at the very very top who honor everything with ease. Everyone else is lowered by this system, and their quality of life decreases, while the USF deans gets to pat themselves on the back that medical school is 'back to how it should be,' and the students are 'trying harder' while the board scores stay about the same.

PS - the student ambassadors claiming they are 'pretty lazy' right now. Your not only a gunner for sabatoging an entire class after you, but a jerkoff to boot.
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Those people that "honor everything with ease" have as much time in their day as you do. Yes, everyone learns at their own pace, but why do you feel like you are at such a disadvantage? Also, there is a correlation between grades and board scores, so chances are getting honors in your classes will benefit your scores.

Even with P/F at USF, for residency you will compete with lots of students from tiered systems. Their honors and high passes will look better than your regular pass too. I wasn't at the second look, but from what others have said, it seems like USF is considering that system so you can get those honors and high passes too.

From what I've heard, low passes are not like Cs. The impression others have given me is that high passes and honors are like bonuses. Like A vs. A+ vs. A++ in a sense. Have residency programs told you that they don't like low passes or did you just make that assumption?
 
slamdnkindrummr said:
Those people that "honor everything with ease" have as much time in their day as you do. Yes, everyone learns at their own pace, but why do you feel like you are at such a disadvantage? Also, there is a correlation between grades and board scores, so chances are getting honors in your classes will benefit your scores.

Even with P/F at USF, for residency you will compete with lots of students from tiered systems. Their honors and high passes will look better than your regular pass too. I wasn't at the second look, but from what others have said, it seems like USF is considering that system so you can get those honors and high passes too.

From what I've heard, low passes are not like Cs. The impression others have given me is that high passes and honors are like bonuses. Like A vs. A+ vs. A++ in a sense. Have residency programs told you that they don't like low passes or did you just make that assumption?[/QUOTE]
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its not an assuption but the n is small. I know a resident who is head of admissions for his residency. He told me they looked at GPA and board only. Cause I was asking him about the importance of rank, which he said they didnt care about. Now thats not true everywhere, but it is a better perspective than what you will get from someone on the outside.

Either way the only difference between a school that uses A, B, C and P, HP, H is the letters, otherwise its the same. A Pass is still a 70-79, thats a C. No semantics there. Why would I ever give someone an advantage for having a P instead of a C for the same number average? That would be just dumb. On a true pass/fail tho I would have no way to tell the GPA, so I would go with board scores.

But I am not gonna reply about this topic anymore. People who get it will get it, and those who dont care / or drink the coolaid will keep doing so. Enough information has been posted for people to make an informed decision, and I think thats the point.
 
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HandsomeRob said:
its not an assuption but the n is small. I know a resident who is head of admissions for his residency. He told me they looked at GPA and board only. Cause I was asking him about the importance of rank, which he said they didnt care about. Now thats not true everywhere, but it is a better perspective than what you will get from someone on the outside.

Either way the only difference between a school that uses A, B, C and P, HP, H is the letters, otherwise its the same. A Pass is still a 70-79, thats a C. No semantics there. Why would I ever give someone an advantage for having a P instead of a C for the same number average? That would be just dumb. On a true pass/fail tho I would have no way to tell the GPA, so I would go with board scores.

But I am not gonna reply about this topic anymore. People who get it will get it, and those who dont care / or drink the coolaid will keep doing so. Enough information has been posted for people to make an informed decision, and I think thats the point.
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Lol so in other words you don't want your C grades to indicate that you may be less qualified than A students. Why don't we make boards pass/fail so the students that barely pass aren't at a disadvantage? Haha I'm only kidding. I prefer pass/fail but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. The grading system will affect each individual's happiness according to how much importance they place on it themselves. I personally wouldn't stress too much about passing but others who have to be the best or don't want to look bad would.
 
Anyone looking for a roommate around June 1st PM me. Also can someone post a link to the Facebook group. Can't seem to find it. I found the USF Morsani fan page but not group.
 
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Accepted off the SELECT waitlist today as well! Does anyone know how to set up the email/USF account info? The link in the email brings me to the student portal, but I don't see anywhere to create an account. Still waiting on a few other waitlists, but will most likely see you all in the fall!
 
Congrats to you both!

Were you notified by email or a phone call from Dr. Daniel?
 
FindMeOnTheLinks said:
Seems like they accepted SELECT applicants off the waitlist today, hopefully tomorrow will be a CORE day
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Waiting intensifies
dhoyfz9.jpg
 
i interviewed april 6 and still haven't heard a peep 🙁
 
Accepted off the core waitlist this morning! Dr Daniel is so wonderful and USF has been incredibly applicant-friendly throughout this whole process. I'm proud to say I will be matriculating here in August! Go bulls!

Edit: out of state applicant with very close ties to florida. LizzyM 74.5
 
FindMeOnTheLinks said:
Accepted off the core waitlist this morning! Dr Daniel is so wonderful and USF has been incredibly applicant-friendly throughout this whole process. I'm proud to say I will be matriculating here in August! Go bulls!

Edit: out of state applicant with very close ties to florida. LizzyM 74.5
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Congrats! Did they call you when you were waitlisted or did it come in the mail?
 
Waitlisted SELECT. Still waiting.... as patiently as possible. 🙂. Anyone else in the same boat?
 
vitaminsee said:
Congrats! As a fellow call-waitlister, I hope I'm next...
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So apparently the way they notify us of waitlist status is their subtle way of telling us where we are on the waitlist? Is there any hope for those of us who were waitlisted via snail mail?
 
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