2024-2025 University of Central Florida (UCF)

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+1 II IS received 10/28 via email, complete 7/16
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If any current UCF medical students are looking at this, please DM me if you're willing to help a homie out! I have a couple of questions about the school and student life 🙂 Thank you
 
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OOS II received earlier this week LM 74, this school is awesome so really looking forward to it. app completed early July
 
abzenz said:
In what order are applications processed/viewed? I've been complete since 7/2 but have had no response yet
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They are not necessarily reviewed first in, first out. We will look at many bird's eye factors like GPA, MCAT, state of residency, etc. and then batch and pass along to the screeners for an in depth review for interview consideration. If an applicant is selected for an interview they will be emailed with next steps. If they are not, they likely will not hear anything until after we have concluded interviews or nearly concluded interviews.
 
LaurelePoole said:
Not necessarily. It just depends on where you are on the list. I will send more specifics regarding placement on the list in November, when there are more people on it and I can more accurately identify likelihood of acceptance over time.
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Any chance to hear back soon?
 
After an interview and the open house, does anyone know how quickly the admissions committee reviews the applicant and gives a decision? I’m sure it varies but just wanted to ask! Thanks
 
Is there suggested attire for the interviewee virtual visit?
 
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are there any current students I can ask questions to? would be super helpful!
 
Would a combined update letter and letter of interest add any value in the eyes of the admissions committee? I've received IIs and As from very good schools already, however UCF's proximity to my family makes it one of my top choices.
 
Been quiet now for a while... next batch of II's coming out soon hopefully!!
Awkward Cricket GIF
 
Currently OOS waitlisted (back on October 15, interviewed in Sept) but upper 1/3... any advice on writing a letter of intent? This is my favorite school and I hope to express interest but I know writing an LOI will not affect my waitlist position
 
+1 OOS II just now! Complete 11/15. Several dates available soon - I scheduled for this Thursday.
 
Hello! My name is Cristian. I am a second year medical student at UCFCOM and one of our Knights Ambassadors.
Popping in to say hey - feel free to reply and ask any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Laurel always does a fantastic job of keeping applicants in the loop about the process, and I am here to provide any information about the school from the perspective of a current student.
Congrats to all who have been accepted so far, good luck to all who have interviewed/are on the WL, and I hope to hear from you all soon!
Cheers.
 
Cristian Guerrero said:
Hello! My name is Cristian. I am a second year medical student at UCFCOM and one of our Knights Ambassadors.
Popping in to say hey - feel free to reply and ask any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Laurel always does a fantastic job of keeping applicants in the loop about the process, and I am here to provide any information about the school from the perspective of a current student.
Congrats to all who have been accepted so far, good luck to all who have interviewed/are on the WL, and I hope to hear from you all soon!
Cheers.
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Hi there! Do you know if waitlist movement happens throughout the cycle or will it primarily be towards the end of the cycle?
 
difficultturtle said:
Hi there! Do you know if waitlist movement happens throughout the cycle or will it primarily be towards the end of the cycle?
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This might be a good question for Laurel, but I will try my best to answer.
To my recollection, much of the waitlist movement occurs at the end of the cycle. This is because, at that time, students with multiple acceptances are narrowing down their list to plan-to-enroll and finally their commit-to-enroll programs. The wonderful and really humanizing thing about applying to UCF Med is that, historically, admissions will tell you what quarter of the waitlist you are on and historically the odds that someone in your position will be extended an offer. That is not to say that WL movement ONLY occurs during that period- I believe it is just more likely.
Hope that helps!

Edit: I remember how tough the waiting period was during my application cycle. We put in so much time and energy during this process - ECs, LORs, secondaries, interviews. It is normal and common to feel anxiety during these days. However, I will encourage you to enjoy this time to the fullest extent you are able. If you are a traditional student, enjoy your Junior/Senior years (some days I look back on undergrad with a sense of nostalgia). If you are a nontraditional student with gap years, enjoy any free time you have by taking up a hobby or watching a movie or binging a show. And please do not feel the need to study/prepare for med school at this moment, you will have more than enough time to study medicine when you're here lol
 
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Cristian Guerrero said:
This might be a good question for Laurel, but I will try my best to answer.
To my recollection, much of the waitlist movement occurs at the end of the cycle. This is because, at that time, students with multiple acceptances are narrowing down their list to plan-to-enroll and finally their commit-to-enroll programs. The wonderful and really humanizing thing about applying to UCF Med is that, historically, admissions will tell you what quarter of the waitlist you are on and historically the odds that someone in your position will be extended an offer. That is not to say that WL movement ONLY occurs during that period- I believe it is just more likely.
Hope that helps!
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It does, thank you so much for your time and explanation!
 
Is UCF yet another med school that ghosts applicants it has no interest in, or does it treat ALL applicants in a humanizing manner and at least send R's when it is sure there is no shot at interviewing?
 
L-Tex-Oma said:
Is UCF yet another med school that ghosts applicants it has no interest in, or does it treat ALL applicants in a humanizing manner and at least send R's when it is sure there is no shot at interviewing?
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My experience was pretty straightforward. I interviewed near the end of the cycle and was extended an A.
I would encourage you to refer to previous years threads for an idea of how movement works. I can imagine it is a daunting task to discuss thousands of applicants' files, and the odds of someone slipping through are nonzero.
HOWEVER, from what I gather from my peers, the experience was generally positive. This was a sharp contrast to my at-the-time "dream" program, which waitlisted me and had the audacity to defer my decision close to the CTE deadline.
 
Cristian Guerrero said:
Hello! My name is Cristian. I am a second year medical student at UCFCOM and one of our Knights Ambassadors.
Popping in to say hey - feel free to reply and ask any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Laurel always does a fantastic job of keeping applicants in the loop about the process, and I am here to provide any information about the school from the perspective of a current student.
Congrats to all who have been accepted so far, good luck to all who have interviewed/are on the WL, and I hope to hear from you all soon!
Cheers.
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Hello! Thank you so much for your in depth replies! I have a couple of questions regarding UCFCOM.

1. I know the curriculum changed starting with the first years now but how much of lectures are mandatory? Is there an option to watch a recorded version or are students required to go in person? I guess, on average, how many days of the week have mandatory in person session?

2. How do you think UCF being partnered with HCA has affected students? There is a very bad stigma surrounding the HCA hospital system and I’m worried about what that means for rotations for UCF students especially since they don’t get to rotate at Orlando health and advent health.

3. Do you think UCF prepares students well to pursue competitive specialties that they might not have a home program to, such as ophthalmology? Do they provide you with connections and/or resources to ensure that those pursuing competitive specialties match? I guess I’m essentially asking about the level of guidance they offer.

Thank you so much, Cristian! It’s so helpful to have a student answer all these questions especially since you’re so busy. Sorry about all the questions! 🙂
 
jellybean223 said:
Hello! Thank you so much for your in depth replies! I have a couple of questions regarding UCFCOM.

1. I know the curriculum changed starting with the first years now but how much of lectures are mandatory? Is there an option to watch a recorded version or are students required to go in person? I guess, on average, how many days of the week have mandatory in person session?

2. How do you think UCF being partnered with HCA has affected students? There is a very bad stigma surrounding the HCA hospital system and I’m worried about what that means for rotations for UCF students especially since they don’t get to rotate at Orlando health and advent health.

3. Do you think UCF prepares students well to pursue competitive specialties that they might not have a home program to, such as ophthalmology? Do they provide you with connections and/or resources to ensure that those pursuing competitive specialties match? I guess I’m essentially asking about the level of guidance they offer.

Thank you so much, Cristian! It’s so helpful to have a student answer all these questions especially since you’re so busy. Sorry about all the questions! 🙂
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Hi! Going to answer these to the best of my ability.
  1. I am in the old preclinical curriculum currently, but M2s are paired with M1 mentors so a lot of what I know comes from my first-year counterpart. Lectures won't take a large emphasis in the new curriculum. There are 'brick' readings on ScholarRX and case-based learning which happens maybe twice a week.
  2. My knowledge on this is limited in that I am still in my preclinical years. Next year I will be in my rotations. What I will say is that students aren't significantly limited as a result of our affiliation with HCA. Yes, OrlandoHealth and Advent (formerly Florida Hospital) are significant providers in the Central Florida area. However, we still occasionally have doctors affiliated with OrlandoHealth and Advent as guest lecturers. Furthermore, students still have the opportunity to observe physicans in these hospitals in their free time or conduct their FIRE project with these MDs.
  3. I will let the attached match results speak for themselves. Last year the class of 2024 matched into ortho, derm, and other competitive specialties - at top-ranking programs too. There is extensive guidance during our 4 years regarding match, and a plethora of resources.
If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to reach out. It is my pleasure, I enjoy providing guidance because it reminds me of how excited I was when I began my journey and recharges me. Also I am procrastinating studying for my GI/Renal final but we won't dwell on that
 

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Cristian Guerrero said:
My experience was pretty straightforward. I interviewed near the end of the cycle and was extended an A.
I would encourage you to refer to previous years threads for an idea of how movement works. I can imagine it is a daunting task to discuss thousands of applicants' files, and the odds of someone slipping through are nonzero.
HOWEVER, from what I gather from my peers, the experience was generally positive. This was a sharp contrast to my at-the-time "dream" program, which waitlisted me and had the audacity to defer my decision close to the CTE deadline.
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OK. Since you did interview and got an A, and your peers did too, y'all are probably not really aware of how they handle R's and whether they ghost. Thanks anyway, man.
 
Cristian Guerrero said:
Hi! Going to answer these to the best of my ability.
  1. I am in the old preclinical curriculum currently, but M2s are paired with M1 mentors so a lot of what I know comes from my first-year counterpart. Lectures won't take a large emphasis in the new curriculum. There are 'brick' readings on ScholarRX and case-based learning which happens maybe twice a week.
  2. My knowledge on this is limited in that I am still in my preclinical years. Next year I will be in my rotations. What I will say is that students aren't significantly limited as a result of our affiliation with HCA. Yes, OrlandoHealth and Advent (formerly Florida Hospital) are significant providers in the Central Florida area. However, we still occasionally have doctors affiliated with OrlandoHealth and Advent as guest lecturers. Furthermore, students still have the opportunity to observe physicans in these hospitals in their free time or conduct their FIRE project with these MDs.
  3. I will let the attached match results speak for themselves. Last year the class of 2024 matched into ortho, derm, and other competitive specialties - at top-ranking programs too. There is extensive guidance during our 4 years regarding match, and a plethora of resources.
If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to reach out. It is my pleasure, I enjoy providing guidance because it reminds me of how excited I was when I began my journey and recharges me. Also I am procrastinating studying for my GI/Renal final but we won't dwell on that
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wow, thank you so much for all that information! It’s so so beyond helpful to have a student answer all these questions, so I really appreciate it. Also, thanks for attaching that match list, it’s very impressive! Good luck on your final!!! 🙂
 
Hi @Cristian Guerrero, thanks for taking the time to do this!! I had a few questions about the letter grading system, which I’m assuming has carried over to the new curriculum as well? Could you share your thoughts on whether you feel this system requires UCF students to input much more study time in the preclinical phase to get ‘decent’ grades (mostly As, some Bs) compared to students at P/F schools? Does it affect your ability to participate in other activities (community service, research, etc.)? Also, do you feel like it increases competition among students?

Another thing I was wondering is whether you have internal rankings and if so, what format do they take (ex. quartile, decile, numerical ranking, etc.) and are they shared with residency programs?

Thanks again!
 
baby_doctor said:
Hi @Cristian Guerrero, thanks for taking the time to do this!! I had a few questions about the letter grading system, which I’m assuming has carried over to the new curriculum as well? Could you share your thoughts on whether you feel this system requires UCF students to input much more study time in the preclinical phase to get ‘decent’ grades (mostly As, some Bs) compared to students at P/F schools? Does it affect your ability to participate in other activities (community service, research, etc.)? Also, do you feel like it increases competition among students?

Another thing I was wondering is whether you have internal rankings and if so, what format do they take (ex. quartile, decile, numerical ranking, etc.) and are they shared with residency programs?

Thanks again!
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Hi! Yes, you are correct. In a way, tiered grading is still part of the new curriculum, albeit a little different. Whereas before grading was A, B, C, Fail, now it is Honors, High Pass, Pass, Fail. In my opinion, a Pass looks better than a C so the incoming classes are at a bit of an advantage. Most undergraduate institutions have a A-F system, so it won't necessarily be foreign. A few months ago, I attended a conference in California and learned that residency program directors kind of despise this movement to pure P/F because with P/F Step 1 they can't gauge how much you learned in your pre-clinical years. In that sense, UCFMed students are at an advantage.
I don't think that it requires students to put in more time to get decent grades. If anything, it may incentivize us to learn our material and know it well. The majority of us land in that A-B range, and in the rare instances that an individual does not pass, the program does a good job of making sure that we gain proficiency in those areas by some sort of remediation. It doesn't increase competition perse. Our class doesn't have real 'gunners' that sabotage others. The trend seems to be that people share resources that they find helpful.
Ranking is on a quartile basis and are shared with residency programs.

Hope this helps. Take care and good luck in the coming months!
 
I got waitlisted (IS upper third), and I am curious about the likelihood of an applicant moving down or up the waitlist? is it typical for applicants to move between tiers, for example, from top third to the middle third or etc.
 
emstar31 said:
I got waitlisted (IS upper third), and I am curious about the likelihood of an applicant moving down or up the waitlist? is it typical for applicants to move between tiers, for example, from top third to the middle third or etc.
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This is my concern too. I hope we can get an answer from Mrs. Poole.
 
OOS A! Does anyone know if this school is competitive for residency? I’m OOS so haven’t heard a ton about it!! Looking forward to the Jan 30 accepted students day
 
llk20 said:
OOS A! Does anyone know if this school is competitive for residency? I’m OOS so haven’t heard a ton about it!! Looking forward to the Jan 30 accepted students day
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January 30th is just an open house! Accepted students can attend but they usually do an accepted-only Preview Day for students later in April. I also believe this school is competitive for residency but I would check out their Match Lists for the past few years.
 
+1 OOS A! To clarify, accepting this offer is not binding right?
 
SoftPotatoKing said:
Would a combined update letter and letter of interest add any value in the eyes of the admissions committee? I've received IIs and As from very good schools already, however UCF's proximity to my family makes it one of my top choices.
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You are welcome to send a letter of interest and we are still accepting updates. It never hurts to show interest. I always check to see where someone is at when we get emails from applicants saying they are still very interest in our program.
 
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