A little help here you guys, in need of educated advice

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

FloridaMedicine

Bring it on.....
10+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Messages
377
Reaction score
0
Hey you guys this has probably been asked before and if it has I'm sorry I literally just found about this website perhaps someone can link me to the page that answers what I'm going to ask. I'm one semester away from transferring schools and I'm doing really good. Great GPA, a bunch of EC's, and even some research. My question is do you guys feel its necessary to go to the best state school or is any state university good for applying to med school? In my case University of Florida and University of Miami are probably the top schools in Florida but I'm considering going somewhere I know people like friends and fam. However the schools in those locations are average at best, you know schools no one ever really talks about. Would you guys go to the best state school or do you guys think it doesn't matter and just go to any school? Thanks in advance.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Go to the school that you feel more comfortable at. Unless you're coming from Yale or Harvard I don't think that the name or reputation of the school is going to pull as much weight as the grades you get and the extracurricular activities you participate in at whatever school you decide to attend.
 
Go to the school that you feel more comfortable at. Unless you're coming from Yale or Harvard I don't think that the name or reputation of the school is going to pull as much weight as the grades you get and the extracurricular activities you participate in at whatever school you decide to attend.


Pretty sound advice thanks. Well let me ask you this, if I wanted to go to University of Florida Med school, do you think i would get preference if i went there for undergrad too?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Go to the cheapest school where you can make excellent grades. Bonus if you are near family and friends so long as they are supportive of your academic goals. In general, your undergrad does not matter and you are typically not given preference at the co-located med school, so do not worry about that.
 
Go to the cheapest school where you can make excellent grades. Bonus if you are near family and friends so long as they are supportive of your academic goals. In general, your undergrad does not matter and you are typically not given preference at the co-located med school, so do not worry about that.


Lol thanks, I got to say I love the idea of going to cheapest school. Thanks for the feedback
 
Go wherever makes you happiest. Regardless of what people may think on here, any US school is going to give you the education you need. It's not worth spending 4 years of your life unhappy because you think you're getting some sort of superior education.
 
Lol thanks, I got to say I love the idea of going to cheapest school. Thanks for the feedback

What other schools are you looking at? I currently go to UF and I can vouch for it being an excellent institution, but as others have said, go where the money is within reason. If I were you I would apply as transfer to UF, USF, UM (probably too expensive), FSU, and FIU.

As for UF undergrad getting you into UF COM, that does not happen. It's all about stats and the interview.
 
Go wherever makes you happiest. Regardless of what people may think on here, any US school is going to give you the education you need. It's not worth spending 4 years of your life unhappy because you think you're getting some sort of superior education.

Yeah theres alot of conflicting advice out there. I have been told i need to go to the best state school by many people and advisors (why is it advisors always advise the wrong info? :confused:). My GPA is a a 3.86 and I have been told it means nothing unless i go to a "great" school not an average one. So hearing this made me very worried.
 
Just because you go to Mayo Medical School doesn't mean you're going to be a great doctor, and just because you go to (insert school with a poor image) doesn't mean you'll be a sub-standard doctor.
 
What other schools are you looking at? I currently go to UF and I can vouch for it being an excellent institution, but as others have said, go where the money is within reason. If I were you I would apply as transfer to UF, USF, UM (probably too expensive), FSU, and FIU.

As for UF undergrad getting you into UF COM, that does not happen. It's all about stats and the interview.

Currently I'm in jacksonville not too far from UF, i was thinking of staying in Jax and going to UNF but I do love UF its just I know nobody and i would have to spend money to get an apt over there. I've been to tampa and love USF but it would be too much distractions for me there so I'm considering UNF, UCF, and UF. UNF and UF being my top choices. Whats your major at UF?
 
Just because you go to Mayo Medical School doesn't mean you're going to be a great doctor, and just because you go to (insert school with a poor image) doesn't mean you'll be a sub-standard doctor.

My thoughts exactly but the transition from college to med school is one of the most stressful transitions ever. And with so much conflicting advice out there I wanted to make sure I did this the right way the first time. But thanks I totally agree
 
Yeah theres alot of conflicting advice out there. I have been told i need to go to the best state school by many people and advisors (why is it advisors always advise the wrong info? :confused:). My GPA is a a 3.86 and I have been told it means nothing unless i go to a "great" school not an average one. So hearing this made me very worried.

The only thing that a "great" school would offer is more research opportunities seeing as there are probably more faculty, better and more facilities, and more funding. But there's another side to this which I didn't realize until I got to UF. Big schools mean big competition... FOR EVERYTHING, whether it be a volunteer position in a lab, a job on campus, or even classes (ones that fill up quickly). Therefore, depending on the type of person you are, a smaller school offering interesting research and ECs might be the perfect match, especially if you don't want to have to break your neck to get things done. I have still been able to find research (still awaiting final word) and a job, but it has been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.


Hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck.
 
The only thing that a "great" school would offer is more research opportunities seeing as there are probably more faculty, better and more facilities, and more funding. But there's another side to this which I didn't realize until I got to UF. Big schools mean big competition... FOR EVERYTHING, whether it be a volunteer position in a lab, a job on campus, or even classes (ones that fill up quickly). Therefore, depending on the type of person you are, a smaller school offering interesting research and ECs might be the perfect match, especially if you don't want to have to break your neck to get things done. I have still been able to find research (still awaiting final word) and a job, but it has been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.


Hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck.

Actually that helps alot, I haven't even considered any of that yet. May I ask how far are you at UF? Freshman, sophmore, Junior, Senior? It makes alot of sense. Are you happy at UF or if you had the chance would you have gone to another school?
 
Currently I'm in jacksonville not too far from UF, i was thinking of staying in Jax and going to UNF but I do love UF its just I know nobody and i would have to spend money to get an apt over there. I've been to tampa and love USF but it would be too much distractions for me there so I'm considering UNF, UCF, and UF. UNF and UF being my top choices. Whats your major at UF?

My major right now is Psychology, however, I'm planning to declare Neurobiological Sciences. I knew no one when I came here and I am put further into debt every semester (according to FAFSA my family is loaded), but I would have to say it's worth it because of the quality of education and just how many different things there are to get involved in around here. But, this school has taught me a lot about self-motivation and self-reliance due to the impersonality associated with going to a university with 50K students. If impersonality is an issue for you, then don't go to UCF or UF. As far as there being too many distractions in Tampa, I think you should take another look because if I had to pick a second-choice school in FL it would be USF (they are currently thriving in biomedical research and climbing the ranks as a result).

This is my first semester, but I came in with 51 credits which makes me a second semester sophomore according to my unofficial transcript.
 
My major right now is Psychology, however, I'm planning to declare Neurobiological Sciences. I knew no one when I came here and I am put further into debt every semester (according to FAFSA my family is loaded), but I would have to say it's worth it because of the quality of education and just how many different things there are to get involved in around here. But, this school has taught me a lot about self-motivation and self-reliance due to the impersonality associated with going to a university with 50K students. If impersonality is an issue for you, then don't go to UCF or UF. As far as there being too many distractions in Tampa, I think you should take another look because if I had to pick a second-choice school in FL it would be USF (they are currently thriving in biomedical research and climbing the ranks as a result).

This is my first semester, but I came in with 51 credits which makes me a second semester sophomore according to my unofficial transcript.


Wow I didn't know USF was doing so well. Impersonality is not an issue for me at all, I got to say with that last post you are selling that school lol. Im considering it more now. Neurobiological Sciences? Now thats a major. I'm going to schedule a tour in two weeks and check it out. Maybe I'll see you around but thanks for all your advice
 
Top