Creighton vs U. of Central Florida(UCF)

[xschoolversusy]

Hi,

I'm looking for some help/advice in choosing between Creighton vs UCF. I PTE'd Creighton, but got off the waitlist at UCF on May 1st.

I am a Non-traditional Californian hoping to match to a residency back in California. The specialty I'm considering heavily at this point is Diagnostic Radiology, or potentially Psych, though it may all change. For those of you who might know of the culture at either of these schools, I'm more of an introvert than an extrovert. On my interview day, students seemed happy at both schools. In general, students were more outgoing at UCF vs slightly calmer at Creighton.

The differences:
Creighton
Pros - (1) More established school with more alumni across the country, higher PD rating in 2017 (latest I could find)
(2) F/P/HP(top 10%) pre-clinical years
(3) Closer to home & family in California, especially so during yrs 3 & 4, which I would spend at the PHX, AZ campus.
(4) 6 weeks of dedicated board prep at end of Yr 2
(5) Has its own DR and Psych residency programs at community hospitals in PHX (not sure if this matters as I want to match Cali)

Cons - (1) more costly tuition ($17K/yr, or $68K/4yrs more expensive than UCF)
(2) Not much to do outside of school in Omaha for the first two years
(3) Smaller Asian population in Omaha compared to Orlando (for food and cultural familiarity)
(4) PHX campus(M3, M4) was relatively newly established in 2012
(5) lower step 1 average of ~230 ish. (though Step 1 will be P/F by the time I apply to residency)
(6) less ethnical diversity in students

Other considerations - (1) Will spend M3, M4 clinical years in Phoenix, AZ
(2) I'm Christian, so a Jesuit school might provide a good fit, though I personally didn't perceive that the student body is very religious
(3) Matches in 2020 (out of a class of 160) : 10 or 11 to DR, 10ish to Psych
(4) New curriculum - Yrs 1&2 are broken down into organ systems, with longitudinal clinical skills training all throughout
(5) Project Cura- opportunities to go abroad to serve during summer in between yr 1& 2


UCF
Pros - (1) $44K tuition ($17K/yr cheaper than Creighton)
(2) Has a mandatory research program called FIRE, that has been effective for residency placements
(3) Higher step 1 average of around ~236 (might not matter since it'll be P/F for my class)
(4) larger Asian population on Orlando, more things to do outside of school
(5) More ethnical diversity among students
(6) New teaching hospital to be built in time for our class
(7) has a large VA rotation site right next to campus

Cons - (1) Graded pre-clinical years
(2) Does not have its own DR residency program (might not matter)
(3) A much newer school of the two (lower residency PD ratings), but has competitive matches, to be fair
(4) Further from home, for all 4 years
(5) 20% ish more expensive cost of living (rent expense in orlando)
(6) 4 weeks of dedicated
(7) Lost a rotational site with one of its hospital networks

Other considerations - (1) Matches in 2020 (out of ~130 students): 9 DR, 6 Psych
(1) Yr 1 curriculum: basic sciences + integrated research and clinical course
Yr 2 curriculum: organ systems + integrated research and clinical course

Thanks for any advice and opinions!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[SinglePayerNow]

This is a tough one. I feel like you would be happy at UCF because of diversity, location, and price. Yeah, years 3&4 you would be far from home though. Dedicated time shouldn't matter that much b/d of USMLE p/f. Matches are only slightly better at Creighton for your specialties. So I vote UCF

 

[Davidfromcali]

If you want more to do than Orlando is the way to go; I believe a lot of students live in downtown Orlando too. UCF sounds like the better choice. Overall, it seems like your pros at UCF are stronger than Creighton as well