FIU vs USF vs UCF

[_m31_]

Already planned to enroll at FIU but recently got off the waitlist at USF and UCF...

A few things to note: I don't think I want to do a super competitive specialty (leaning towards IM, EM, genetics, path, or rads). I will be moving with my partner who will cover rent and other living expenses. And I have enough money saved up from my previous career to cover ~2 years of IS tuition + fees.

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FIU HWCOM

Pros

• Full tuition merit scholarship -- will graduate debt-free and be able to contribute to living expenses
• Despite the bad things I read about the school on Reddit, the students at second look seemed chill and happy -- they said the new dean has made improvements and admin is pretty responsive now
• Recently partnered with Baptist and is launching several joint residency programs, so they're trying to attract more research/academic-oriented physicians
• More diverse patient population
• P/F preclinicals

Cons

• Ranked T80 according to admit .org (was #106 in USNWR)
• Students I talked to admitted it's harder to find research and some do research at UMiami
• I don't speak Spanish
• Insane COL and traffic

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USF Morsani

Pros

• Ranked ~T40ish according to admit .org (was #50 in USNWR)
• Way more research opportunities
• Tampa General is a legit teaching hospital
• Match list is better but not THAT much better?

Cons

• Could graduate with up to $80k in loans -- they don't consider you for scholarships until you commit to enroll
• Bad vibes from admin/faculty -- during the info session, the Dr. who was presenting (I don't remember what her position was) said "I don't believe in work/life balance" and made other off-putting remarks that suggested the environment will be toxic af
• Graded (H/HP/P/F) preclinicals

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UCF COM

Pros

• Partial scholarship -- will likely graduate debt-free
• Just 2.5 hours from home -- easier to visit my family, plus my best friend is also starting a PhD program here
• One of my friends went here and had a good experience overall

Cons

• Ranked T70 according to admit .org (was #98 in USNWR)
• Partnered with HCA and have to travel quite a bit for some of the clinical rotations
• Every student is required to do a research project through the FIRE program, but I've heard it's hard to find additional research outside of that
• Located in a really ****ing boring area outside of Orlando
• Graded (H/HP/P/F) preclinicals

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As someone from a low SES family, the thought of giving up so much scholarship money (especially full tuition) makes me feel super nervous and guilty. Is the difference in prestige and the opportunities available at USF worth the additional cost?

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[harmonious_gazelle]

esp given that you know you are interested in something less competitive, FIU with the big scholarship is a great option!! Congrats for all your offers/success.

 

[DoneDone3451]

FIU!!!

 

[bluebeluga78]

Lol I know exactly what you're talking about, I was at one of the info sessions and that lady said the same thing. Totally bizarre! Idk if you were at USF's second look event, but I went and the current students said they didn't feel like it was a super high stress environment, for what ever that's worth...

If you don't care about competitive specialties, I don't see how Morsani's resources or perceived prestige would be worth 80k in loans, since you wouldn't need them to get where you wanna go. You kinda alluded to it, but for all Morsani's talk about research, the brand new buildings they've built, Tampa General/Moffitt, and their high average stats, the match list really isn't that impressive, which is all that really matters.

There are so many people who wish they were in your shoes! Congrats and good luck!

 

[ConfusedPremed3000]

I think FIU for the win! USF Morsani has many issues (match list issues with a good number not matching, competition within curriculum, bad vibes with limited admin support, and clinical experience not being as great); it seems these issues at Morsani are well-documented and common too unfortunately. Also, I think its ranking is also quite artificially inflated by admit, especially with USF gunning for high stat individuals (which is a big chunk of their ranking methodology) so the ranking boost/prestige seems to only give you a very very slight edge and I think the cheaper cost (I am a low-SES individual myself) seems like the best move.

Also, I did not apply to any of these 3 schools so I wanted to give that disclaimer.

 

[_m31_]

and clinical experience not being as great

Is there anything specific you've heard about the clinical experience not being great at Tampa General?

 

[ConfusedPremed3000]

Is there anything specific you've heard about the clinical experience not being great at Tampa General?

Sorry, I think I might have been quite vague with this. I think the competitive nature, unsupportive admin, and the H/HP/P/F grading there specifically (from what I have heard from certain students there) can be quite difficult and the grading can be subjective (which is probably the case at most schools with such grading). I think that just makes it harder to learn with the high stakes there specifically. I think in terms of meeting patients, its actually quite diverse and has great facilities (maybe not as much as Miami but still diverse).