It really sucks that someone's post on here is really discouraging people from FIU. It's definitely not perfect, but I've enjoyed my time here and believe my education has been great. I love my classmates and really hope we all stay in touch.
It sounds like you really prefer AZCOM for the fit and location. Do not underestimate this feeling because being happy in med school is super important. You will perform way better and simply have a better quality of life.
On FIU:
Pros:
"MD, keeps doors open particularly if I want to go into surgery"
Peds is not a competitive specialty overall to match into, however the more prestigious residencies will obviously be harder to attain. Overall MD is looked upon more favorably than DO by ACGME program directors. This appears to be even more exaggerated in gen surg. From what I've heard DOs have a harder time getting into ACGME gen surg. You will have no problem matching gen surg from FIU, but again matching in to the "elite" programs is going to require a lot of networking and obviously good stats, some research, etc. And even then it's no guarantee. I can't comment too much because I didn't pursue gen surg. For my specialty I will say that DOs appear to be at a distinct disadvantage for ACGME residencies, while myself and my classmates in my specialty did extremely well. Something also to consider is that (at least for my specialty) you will really have to take both the COMLEX and step exams. I personally do not recommend DO over MD to aspiring med students if they have the opportunity for MD, UNLESS you would be miserable at the MD school and/or super happy at the DO school. Like I said, your happiness in med school is extremely important and should factor heavily in your decision. I personally do not buy into the idea that DO med schools as a whole provide an inferior education, but you will have to jump through more hoops and could possibly close doors even though it's unfair. From what I understand many programs in my specialty, including the one I matched at, won't even interview a DO, so all things being equal, I wouldn't be there if I had attended a DO school. (This isn't to dissuade you from going to AZCOM, and to be fair there are great programs I interviewed with that do interview DOs, I just want you to have all the facts to make an informed decision.)
"High Step 1 scores (though this may be due to a “con” below)"
From what I've heard our step 1 average is around 240. There is no con about our score. We absolutely do phenomenal as a class. I have no doubt taking step 1 after third year will boost your score. There is one downside to this. If you are entering a specialty that requires away rotations in the beginning of fourth year, then it will probably take more legwork to secure them because a lot are going to want to see your step score. To my knowledge all of my classmates who needed aways were able to secure them including myself. (and we definitely had a decent amount of students who needed aways because we matched students into neurosurg, ENT, Ortho, EM, OB/GYN, Gen Surg etc). But you will have to be more aggressive in contacting programs to get your foot in the door. We talked to the administration about this and they are considering allowing some students to take step 1 a little earlier (like maybe a couple months before third year ends) so you could have your score by the time you apply for aways. I don't know if this will happen or not.
The other potential downside to taking step 1 a year later is that you don't know how competitive you are going to be if you are shooting for a really competitive specialty. I don't place too much stock in this because if you want something, work as hard as you can and seek out help to get a competitive score. If you are struggling in the first two years, chances are you will have a harder time studying for step 1 vs someone who was on top of their ****. Get help early and identify what you need to work on. Don't simply believe you are going to be that person who was in the bottom quartile of the class and magically rock a >250.
"Possibility of gaining in-state tuition? (Not sure how plausible this is)"
I wouldn't count on this. From what I understand it's quite difficult and I don't think many people actually do it. So in comparing schools I would just assume you will have to pay the out of state cost for FIU.
"A lot of culture and things to do in the Miami area"
I love Miami, but it's not for everyone. You just have to know yourself.
Cons:
"Lettered and curved grading system"
The curve always works in your favor. If it's a hard class and the average is lower, they will adjust for that. They aren't going to give you a 60 and say you passed. Say you get a 60 and that is right at the -1.7 SD, then from what I understand they will make that a 75 and the scores above a 60 will also be adjusted up accordingly. There are no lettered grades. The score is what will be represented in your transcript. For your first two years, honestly, program directors mostly care that you pass. If you look at the outcomes of the match you will see preclinical grades are low in this list of things the PD's care about, especially because seeing an "80" on a transcript is useless because they have no idea if it was a hard class or an easy class. What they will look at is your class rank which is represented in your deans letter. So in my opinion it really doesn't matter if you go to a school that is pass/fail, H/HP/P/F, or shows the number grade like FIU. Almost all schools rank you and that will be represented on your deans letter. Also, having number grades did not lead to any increased competition in my class. We all helped each other. The only real reason to "gun" for very high grades is to get AOA. Of course everyone should strive for their best, but don't be bummed if you aren't at the top. Another thing I liked about the curriculum is that we have frequent exams, basically one every two weeks during first and second year. At first it sounded like it was going to suck, but I think it is better than having huge blocks spaced out. The frequent exams mean you are studying a little every day so you don't get behind, and many times when it came to the comprehensive final I didn't feel like I needed to even study that much because I had been studying the whole time and had a good understanding already. Another amazing thing is that most of our finals are NBME tests. You will soon learn to appreciate this if you have them. In house exams suck at all schools, ours is no exception. You will learn to play the game for the in house exams, but having an nbme final is a huge benefit because it is easier to study for and will get you used to the vignettes and language used for step 1 and 2. I feel sorry for the students in schools that don't use nbme finals.
"Prosected cadavers (I know they say a cadaver is nothing like a living human body, but I think there is still something to student dissections)"
Anatomy is definitely our weak point. Every FIU student will tell you that. I don't think this is due to not having dissections. From talking with other students at different schools the dissections suck up a lot of time and dissecting through fat, fascia, etc isn't too beneficial. But obviously I haven't gone through it myself so I don't really know how effective each learning style is. I think prosections are a great tool, but we do need to mix it up with more whole body cadavers, better online learning, etc. The administration is very aware of our feelings and looking for ways to improve. So I really hope they fix it for you guys. From my understanding the reason the 4th year cadaver lab was only offered for one rotation was because they were testing it out on us. If it is well received then I would expect them to offer more rotation slots. But all of that being said, we perform well above average on the anatomy portion for the steps and I believe we perform very well clinically also.
"I’ve heard there are many busy assignments/homework or projects (like NHELP) that require a lot of time for little return"
Unfortunately this is very true. I've been told the busy work has been continually cut down each year, but my class did have to do a bunch of BS assignments. FIU is very big on the social determinants of health, interdisciplinary teamwork, etc. This was very attractive to me when I applied, but the work involved is very tedious and in my opinion doesn't provide much benefit. You learn to do those assignments quickly. I really hope they significantly cut these down. However, I don't think this is unique to FIU. I've heard of other schools doing interdisciplinary discussions/lectures and assignments, but I wouldn't doubt that we are above the national average in hours spent on this stuff. NHelp can be something nice on your resume, but overall the course and visits are not structured very well. The brunt of this is during second year. Luckily during third year you only do three visits so it doesn't suck up a lot of time (and you can get off from your rotation for the visit). But overall I wouldn't let this aspect prevent you from going to FIU. I didn't enjoy these lectures/assignments/etc but it wasn't that big of a deal in the big picture.
"Apparently many students (about 1/5) are forced to repeat 1st year (possibly to keep Step 1 scores high?) or forced to fail out"
No one is "forced" to fail out. We don't have some type of curve that fails you automatically if you fall below the -1.7 SD. To fail you have to get below a 75 AND be below the -1.7 SD. So if you get a 65, but the -1.7 SD is 65 then you pass. If the -1.7 SD is an 80 and you get a 75 then you still pass. The bottom line is that if you are failing multiple courses and/or barely passing all of your courses then you are at a very high risk of falling step 1 or barely passing. Failing any step exam is basically the kiss of death, so you don't want to rush in to taking step 1 if you are just barely passing your classes. I would definitely not let this factor in your decision because if you are failing classes here, you will be failing classes at any other med school. Also, the guy that heads the tutoring here is a great guy and really cares about helping students. I would say the majority of our instructors also really want students to do well. There are a few I really didn't like and/or were terrible teachers, but I imagine this is the same everywhere. In my opinion is doesn't really matter where you go for your first two years because you will largely be teaching yourself. We also have tegrity so you can watch lectures at home at your own speed (this was awesome for me).
"South Florida weather…so humid"
I love the weather here, but again it's not for everyone. The "winter" is great weather. I don't mind the summer humidity either. I much rather be here than snowed in somewhere up north. Plus you can go to the beach and swim in the ocean, go to the keys, fish, boat whatever all year long (and you will have free time as long as you manage your studies effectively).
"High COA $101, 874 (Tuition&Fees: $70,357) (but same as AZCOM)"
This is true and definitely sucks for those out of state. Definitely consider what your final loan amount is going to be and factor that in your decision. Huge debt is absolutely a big source of stress.
