nova md vs. wayne vs. fau vs. temple

[frozenyogurt123]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am waitlisted at all of these schools.

little bit about me: I was born in a suburb in NJ, moved to a suburb in CA at the age of 7 and have lived here ever since. I’m keeping an open mind specialty-wise since I don’t really know what I want to do (just that i’m not interested in primary care, although that may also change), so I’d like a school that would best prepare me for anything. I’m also very interested in research and health and med education. I went to a giant high school and an even bigger uni, and I’m not really keen on doing that again; however, having been in huge schools all my life, I think I’ll be okay regardless. I’d like to match back to CA or the east coast but it’s not a huge factor.

lastly, if there’s any important info about any of the schools i should know about, or if i got something wrong below please let me know!

nova (NSU MD)
pros—

• incorporates health tech, informatics directly into the curriculum (very interested in this)
• mandatory research component
• small class size + PBLs in even smaller groups
• lack of in-house rotations??
• weather

cons—

• very new school, although they recently achieved full accreditation
• clinical experiences are not as strong
• their DO school is a little problematic…not sure how that reflects on the MD
• interview experience was underwhelming. faculty seemed almost uninterested, and I heard they’re disorganized.
• RIA week (reflection week at the end of every block) just seems annoying
• no support system nearby

wayne (learned almost nothing about this school from their interview)
pros—

• med education, advocacy concentrations that i’m really interested in
• diverse patient population and many, many opportunities to get involved
• good availability of research

cons—

• GIANT class size
• lottery system for clinicals
• honors/pass/fail with internal ranking(?)
• nearest family is a distant cousin 2h away
• anticipated culture shock moving from a CA suburb to detroit

fau
pros—

• small class size and faculty seems super involved in students well-being
• curriculum threads & emphasis on interdsiciplinary med
• lots of research availability
• loved my interview here, felt very welcoming
• my childhood (and current) best friend just committed here so while I have no family nearby, I won’t be completely alone
• weather

cons—

• no family/support system besides the friend nearby
• LIC clerkship model sounded great to me in the interview but people on here don’t seem to like it (if anyone can give info on this i’d appreciate it!)
• less prestigious than wayne or temple (from what i can tell)
• student body doesn’t look very diverse

temple
pros—

• absolutely adored my interview experience here and I think I’ll fit in well
• students at the interview said it’s fairly easy to get shadowing opps and research is seemingly abundant as well
• strong match list across specialties
• diverse population and strong community service mission
• integrated ultrasound curriculum
• nearest family in PA is about an hour away but there’s a ton of them, both instate and in surrounding states as well

cons—

• relatively large class size (180) although apparently we’re split up into smaller colleges of ~30, and that’s who you’ll spend most of your time with
• location / anticipated culture shock
• heard that faculty is a little disorganized/hard to get a hold of
• only 8 weeks of anatomy (is this a pro or con?)
• in-house exams (can’t find this info for the other schools though)

 

[Bluesandstuff]

Only a few things actually matter:
Years 1-2: Board prep. How well are you prepared for the boards. How much dedicated study time do you get? AND many publications they’ll help you get matters too.

Years 3-4: Clinical. How much dedicated time do you get to study for step 2. Who has the most rotations at true academic centers with residency programs. (Probably not NOVA). If they are community rotations you should look at how secure those rotations area because a few in FM or EM is fun but IM, peds, surgery and all your subspecialty you want at the best teaching hospital possible.

The random classes, tracts and other things med schools advertise are mostly annoying busy work.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

I think Temple is probably the best of the bunch. Super underserved population. Since it vibed well with you, might be your best choice. Big but not as big as Wayne.

How do costs compare and do they matter to you ?

 

[chilly_md]

I am waitlisted at all of these schools.

It will likely come down to which of these you hear back from first. Schools often want an answer in a certain timeframe about whether you will attend.