Pre-Vet UF vs. UCF

[Nena01]

Pre-Vet UF vs. UCF
I'm having a hard time deciding between UCF or UF for my undergraduate Pre-Vet studies. UF is the only veterinary medicine school in Florida so that's probably where I'm going for graduate school. I got accepted to UCF for the summer and also applied to UF for the summer. I believe I have a pretty good chance of getting into UF as my SAT score is 1340/2040, my bright futures GPA is 4.34 and I have a pretty good amount of EC's.

I'm leaning towards UCF right now because I think there is more opportunity for job internships and community service. I also received the Pegasus Gold and I'm applying to the Honors college.

However, I've heard a lot people tell me that it's better if I got to UF for undergrad because it would make it easier to get into vet school, although this probably isn't true. I also know that UF has better academics overall..

Does anyone have any advice for me??

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[r00]

Go to UCF because I will be going there as well... lol actually both my wife and I will be going there. Same Biology Preprofessional major, but hers is for people med school and mine will be for vet school at UF.

Going to UF may make it easier to get into vet school at UF but if you check the stats only about 1/2 of the students accepted each year are from UF. I would assume that the admissions people appreciate (and are probably required to accept) people from a diverse range of schools.

On a side note - if you do decide to go to UCF we could get together and study with us... especially if we can plan to take some of the same classes at the same time

 

[Jezz1226]

I believe UF's official position is that they do not give preferential treatment to those who went there for undergrad, yet looking at the actual numbers and knowing those who have applied/been accepted in the past I would say it certainly doesn't hurt going there for undergrad and may be a slight boost. However, I would say go wherever you think you would be happiest for undergrad, if you do well at UCF and get the experiences you need during the next four years you would certainly have a good shot (in my opinion anyways) of getting into UF for vet school. One other thing I would check at UCF is to see if they offer an Intro to Animal Science class and an Animal Nutrition class, as these are both required for UF's vet school and if they do not offer it you would have to take it somewhere else (not a big deal since you can just take it online, but something to make sure you remember to do before graduation).

I'm currently a senior undergrad at UF so if you have any specific questions you'd like to ask feel free to pm me with them.

 

[QuarterHorseGal]

I went to UF for undergrad and during the application process to vet school, an advisor explicitly told me I should have gone to UCF because they are required to accept students from there and the competition is not as stiff. However, I am glad I went to UF and wouldn't trade it, the athletic teams here are awesome and I would really not like living in Orlando. Also, I don't know if UCF is like this, but a good majority of the pre-reqs are med/dent/vet/etc. school "weed out" classes and they kind of want people to fail or withdraw. It seems with a smaller class size, this could be less likely.

 

[Skillet9886]

I recently asked one of my friends who just finished up her first semester at UF vet school about her class. Of 88 seats, 80 are in state (that's published on the UF website). She estimated -- and it was a rough estimate -- that about 40 of those were from UF undergrad. When I was in high school I talked to someone at the vet school, and he told me that although they don't technically give preferential treatment to UF students, they do accept more UF students than any other single institution.

It might be true that competition is less stiff at UCF, I wouldn't know, but I think that the resources at UF make up for it. I have had 2 jobs at the vet school that really added to my resume. The Dean is also always willing to meet with students to discuss their application status. The former Dean encouraged students to meet with him once a semester for all four years to make sure that they are on track and he would offer any advice he saw fit. I have met with the current dean several times, and he has offered advice pertaining to my application. Also (blowing my cover a bit here), I have been an officer in the UF Pre-Vet Club since my sophomore year, and see this as a great resource. I know a ton of people from the club who are currently in vet school, and the speakers and activities the club has are really great. I don't know if UCF has a pre-vet club, I would imagine that they do, but I can say that UF's pre-vet club is a huge and valuable resource.

Honestly, if you get into UF, I would definitely say to go. I wouldn't trade the past few years for anything. I'm so glad I came here. Since you said it I don't feel bad reiterating it...UF has a stronger academic program in general, and vet schools do take that into consideration. UF vet school knows exactly what UF undergraduate courses entail and how much work goes into them.

Like Jezz1226 said, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about UF undergrad or pre-vet club and curriculum.

 

[Nena01]

Thank you guys for your advice!

I'm wondering whether there is enough opportunity for internships/jobs in vet clinics at UF. Since it's such a small town, I imagine there is a lot of competition for these types of opportunities. Wouldn't I have more opportunity to build up my resume in a big city such as Orlando?

Also, how is Gainesville apart from all the college life. Since I'm going to be in school for eight years or more, I don't want to get tired of living in Gainesville since it's such a small city, and I'm sure I'll get over the whole partying stage pretty quickly.

 

[Skillet9886]

There is competition for tech jobs up here, but it's not impossible. I know a ton of people who have jobs at vet clinics. And you can also volunteer at most places...depending on who you ask, this is just as good as a paid position as far as vet schools are concerned. It also very often leads to a paid position. I haven't worked as a tech up here because my class schedule and pre-vet club have taken too much of my time during business hours to work out. Had I needed a lot more experience to be competitive I could easily have shifted my classes around and gotten a job. Anyway, if you want to get a job in Gainesville, you can. Even though it's a smaller town, there are 85 thousand vet clinics here. You just have to be persistent and apply everywhere. You can also volunteer and/or work at the vet school. Like I said, I haven't had a tech job at a hospital up here, but I have had jobs working with dogs and with horses in different research projects at the vet school.

I'm not sure what your interests are, but I definitely love Gainesville. I'm not much of a partier; I go out on occasion, but it's not my main form of entertainment. UF always has speakers and shows, and there are other things to do both in and around Gainesville. And you can't ignore the sports...I've gone to every home football game and most basketball games since I enrolled. The other thing I like about UF is that it's a daytrip away from a lot of bigger cities. Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa are all about an hour and a half away, and Atlanta's about a 5 hour drive. You could also go to Tallahassee, I guess, but I don't see why you would want to.

 

[Jezz1226]

There is competition for tech jobs up here, but it's not impossible. I know a ton of people who have jobs at vet clinics. And you can also volunteer at most places...depending on who you ask, this is just as good as a paid position as far as vet schools are concerned. It also very often leads to a paid position. I haven't worked as a tech up here because my class schedule and pre-vet club have taken too much of my time during business hours to work out. Had I needed a lot more experience to be competitive I could easily have shifted my classes around and gotten a job. Anyway, if you want to get a job in Gainesville, you can. Even though it's a smaller town, there are 85 thousand vet clinics here. You just have to be persistent and apply everywhere. You can also volunteer and/or work at the vet school. Like I said, I haven't had a tech job at a hospital up here, but I have had jobs working with dogs and with horses in different research projects at the vet school.

I'm not sure what your interests are, but I definitely love Gainesville. I'm not much of a partier; I go out on occasion, but it's not my main form of entertainment. UF always has speakers and shows, and there are other things to do both in and around Gainesville. And you can't ignore the sports...I've gone to every home football game and most basketball games since I enrolled. The other thing I like about UF is that it's a daytrip away from a lot of bigger cities. Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa are all about an hour and a half away, and Atlanta's about a 5 hour drive. You could also go to Tallahassee, I guess, but I don't see why you would want to.

Skillet9886 has said pretty much all that I could (and worded better than I most likely would have as well ). Just to add that the fact that it is a college town is rather nice in many ways, since a lot of the town is geared toward that age group, and not just in a "partying" way either. Also, if you enjoy the outdoors and the water there is always Lake Wauberg and Payne's Prairie. And in my opinion Gainesville is really not all that small, yes it smaller than Miami, Orlando, etc., but in the grand scheme of things there are many many smaller towns out there.

 

[Nena01]

Thank you everyone for your input!!

I guess I'm going to wait to hear back from UF in February. I'm also applying to a bunch of scholarships so it'll make up for the scholarship that UCF offered me. I will most likely end up going to UF because I feel like a lot of my "slacker" friends who did not work as hard as me in high school are getting accepted to UCF and it will feel like I wasted my time working as hard as I worked to get into UF. =]

 

[TurtleLover]

I would just like to add, as a UCF graduate, that the reason there are more people in the UF vet school form UF, is because they have more people from their school applying to their vet program, than the other schools. Statistically, it's going to end up that way.

I personally loved UCF and would not consider it to be a "slacker" school. I personally didn't apply to UF because when I applied to colleges, most were for marine biology programs. But UCF has a very strong biology and pre-med program. They are still an up and coming school, but getting better and more competitive. I know their avg SAT score last year was around a 1270, which has definitely gone up.

I feel it's not completely about the school you go to, but what you put into the school and you get from it. Yes, a lot of classes are weed outs in the beginning, but the upper level classes usually have no more than 60 students and the teachers really get to know you. Also, if you're interested in research, UCF is well known for their research.

However, UCF does not offer many animal geared classes, I have pretty much taken them all. And you would have to take the intro to animal science and animal nutrition elsewhere or the summer before you start UF vet school. The classes I found helpful at UCF are Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, Animal Physiology, and Animal Behavior. Unfortunately, that's pretty much the extent of our animal based classes, unless you take herpetology, icthyology, embryology, etc.

UCF also has a pre-vet society. I was a founding member. It has had it's rough times, but is slowly getting better. And we used to do trips to UF to help out with their operation cat nips until their required an extra day for orientation and a rabies shot, I believe.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't hate on UCF. Their program is good and there are a lot of vets out here willing to help you learn, but you do kind of have to get lucky to find one to train you to be a tech with no kennel experience.

I would say if you are worried about the two extra classes, then I would go to UF. Their pre-vet club is also more organized and will probably offer you more than UCF's pre vet society. So the decision is really up to you. I just wanted to make sure you heard from both sides.

Just beware, that UF won't even consider you for their vet school unless you get a minimum GRE score of 1100 for in state or 1200 out of state. So going to UF or UCF won't matter unless you have that score. But based on your SAT score, you probably won't have a problem getting that.

 

[nyanko]

I feel it's not completely about the school you go to, but what you put into the school and you get from it.

This is what I was going to come here to post as well. I'm also a UCF graduate and I absolutely loved it there, and I feel like I got a very good education out of it.

However, UCF does not offer many animal geared classes, I have pretty much taken them all. And you would have to take the intro to animal science and animal nutrition elsewhere or the summer before you start UF vet school. The classes I found helpful at UCF are Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, Animal Physiology, and Animal Behavior.

With me as a lab partner in anatomy how could it NOT have been useful?

All joking aside this is the only con I can really see about going to UCF for undergrad rather than UF. There obviously isn't a huge pre-vet "presence" as there is at UF and out here at UC Davis. I was a Molecular Biology and Microbiology major (a department and major that I HIGHLY recommend, by the way...) and I don't even think I knew another pre-vet in that major, though I knew a couple in Biology.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is don't hate on UCF. Their program is good and there are a lot of vets out here willing to help you learn, but you do kind of have to get lucky to find one to train you to be a tech with no kennel experience.

This is part of the main thing that I did prefer - location. The area around UCF has a lot of interesting and unique opportunities because of being in Orlando, with all the tourist industry stuff and the city, and less competition for the vet assistant jobs. I was easily able to get a job at a clinic with only a small amount of experience, and was basically given a lot of responsibility and trained to do everything fairly quickly. I don't know for a fact, but I'd think that it would be a little harder to start out like this in a smaller town with such a pre-vet presence.

Obviously each place has its pros and cons, but I really did enjoy my time at UCF a lot, and I feel like I learned so much while going there - my education is serving me very well in graduate school.

 

[david594]

I know their avg SAT score last year was around a 1270, which has definitely gone up.

Just beware, that UF won't even consider you for their vet school unless you get a minimum GRE score of 1100 for in state or 1200 out of state. So going to UF or UCF won't matter unless you have that score. But based on your SAT score, you probably won't have a problem getting that.

Which of these SAT scores are based on the old test(graded out of 1600) and the new test(graded out of 2400)?

The average for the old test was ~1000, while the average for the new test is ~1500.


Doing a little reading on the UF website indicates the 1270 average most likely didn't include the scores from the writing section. Their website said this year is the first one they will be considering it, and that an applicant needs a 1330 score between all 3 sections to be considered for admission. http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/ugrad/frqualify.html

 

[Skillet9886]

TurtleLover, I'm sorry if you feel that anyone is hating on UCF. I know I certainly didn't intend to speak negatively about it and I have a lot of friends who go there and enjoy it. I am just speaking about my undergraduate experience at UF.

I would like to point out, though, that you gave a bit of misinformation regarding GRE scores. For in state (forgive me, I am much more familiar with in state statistics for UF), the average GRE score for c/o 2012 was 1199. And I am sure that there are people in that group that scored below 1100. So while 1100-1200 is a good benchmark to stay competitive, scoring below 1100 is not a death sentence for an in state UF applicant.

Oh, and as far as animal-related classes go, it sounds like UF definitely beats UCF on this one. Although I am a zoology major myself, most pre-vet students here are Animal Science majors, and we have a pretty well-established Animal Science Department. In addition to Intro to Animal Science and Animal Nutrition (both required for UF vet school), there is Repro, Growth and Development, and a bunch of other classes that I haven't taken. A lot of the Animal Science labs are fairly hands-on as well. For the Intro lab you go out to all the animal units -- Beef Teaching Unit, Dairy Research Unit, Horse Teaching Unit, Swine Unit. For repro lab the highlight is always the palpation lab where you get to practice rectal palpation on a couple of pregnant cows. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Gordo]

I personally would go to UF regardless of whether or not I was going to go to grad school there or not. I just feel it is a better school. I have friends that attend both schools and this is the first place I have heard anything good about UCF. Yes, it might be harder to get a job in Gainseville as a vet tech somewhere but look outside the city. We have a girl that goes to school there and comes down on the weekends to work (we are 3 hours from Gainesville). If you want it to work it will. Also, any school you go to is going to have partying (have you not been around UCF yet?) UCF and UF are both going to have party atmospheres. But if you chose not to be involved you won't have to deal with it. There are plenty of things to do in Gainesville besides parties, bet hey after all you go there for school so that should keep you pretty busy.

 

[Nena01]

I was definitely not trying to hate on UCF! My brother goes there, so yes I have been to UCF quite a few times. I even stayed at his apartment over the summer and spent a lot of time at the library. I also think UCF has a gorgeous campus, but I kind of agree with the gators here lol. UF is a much better school and I don't really want to go through the trouble of getting all my prereqs for vet school.

I've always really wanted to go to UF but the scholarship from UCF was the thing that made me think twice with the economic situation today, I feel kinda bad saying bye bye to 10 grand lol.

Thank you all for your opinions which are greatly appreciated. I'm anxiously awaiting that acceptance letter from UF! lol maybe I'm too confident.. but if I don't get in, UCF isn't that bad. =]

 

[CC35]

I guess I'm starting things a little early (Im an IB junior in highschool), but I would like to know about the steps on how to get into the pre-vet program and so-on.

Do I just imediately start into Pre-Vet? Or do I complete the first mandatory 2 years?

and in the IB program I end up getting around 20 - 36 (rough estimate) college credits when I graduate. So when I complete the rest of the credits required for the mandatory 2 years then do I immediately go into pre-vet? And while I'm not in the pre-Vet program am I allowed to take fun electives like ceramics?

Also (last one I promise) is there a type of test to take to even be eligible for the pre-vet program?

Thank you for all your help!

 

[livvie]

I was a Molecular Biology and Microbiology major (a department and major that I HIGHLY recommend, by the way...) and I don't even think I knew another pre-vet in that major, though I knew a couple in Biology.

I'm a grad student at UCF right now (did all my vet-school prereqs here but not undergrad) and I'll second the M&M major. From what I've seen it's pretty impressive prep for going into a medical field: aside from the basics of Anatomy, Physiology, Molec Cell, Microbiology, there's Immunology, Histology, Pharmcology, Embryology, etc. Like Nyanko said the pre-vets I know here tend to be Biology majors, but I think they're missing out. The two animal classes are the only things you wouldn't be able to complete at UCF, but you can complete them the summer before at UF or take them online (I did). There are also a ton of great animal and vet-related experiences in the area: Sea World, Animal Kingdom, Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge and a bazillion vet clinics. So I wouldn't rule it out.

That said, for either school, you'll get out what you put in. And there are definitely cons to UCF - with 56-something-thousand people you'll have to fight for classes and parking spaces and you won't be writing home about every teacher. But it can be done.