SKMC vs. USF

[Dr.MambaMentality]

Hi all, help me narrow down my choices. A little about me, I am from the West Coast hoping to match back into California in the future. I am not solidified into pursuing a specific specialty however I want the ability to match into competitive specialties if I become interested in it during school.

SKMC
Pros

• Strong match list, renowned home residency programs in Ortho, Opth, Strong in GI too
• well established school with home hospital
• Lectures are pre-recorded although M1 has 7-10 ish hours of mandatory class per week (case based practices, quiz, team based learning)
• Final exams occur every 7 weeks and students get a week off from school to study for the final exams
• P/F with the caveat that students are ranked into thirds (grades play a factor in this along with other things I believe, so not true pass/fail...)
• strong volunteering opportunities to boost resume
• research available for those who look
• Area of the school seems nice, central philly
• student body seems social, heard students have lots of free time
• won't need car for M1

Cons

• No support system nearby
• Worried that I won't be able to stand out in such a large student body (280 students)
• Internal ranking system (does this matter for residencies? would love input from any students at SKMC)
• I don't want to settle down in Philly (assuming I may have to stay here for residency)
• In house exams
• mandatory class 7-10 hours weekly
• car for clerkships, very expensive parking in the city

USF
Pros

• Strong match list, lots of home residency programs and fellowships
• Great home hospital Tampa General
• Very new campus, have heard that studying on campus is very nice
• Weather is very warm so would make me less prone to seasonal depression
• have a friend that attends, so this would be an existing support system
• seems to be ample research opportunities
• no state income tax and fifth highest number of full time job opportunities (if my SO was to come live with me and find work in Tampa)
• overall Tampa seems like somewhere I could see myself living in the future for residency if I had to stay for a competitive home residency

Cons

• Exams occur fairly often (every 2-3 weeks) followed by a finals week at the end of each course
• in house exams and NBME exams
• Preclinical grading is tiered (Honors, Pass w commendations, Pass, Fail) (not sure how much this matters for residency apps and I hear it's not included in app to residency?) Current students believe its not a big deal and many students seem to match into competitive specialties. Again if any students have insight I would appreciate it.
• Average of 1-2 mandatory lectures per day, 10-12 hours of class per week
• would need a car

I would say my biggest concerns between the two schools would be the grading. How different is a P/F system with internal rankings compared to USF's tiered pre clinical grading?

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