uams (arkansas) or usf (south florida)

[em8r]

so, just this morning i received an acceptance packet from arkansas. i'm all set to go to usf, but this complicates things a little bit. i just thought i would post here and see if anyone has some opinions.

basically, i know they are both good schools and the curriculums are not totally different. it all mostly comes down to the fact that arkansas is much cheaper than usf (29k for out-of-state vs. 51k, 14k for in-state vs. 20k). BUT usf is located in tampa, so it'll probably be alot more diverse, plus the weather will be better, etc.

cost vs. location? i am hoping somebody with more experience can tell me something about which turned out to be more important in the end. or just anything that will help bring some new perspectives. thanks!

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[Tiagao]

Are you instate at either school? If you are IS at Florida, I'd stick with them unless you absolutely loved AR. If you are OOS at both, I'd say AR because I can't justify 80K over 4 years.

Just my opinion. Congrats and good luck

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Just throwing in that Little Rock is actually a nice town, so I think it would be an OK place to live for 4 years. It's also cheap, which saves you more money. I sort of wish that I had followed through with my application to UAMS. Congrats!!

 

[Miami_med]

I'd stay with the in state tuition unless you have a compelling reason.

 

[em8r]

I'd stay with the in state tuition unless you have a compelling reason.

thanks for the replies! i'm actually out-of-state at both places; but either way, i'm planning to get residency after my first year (HOPEFULLY), so the costs won't be so astronomical.

UAMS is closer to where i live (6 hours away), and it's nice and quiet. but tampa is more diverse, and it'll be a nice opportunity to explore the florida area for the next 4 years. i'll be 14 hours away from home, but i don't really know how that's going to affect me yet. i grew up in a tropical climate but have spent the last 7 years in the midwest, and i guess i'd be comfortable at both. BUT WHICH ONE?? ughhh....

if they cost the same, then i would go to usf for sure.

 

[rajad10]

i'm going to USF next year which I did early decision because like you said, tampa is great and its a good school. florida is also a great state. However, like others have said, I would go with the economical decision here and go with ark. 80k is not a joke esp if you're on loans

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Isn't Florida one of those states where you can get instate tuition after a year or something like that? I think I've heard other posters here mention that. If so, the difference isn't that much.

About diversity, yeah, you're probably not going to get a ton of it at UAMS. Almost all the students are instate, and Arkansas is a small state. I don't know -- none of us can really answer this for you. Run the numbers and use www.finaid.org to calculate monthly repayments.

 

[Miami_med]

I'd clarify that you can get in-state tuition here. This is actually one of the harder states to get residency, and I am be wrong, but there may be a rule against giving residency to students who have never lived here without going to school. Most of the highly competative OOS students here at Miami receive some form of scholarship that brings total tuition down to in-state level in order to entice them to stay. I've never heard of anyone getting residency.

All I'm saying, is that I'd just make sure.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Pre-Allopathic with the rest of the "which medical school should I attend" threads. Allopathic students read and reply to threads in pre-allo and may follow this one and reply there.

 

[apnea]

ANYWHERE but Arkansas. CARIBBEAN before Arkansas.

i grew up in Arkansas. No matter how many showers you take, you still come away with it clinging to you. i got an impressive beatdown by some Mexican girl in Little Rock, whose boyfriend i was apparently sleeping with, even though i had no idea who either of them were and i didn't have sex until i was 18, which happened to be two years AFTER the incident.

There is nothing good about Arkansas except for this tiny little town called Eureka Springs, which you will never have time to go to since it's far, far away from LR. Eureka Springs is incredible largely due to the fact that the Christ of the Ozarks statue (or as it's more commonly known, the big Jesus) went against the structural height regulations for the area and had to comply by either putting a flashing beacon on his head, or cutting him off at the knees. Unfortunately, they missed a prime opportunity and went with the latter.

Although, Arkansas is the only state in the US that, if a wall was erected around it, could sustain itself indefinitely. my only question is why the surrounding states have failed to do so.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

ANYWHERE but Arkansas. CARIBBEAN before Arkansas.

i grew up in Arkansas. No matter how many showers you take, you still come away with it clinging to you. i got an impressive beatdown by some Mexican girl in Little Rock, whose boyfriend i was apparently sleeping with, even though i had no idea who either of them were and i didn't have sex until i was 18, which happened to be two years AFTER the incident.

There is nothing good about Arkansas except for this tiny little town called Eureka Springs, which you will never have time to go to since it's far, far away from LR. Eureka Springs is incredible largely due to the fact that the Christ of the Ozarks statue (or as it's more commonly known, the big Jesus) went against the structural height regulations for the area and had to comply by either putting a flashing beacon on his head, or cutting him off at the knees. Unfortunately, they missed a prime opportunity and went with the latter.

Although, Arkansas is the only state in the US that, if a wall was erected around it, could sustain itself indefinitely. my only question is why the surrounding states have failed to do so.

I'll still say I like Little Rock and am OK with the Fayetteville area. I lived in Conway for 4 years, which is a depressing, way too conservative suburban hell, so I wouldn't do that. Also, towns like Jonesboro and West Memphis give me the heebie jeebies, but eh, Little Rock's OK. You can get a neat old house for cheap, and there are decent coffee shops, restaurants and bars, and there's some decent (yeah, not real mountains), but still decent outdoor activity. I'd rather be in AR than OK, NE, KS, MS, etc. -- I'd even rather be there than FL just because the flatness and humidity in FL would kill me.

 

[Fairytale]

Florida native here. I would def. clarify that you can get Florida residency after a year. I think you have to be gainfully employed for a year. I think it even says that you cannot be a resident only to attend college. Did you consider the cost of living?

I'm not sure about the weather in Ark but it's really HOT here. It's something you won't understand unless you spend 10+ months out of the year over 85F with 80% humidity.

There are a lot of teaching hospitals very close to USF. It's a pretty diverse population in Tampa. You'll see people from every race and class. Otherwise, try and get a place in New Tampa not an apartment on Fletcher Ave= scary especially if you're female.