UCC vs. Ponce?

[Cachito]

I have been accepted into two med schools in Puerto Rico, UCC and Ponce. I am currently trying to decide on which one of these schools to choose. So far, both seem about equal to me. Can anyone from these two schools give me info (e.g. quality of peers, quality of learning environment, accessibility of teachers/resources, quality of professors, clinical rotations, curriculum, the areas of Ponce and Bayamon, etc...) on anything that you could think of that would give me better insight on making an informed decision.

Gracias por adelantado

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[Ramon y Cajal]

I have been accepted into two med schools in Puerto Rico, UCC and Ponce. I am currently trying to decide on which one of these schools to choose. So far, both seem about equal to me. Can anyone from these two schools give me info (e.g. quality of peers, quality of learning environment, accessibility of teachers/resources, quality of professors, clinical rotations, curriculum, the areas of Ponce and Bayamon, etc...) on anything that you could think of that would give me better insight on making an informed decision.

Gracias por adelantado

Hello,

I am currently a student at UCC. While I believe you are correct in your assessment that both schools are very similar in terms of student body and curriculum, one of the biggest differences is the location. Do you want to be in the Greater San Juan area or do you want to be in Ponce? It really comes down to personal preference. I think both schools are similar in terms of quality of professors, in fact some professors teach at both schools as well as at Recinto de Ciencias Medicas. Both schools are about the same size and both have similar USMLE passing rates and both schools do well in terms of placing their graduates in competitive residencies. I was accepted to both as well, and chose UCC due to the location. I prefer being in San Juan. I have friends that wanted to get away from the metro and chose Ponce for that reason. When you get to your 4th year rotations you can go anywhere in the island as well as the US mainland if you want. Some of the 3rd year rotations work this way as well. For example, at the VA you have students from UCC, UPR as well as Ponce on clinical rotations. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Exito!

 

[Dr Who]

Hey there,
I am a student at UPR, but I agree with the above poster. They are both equal in terms of getting you where you want. But if you have to both schools, you should have noticed that the areas where the schools are located are VERY different. In the end, go where you think you would be more comfortable.

Dr Who

 

[JA_Perez]

Hey there,
I am a student at UPR, but I agree with the above poster. They are both equal in terms of getting you where you want. But if you have to both schools, you should have noticed that the areas where the schools are located are VERY different. In the end, go where you think you would be more comfortable.

Dr Who

I am positive that Ponce has a better USMLE passing rate than the UCC. I would pick Ponce over UCC for my medical education.

 

[Ramon y Cajal]

UCC and Ponce have similar passing rates on the USMLE. UCC grads have a better preferability ratio amongst residency directors in Puerto Rico meaning that all things being equal the UCC grad will be chosen based on the historical performance of UCC grads in clinical settings. As far as residency programs outside Puerto Rico, there is not much difference between the two.

 

[Pril]

I got accepted into both schools and ended up going to Ponce. I think all three Puerto Rican schools are equal in quality of training. I have heard that Ponce students do better on the step but again this was not offical.