UCF vs Cooper

[Bananna_Zhang]

Hi everyone,

I am lucky enough to have offers from these 2 schools, and I am planning for in-person visits for both of them. I absolutely love both schools, so I want to hear from your opinions about it. To provide some background: I am a research-heavy applicant interested in Hem/Onc or OBG/GYN. I am a very family-oriented 1.5 generation immigrant, and my parents and husband are relocating with me for med school. I did not enjoy my time in undergrad (didn't vibe with the competitiveness of my undergraduate institution), and I am looking for a med school with a more supportive, relaxed environment.

UCF (University of Central Florida)
Pros

• The school is in Lake Nona Medical City with 3 hospitals in walking distance. Clinical rotations in school hospital, children's hospital, and VA hospital can expose me to diverse patient populations. Also offers clinical rotation in the greater Orlando area.
• Very interested in the FIRE program. I really want to continue in-depth, longitudinal research during med school and in the future
• Relatively more competitive matching list compared to Cooper. I am not sure about the exact specialty that I want to pursue, but I am currently leaning towards IM or OB/GYN
• More job opportunities for my partner as we relocate to Orlando?

Cons

• Grading system is not P/F, don't know how that is going to affected my pre-clerkship experience?
• No connection to Florida, never been there before.
• Lower rank than Cooper? (not sure about this though)

CMSRU (Cooper Medical School at Rowan University)
Pros

• I had the best interview experience at CMSRU, all the faculties are welcoming and genuinely love this school
• I love how this school is service-oriented. Will learn more about the humanistic aspect of healthcare through serving the underserved population at Camden.
• Closer to Philly (where I am at right now for gap year), don't really need to relocate
• The team-based learning sessions sounds great

Cons

• A little concerned about the safety at Camden. Patient population is not as diverse as UCF imo
• Not as many longitudinal research opportunities.
• High cost of attendance

Summary: UCF is more vibrant and diverse with more opportunities in research, and Cooper have more service oriented and team-based. Really appreciate any input on this!

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[Bowel-Plumber]

As a stranger reading your post, it seems like you subjectively prefer to go to UCF but objectively know that Cooper is the better option all around. I would like to hear more about the cost difference, but overall I think Cooper seems like the better fit for you and your interests.

 

[Bananna_Zhang]

As a stranger reading your post, it seems like you subjectively prefer to go to UCF but objectively know that Cooper is the better option all around. I would like to hear more about the cost difference, but overall I think Cooper seems like the better fit for you and your interests.

Thank you so much for you input. The COA for cooper is $99247 (tuition $70826), and for UCF is $84546 (tuition $56709)

 

[Squalene]

I work at Nemours Children's Hospital and am based out of/work very closely with the Burnett School of Biomedical sciences and the UCF medical school.
There's tons of research opportunities, and Lake Nona medical city is incredibly nice and very medically immersive.
Nemours will also allow for great experience in OB-GYN.
I also attended UCF for undergrad and can tell you the faculty there was helpful and caring.
I'm a bit biased but I strongly recommend it of the two.