UCF vs Wright State Boonshoft

[baby_doctor]

Hi! I know this is very last-minute but I’m hoping to get some input on my PTE decision!

I’m not really sure what specialty I plan on going into (basically the only ones I’ve ruled out are ophtho and EM lol) but I am vaguely interested in some very competitive ones (IR, ENT, plastic surgery), so I want to prioritize keeping my options as open as possible going forward. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!


UCF COM (COA ~270k)

Pros
(+++) Relatively strong match list
(+++) Lower COA
(+++) Research built into curriculum through FIRE program
(++) NBME exams
(++) Higher ranked
(+) Nice campus & surrounding area
(+) Has a home hospital

Cons
(- - - -) H/HP/P/F pre-clinical grading + quartile rankings
(- - -) HCA-affiliated home hospital & residency programs
(- - -) Rotations are all over the state so I’ll likely have to move around a lot in M3/M4
(- -) Far from home (~3 hr flight)
(-) 2 year pre-clinical (I actually don’t know if this is a con?)
(-) AOA
(-) Newer school (but seems like admin is pretty organized so probably not a big con)


Wright State Boonshoft (COA ~380k)

Pros
(++) P/F pre-clinical and H/P/F clinical
(++) 13 home residency programs, including plastic surgery & derm
(++) Close to home (~1 hour drive)
(++) NBME exams
(+) 1.5 year pre-clinical
(+) Older & more established

Cons
(- -) ~100k higher COA but I haven’t actually gotten fin aid info yet, so this might be lower if I get a scholarship
(-) Not as many research opportunities in certain specialties and in general, seems like this school doesn’t emphasize research as much
(-) ’Excellence’ distinctions for top 25% of class for both pre-clinical and clinical phases (but no rankings)
(-) Dayton lol
(-) AOA
(-) No home hospital (but all teaching hospitals appear to be within ~1 hr drive so not too much travel time for rotations)

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[dagoat]

What'd you decide? In the same boat. Not sure what to think about HCA.

 

[baby_doctor]

Sorry, just saw this! I committed to UCF, I agree the HCA affiliation is not ideal, but their match list looks pretty strong with majority non-HCA matches, so it doesn't seem to affect where students end up for residency.

 

[ll275]

Wright State. More home residency programs in competitive specialties and more established. I got into UCF and declined. Not much to do in the middle of Orlando either.