UF vs Miami

[Team Zissou]

All opinions welcome!! Please share your thoughts about the two schools. Thanks in advance

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[chudog15]

I predict miami to outrank UF in the next three years. with a new dean of med from duke, their program will be the best in florida. research has always been their biggest weakness, but it will soon be their strong suit. this new dean has taken many of the duke researchers, as well as their heavy nih funding, with him to miami.

uf is great too. but the patient population and location can't compare.

 

[gujuDoc]

I think it really depends what you are looking for.

UF has this philosophy that while they have preceptorships in Years 1 and 2, they don't let you do a lot of stuff from the beginning because they'd rather you learn on actor patients before you work with the real deal so that you learn to become comfortable before you've been thrown in a situation where you are dealing with real patients.

Umiami, on the other hand, much like USF has you work with real patients from the get go.

Ths first major difference is looked at as a plus or minus depending on the student. Some students prefer to work with actors before getting thrown into the mix with real patients others prefer to work and learn from real patients from the get go.

Another major difference is the setting. UF has a strong academic teaching hospital but it is no Miami by any means and even jacksonville is more quiet then Miami if you end up going there for any rotations. Miami's school is in the heart of probably the biggest city Fl. has and Jackson Memorial is one of the busiest medical centers in all of Fl. You will never have to leave Miami for rotations whereas at UF you may get in Shands Gville but you may end up in Jacksonville far from home base.

Research wise, UF may be the higest ranked but a few years ago UMiami was in the top 50 as well and I think both have equally great opportunities.

Cost wise, miami is more expensive as a city to live in then Gville. furthermore, if you dont get a scholarship I'd imagine tuition is more expensive but most people get a partial scholarship that makes it somewhat more equal.

Curricula wise, I think UF does all its tests on the computer whereas I'm not sure how Miami does it. I also know that UF uses a much different system then UMiami in terms of how they schedule courses. I think you'd have to look at the links for better idea but it seems that both Miami and USF try to ease you into the hard stuff like Anatomy by not starting from day one with that stuff from day 1 but UF starts you with that stuff from Day 1. Take a look at their links for better information on that.

So in the end it just depends on what you are looking for.

Personally if this was me in that situation I'd be all over Umiami.

One of the other small things I like about Miami is that they podcast all lectures and are going to have the old lectures from previous years available so you can sorta figure out whether going to class or watching from home is more conducive to you or go back and watch something if you miss something in lecture.

UF doesn't do anything like that. Instead they do have some recording in first year but I've heard none in second year but its not video lecture just a recording of it.

 

[BrianUM]

I can't really speak for UF but I am an M1 at Miami so if you have any specific questions you can always PM me...

I am really enjoying the experience at Miller. You get to see pts., practice your physical exam skills early on, and there are countless opportunities to participate in clinic, research, learn spanish, etc. I am going to the DR as part of a medical mission trip in january before classes...

Exam wise, they really want you to do well....they record all the lectures and you can watch them online...they give great reviews before exams and if you study hard, you should have no problem w/ them.

It's just a great school on the upswing and i expect them to be amongst the most highly ranked schools in the nation pretty soon...it's already very competitive to get into

 

[gujuDoc]

Also I'd add that DwayneWade who posted in the Fl. schools thread had some good posts about information on UMiami so PM him and read his posts on there about the facilities and environment around there.

There used to be a guy from C/O 2005 on the Fl. thread last year, Medgator

You might want to try PMing him if he still has an acct. to talk about UF.

Brownian motion is also another poster who is at UF for info about that school.

Like I said, it depends on what you are looking for but if it were my decision I'd go to Miami.

 

[ufgrad00]

Either place will make you a doctor with a respected degree. I have posted a few times about UF, and I have never heard of any UFmed students feeling they made a mistake by going there. As an undergrad, I was always fascinated that the med students were not in class as long compared to undergrad schedules, regardless of mandatory attendance.

I personally, like that the hospital is connected to the school, and that you don't have to worry about going to different areas for clinicals, unless you want to do clinicals at Orlando Regional, Shands Jax, or other places.

Also, Gainesville is a really manageable place to live. I talked about some places to live on the "UF Class thread". Rent in some areas is a little high, but if you have a roommate expect your half to be 400-450 a month.

Most of the courses are graded like undergrad (A,B,C,..) but if too many people are getting an A in a course, then they convert it to Pass/Fail. I have heard from some med student friends that it does get a little competitive in some classes, because they only want a certain number of A's. However, I don't think you should worry about it, though. UF tuition is much cheaper than Miami's by 9K or so, and unfortunately, Miami doesn't have much in the way of scholarships.

If it were my decision, I personally would still go with Miami. Gainesville felt like a great place to do undergrad, but it gets really old, fast. I am done with it and want to go to a different area. The city is pretty isolated from other cities (Not much to do in Starke), but football is king and there are a lot of bars to watch the games if you can't get into the stadium.

Good Luck.

 

[MyInitialsAreJC]

i think you should let us vote on where you choose to go!

 

[MossPoh]

I think you just go to whichever one you like more. From the cost perspective, UF is the clear winner.

I have had NUMEROUS nurses say they hated working at shands though, mostly because the med students were cocky pricks. (Their words not mine). When one person says it, I take it with a grain of salt. When 4 or so say it, it makes me wonder. I did notice that the many of the "gunner" premeds I know from Florida seemed to prefer UF. This is not always a negative. It just depends on your personality. I personally would choose miami, but it is strictly because of my brother and friends being down there, Jackson Memorial as a teaching hospital, and me having very minor connections with some residency programs in south Florida. Also, I've met a few people that went/are there now and they were overall much more laid back...and I just like miami more than gainesville for the a few years. After those 4 years, who knows....probably not.

 

[timurx]

i hate to say it but one of these schools is severely overrated (not gonna say which one but take a wild guess )...i just dont know whats really sooo special about them (beyond a few factors which they boast about ad nauseum)...but thats just my opinion.

Perhaps one thing to take into account is not just where the school is now but where its headed. I think the administration and directors dictate a lot about the future of any school. I also think its important to envision how a school will prepare you for the real world and the realities of medicine (something highly misunderstood by most pre-meds)

But of course, congratulations on your acceptances to two very respectable schools nonetheless!

 

[ufgrad00]

i hate to say it but one of these schools is severely overrated (not gonna say which one but take a wild guess )...i just dont know whats really sooo special about them (beyond a few factors which they boast about ad nauseum)...but thats just my opinion.

Perhaps one thing to take into account is not just where the school is now but where its headed. I think the administration and directors dictate a lot about the future of any school. I also think its important to envision how a school will prepare you for the real world and the realities of medicine (something highly misunderstood by most pre-meds)

But of course, congratulations on your acceptances to two very respectable schools nonetheless!

I will go ahead and think you are talking about UF, maybe you aren't but, whatever.

I would also like to point out that even though UF medical school may take care of its own, the main university itself couldn't care less of you or your future, as long as you continue to pay tuition. I have always had something really bizarre happen to me every semester in the way of either clerical or administrative errors.

Also, most of the pre-meds I knew at UF really put UF on a pedestal like it was on the same level as Cornell or Harvard, and most people at the school want you to beleieve this. (Especially the pre-med advisor). I don't want to sound bitter because I am not, but at the undergrad level, usually only the honors college kids were helped out by the school, or kids whose parents were benefactors.

Regardless, the blue in my blood is now turning green.

 

[gujuDoc]

seems like everyone is all for Miami on here. I definitely agree with the students seem laid back there but I don't think you can predict your classmates or what your class will be like. It is relative to year. I know my friend in the class of 2007 said her classmates were not as cutthroat but she's heard of quite a few gunners in the class above her.

same thing at USF. I know some people tell me taht a lot of class of 2010 were very unapproachable but then there were people in the class above that that said their class was pretty laid back. That's a rather subjective matter and without seeing the situation for ourselves we can't determine what each year's class is like.

That said, I do believe that the majority of the people I've known who've gone to Miami's medical school have been laid back and they all have really positive things to say about the school. I have yet to hear a negative comment to be said against them by these people. These people I know that are there include family friends, old classmates at USF, and people I've met on SDN. I think the only thing I'd have to say that would suck in Miami besides being in hurricane central would be the bad traffic but that's any big city and at least the med school has places nearby th hospital and school so you don't have to drive much.

 

[ufgrad00]

I think the only thing I'd have to say that would suck in Miami besides being in hurricane central would be the bad traffic but that's any big city and at least the med school has places nearby th hospital and school so you don't have to drive much.

Considering traffic other city of Miami negatives, now students have options with the Boca campus.

 

[gujuDoc]

Considering traffic other city of Miami negatives, now students have options with the Boca campus.

Yeah true that. Or they can live right next to the hospital and downtown area where they are withing walking distance of the medical campus and hospital.

There's also the city metro transport which works well for some.

 

[ufgrad00]

Considering traffic other city of Miami negatives, now students have options with the Boca campus.

I think I win the award for the worst sentence ever put together on SDN!

What I meant to type was: ( Considering the traffic and other negatives of the city of Miami, now students have options with the Boca campus )

 

[QofQuimica]

All right, since this thread is so pro-Miami, I'll take up for poor, much maligned U of F.

Joking aside, I went to my UF interview a couple of years ago with a real chip on my shoulder. I was expecting to dislike it, and boy, was I ever surprised. It was nothing like what I expected; I had an absolutely great experience there. On my app, I had written about a couple of researchers I was interested in working with, and Robyn set it up so that one of them was my interviewer. He is an awesome guy and we're still in touch. Shands is incredible. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of living in a college town in my 30s, but I figured I'd probably be too busy to care anyway. If all else were equal, I could very well have chosen UF. As it turns out, Miami wound up giving me a full scholarship, so things weren't equal. But if that hadn't happened, I'm not sure I would have chosen Miami over UF, although the FAU campus is awesome.

OP, I think you should hold on to both acceptances until you get your financial aid packages in the spring. Go to your second looks, meet your future classmates, see how you feel about each school. You really can't make a bad decision here. to you.

 

[SoFlaKnight]

I think I win the award for the worst sentence ever put together on SDN!

What I meant to type was: ( Considering the traffic and other negatives of the city of Miami, now students have options with the Boca campus )

We still love ya, UFGrad

 

[Tertbutyl]

OP, I think you should hold on to both acceptances until you get your financial aid packages in the spring. Go to your second looks, meet your future classmates, see how you feel about each school. You really can't make a bad decision here. to you.

I agree with this. Who knows, Miami might end up giving you money that would make it the same cost (or less) as UF.

Another thing to consider is where you want to do your residency. You will match to a program much more easily when you already live there, so if you want to go to Miami or Gainesville for your residency, it will be an advantage to be at that program.

But.. I'm not really even thinking about residency at the moment. The question everyone asks after you tell them you just got into medical school is "so what kind of doctor do you want to be?" My answer is that I have no freakin' clue (well, I kinda do, it's just so early at this point)! I just spend the past year trying to get in..one thing at a time, yannow?

What school are you leaning toward at this point?

 

[gujuDoc]

I agree with this. Who knows, Miami might end up giving you money that would make it the same cost (or less) as UF.

Another thing to consider is where you want to do your residency. You will match to a program much more easily when you already live there, so if you want to go to Miami or Gainesville for your residency, it will be an advantage to be at that program.

But.. I'm not really even thinking about residency at the moment. The question everyone asks after you tell them you just got into medical school is "so what kind of doctor do you want to be?" My answer is that I have no freakin' clue (well, I kinda do, it's just so early at this point)! I just spend the past year trying to get in..one thing at a time, yannow?

What school are you leaning toward at this point?

I think you will match into great residency programs coming out of either program. I agree that it is better to hold onto both acceptances til spring. remember you have til May 15th to make a decision.

Also even if you want to match elsewhere other then the area where you go to med school, remember you can always do away rotations 4th year of med school.

 

[Tertbutyl]

I think you will match into great residency programs coming out of either program. I agree that it is better to hold onto both acceptances til spring. remember you have til May 15th to make a decision.

Also even if you want to match elsewhere other then the area where you go to med school, remember you can always do away rotations 4th year of med school.

Right, I know both are great schools that have great matches, but I was simply referring to location of residency.

And while that is true about 4th year, if you look at the match for each school, you will notice that a good majority of graduates stay in their respective cities at both schools.

 

[gujuDoc]

Right, I know both are great schools that have great matches, but I was simply referring to location of residency.

And while that is true about 4th year, if you look at the match for each school, you will notice that a good majority of graduates stay in their respective cities at both schools.

There's no denying that, but there are many people who match out of the area they went to med school in as well. It might have been the choice of those people to stay in that area. Its hard to figure out where you want to go to for residency before you know your field of choice or board scores for step 1.

That's why I am starting to believe what med students say when they say not to use supposed board score averages and residency match lists as a deciding factor and focus more on the curricula and mission and how it relates with what they want to do.

 

[DwyaneWade]

I can't say anything about UF but what I have heard (since I do not know the program well). I have heard from classmates who attended UF for undergrad that UF pre-med was extremely competitive and that many of those same students ended up at UF for med school.

As for UM I sent a good PM to the OP describing my experience and can forward it to others if they would like to know more.

BTW, its DwyaneWade not DwayneWade...

 

[ufgrad00]

I have heard from classmates who attended UF for undergrad that UF pre-med was extremely competitive and that many of those same students ended up at UF for med school.

Bingo! Many Uber competitive UF Pre-meds going to UF medical do not know how to turn off the "Type A" switch.

I remember the farce of a grading system we had in physics. In the lecture for Physics II on the first day our teacher told the class of about 350 that there were only going to be about 15-18 A's (distributed among both periods of 350). However, after the first week 350 became 250 in each period. Then in both Physics labs (I and II), so many competitive pre-meds were getting high scores, ( I **** you not) the grades are curved down and anything below a 92 average is a C+. The competitiveness really doesn't come from the mentality of the people UF accepts as undergrads, but from the environment in normal pre-req courses like Organic chem and physics.

People are usually normal going into UF orgo (Orgo is the main pre-med weeding course), but most come out of the sequence ready to take names.

Please don't take this as having a chip on my shoulder, but in retrospect, many times I wish I had gone to UNF, FSU, or USF to finish my undergrad.

I also want to add that strong letters of recommendations were incredibly hard to find among most pre-med class like Biochem, Genetics, or pre-reqs. First off, most of your classes are in groups of up to 400 students. Secondly, a lot of professors dis-like premeds, at least the professors I had. An anatomy professor I had (and the professor of the main premed anatomy class) is notorious for giving BAD letters, even though he happily agrees to write them. A friend of mine with a 31 MCAT has been waitlisted at four schools so far with no acceptances, for what she has been told are either weak letters from classes of 300, and the bad one she got from the anatomy professor. If I knew she was going to ask him, based from everything I have heard from others, I have done everything to persuade her.

Even though she made an A in anatomy, now she has a letter saying that she got a C on an important test as well as being late to class a lot.

Again, not trying to sound like I am bitter towards UF, but being a pre-med at UF is "emotional."

 

[135892]

Bingo! Many Uber competitive UF Pre-meds going to UF medical do not know how to turn off the "Type A" switch.

I remember the farce of a grading system we had in physics. In the lecture for Physics II on the first day our teacher told the class of about 350 that there were only going to be about 15-18 A's (distributed among both periods of 350). However, after the first week 350 became 250 in each period. Then in both Physics labs (I and II), so many competitive pre-meds were getting high scores, ( I **** you not) the grades are curved down and anything below a 92 average is a C+. The competitiveness really doesn't come from the mentality of the people UF accepts as undergrads, but from the environment in normal pre-req courses like Organic chem and physics.

People are usually normal going into UF orgo (Orgo is the main pre-med weeding course), but most come out of the sequence ready to take names.

Please don't take this as having a chip on my shoulder, but in retrospect, many times I wish I had gone to UNF, FSU, or USF to finish my undergrad.

I also want to add that strong letters of recommendations were incredibly hard to find among most pre-med class like Biochem, Genetics, or pre-reqs. First off, most of your classes are in groups of up to 400 students. Secondly, a lot of professors dis-like premeds, at least the professors I had. An anatomy professor I had (and the professor of the main premed anatomy class) is notorious for giving BAD letters, even though he happily agrees to write them. A friend of mine with a 31 MCAT has been waitlisted at four schools so far with no acceptances, for what she has been told are either weak letters from classes of 300, and the bad one she got from the anatomy professor. If I knew she was going to ask him, based from everything I have heard from others, I have done everything to persuade her.

Even though she made an A in anatomy, now she has a letter saying that she got a C on an important test as well as being late to class a lot.

Again, not trying to sound like I am bitter towards UF, but being a pre-med at UF is "emotional."

haha, I'm in my first year at UF right now, and so far everything is good, but I guess I have all this to look forward too...

 

[Fp02c]

I just finished engineering at UF and i gotta tell ya I compleatly agree with your portrayal of the UF premed. Dont get me wrong, lots of great people and I have alot of friends that are doing it/ did it, but when it comes down to it they are as competitive as it gets. I also think that UF demands alot out of them. Take it as you will and i mean this with no disrespect but I think UF is MUCH harder than other florida school undergrad, atleast compared to FSU which is the #2 public school in the state (I took some summer classes there a few years back) . I know a few of the medical students also. They are pretty competitve but less so than the undergrads in my opinion. Another thing to consider is what another person said. Gainesville is great but it gets old quick. Dont get me wrong, I love it, but it is something to consider.

 

[josh999123]

I am deciding between the two now and I definitely have to say what ufgrad said about the institution not caring is correct.

I had to deal with the ufgrad admissions (not med admissions) department about my residency status because I went to an out of state school. They were so difficult and unhelpful that I could not believe it. I felt like I was a number whereas at Miami (follow-up phone calls) and Duke I have always been treated as a person. It might have something to do with that whole UFID thing. I am just trying to get at the fact that UF is big and can be impersonal. Miami despite having a bigger class seemed to be less like that.

 

[MyInitialsAreJC]

I also want to add that strong letters of recommendations were incredibly hard to find among most pre-med class like Biochem, Genetics, or pre-reqs. First off, most of your classes are in groups of up to 400 students. Secondly, a lot of professors dis-like premeds, at least the professors I had.

i went to a smaller private undergrad so all of my LORs were from professors who were very familiar with me, my habits and personality, rather than just my numbers on their grade sheet. It wasn't until after a few interviews that i realized what a tremendous advantage this was. i'm planning on sending them all a thank you note (my recommenders). Strange to think that one of the stronger points of my application was something i didn't have direct control over.

As for the original topic for Team Zissou, i want to add my vote that Miami is gonna be the next big thing!

 

[ufgrad00]

As far as the LOR's I did get, I took a few classes in botany sciences Ecology and Plant Physiology, which were smaller classes of about 30~ish students, and the professors were more than happy to write meaningful recommendations. But I didn't attempt to ask other science professors.

I will agree, that UF's general admissions and registrar is very impersonal, and students should always be ready to see a massive clerical or other error made on the school's part. But I believe much of this is due to its large size.

My posts may sound very critical of UF, but I am not bitter towards it or anything of the like. I believe that the competitive environment has helped to make studying more efficient and to be more responsible with my studying. I still wish UF would have been a more relaxed environment, instead of always putting the pre-meds on edge. And I will say that the undergrad experience would have been way more enjoyable, if I were a finance major or public relations major.

Also, to the one poster said he was a first year pre-med at UF. My advice would be to not listen to what other pre-meds say, and please take everything you hear from the pre-med advisor with a large grain of salt. Back in May I was told that i have a less than 50 percent chance of being accepted by an allopathic school. Now I have two medical school acceptances, go figure. Enjoy yourself and don't pile on too many science courses at once regardless of what you hear about how competitive it looks. Good Luck

Also,

Merry Christmas!

 

[gujuDoc]

I can't say anything about UF but what I have heard (since I do not know the program well). I have heard from classmates who attended UF for undergrad that UF pre-med was extremely competitive and that many of those same students ended up at UF for med school.

As for UM I sent a good PM to the OP describing my experience and can forward it to others if they would like to know more.

BTW, its DwyaneWade not DwayneWade...

Sorry I'm bad with names. That's why I referred them to the Fl. thread. Can you send me that PM? I'm always interested to hear what med students have to say about their programs.

Also, I don't know if anyone from UF has posted in the mentor forum but the 4th year that QofQuimica and I used to chat with posted on the UMiami 31 questions thread as well as another med student. Check it out.

 

[Team Zissou]

Thank you to everyone who provided their input. I have read through everything and feel the information provided to be very useful. As of right now Im leaning towards Miami but i think in the upcoming months Ill have a better idea of where Ill be headed once I recieve more information from the two.

 

[Team Zissou]

here's the link to the 31 questions guju was talking about.. take a look its very informative. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=5337362&postcount=22

thanks guju

 

[caffeineaholic]

Does anyone know how good Miami's financial aid is? Is there any chance for significant merit aid for OOS students?

QofQuimica, you mentioned getting a full ride from Miami; would you happen to know how roughly many of those are offered per class and generally, what criteria they might use for offering them? Is there any shot for a non-40+ MCAT-er getting one?

Thank you!

 

[QofQuimica]

Does anyone know how good Miami's financial aid is? Is there any chance for significant merit aid for OOS students?

QofQuimica, you mentioned getting a full ride from Miami; would you happen to know how roughly many of those are offered per class and generally, what criteria they might use for offering them? Is there any shot for a non-40+ MCAT-er getting one?

Thank you!

Sorry, but I don't think I can really answer any of your questions. I am a FL resident, so I don't know what financial aid is like for OOS students at any of the FL schools. Technically, my scholarship from Miami offered $30,000 per year, which covers in-state tuition (or at least it used to!), but not fees or living expenses. I don't know of anyone else who got the same scholarship, but I imagine some other people must have.

Miami has an option for accepted applicants to apply on line for scholarships; you have to write an essay telling them how you'll add diversity to their class. I did write the essay, but I know several people who got partial scholarships and did not write the essay. So I have no idea if writing the essay made a difference or not. I also don't know how many people get scholarships. I think partials are pretty common, particularly to cover the cost difference for in-state residents between Miami and one of the state schools.

For OOS residents, the FL schools will all be prohibitively expensive IMHO. You're an OH resident and got into OSU, right? If I were in your shoes, I'd take the in-state tuition at OSU over Miami unless you think you could get FL state residency. You won't get any better training for the extra expense at Miami than what you'd get at OSU, and it's a lot cheaper to pay for an airline ticket down to Miami for your Christmas breaks than it is to pay for med school tuition down there.

Not sure if this helped at all, but to you.

 

[QofQuimica]

Just to clarify in case anyone else is confused, I found this link that discusses the scholarships on Miami's webpage. I am pretty sure that what I got is a diversity scholarship, while the people with partials who did not write the diversity essay got some type of merit scholarship. This page says that you have to apply for diversity scholarships, but not merit scholarships.

 

[pfh]

QodQ, do u attend the boca campus? if yes, i was wondering how strong the clinicals are at boca now that they are not done at jackson anymore.

 

[gujuDoc]

Sorry, but I don't think I can really answer any of your questions. I am a FL resident, so I don't know what financial aid is like for OOS students at any of the FL schools. Technically, my scholarship from Miami offered $30,000 per year, which covers in-state tuition (or at least it used to!), but not fees or living expenses. I don't know of anyone else who got the same scholarship, but I imagine some other people must have.

Miami has an option for accepted applicants to apply on line for scholarships; you have to write an essay telling them how you'll add diversity to their class. I did write the essay, but I know several people who got partial scholarships and did not write the essay. So I have no idea if writing the essay made a difference or not. I also don't know how many people get scholarships. I think partials are pretty common, particularly to cover the cost difference for in-state residents between Miami and one of the state schools.

For OOS residents, the FL schools will all be prohibitively expensive IMHO. You're an OH resident and got into OSU, right? If I were in your shoes, I'd take the in-state tuition at OSU over Miami unless you think you could get FL state residency. You won't get any better training for the extra expense at Miami than what you'd get at OSU, and it's a lot cheaper to pay for an airline ticket down to Miami for your Christmas breaks than it is to pay for med school tuition down there.

Not sure if this helped at all, but to you.

Does miami allow students to establish residency after a year? I know a lot of schools do. USF does that.

As per scholarships I don't know how it works for OOS but I know a lot of people who've gotten like a partial scholarship to bring it down to the level of cost at most other Fl. state schools.

One of them even got it after getting off the waitlist. But usuall I think they are merit because even the waitlisted person had high stats.

i.e. greater then 33 MCAT and 3.8 or greater GPA.

 

[gujuDoc]

QodQ, do u attend the boca campus? if yes, i was wondering how strong the clinicals are at boca now that they are not done at jackson anymore.

There used to be a poster on here by the name of Deuist. I think if you PM him if he is still on here, then he might be able to guide you in the right direction. He is a Boca UMiami med student in 3rd year.

 

[QofQuimica]

Does miami allow students to establish residency after a year? I know a lot of schools do. USF does that.

I don't know. I didn't look into OOS financial aid or how to establish state residency for the FL schools, so I really can't say anything about it.

There used to be a poster on here by the name of Deuist. I think if you PM him if he is still on here, then he might be able to guide you in the right direction. He is a Boca UMiami med student in 3rd year.

Deuist is definitely the person to ask if you want to know anything about clinical year at FAU. He still lurks around on SDN. Hopefully he'll see this thread and post, or pfh can try PMing him.

 

[thoffen]

QodQ, do u attend the boca campus? if yes, i was wondering how strong the clinicals are at boca now that they are not done at jackson anymore.

FWIW, my student hosts said that they were way more clinically competent than their counterparts at the main campus. I don't know how true this is. Jackson has the patient diversity, but since Boca Community is not a teaching hospital, the med students get to do a lot more procedures instead of fighting for a chance to watch an intern do something. Hopefully someone with actual knowledge can comment on specialties which Boca Raton is not the ideal location for, e.g. Pediatrics.

 

[DwyaneWade]

FWIW, my student hosts said that they were way more clinically competent than their counterparts at the main campus. I don't know how true this is. Jackson has the patient diversity, but since Boca Community is not a teaching hospital, the med students get to do a lot more procedures instead of fighting for a chance to watch an intern do something. Hopefully someone with actual knowledge can comment on specialties which Boca Raton is not the ideal location for, e.g. Pediatrics.

I think if you had gone to Miami you would have heard the exact opposite.

I am sure students from both campuses are very clinically competent and I think no matter where you go people do try to sell their home institution. Both curricula do a good job of getting you clinical exposure early.

 

[gujuDoc]

I think if you had gone to Miami you would have heard the exact opposite.

I am sure students from both campuses are very clinically competent and I think no matter where you go people do try to sell their home institution. Both curricula do a good job of getting you clinical exposure early.

See I'm going to have to agree with the above. I've had friends that have interviewed at Miami main campus and boca campus and it always seems that the majority of the time, unless it is someone who prefers a smaller class size or doesn't like the big city feel of Miami as a city, most people say they'd rather go to the main campus any day.

They say that the breadth of cases and clinicals is much better down there and that that the fact that JHM is so busy all the time and understaffed means that it makes it easier for the students to get in and get a chance to do stuff and really learn good clinical skills and do well.

I have heard this from posters on here that are med students there as well as from family friends who have gone there as well.

I hear most people tell me Boca is too much of a retired community.

I know Deuist said they had higher board score averages ~235 a few years ago, but you know what? Board scores is not dependent on PBL vs. lecture based learning. It is dependent on individual person and how well they are at standardized tests and how prepared they are for the test so I don't know. It seems that people from both campuses do well in getting in residency of their choice in a wide breadth of fields and that the students I've talked to have been happy with their UMiami education from both campuses.

Boca's got the whole PBL thing which I wouldn't really care for whereas main campus has more of the lecture based learning with much less PBL. A bit of it in 2nd year or at least that's how it was for the class of 2008.

 

[timurx]

See I'm going to have to agree with the above. I've had friends that have interviewed at Miami main campus and boca campus and it always seems that the majority of the time, unless it is someone who prefers a smaller class size or doesn't like the big city feel of Miami as a city, most people say they'd rather go to the main campus any day.

They say that the breadth of cases and clinicals is much better down there and that that the fact that JHM is so busy all the time and understaffed means that it makes it easier for the students to get in and get a chance to do stuff and really learn good clinical skills and do well.

I have heard this from posters on here that are med students there as well as from family friends who have gone there as well.

I hear most people tell me Boca is too much of a retired community.

I know Deuist said they had higher board score averages ~235 a few years ago, but you know what? Board scores is not dependent on PBL vs. lecture based learning. It is dependent on individual person and how well they are at standardized tests and how prepared they are for the test so I don't know. It seems that people from both campuses do well in getting in residency of their choice in a wide breadth of fields and that the students I've talked to have been happy with their UMiami education from both campuses.

Boca's got the whole PBL thing which I wouldn't really care for whereas main campus has more of the lecture based learning with much less PBL. A bit of it in 2nd year or at least that's how it was for the class of 2008.

another thing to keep in mind is that board scores are a very poor measure of comparison in this particular case-- keep in mind the MAJOR difference in class sizes (30 @ boca vs. 160 @ miami)....statiscally its much easier to skew the average higher or lower for the smaller sample size...

yay for taking statistics!

 

[UFGatorMed]

I will go ahead and think you are talking about UF, maybe you aren't but, whatever.

I would also like to point out that even though UF medical school may take care of its own, the main university itself couldn't care less of you or your future, as long as you continue to pay tuition. I have always had something really bizarre happen to me every semester in the way of either clerical or administrative errors.

Also, most of the pre-meds I knew at UF really put UF on a pedestal like it was on the same level as Cornell or Harvard, and most people at the school want you to beleieve this. (Especially the pre-med advisor). I don't want to sound bitter because I am not, but at the undergrad level, usually only the honors college kids were helped out by the school, or kids whose parents were benefactors.

Regardless, the blue in my blood is now turning green.

UF is hard to do good in... No one gives a flying F&%$ about you; you are your only motivation. In that sense it is a tough school.

And why not compare it to Harvard. Everyone graduates out of there with a 3.5 and above. Heard of grade inflation?

 

[gujuDoc]

UF is hard to do good in... No one gives a flying F&%$ about you; you are your only motivation. In that sense it is a tough school.

And why not compare it to Harvard. Everyone graduates out of there with a 3.5 and above. Heard of grade inflation?

that was very blunt and to the point.

To put it more tactful I was talking with a friend of mine there and it really comes down to the fact that you have to have a certain personality type and must be able to survive the fact that you won't have perks of things like video streaming or group learning communities or other such things a lot of other fl. schools have. That's what makes it tough from what she was saying.

 

[gujuDoc]

another thing to keep in mind is that board scores are a very poor measure of comparison in this particular case-- keep in mind the MAJOR difference in class sizes (30 @ boca vs. 160 @ miami)....statiscally its much easier to skew the average higher or lower for the smaller sample size...

yay for taking statistics!

Yeah i agree with you completely.

 

[Tertbutyl]

that was very blunt and to the point.

To put it more tactful I was talking with a friend of mine there and it really comes down to the fact that you have to have a certain personality type and must be able to survive the fact that you won't have perks of things like video streaming or group learning communities or other such things a lot of other fl. schools have. That's what makes it tough from what she was saying.

While I completely agree that video streaming is incredibly awesome, I think it's silly for someone to choose a school solely based off of that. I mean, we've survived 12 years of school and 4 years of college without video streaming and we've all done seemingly fine.

 

[DwyaneWade]

While I completely agree that video streaming is incredibly awesome, I think it's silly for someone to choose a school solely based off of that. I mean, we've survived 12 years of school and 4 years of college without video streaming and we've all done seemingly fine.

You won't know how much you need video streaming until you have it...

Seriously to have the option to miss class to:

a) shadow
b) research
c) sleep in once or twice every few weeks
or
d) just readjust your schedule and work noon to 4am like som people

is a huge benefit.

 

[RSAgator]

I think the ridiculously competitive pre-med environment at UF is cultivated by the fact that it's such a large school and is now so highly competitive to get into. In order to stand out and shine one really needs to adopt a type A personality, and that's something I've seen from deciding to go the pre-med route a little late in my undergrad career. Quite frankly more and more competitive students, that is students who could have gone to a "better school," are choosing UF because it's a good school and for those students it's likely free. The best advice given in this thread was to wait till second looks because until you actually see who you'll be going to school with and get a better picture of how the school fits you you're opening yourself up to a lot of subjectivity from people whose opinions are largely dictated by their or other peoples' experiences (good or bad). That's not to say there is not great advice being thrown around, but be careful what you read on the internet =). You have two acceptances so just enjoy the fact that you're going to be a doctor (hopefully!), take everything you hear with a grain of salt, and ultimately make sure the decision you make is the one that's right for you because it's the one you'll be living with for the next 4 years and after that the rest of your life. Good luck!

 

[gujuDoc]

You won't know how much you need video streaming until you have it...

Seriously to have the option to miss class to:

a) shadow
b) research
c) sleep in once or twice every few weeks
or
d) just readjust your schedule and work noon to 4am like som people

is a huge benefit.

seriously and after a semester of grad school I learned that amount and pace of information you get in med school, it is hard enough to keep up with it but having those kind of small added perks always helps because you can play and rewatch or record it to listen to on ipod as many times til the info sinks in. If you miss points because the professors like to talk 100 miles a minute you have the benefit of being able to watch it over to understand what they are saying. I never thought anything of it but it has its benefits and I definitely saw that this semester.

That was just one of the things I wasn't basing a whole decision on it. I'm just using that as an example of one of the reasons why she said it was tougher. Its something a recent drop out from UF COM told me too when I saw her. Its hard to explain but I believe those people who say they feel the intensity of UF COM is greater then at other med schools.

I don't know how to explain it but was just using that as one of the kind of examples of small things that make a difference.

 

[gujuDoc]

I think the ridiculously competitive pre-med environment at UF is cultivated by the fact that it's such a large school and is now so highly competitive to get into. In order to stand out and shine one really needs to adopt a type A personality, and that's something I've seen from deciding to go the pre-med route a little late in my undergrad career. Quite frankly more and more competitive students, that is students who could have gone to a "better school," are choosing UF because it's a good school and for those students it's likely free. The best advice given in this thread was to wait till second looks because until you actually see who you'll be going to school with and get a better picture of how the school fits you you're opening yourself up to a lot of subjectivity from people whose opinions are largely dictated by their or other peoples' experiences (good or bad). That's not to say there is not great advice being thrown around, but be careful what you read on the internet =). You have two acceptances so just enjoy the fact that you're going to be a doctor (hopefully!), take everything you hear with a grain of salt, and ultimately make sure the decision you make is the one that's right for you because it's the one you'll be living with for the next 4 years and after that the rest of your life. Good luck!

I agree with the bolded fully. Do go to second looks. What is one's positive is another's negative. I did give you my perspective but you are a different person and how everyone learns and what atmosphere is good for one is not good for another. This is why I said that friend who i have been talking about made the right decision for though it wouldn't have been for me.

Where ever you go, you will be in good shape. Both are equally reputated schools and have been on the top 50 research ranks in the past with both good clinicals and research opportunities for both those who want to go into private practice or non academic careers as well as those who are academic medicine oriented.

 

[SoFlaKnight]

Bumpage