This is a long post, but I hope that if you read through this that you find this information helpful. At the end of the day, you can get into med school going to Pitt or UF, but GO GATORS!!! (national champs btw)
I'm not sure where the UF premed acceptance rate is ~22% comes from, its about 45% according to the advising office. (
FAQs – Academic Advising Center). As a current student here (and incoming MS1 somewhere), I can tell you with 200% certainty that this reddit poster (
)
is so salty about their cycle that they are just trashing on UF.
While I cannot speak on Pitt, I'll address this aforementioned post with my own experiences here at UF and gainesville.
1. Grades / Prestige / MCAT (and whatever was addressed in that post)
This boils down to A: Can you get As at UF? B: Is UF a well known school? C: Does UF prepare you for the MCAT
A. Yes. While it is true that the "premed classes" are hard, they are hard at every school. The poster specifically mentions Orgo 2, Physics 2, and Biochem. Wow. These are
known hard courses at every school and for every pre-med student nationwide. You cannot expect to take these courses and breeze through them and get an A. If you're studying "25-30" hours a week for a B in a single course then you need to change something, especially when Orgo 2 and Biochem exams are basically 90% regurgitation of the lectures at UF.
UF provides many opportunities for students to study, get tutoring and help, and achieve success in courses. Speaking as a former Gen Chem 1, 2 and Orgo 2 undergraduate TA myself, I can confidently say that the students who sought help from me outside of courses and dedicated TA time consistently achieved higher scores than the rest. If your child finds themselves struggling in a course, they can find that the professors for the common pre-med courses are widely and freely available, upperclassmen who have aced the classes are more than willing to help, and there are even paid tutoring spots specifically built for UF courses (studyedge, smokin notes, though I don't recommend spending money on this personally) that will help with understanding. If these courses are, in fact, more rigorous than other institutions (or the standards for success are higher), this is a plus to me personally since the
exact same topics are tested on the MCAT. What's even better is that almost all the lectures for these classes are recorded, allowing for extremely easy review of the lectures themselves afterwards. The premed classes are rigorous, but success is easily achievable.
B. Is UF well known? Yes. go gators
C. Does UF prepare you for the MCAT? Yes. While I cannot speak for everyone, as someone who worked to excel in the typical premed courses, those same topics showed up on the MCAT. PSY2012 (psych 101 basically) and SYG2000 (sociology 101) was enough for the psych and sociology sections
without any more upper level courses, BCH4024 (biochem), BSC2010 and 2011 (bio 1 and 2), MCB2000, and one of the genetics courses was enough for 95% of the B/B section on the MCAT. CHM2045, 2046 (or the honors equivalent), 2210, 2211, and phy2045 and 2046 are all enough for the chemistry and physics sections
again without any more upper level courses. CARS I can't speak on, since I feel like you can't really take a course for it. **Anecdotally, when I was studying for MCAT, the Kaplan review books was basically a throwback to all the classes I have mentioned before and with the addition of some anatomy and physiology**
2. External and internal opportunities (the over competition/lack of opportunities the reddit poster mentioned in his linked pt. 2)
Opportunities are plentiful at UF. I will emphasize, plentiful.
Volunteering is not hard to get, and there are clinical and non-clinical volunteering opportunities available. See (
Clinical Healthcare Experience – Academic Advising Center). This is not to say the general Shands volunteering program registration is bad, because it is. However, most clinical volunteers in Gainesville volunteer elsewhere: North Florida (takes everybody, literally unlimited hours because you set your own schedule), Streetlight, Equal access, Helping Hands, Mobile Outreach, Remote access volunteering, bread and roses, GEMRU, Radiant Hands, student orgs, etc. In fact, these places
actively try to recruit freshman and sophomore volunteers since they are looking for longer-term volunteers. Even if you want to volunteer at Shands, there is a way to game the system if you miss out on general volunteering. For those who are genuinely wanted to volunteer, there are plenty of opportunities. Non-clinical volunteering is even more plentiful (student orgs, general volunteering around gainesville, habitat for humanity, project makeover, undergraduate TA, etc)
Shadowing is also easy to get, both short and long term. I've done formal and informal shadowing with doctors multiple Shands departments. My friends who have done shadowing on the transplant service have been offered the opportunity to go with the team on flights to procure organs, there is even a shadowing course that will pair you with a physician for a semester long opportunity!
Research is also not difficult to get involved in. There's both sponsored research and research you can do in a professor's lab. See (
university-research-scholars-program). If your child has a project they want to pursue, they can get money and a willing advisor! Furthermore, research opportunities are
not "scant" as the redditor says, and you don't have to do it from day 1. Yes, you will have to email PIs in general (explore other things on the link I sent because I believe some PIs post somewhere about their opportunities), but you will have to do that at any school. I have found that PIs here are more than willing to take on students
who show genuine interest in their areas of research and/or their labs. This means that your child will need to do some research themselves on the labs and the type of projects they are on. Also, if you're concerned, no prior experience is needed. All that you need to do is spend some time on looking up the faculty directory (biology:
Faculty), clicking on the lab website, read the research tab, and then read the "join our lab" tab. You can even do research in the college of medicine or help out doctors who are doing clinical trials. Many undergraduates who join labs as a volunteer get publications to their name, me included!
Above all, no research opportunity will be just handed to you at any school, nor will any publication be handed to you either, it will be what you make of it.
Paid work is also plenty, both clinical and non-clinical. If you want to do EMT, join GEMRU, it's almost a direct pipeline to getting an EMT job with the fire department. CNA (PCT as it's called at Shands) is hiring year round, same at North Florida and around local clinics. Staying in Gainesville over the summer is also kinda necessary for these jobs, since no job in general wants someone who is going to be gone 3 months of the year.
Leadership opportunities are everywhere. There are over 1000 student organizations at UF covering almost any area of interest. From cultural organizations to gaming ones to a cooking org that uses a really cool kitchen somewhere on campus. To get these opportunities, however, you typically have to be a multi-year member of that org and be elected to that position. So, shop around, join orgs of your interest, and invest some time into them. Or, you can start your own org! It's very easy and student government will give you funding ($1k minimum for every org that applies) each semester. Theres also Greek Life for those who are interested.
3. Living in Gainesville, the campus, and the social situation
Living here
Honestly, it can be boring at times. It's a college town, with college bars, Chipotle and Cava, and a stadium that fits 60% of the city's population. There's no amusement parks here, no aquariums, etc. It's cheap tho (rent for a room in a 4x4 1 mile from campus is like $600 furnished), RTS is good enough that students without a car are able to easily get on and off campus if they live off campus, and the essentials (Publix and Target) are present. Orlando, Tampa, Jax, Atlanta, are close enough for weekend getaways. There's gyms nearby (Crunch, SW Rec, Student Rec), springs (for water tubing), trails, etc all nearby. The beach is only 90 minutes away. It's a nice introduction to independent or semi-independent suburban life.
As for food, there grocery stores and plenty of restaurants, both chains and local. There's a variety of cuisines represented (from all over the world) in Gainesville. On campus, theres dining halls and places like Subway and Panda Express. Shands has Panda Express, Subway, Wendys, CFA, Starbucks, etc.
In general tho, it is fun. I'll honestly miss Gainesville when I leave.
Campus
Campus is HUGE and so pretty. I never really appreciated the mix of architecture and open spaces on campus until my junior year when I started going to campus less. Its so big that the commute from my on campus dorm freshman year to my chemistry class was over 1.5 miles. That is crazy. Reitz is the center of campus, everyone knows it. It's the student union with restaurants and places to study.
Speaking of places to study, theres a lot of libraries here: Lib West, Marston (5 floors of basically pure study space), Health Science Library, etc. Not like you will be checking out books here (everything is also digitally catalogued so that you can access it at home), but theres social and private study spaces to study with your friends. It gets almost full around finals but you can always find an open space.
Campus has 2 gyms, Southwest Rec (weight room, cardio, basketball courts, racquetball courts, another cardio room upstairs, free classes like yoga and spin, outdoor tennis and pickleball courts, and beach volleyball. Probably more but its so big I haven't explored it all yet) and student rec (just go to southwest, student rec is the original gym and its small), and a pool (Caeleb Dressel went here btw). It has a lot of outdoor space (Plaza of Americas and North Lawn are what I spent the most time at), a lake (lake alice), trails on the lake, and everything UF has is located on campus. If you haven't visited, I would come and visit.
Campus is safe as well.
The social situation
A downside of UF is that it is so big your own class may feel disconnected. However, it's not hard to make friends through class, the dorms, socials, organizations, parties, etc. The sports scene is huge here, and I cannot explain in words how fun football and basketball games are. Gator Nation runs deep and you will really feel like you're a part of it at these events. People love to go out with their friends or stay in and do potlucks and stuff. Honestly not lacking socially! I have found that the students here are generally supportive, not really competitive, and will cheer you on with whichever endeavor you want to pursue, which is a plus
🙂
End positive rant. I want to summarize that I, and many others, have had a really positive experience here at UF. The courses are rigorous and preparatory for the MCAT. The opportunities here are vast and virtually endless. And I've met my best friends here. If I was in your child's situation, I would choose UF. It's great to be a Florida Gator!
