University of Florida vs. University of Miami

[Woahtherebecky]

Hey everyone. I’m fortunate to have been accepted into two great programs in my home state. I’m having trouble choosing between them so I could really use some input.

What I’m most worried about is prestige between the two. I understand they are very similar and UF has a better ranking, but Miami is really well respected in South Florida. Ultimately, I’m not sure if this would make a difference in matching later on.



UM

Pros:

• Living in Miami would be a nice change of scenery
• Close to family and local community.
• 30k yearly scholarship making it my cheapest option so far
• New 1 year preclinical curriculum with focus on clinical skills and plenty of time for research. Also greater emphasis on PBL

Cons:

• Subpar match list
• Did not vibe with interviewees and felt the environment was a bit fratty.
• People can be very rude in South Florida
• COA is more expensive due to the location

UF

Pros:

• Really liked the interview day and became one of my favorite schools throughout the cycle.
• Very familiar with faculty and research mentors
• Love the Southern Hospitality and quietness in Gainesville
• COA would be cheaper than Miami
• Have a close friend group

Cons:

• Curriculum is outdated (2 year preclinical)
• PhD’s giving lectures mostly discussing their own research
• More pricey than Miami

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[SleazySalesMed]

Hi, also accepted at both.

Prestige: Difference is non-existent between UF/UMiami.

Cost: Worry about the overall CoA, not merely the difference in tuition. Miami CoA is something like 78k x 4 which would be north of 300k. Even after subtracting the 120k scholarship, living in Miami you'll easily end up paying more. You also haven't seen UFs offer yet, but it's already the flatout cheaper CoA even before it.

Curriculum: NextGen came right in time for P/F Step 1. Unarguably, it has the edge here

Environment: Ya, Miami is 100x different then Gainesville. They're practically different states. Sounds like you prefer your out of the way quiet, which is not Miami at all. Got the same vibe from the students, Miami living has gotten to them lol

Clinical Experience: Shands vs. Jackson - Memorial. I'll leave that up to you. Sounds like you're more hands on Jackson, which they like to harp on. They didn't spend too much time talking about training at Shands, but Dr. Lynch mentioned/showed that survey from residency directors who rated UF grads as "very well prepared" pretty much across-the-board.

Opinion: Personally, don't think there's too much of a difference between the two aside from environment and CoL. They're on two completely different ends of the spectrum in those regards. The curricular changes are also thought provoking. Personally heavily leaning Miami because I can't stand Gainesville. But don't think I'll be attending either, so there's also that lol

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

It sounds like you like UF more! But I am definitely biased as I applied to Miami and was accepted there, so I think it's a pretty fantastic school especially when it comes to clinical training. I believe Jackson is probably some of the best clinical experience you can get, and students spoke extensively about how much hands-on training they are getting due to need in Jackson, which should be helpful especially in light of the increased importance of Step 2. Also having Bascom Palmer right there is very cool.

Also, as far as I can tell, prestige won't be too different between the two and Miami has a pretty great match list for a mid-ranking school-- matches in rads, ortho, optho, plastics. Also plenty of matches in desirable cities like NYC, LA, SF, etc.

 

[Woahtherebecky]

Hi, also accepted at both.

Prestige: Difference is non-existent between UF/UMiami.

Cost: Worry about the overall CoA, not merely the difference in tuition. Miami CoA is something like 78k x 4 which would be north of 300k. Even after subtracting the 120k scholarship, living in Miami you'll easily end up paying more. You also haven't seen UFs offer yet, but it's already the flatout cheaper CoA even before it.

Curriculum: NextGen came right in time for P/F Step 1. Unarguably, it has the edge here

Environment: Ya, Miami is 100x different then Gainesville. They're practically different states. Sounds like you prefer your out of the way quiet, which is not Miami at all. Got the same vibe from the students, Miami living has gotten to them lol

Clinical Experience: Shands vs. Jackson - Memorial. I'll leave that up to you. Sounds like you're more hands on Jackson, which they like to harp on. They didn't spend too much time talking about training at Shands, but Dr. Lynch mentioned/showed that survey from residency directors who rated UF grads as "very well prepared" pretty much across-the-board.

Opinion: Personally, don't think there's too much of a difference between the two aside from environment and CoL. They're on two completely different ends of the spectrum in those regards. The curricular changes are also thought provoking. Personally heavily leaning Miami because I can't stand Gainesville. But don't think I'll be attending either, so there's also that lol

Hey, I thought the same thing with COA but after doing the math, it turns out Miami will still be significantly cheaper for me in the long run than UF. I used the COA posted by each school straight from their website to calculate it.

 

[amila166]

Also accepted to both and will be attending UF due to personal circumstances (fiancé is a grad student) but I strongly considered Miami before I got engaged and decided to settle in to my life in Gainesville.

They are both great programs and I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference on where you want to be. Personally, I thought Miami was a little to fratty/party scene for me, and I’m not sure I’d want to live in a big city. I love the vibe of Gainesville and cost of living is a lot lower. There’s not as much to do in town but there’s a lot close by in Jax/Orlando.

The one big plus of Miami I think is the new curriculum with step 1 becoming P/F but I don’t think UF will hinder you. Preclinicals are still P/F and I’m looking forward to more integrated anatomy/systems based curriculum.

In regards to matching, I’d say Miami has maybe a tiny edge over uf depending on the specialty but at the end of the day they are both solid programs.

Best of luck on your decision!

 

[Icebird]

UM and UF are both relatively equal but I think UM edges out.

For me it comes down ultimately to location, and there is no way you can pay me enough to spend my next 4 years in Gainesville (maybe a full ride will make me consider if you’re listening UF )

Apart from the party scene, there is still so much diversity of food, culture, beaches, arts, and many more in the Miami area.

Gainesville you get a good diversity of lovebugs and tamed down versions of Tallahassee bars. Your call!

 

[supsurfer]

UM has huge and diverse clinical resources- 3000 teaching beds.