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Need help deciding as the April 30th deadline draws closer!! Very torn.
Surprised I couldn't find ANY threads on UM vs. UF considering they are two of the top med schools in Florida, and I also met a lot of people at Second Look weekends for these schools deciding between the two. I loved them both for different reasons and have been leaning UM but have difficulty justifying it given the big cost difference (estimate cuold be anywhere $45-60k difference over 4 years, depending on housing and transportation tbd)
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Pros
Pros
Again, my gut feeling has been Miami, but I worry it's for the wrong reasons, since on paper, so much about UF is incredible AND it's cheaper. I am aware that I listed more cons for Miami, but each pro/con does have a different weight, and right now location has been weighing VERY heavily on me. It's also hard because I interviewed at Miami the first week of October and it had been my top choice of all schools I looked at since then...until I interviewed at UF March 1. So it was an unexpected curveball late in the game after spending so much time thinking about how happy I'd be in Miami. I've been sad to leave my current home of NYC but half-jokingly consoled myself that I'd be moving to the other dance capital of the East coast! I wonder if I'd feel differently if I saw how amazing UF is first and not been biased.
Also, both are now P/F.
I really appreciate any insight and advice!
Surprised I couldn't find ANY threads on UM vs. UF considering they are two of the top med schools in Florida, and I also met a lot of people at Second Look weekends for these schools deciding between the two. I loved them both for different reasons and have been leaning UM but have difficulty justifying it given the big cost difference (estimate cuold be anywhere $45-60k difference over 4 years, depending on housing and transportation tbd)
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Pros
- Amazing clinical exposure - cases from Latin America and the Caribbean
- I think I'm interested in infectious disease specialty (but very open-minded to change), so this exposure will be great
- Closer to parents in Boynton Beach - 2.5 hours by public transit (I probably wouldn't have a car - definitely not the first 2 years living in Brickell). I've been far from them in NYC for a while, so this is really important to me to see them more often.
- MIAMI! Fun place to live. I looove Latin music and would have a blast here. I know that shouldn't be a top priority, but it's been a big part of my "gut" feeling for Miami - I love J Balvin and could go to concerts, and hey, med school is difficult and grueling everywhere, so why not pick a spot that'll be fun and worthwhile outside school!
- Students are really happy - one month family rotation in Florida Keys where they go snorkeling after work every day, a bunch ran the half marathon together, weekend trips to the beach, seems like good work/life balance
- Higher tuition AND steep cost of living. My sister is a 2nd year resident and has way less debt than I will (she had more savings and more financial help) - and she says it's not worth it, pick the cheaper school
- Old, run down buildings. Not a deal-breaker but study environment is important to me
- More difficult to find funding for research or global health trips - less "hand-holding" for this stuff than at UF, where they seemed to be offering these opportunities left and right
- Stresses of a city??
- I loved everyone I met interview day, but Second Look was different...I was also biased having just come from Second Look at UF, where all the students were so sweet, kind, and down to earth. Miami students seemed more cliquey and less laidback
- I'm not fluent in Spanish - might be more difficult to train and learn? I can understand okay but not speak that well
Pros
- Top school in Florida! Amazing reputation
- CHEAP tuition AND cost of living!!
- SO friendly and such a warm environment - Dean greeted all the applicants by first name and made so much effort to talk to each of us individually
- Students all talk about how they are a family and how supportive everyone is. Really strong culture of mentorship and support
- My interviewer was an ID specialist and said he'd love to mentor me - faculty seem really invested in their students
- MSRP research program - automatic $2,000 funding for summer research
- Already found a professor with research I'd want to do in Panama - factors contributing to new ID emergence (climate change, deforestation, etc).
- Integrated preclinical curriculum - 2 years of anatomy integrated throughout systems courses (dissect brain during neuro, etc)
- Brand new, gorgeous medical buildings - huge windows, lots of natural light, great facilities
- Gainesville. Small collegetown. Life seems to revolve around the campus. Both times I visited, undergads swarmed everywhere, which felt super weird. I think I'm especially averse to this because I went back to my undergrad institution in Ithaca after having lived and worked in NYC for a year - and it felt really isolated and weird being only with college students and not having more of a city
- Farther from parents - 5 hour drive. Still only a drive, and there is a bus if I don't feel like driving, but that does make it harder and not too feasible for a quick weekend trip on a regular basis.
- No nearby international airport - closest is Jacksonville
- Required clerkships in Jacksonville - good to get to train with an urban population, but could be up to 4 months depending on the lottery and not necessarily consecutive - lots of moving back and forth, which I don't like. Seems like a bit of an upheaval
Again, my gut feeling has been Miami, but I worry it's for the wrong reasons, since on paper, so much about UF is incredible AND it's cheaper. I am aware that I listed more cons for Miami, but each pro/con does have a different weight, and right now location has been weighing VERY heavily on me. It's also hard because I interviewed at Miami the first week of October and it had been my top choice of all schools I looked at since then...until I interviewed at UF March 1. So it was an unexpected curveball late in the game after spending so much time thinking about how happy I'd be in Miami. I've been sad to leave my current home of NYC but half-jokingly consoled myself that I'd be moving to the other dance capital of the East coast! I wonder if I'd feel differently if I saw how amazing UF is first and not been biased.
Also, both are now P/F.
I really appreciate any insight and advice!
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