Thanks, I appreciate the congratulations! Being accepted anywhere takes a load off... but I am veryyy excited about Temple, so we shall see.
As far as
a lot of support/resources to help MD/DO applicants while in the program, I didn't get that feeling very much while I was there. My professors were very nice and willing to give advise when asked, so that is very supportive. Expect to get letters from your grad professors by meeting with them periodically. My concentration advisor was on the adcom previously so he was able to give me very supportive feedback on where I stand, what to do if I don't get in, etc. Someone on my research floor told me that they incorporated a Kaplan MCAT Prep course into the curriculum. He made it sound like it was an option, so I would maybe give USF a call and find out for sure- the grad admissions personnel are very friendly. If it is an option, I wouldn't do it... waste of $$ in my opinion. I am very anti-Kaplan/Princeton Review/etc. because I paid the $1,000+ to take the course while in undergrad and found it to be a complete scam. They give you a diagnostic test in the beginning to give you an idea of what you need to work on, which is great, but then they hold it against you at the end when they give you a second diagnostic. Any improvement in those scores is grounds for keeping your money. I could be wrong on that, of course, but this is the impression that I got. Besides, I studied by myself with Exam Krackers the second time I took the MCAT and improved my score 5 pts. I would highly recommend EK books because they aren't full of mumbo-jumbo that Kaplan throws in there. Put plainly, Kapan was a refresher in everything I ever learned in undergrad, while EK struck me as being MCAT-prep (MCAT-style questions, MCAT-style CONTENT= most important).
I definitely think completing a master's degree at USF fulfilled my goals of becoming a more competitive applicant. My undergrad science GPA was mediocre and I rocked at USF, so there is definitely improvement at a higher level of instruction. It's hard to say whether I would have the same opportunities if I chose a different program, because I only applied to USF! I will say that because I went to USF and talked to a researcher after she lectured I was able to land an awesome position in a clinical research department. I now have one first-author publication now because of it, about to have a second-author case report, and I am currently working on my own manuscript. Having said that, USF is becoming one of FL's top research institutions and the opportunities here are bountiful as long as your eyes and ears are kept open for them.
FL schools are known to be IS-heavy. This is, of course, due to subsidized education for selecting IS students. However, some schools are making more of an effort to attract out of state students. I would get yourself an MSAR book from the AAMC website and peruse the school profiles of IS/OOS, tuition, etc. This is a very resourceful book and I would recommend purchasing one. As for your last question, I really have no idea. I have been in FL all my life so I don't know what it is like trying to establish residency here. I'm sorry! What you could do is go onto any FL med school websites OR
www.stateofflorida.com and have a look around. I'm sure that site will answer most if not all of your residency questions.
Wow- this is long. I hope it is helpful, though.
Thanks for your response. It was really insightful! I am actually very interested in neuroscience myself, so knowing that they have some solid neuro classes is definitely a plus! I guess what I want to know more about is whether you would say the program has a lot of support/resources to help those students that plan to apply to med school while they're still in the program?
Do you think completing the program has given you an edge that you lacked before the program? Do you think you would have had the opportunities you have now if you didn't choose this program?
Additionally, do you know how friendly FL schools are for out of staters? I know the tuition is outrageously more expensive for those from out of state, but do you know how easy it is to gain FL residence after the one year master's program? (sorry you might not know this but I'm just trying to solicit any information I can since I'm very interested in the USF program).
Thanks for answering all these questions! Congrats on the acceptance to LECOM Bradenton and good luck on your interview this Thursday!
