USF (Core) vs. UCF

[jacksort2]

USF​

Pros

• Better Ranked (Research ranking is 46 vs UCF’s 87, PD ranking is 67 vs. UCF’s 102)
• Solid partnerships with Tampa General Hospital and other surrounding hospitals/clinics
• New medical school building in downtown Tampa (opened 2 years ago)
• Way better research opportunities and research funding
• Scholarly Concentrations Program is cool. Biomedical Research concentration helps with getting involved with research and getting published
• Nice location in downtown Tampa

Cons

• Slightly more expensive COA (70k vs 57k)
• Heard about high SOAP rates these past few years?

UCF​

Pros

• Slightly less expensive COA (57k vs 70k)
• FIRE Program guides students through mandatory research project
• Solid match lists
• Very communicative and responsive admin
• Higher STEP 1 averages before it transitioned to Pass/Fail
• Orlando is also a great city. Though the UCF COM is located more towards the outskirts/suburban part of Orlando

Cons

• Lower ranked (see USF pros list for ranking)
• Lost connections with Orlando Health and Advent Health (2 largest hospital systems in Orlando). Would need to travel a lot for rotations.

Neutral Stuff:​

• Both have graded preclinicals. USF’s is H/HP/P/F, and UCF’s is A/B/C/D/F
• Both are about 20-30 minutes away from their main university campuses

Summary: USF is better ranked with better research and clinical sites, but slight concerns about SOAP rates. UCF is slightly cheaper and also seems to have slightly better match lists and test scores, but lost major hospital partners in Orlando.

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

Easily USF

USF is probably only behind UM and UF in florida

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm not so sure about "easily USF," unless the only metric worth considering is #46 vs. #87. For the record, the "PD rank" is not really a thing. It's just a reddit extraction of a statistically invalid data set from the USNWR survey. It's not an actual ranking.

What's the value of a higher research ranking, as determined by a national publication, and "better" research and clinical rotations, if all of that does not translate to better matches?

I don't know why anyone would pay a premium for an inferior match list, but, ultimately, these two schools are pretty similar and OP has accurately captured the pros and cons of each. There is no clear or easy winner here.

OP should just pick the one they like more. Odds are very high their outcome will be the same at either one. I'd save the $50K because I don't think USF is delivering anything for it, other than a 40 point bump in a ranking no one really cares about at that level.

 

[SquidLab]

Both have very good match lists. USF has much better research and good networks with local hospitals.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I'm not so sure about "easily USF," unless the only metric worth considering is #46 vs. #87. For the record, the "PD rank" is not really a thing. It's just a reddit extraction of a statistically invalid data set from the USNWR survey. It's not an actual ranking.

What's the value of a higher research ranking, as determined by a national publication, and "better" research and clinical rotations, if all of that does not translate to better matches?

I don't know why anyone would pay a premium for an inferior match list, but, ultimately, these two schools are pretty similar and OP has accurately captured the pros and cons of each. There is no clear or easy winner here.

OP should just pick the one they like more. Odds are very high their outcome will be the same at either one. I'd save the $50K because I don't think USF is delivering anything for it, other than a 40 point bump in a ranking no one really cares about at that level.

It’s not just the match list. It’s Tampa general hospital vs. HCA.

50k is easily worth it

 

[KnightDoc]

It’s not just the match list. It’s Tampa general hospital vs. HCA.

50k is easily worth it

Don't get me wrong, because I have consistently felt that we are mostly responsible for our own success, so I don't really think match lists should drive decisions. But, if the UCF match list is comparable to USF's, just what is someone getting for the extra money and ability to avoid rotating through HCA hospitals at USF?

$13K isn't a crazy amount of money, but I just don't think OP is getting anything for it if there is something in the water in Tampa that is causing an abnormally high SOAP rate, in spite of higher MCAT scores, higher USNWR rankings, and access to superior research and clinical rotation opportunities.

What's the value of Tampa General vs. HCA if it doesn't translate to a better outcome? Why spend anything at all for it, let alone $50K? Bragging rights?