USF v FAU (any current students?)

[lilfr00tbat]

Hello !

I have been accepted at both USF Morsani and FAU. I’m terrible with decisions and am asking for insight that any of you may have.

FAU -
I have been incredibly pleased by their program thus far. P/F grading. The vibe felt very welcoming and friendly. The admin seem very geared towards helping in any way they can AND they have the ability to since the class size is so small. Admin promised many available opportunities for research / volunteering. Their match list is pretty decent, with plenty of matches into my specialty of interest going years back. My only :/ about the school is I’ve heard they are lacking clinically as compared to other FL schools. They are also not as established.

USF -
On virtual second look day, the admin were pretty harsh and said things that left a bad taste in my mouth. Grading is unfortunately HH/H/P/F. HOWEVER, USF has tgh as an academic hospital — which I love. They are also a more established school with greater resources for research and clinical experience than FAU. Their match list has been shaky these last few years (high SOAP rate, low high-competition specialty matches), but still solid matches for my specialty of interest.

While I don’t like the graded system of USF or their recent matches, I can’t look past their ample resources and academic hospital. FAU seemed incredibly inviting and like a school I could also thrive at if I put in some extra effort

If there are any current students that would be willing to chat / answer some questions to help me in my decision, please shoot me a message! It would be much appreciated.

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

USF and it’s not close

 

[lilfr00tbat]

USF and it’s not close

Would you mind explaining why you think so?

 

[Schwifty]

Would you mind explaining why you think so?

Higher rank, older more established school, more residencies, way better research opportunities, etc.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to school x vs. school y.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

USF far and away. Better location, better reputation, better affiliations.

I’ll add that USF was ranked 67 in the PD rankings and FAU didn’t even make the list as far as I know. While rankings only mean so much, my point is that the students struggling to match are not doing so as a result of the school they went to; PD’s appear to view the school itself favorably.

 

[KnightDoc]

USF far and away. Better location, better reputation, better affiliations.

I’ll add that USF was ranked 67 in the PD rankings and FAU didn’t even make the list as far as I know. While rankings only mean so much, my point is that the students struggling to match are not doing so as a result of the school they went to; PD’s appear to view the school itself favorably.

With all due respect, just what is this worth if students struggle to match in spite of it? TBH, I've been having a hard time figuring out just what is going on at USF. Very respectable ranking, for those who care about such things. Beautiful new facilities, great research, powerhouse hospital system, very high student stats relatively to the school's ranking, and a match list that is indistinguishable from any lower tier US MD school.

At the end of the day, I am a true believer that matches are largely due to the efforts of the students. So, bottom line, if all of the metrics we worship do not translate to excellent matches across a substantial portion of the class, just what is the value of those metrics?

Is there something in the water in Tampa, or are students not receiving the support and advising necessary for them to be able to effectively leverage all of the so-called advantages the school offers? If not, the other stuff doesn't really matter if it doesn't produce the desired result, does it?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

with mid tier, I think that some people may begin to get overly confident or even delusional about their chances. Both in terms of specialty choice and program mix.

Yes somebody at HMS can match derm with a 230 and a few pubs. USF is a great school but nobody is matching derm from the school with those stats

If judging soap or non match rates based on surg prelims (nobody matches surg prelims unless they SOAP or didn’t match categorical since they tend to be a dead end), it seems like there is actually more at mid tier schools. People at higher tier don’t soap as often while people from lower tier are aware of their limitations. Mid tier is blurry and thus people may apply to the wrong specialty or programs

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

With all due respect, just what is this worth if students struggle to match in spite of it? TBH, I've been having a hard time figuring out just what is going on at USF. Very respectable ranking, for those who care about such things. Beautiful new facilities, great research, powerhouse hospital system, very high student stats relatively to the school's ranking, and a match list that is indistinguishable from any lower tier US MD school.

At the end of the day, I am a true believer that matches are largely due to the efforts of the students. So, bottom line, if all of the metrics we worship do not translate to excellent matches across a substantial portion of the class, just what is the value of those metrics?

Is there something in the water in Tampa, or are students not receiving the support and advising necessary for them to be able to effectively leverage all of the so-called advantages the school offers? If not, the other stuff doesn't really matter if it doesn't produce the desired result, does it?

Who knows. Maybe they’re just enjoying Tampa too much lol. My point was pretty much what you said though, the results are more a reflection of the students than the school. I would be curious to see some residency apps and how they fair against similar apps from other schools. Perhaps there’s some reputation lag, since USF really recently started getting more respect on its name? Or maybe the clinical training there isn’t great and PD’s aren’t impressed by the residents they’ve pulled from there. So tough to say, but I see your point. I’d still choose USF though, personally.

 

[KnightDoc]

Who knows. Maybe they’re just enjoying Tampa too much lol. My point was pretty much what you said though, the results are more a reflection of the students than the school. I would be curious to see some residency apps and how they fair against similar apps from other schools. Perhaps there’s some reputation lag, since USF really recently started getting more respect on its name? Or maybe the clinical training there isn’t great and PD’s aren’t impressed by the residents they’ve pulled from there. So tough to say, but I see your point. I’d still choose USF though, personally.

I was struck the first year people starting commenting on the USF matches, which was 2 or 3 years ago now. I remember being shocked, especially when comparing it to a school like UCF.

USF has every advantage over UCF, and yet, the match list does not seem as strong, and they seem to have a bigger issue with SOAP. My first and only thought was that UCF students receive advising and support that overcomes all their disadvantages (no home hospital, now a new, smallish one run by HCA, few home residencies, rotations spread all over creation, mostly in HCA community facilities, much lower USNWR and PD ranking, etc.).

I'm no FAU fan boy, and can't imagine choosing it over any of the "Big 4" in FL (Miami, UF, USF and, believe it or not, UCF). My only point was that none of the advantages we commonly cite mean anything if they don't translate into meaningful results, and, for the past few years, by and large, they have not at USF. I'd pick it over FAU, but there are probably at least 50 lower ranked schools that I wouldn't pick it over, because I'd be very worried about whether whatever is suppressing results there would impact me.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

I was struck the first year people starting commenting on the USF matches, which was 2 or 3 years ago now. I remember being shocked, especially when comparing it to a school like UCF.

USF has every advantage over UCF, and yet, the match list does not seem as strong, and they seem to have a bigger issue with SOAP. My first and only thought was that UCF students receive advising and support that overcomes all their disadvantages (no home hospital, now a new, smallish one run by HCA, few home residencies, rotations spread all over creation, mostly in HCA community facilities, much lower USNWR and PD ranking, etc.).

I'm no FAU fan boy, and can't imagine choosing it over any of the "Big 4" in FL (Miami, UF, USF and, believe it or not, UCF). My only point was that none of the advantages we commonly cite mean anything if they don't translate into meaningful results, and, for the past few years, by and large, they have not at USF. I'd pick it over FAU, but there are probably at least 50 lower ranked schools that I wouldn't pick it over, because I'd be very worried about whether whatever is suppressing results there would impact me.

The advising possibility may very well be a factor coming into play here. Certainly strange that given the many resource advantages you mentioned, they’re stull struggling. It’d be nice to hear from current and past USF students about what they perceive the issues to be. Totally agree with you that USF might not live up to the hype and that I would choose other options over it, just not FAU for me.

This isn’t to deter OP from feeling excited about their choices; at the end of the day an MD is an MD and both are reputable schools. Just knit picking here and getting nuanced; congrats on two very solid choices!!

 

[KnightDoc]

The advising possibility may very well be a factor coming into play here. Certainly strange that given the many resource advantages you mentioned, they’re stull struggling. It’d be nice to hear from current and past USF students about what they perceive the issues to be. Totally agree with you that USF might not live up to the hype and that I would choose other options over it, just not FAU for me.

This isn’t to deter OP from feeling excited about their choices; at the end of the day an MD is and MD and both are reputable schools. Just knit picking here and getting nuanced; congrats on two very solid choices!!

1,000,000% agree!