UVA vs FAU

[venezuelanpremed]

Hi, everyone! I recently received a full ride for FAU and half-tuition off for UVA... I am really really confused on which one should I choose.

UVA
Pros:
- 1.5 pre-clinical years
- Everyone seemed really happy there!
- Better research opportunities
- They have their own academic hospitals
- Strong reputation in medicine
- Older program
- High avg. step 1 scores

Cons:
- I’ll be graduating with around (130k in debt)
- Far from family
- Charlottesville is in the middle of nowhere….

FAU
Pros:
- I will be graduating with no debt
- It is located in Boca Raton, so it is a very nice area and close to the beach
- Closer to family and friends
- Small class size
- High avg. step 1 scores

Cons:
- New program
- Not much reputation in medicine
- They do not have their own academic hospital.

I think that both schools do a good job helping match students into good residency programs.

Thanks!

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[Quantal Reasoning]

I mean, it sounds like you're looking for a reason to go to FAU rather than UVA. My choice would be UVA by quite a bit, but then again I am not you. If all you are concerned about is "matching into good residency programs", then yes I suppose FAU is the better choice here.

 

[subdermallight]

I liked FAU too but I want to go to a competitive residency and if that’s your end goal too then I think you would have an easier time doing it at UVA. Though I haven’t seen the FAU match list, is it online?

 

[Rachapkis]

The age old question of money versus prestige. You have to follow your heart.

 

[hydrationshell]

I interviewed at UVA, and I thought it was phenomenal. I’m from South Florida myself and I’ll say that Charlottesville really did not seem like the middle of nowhere to me. Boca Raton is fairly small in my opinion and doesn’t really have a young and vibrant scene.

Here is a mixture of my takes and pros of UVA:
1) UVA had some of the friendliest and welcoming students and faculty I’ve met throughout my interview trail.
2) UVA undergrad is close by the medical school which has a pretty good college town feel with good food and music
3) UVA has incredible research labs that you could potentially participate in
4) Charlottesville is a very affordable place to live

Despite, not ultimately choosing to go to UVA I feel strangely biased towards them simply because of how positive my experience was when I visited them.

 

[SnP500]

I can’t find the FAU match list anywhere online so that should tell you something about how well they match into competitive specialties

 

[subdermallight]

I can’t find the FAU match list anywhere online so that should tell you something about how well they match into competitive specialties

Nah that’s not true. They actually have a really good match list.

FAU 2016 Match List

 

[SnP500]

Nah that’s not true. They actually have a really good match list.

FAU 2016 Match List

No ortho, no plastics, and only 1 derm. I wouldn’t say that’s very good.

And I meant a match list from the school. We don’t know how accurate this really is.

 

[subdermallight]

No ortho, no plastics, and only 1 derm. I wouldn’t say that’s very good.

And I meant a match list from the school. We don’t know how accurate this really is.

Fair enough. I was just looking the programs, not the specialty.

The school did release something but it’s not all the information: http://www.med.fau.edu/newsandevents/FAU COM Match Day 2018_Early.pdf

I’m not arguing for FAU. They are weak when it comes to clinicals, they need more time to make a name for themselves. Nonetheless they seem to be getting there pretty fast

 

[deleted868248]

Here's the 2018 match list if anyone is interested.

 

[lalalallala]

There are people from FAU matching at Harvard and Duke - you have no idea where people in that class wanted to go and whether they even wanted derm/plastics or wanted primary care/general surgery and to stay in Florida. That match list is not concerning to me. FAU has high step scores, you'll have a support system there, it's in the location you want - Take the full ride in my opinion

 

[puahate]

UVA is the better program but cant beat no debt.

 

[meddoctorhopeful]

FAU! I have the match lists from the past four years, hope that helps. Definitely agree about the no debt option