What they didn't say at the UF interview

[MedJoe]

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First, what they did say (in a very enthusiastic tone):
"Third year students also have the option to complete some of their rotations at Shands in Jacksonville...We even provide housing free of charge."

Next, what they told second year students this Monday:
"You will be required to spend an average of 12 weeks in Jacksonville. While there, you will be provided at dorm room near Shands that you will share with two other third years (one bunkbed and one cot)."


I'm not trying to sway anybody's decision, I've been accepted and have committed to UF, I just thought others might like to hear this. It's by no means the end of the world, but this and a few additional lies I was fed at the interview make me wonder if there are other things they have misinformed applicants about. But I'm sure most med schools do some spinning during their interview presentations.

 

[TRUE]

What other lies were there? I'm interested to know. As for Jacksonville, I got the impression in my interview that it was basically required, especially since that's where you do your ER rotation. Of course, now they're building their own Tramua department under Dr. Lottenberg, so that could change.

The one thing that really didn't impress me about UF was their rotations. Too many random small places if you ask me (who wants to go to Lake Mary, FL for instance???)

 

[maswe12]

First, what they did say (in a very enthusiastic tone):
"Third year students also have the option to complete some of their rotations at Shands in Jacksonville...We even provide housing free of charge."

Next, what they told second year students this Monday:
"You will be required to spend an average of 12 weeks in Jacksonville. While there, you will be provided at dorm room near Shands that you will share with two other third years (one bunkbed and one cot)."


I'm not trying to sway anybody's decision, I've been accepted and have committed to UF, I just thought others might like to hear this. It's by no means the end of the world, but this and a few additional lies I was fed at the interview make me wonder if there are other things they have misinformed applicants about. But I'm sure most med schools do some spinning during their interview presentations.

I was told this at my interview. But in general its annoying that schools do lie to you on their tours (especially undergrad).

 

[MedJoe]

Glad to see that the two of you were not misinformed as I was. Perhaps my interview day was just an anomaly, but I do know that when the 2nd year students were informed of this on Monday, almost every jaw dropped to the ground in shock.

Concerning the "lies" I spoke of in the 1st post, it was mainly the portrayal of community, cohesiveness, etc.. that the second year students described during their presentation at the interview lunch.
Two examples (names are withheld): This big Indian girl explained to the interview group how their class is like one big family and how she would do anything for anyone of them. The truth is that she very frequently visits the dean's office to report students she has problems with. For instance, concerning standardized patients, students are assigned a day and time when they are expected to perform their physicals, histories, etc. When their time comes, they are expected to dress professionally (ie shirt and tie). One day there was a sudden opening and a student who strolled by asked if he could perform his exam then instead of later that week. He also asked those in charge if it was ok that he was a bit underdressed. All was approved. Anyway, the big Indian girl saw or heard of this and reported it to the dean. The student now has a permanent letter in his file stating his claimed "unprofessionalness." But at the same time, a friend of hers (former SDN poster numero uno and current "piece of meat" according to numerous male 2nd years) dresses in "club clothes" (ie extremely tight pants, cutoff shirts, etc..) everyday, yet not a word is said.
Second example, much shorter in length, thank god, my fingers are hurting:
During the interview lunch, another 2nd year spoke of how nice everyone is, how his class is "not at all competitive" and how everyone gets along. But the truth is he has provided the 2nd year class (actually an acquaintance of his provided it) with one of the most absurdly memorable quotes to date: "I will be number one in the class and I don't care whose back I have to stab."

These are just a few of the things I have heard from numerous second year friends of mine who tell it like it is. I must say though that what I have stated pertains only to the second year class (c.o. 2006). I know little about the first year students and therefore can comment very little about them. I do know that the 3rd years are quite different and are very friendly and family-like toward one another. In my opinion, the transition from friendly 3rd years to ***hole 2nd years is due to the admission policies of Dean Gessner, who began his admissions tenure during the c.o. 2006 admission cycle. He is notorious for showing favoritism towards certain types of applicants, such as those who are arrogant pricks like him. Also, being a music lover, he also caters to any applicants with musical backgrounds. I know many readers of this forum are probably now discrediting me due to that statement but it is the truth. I actually sat for a lecture last year that Gessner was filling in for. He was lecturing about different heart beats and then began to relate the rhythms to classical music. He then asked how many people in the class play an instrument regularly. Well over three-fourths of the class raised their hand. I'll admit, I know very little about music except how to download it. But I do know that only a very small percentage of the population (probably 10% tops) plays an instrument. So when you see approximately 80% of a student body that is musically incline, you have to assume that mentioning your ability to play an instrument on your application or personal statement carries tremendously more weight than it should. Just my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth.

 

[MEDicated]

hey medjoe,

sounds like you really don't like the admissions policy of UF that much. anyhow, i just wanted to give a different opinion. i also have a close friend in their 2nd year at UF and she loves it...claims that there really is support and i know others who agree with within her class. i think all med school classes will have some sour apples, but i don't think their class is as bad as you make it out to be. also, i have no music talent whatsover and gessner just accepted me. why do you have such a bad impression of gessner (seriously, im curious)?? he gave me a really great impression, but i really dont know him

 

[jedirampage]

I have to agree with MedJoe about Gessner. I think that that ever since he took over, the quality of the people enter the medical school as a whole has deteriorated. I don't mean academically (as numbers and big name schools are Gessner's major concern so that he can raise UF's standing in US News), but in terms of personality. I know quite a few people at UFCOM, especailly in the first year class, and apparantly a good half of them are arrogant and outright rude to their classmates and instructors. It is not longer the freindly environment it at least appeared to be a few years ago. But again, that's just my opinion nad the opinion of some friends of mine.

 

[movingonup]

I just re-visited UF to help me make my final decision. At the interview I did get the impression that shands Jacksonville was not a requirement

But... at the re-visit I was paired up with a 1st year and got the opposite impression... that Shands Jacksonville was required.

Actually, I don't care. As long as the move is easy for me (and it looks like they provide dorms for the time in Jacksonville) then I would like to do a rotation there. I am interested in Trauma, so this actually works out well for me.

The mini rotations talked about above - in lake mary - are not rotations at all... They are preceptorships. You do them as part of your 1st year (required). If you do well in the lottery, you can get a realy good one. Other than this most of the rotations in UF happen at Shands Gainesville, Shands Jacksonville and the VA in the 3rd and 4th years.

I have a friend in the 3rd year there - told me a lot about his rotations - he seemed to like them. But both him (3rd year) and the person they hooked me up with for the revisit (1st year) said that the 2nd year class is an anomaly. They are highly competetive. I don't know, maybe it just follows the alternating class theory of one good class one bad class. But the 3rd year friend said he was cool with everyone in his class. Non competetive and all.

I sat in on 2 classes... and hung out in the 1st year lounge during offtime. Everyone was friendly and talking to each other. They didn't even seem grouped as happens in undergrad.

Just hope we get lucky!!!

 

[exgatr]

and I thought I was the only one who isn't impressed with UF admissions.

 

[MedJoe]

hey medjoe,
sounds like you really don't like the admissions policy of UF that much.

Correct, the policies are definitely not my cup of tea. But I must say that all who work in the admin. office, especially Robyn, are great. They do a fantastic job of organizing the interview day.

i have no music talent whatsover and gessner just accepted me.

You're spinning my words to show that your UF acceptance is justified, which it probably is. I did not say that all or even most of UF accepted applicants received acceptance because they have musical backgrounds, that would just be ridiculous. Singing in the shower and in the car with the windows rolled up is the extent of my music performances, and I also received an acceptance months ago. I merely stated something I observed while attending a lecture and gave my opinion of it; which is that the percentage was too overwhelming to be coincidence.

why do you have such a bad impression of gessner (seriously, im curious)?? he gave me a really great impression, but i really dont know him

I just call it like I see it. There are numerous things, but here are the first that come to mind:

*Obviously, the whole music thing that I spoke of earlier. I dislike people who give preferential treatment to others when it is not deserve; whether it's music lovers, affirmative action, because daddy is a doctor, you were former Miss UF, etc..

*The "unrejection debacle" that happened during the c.o. 2006 admissions cycle. Basically, UF ADCOM initially admitted too many top-tier students. Being as cocky as they are, they believed that most of them would end up matriculating at UF instead of places like Harvard, Hopkins, etc. But that summer, many more than ADCOM accepted withdrew their acceptances. All of a sudden UF was scrambling to fill the class. So they ended up unrejecting numerous applicants. From what I've heard from numerous sources, this was done in great haste and they basically just skimmed through the reject file and gave acceptances to the first people that they could make contact with, as long as they were not criminals, had MCAT's above 20, etc. My problem with this is that the second year class is very polarized and unbalanced. You have a decent amount of top-tier students with outstanding numbers. But you also have too many bottom-tier students, who are barely getting by and probably don't deserve to be there. I know that's harsh to say, but it's true. A handful of these students applied to dozen of medical schools all over the country and did not gain a single acceptance until UF unrejected them. While at the same time, I'm sure there were numerous applicants who were accepted elsewhere who would have rather gone to UF, but had already committed (ie moved, enrolled in summer programs, etc.) to another med. school.

*Overall, just the vibe I got from Gessner...I know, it's vague. While he was very mild-mannered, if you would have read his body language you would have seen that it SCREAMED "I am superior to you and you should be humbled to be sitting at this conference table with me."

 

[TRUE]

I don't know much about UF other than what I learned at my interview so I def. don't consider myself an expert of any sort. However, Gessner seemed like a very nice guy. But as people have pointed out before: interview visits really don't tell us much about anyone we meet. There are people who hate Hinkley down at UM too. In reality, unless you work with any of them frequently, how do you know?

Medjoe: you're criticizing the guy based on his body language??? I mean, come on. I don't know much about hte other stuff you're referring to with the classes and such, and that very well could be true. But I think it's pretty unfair to criticize someone based on their body language.

 

[MedJoe]

Medjoe: you're criticizing the guy based on his body language??? I mean, come on. I don't know much about hte other stuff you're referring to with the classes and such, and that very well could be true. But I think it's pretty unfair to criticize someone based on their body language.

Great. Here we go getting off topic. Let me go ahead and apologize to the other readers, since I am about to take the bait and pull this thread more away from its initial purpose.

I first stated two concrete reasons, in decent detail, of why Gessner rubs me the wrong way. Then, much more briefly, I mentioned the vibe that I got from him and gave the caveat that it was vague. I would never base my entire opinion of someone on body language and vibe alone, but instead combine it with all other things I see, hear, read, and so on. So take it for what it's worth.

But I must say, if you're not observing other's body language while communicating with them, it's time to start. Communication is 60% nonverbal and 40% verbal. Of the verbal portion, only about 10% is through the words themselves. The remaining 30% is through inflection, tone of voice, etc. This is why politicians are now grilled over and over by their advisors and speech writers to make sure that their bodies are matching their words. I urge everyone who wants to be a good, effective doctor, to wise up and read a book or two on body language/kinesics. It will help you in all aspects concerning communication, both at work and at play.

Once again, I'm sorry to the SDNers for going off topic to clarify this matter. If anyone else wishes to criticize me and my opinions, please do not hesitate to do so. But please do it via private message so that you only waste my time and not everyone else's who reads this thread.

 

[TRUE]

I don't think my post semi-defending Dean Gessner is a waste of anyone's time. If you feel that it was, I'm sorry for wasting your time, but I honestly think you're wasting ours as well by criticizing him. While he is an important part of the medical school, he is not the medical school himself. Chances are you will have little interaction with him throughout your time at UF. Therefore, why not keep your posts ON TOPIC, and post only about UF, the interview, the things you've noticed about other classes, etc... Why bring Gessner into all of this? Your post about UF medical school has turned into an ad hominem attack on Gessner.

As for body language: body language is important. Dean Gessner's didn't say anything, especially given he talked to us seated from a chair. Then again, I never read a book on body language as you suggested.

 

[mlw03]

let's play nice, boys and girls. facted is right about Dr. Gessner just being 1 person. after you're admitted, how often do you think you'll see ANY admission director? only when they're teaching, same as any other prof. so the overall impression of any school's admissions director should be waaaaay down on the list of factors to consider in choosing a school.

as for the having to go to jax, i think that's a much more important topic, and something i didn't know until i saw this, and i'm in g'ville. although moving for a month probably is a PITA, jax is sure to provide a better assortment of ER cases than would g'ville. perhaps with shands becoming a level 1 they'll abandon that, but who knows.

I don't think my post semi-defending Dean Gessner is a waste of anyone's time. If you feel that it was, I'm sorry for wasting your time, but I honestly think you're wasting ours as well by criticizing him. While he is an important part of the medical school, he is not the medical school himself. Chances are you will have little interaction with him throughout your time at UF. Therefore, why not keep your posts ON TOPIC, and post only about UF, the interview, the things you've noticed about other classes, etc... Why bring Gessner into all of this? Your post about UF medical school has turned into an ad hominem attack on Gessner.

As for body language: body language is important. Dean Gessner's didn't say anything, especially given he talked to us seated from a chair. Then again, I never read a book on body language as you suggested.

 

[lesstalkmorock]

no flaming... just my 0.02

90% of the people i know play musical instruments. at least guitar - this is college everybody picks up guitar

 

[maswe12]

as for the having to go to jax, i think that's a much more important topic, and something i didn't know until i saw this, and i'm in g'ville. although moving for a month probably is a PITA, jax is sure to provide a better assortment of ER cases than would g'ville. perhaps with shands becoming a level 1 they'll abandon that, but who knows.

I dont think UF does a great job of selling some of the programs it has. Aside from having access to Shands Jax...Im pretty sure you can rotate through hospitals in orlando and maybe even in south florida your 4th year and they are still considered internal electives. I think there is also a program where you are paired with a G-Ville family and help understand "the patient" while assisting them live a healthier lifestyle. There's some cool stuff that they don't mention on interview day that may sway your decision.

 

[movingonup]

I dont think UF does a great job of selling some of the programs it has. Aside from having access to Shands Jax...Im pretty sure you can rotate through hospitals in orlando and maybe even in south florida your 4th year and they are still considered internal electives. I think there is also a program where you are paired with a G-Ville family and help understand "the patient" while assisting them live a healthier lifestyle. There's some cool stuff that they don't mention on interview day that may sway your decision.

The website really sucks too.

 

[gioia]

Ah, Florida.

Humidity, mosquitos, and sun-baked brains...

That sums up my opinion of Florida state schools.

 

[avicoo]

Ah, Florida.

Humidity, mosquitos, and sun-baked brains...

That sums up my opinion of Florida state schools.

hey come on! At least mention alligators and retirees!!!

 

[gioia]

I like alligators and retirees 😀

 

[Gleevec]

I guess this shows what I always suspected, there are some gunners at every school. It's just that some gunners are more academically qualified than others.