Which school should I consider?

[deleted667525]

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[DokterMom]

Apply to both! (They're hard to get into) And don't make up your mind until you've visited both programs. You may be surprised and like one program very much more than the other. Regarding the 7 year or 8 year program, don't let your preconceived ideas steer you away from one program and into the other. In fact, the whole "I want to learn other things" philosophy should give you pause as to whether a BS/MD degree is even the right choice.

 

[caffeinemia]

Let me give you a perspective of someone whose viewpoint is from significantly north of the mason dixon line and significantly west of the rockies... No out outside of the Southeast really knows the difference or cares whether you went to UCF or UF. MD = MD. And Honors and Step I > 250 = residency spots. That's all it comes down to dude. If you're paid up for college and don't care about the opportunity cost of being one year later to an attending's salary then go with the 8 year. This is often the view point of many who are young. There is no cost to time.

For some of us who are now on the latter half of this incredibly long road, we'd chop off our right arm to have one year less of surgical residency... but then we wouldn't be able to operate, so that's a bit of a conundrum.

 

[Glandzburg]

Well, specifically I am thinking of taking other classes such as psychology (and I discovered that will be on the new MCAT, but that is years away), other science classes that I would not otherwise have time to take, and maybe even a photography class (I find photography to be an interesting hobby). My favorite classes though, in high-school, has been AP Biology and Anatomy & Physiology. I loved bio, I found the biochemistry, specifically, to be fascinating.

Since USF is more "established" should that be considered or does UCF deserve as much merit since their programs are newer?

BS/MD programs are ridiculously hard to get into. You should apply to BOTH if you are sure that is the route you want to go, and definitely do not assume you'll even get into either.

 

[dextertrip]

Sounds like you may not be one hundred percent certain that you want to be a physician yet, I can't think of another reason to want to do a "basically" normal undergraduate. You want to be a doctor, if you were afraid of stress you would want to be something else. And that makes sense, you're in high school. The route is very long and if you have doubts it would be wise to put yourself in a position so that changing your mind wont screw up the rest of your life. That way when the time comes for you to decide to continue to move forward you will know that you are doing it because you want to be a physician, not because you are stuck and have gone in to far. For me, I was doing an bioengineering was my "just in case" after several years I had enough time to really understand who I am and what I wanted to do and I switched to biochemistry. If indeed I am way off the mark, apply to both, when you are interviewing ask the people in the program how they feel about stress and make a decision after you have interviewed.

 

[WingedOx]

What part of FL are you from? Just go be a gator. Don't make your career choice in HS. USF is basically in the Bush Gardens parking lot.

 

[deleted577188]

no one here cares...

 

[allantois]

I will be be blantly honest but students who do get into guaranteed admission programs are usually a lot more informed about what they are doing. You seem to be a bit all over the place. Go to any 4 year university that has a medical school to it in FL, and they will all give you a fine ground for applying to medical school later on.

Those minimum SAT requirements are just arbitrary numbers, as students who get accepted have well beyond the minimum. The high school I went to had students go into these programs every year and they typically were top of the class with stellar SAT/GPA, almost all premed courses completed through AP classes or dual enrollment and having extensive clinical/shadowing experiences.

 

[allantois]

@allantois Do a lot of doctor's/med students go through the guaranteed admission programs? At this point I am 99% sure I want to be a doctor, but there is still a 1% haunting me. I think this summer that I will volunteer at the hospital more, but I will also find a doctor to shadow on the days that I am not volunteering. I think this might give me a better view of whether medicine is right for me. Either way though, I agree that maybe I should just do a 4 year university and apply normally incase, for some reason, I change my mind.

No, by far most med students don't enter med school from these programs as spots in those programs are very limited. And they are not technically "guaranteed", because you still have to meet certain GPA/MCAT and other requirements, which are high enough that if you went to traditional college and made those stats, you would be a competitive applicant anyway.

I don't doubt that you know you want to pursue medicine as you have a family member as a physician and neither am I discouraging you from applying. If you do decide to go along with your plan (and you are right that you better make this decision early) you need to treat application for these programs as if you were applying to medical school already: they expect you to show maturity on interviews as well as back up your claims with relevant experiences in addition to being academically competitive. If you apply to UCF/USF you should probably also apply for similar programs at FAU and FSU, and don't worry about which school you are going to attend until you are accepted to more than one program. FIU also has some kind of arrangement with NOVA. I would not recommend doing a BS/DO degree, but if it will put you at ease that you have a reserved spot somewhere, then by all means..

If you decide you want to go regular route, then don't look at general ratings of universities: they don't matter as far as premedical affairs are concerned. I would say that for a premed UF>all other FL universities with a medical school to them.


http://www.fau.edu/honors/admissions_med.php
http://med.fsu.edu/index.cfm?page=honorsMedicalScholars.BSPhase
http://catalog.fiu.edu/index.php?id=2613&section=collegesandschools&college=1&parent=2612

 

[darklabel]

My friend was in the 7-year and she wouldn't recommend it. The problem isn't really with getting in (I believe they usually have a large starting class) but that it is very difficult to stay in the program. The minimum criteria would make you competitive for other medical schools and you still have to take the MCAT and get at least a 30. You may also miss out on scholarships and USF is known to give students financial aid. I don't think it's worth missing a year and you may find yourself wanting to go to another medical school in a few years. Plus, I would enjoy undergrad as much as possible since medical school would pretty much take over your time. USF pre-med however is pretty good and most students are happy there including my friend, who got into a great school even though she couldn't finish the 7 year.

If you decide you want to go regular route, then don't look at general ratings of universities: they don't matter as far as premedical affairs are concerned. I would say that for a premed UF>all other FL universities with a medical school to them.

I would personally avoid UF as a premed just because it is one of the top 3 seeder schools in the nation. The only reason UF has a lot of people on the interview trail is because so many apply from there. While it is the flagship school in FL, it isn't really prestigious enough to give you an edge in medical school admissions. Heck, I remember speaking to an admissions person from one of the FL medical schools and he usually holds UF students to a higher standard just because there's so many that apply from there (personal opinion of his, not sure if it reflects all FL med schools) and any schools OOS will just see UF the same as any other state school. Any state FL school would work fine for premed and it's important OP goes to where they would be most comfortable and able to get meaningful experiences as well as good grades. As a student there a few years ago, it was sometimes difficult to get meaningful clinical experience or volunteering at UF because of the small town status and the sheer number of premeds there were trying (competing) for volunteering. Going to UF would pretty much give you a ~45% chance (national average) of getting into an allopathic medical school per their FAQ http://www.advising.ufl.edu/pre-health/pre-health-resources/faqs/