Drexel vs UCF

[lsykenshin]

Hi Everyone.
I need to decided this pretty fast and I was wondering if you could give your thoughts about my situation.

Cost: No real advantage for either school at this point, but might have a chance of getting some help at UCF.

Location: Both very far away from home, and don't know anyone in either city. Philly would be closer to NYC where lot of my friends are at, but I guess I'll live with it.

Overall: They are both great schools and I'm really happy to go to either one but help me decide~~! My concern about UCF is probably what everyone else would worry about in that they are NEW and don't have any track record. About Drexel, I got feeling that since it's one of the bigger schools, I might be just lost in the crowd. So if you guys could give some advice about these schools please let me KNOW!! I would also love to hear from current students about their experiences at either of these schools.

THANK YOU~

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[courtnes]

I'm starting M1 at Drexel this year. My $0.02 is that it winds up feeling like a smaller school since our classes are divided into PIL and IFM. I think having the two curricula is a bonus because you can choose which learning method works best for you. I've had the chance to meet a bunch of my/our future classmates last week and everyone was really personable. I doubt it'll be hard to find a group of people you mesh with. Also, all the current students I've talked to say the faculty are very student-focused. I don't know if I buy it yet, but we'll see. I can see how FL weather might sway your opinion though.

 

[mcm628]

I have interviewed at both schools this year and I would say UCF hands down. Before I give you some reasons though, I should admit that I place significant premium on warm weather. With you being from NYC, this may not be your case.

First, if you have been accepted to both, congrats Drexel is an established school with interesting curriculum options (PIL). I personally would prefer to be spoon-fed my medical education, so PIL did not carry much weight with me. The students there were very supportive of each other at both schools. The Drexel match list looked OK, and I stress OK--this is compared to the match of UCF, oh wait... With Drexel, you are probably aware of the extremely large class size (280ish I think?), so some could see that as a negative compared to UCF if personalized attention is important to you. Drexel, I think, would be more expensive. The base tuition there is 45-46K/year, at UCF it is 53K/year--but as an oos resident you should have no problem getting around 12 K/year as a scholarship. I am not sure what you are being offered at either school.

As we all know, UCF is a bit of a wild card. It might turn out to just be an average state med school, or it could pull a Mt. Sinai prestige-wise. In 25 years, Drexel will still be Drexel in that respect. In the end, Drexel is a safe bet, but if you are looking for warmth, crisp new pre-clinical facilities (which should carry some, but not HUGE weight), and potential, UCF is huge. It should also be said that in my opinion, the UCFCOM research is high-impact and high interest to me personally.

But hey, I'm also the kid that left Northwestern with a 4.0 for the University of San Diego, so once again, creature comforts carry HUGE weight with me!

Good luck. PM me if you have a specific comparison question. I have respect for both schools and can give you some solid insight.

 

[rabsa]

I have interviewed at both schools this year and I would say UCF hands down. Before I give you some reasons though, I should admit that I place significant premium on warm weather. With you being from NYC, this may not be your case.

First, if you have been accepted to both, congrats Drexel is an established school with interesting curriculum options (PIL). I personally would prefer to be spoon-fed my medical education, so PIL did not carry much weight with me. The students there were very supportive of each other at both schools. The Drexel match list looked OK, and I stress OK--this is compared to the match of UCF, oh wait... With Drexel, you are probably aware of the extremely large class size (280ish I think?), so some could see that as a negative compared to UCF if personalized attention is important to you. Drexel, I think, would be more expensive. The base tuition there is 45-46K/year, at UCF it is 53K/year--but as an oos resident you should have no problem getting around 12 K/year as a scholarship. I am not sure what you are being offered at either school.

As we all know, UCF is a bit of a wild card. It might turn out to just be an average state med school, or it could pull a Mt. Sinai prestige-wise. In 25 years, Drexel will still be Drexel in that respect. In the end, Drexel is a safe bet, but if you are looking for warmth, crisp new pre-clinical facilities (which should carry some, but not HUGE weight), and potential, UCF is huge. It should also be said that in my opinion, the UCFCOM research is high-impact and high interest to me personally.

But hey, I'm also the kid that left Northwestern with a 4.0 for the University of San Diego, so once again, creature comforts carry HUGE weight with me!

Good luck. PM me if you have a specific comparison question. I have respect for both schools and can give you some solid insight.

Re residency placement: being a new program means UCF will be an unknown commodity to residency program directors, at least outside Florida.

Not sure if the UCF weather is a plus. Sure, it will be warmer than Philly in the winter months, but it will be plenty hot and muggy the rest of the time. Florida also has tons of rain, thunderstorms, and cockroaches.

Kind of disingenuous to say Drexel's match list is just 'OK', because match lists only reflect the interests of a given class. Not everyone wants plastic surgery at Harvard.

(Disclaimer: accepted at Drexel, didn't apply to UCF. Just took a look at UCF's online brochure--looks beautiful.)

 

[QuizzicalApe]

Third year at Drexel here. Wanted to chime in with regard to mcm's comment about class size and personalized attention.

By and large, we have really great and personable faculty and staff, but due to the size of the class you will not automatically be afforded personal attention by most of them. That being said, it is actually really easy to get that personal attention if you make the effort to go introduce yourself, ask some questions, try to get advice, and generally go out of your way to make yourself known. It's not objectively difficult, but a person with a more reserved personality might find it more difficult than average. Even given that, I'll add that as someone who didn't go out of his way to interact with faculty, some of them got to know me on a first name basis because they met me in the hallway, introduced themselves, talked to me briefly, and greeted me by name forever after if we bumped into eachother.

All things being equal, you'll probably have oodles more personal attention as a PIL student because you'll be used to a largely small group format.

Also regarding match lists, I agree with rabsa on it reflecting the interests of the class. Earlier today I believe our OBGYN director claimed that we had produced more OBGYN residents in one class than the other Philly schools put together. I didn't fact check because I don't know what I want to be when I grow up and don't particularly concern myself with match lists. Regardless, that's not because OBGYN is a dumping ground for would-be derm, ortho, and neurosurgery residents whose neurotic brilliance didn't match their lofty aspirations.

It's just because lots of people want what by all accounts is a job that will undoubtedly end up grinding me into a fine powder for six weeks.

go figure

 

[mcm628]

Re residency placement: being a new program means UCF will be an unknown commodity to residency program directors, at least outside Florida.

Not sure if the UCF weather is a plus. Sure, it will be warmer than Philly in the winter months, but it will be plenty hot and muggy the rest of the time. Florida also has tons of rain, thunderstorms, and cockroaches.

Kind of disingenuous to say Drexel's match list is just 'OK', because match lists only reflect the interests of a given class. Not everyone wants plastic surgery at Harvard.

(Disclaimer: accepted at Drexel, didn't apply to UCF. Just took a look at UCF's online brochure--looks beautiful.)

I agree with this 100%...if I had only been looking at a match list for 1 year. I should have explained that when I was considering Drexel, my due diligence took me as far out as I could find information for. Should have said match lists! My B.

Also true that Florida does get super muggy. lsykenshin, did you get my PM? It should help

 

[lsykenshin]

thank you all for your input on this issue. Does anyone else have some opinion about UCF and what their outlook seems to be?

 

[REL]

thank you all for your input on this issue. Does anyone else have some opinion about UCF and what their outlook seems to be?

Just some data to consider when applicants had the choice between UCF and any other Florida Med Program the result was in favor of UCF in every instance (two year numbers - read UCF as first number)

16-0 vs FSU
10-1 vs FIU
11-4 vs UM
16-9 vs UF
22-4 vs USF

(FYI: 5-0 vs Drexel too)

UCF is the new paradigm in medical school curriculum placed in the midst of what will be the world's only from scratch medical city (Nursing, Dental, biomed research, clinical facs) adjacent to an international airport. Superb leadership, faculty, and community energy. A place for the creative and the future leaders in healthcare that will get you the residency. It is not like any other program, so there is no comparison. No coasting here, it's for the creative, the compassionate, and the future leaders of health care. This is a unique opportunity that does not come around often, grab it or let it loose.

 

[mes415]

thank you all for your input on this issue. Does anyone else have some opinion about UCF and what their outlook seems to be?

As one of the 5 who chose UCF over Drexel when given the lucky opportunity to have acceptances at both I figured I'd chime in a little. This was a very very difficult decision for me to make and I feel I made the right one 100%. I have nothing negative to say about Drexel, I think its an amazing school and I met great people and friends at their second look. But with that being said, for me UCF was the best choice hands down. The opportunity to be apart of a new and growing medical community is a unique one. If you are the type of person that wants to go out and create your own reputation and really be a leader, a new school, especially one like UCF, is the perfect place to do it. An older more established school is just that, established. A new school allows for the current students to shape its reputation and shape the program to what fits the students best. If you are a go-getter that is willing to step up and find resources, I don't see any reason a new school couldn't give you the best match possible for residency. This is something I really had a hard time understanding myself, since UCF has no match list to look at and no track record to bank on. At first it seemed like it was a gamble. I have now come to see that no matter where you go, med school is going to be what you make of it and residency depends on your interests and talents above all else. There's a lot more I could say, but if you have any specific questions for me personally feel free to PM me. good luck! And congrats!