FIU HWCOM vs Wright State Boonshoft

[Thorgan17]

I have been accepted into both Wright State and FIU and am struggling to pick between them. I’ll list some pros and cons and info that I’ve gathered from speaking with a lot of students and residents. I am out of state at both. I am open to any info / guidance people may have. The biggest thing I struggle with is the battle of home residency differences that may not even end up applying to me.

• I am interested in beginning med school with a focus in Ophthalmology or Orthopedic Surgery as they are competitive but am open to changing
• Neither has a home residency ophthalmology program.
• I’ve compared the matches in the last 5 years and they are incredibly similar especially in competitive specialties including ones where Wright State has home programs

FIU

Pros:

• Miami weather (I’m from the north)
• Lecture based curriculum with optional attendance at most sessions
• Research is required for all students
• Fellowship programs in Ortho
• Baptist Health Partnership (newer full partnership and may have more opportunities)
• Rotate within Miami and can live in same place
• Supportive of away rotations
• Ophthalmology is growing and they have more applicants each year. I can utilize previous students and their experiences/research.
• Bascom Palmer Eye institute nearby and works with FIU students
• After speaking with numerous students: culture is very supportive and essentially the Reddit stuff was a lie/exaggerated extremely
• Great board scoring and prep

Cons:

• No home residency in Ortho or Ophthalmology
• Slightly higher avg cost and increased cost of living
• Not super research based
• Have to find lots of own opportunities

Wright State

Pros:

• Closer to home (not hugely important but considering)
• Home residency in Ortho and other programs
• Supportive student culture
• Good local partnerships and hospital affiliations
• Slightly less avg cost and lower cost of living

Cons:

• Weather
• Flipped classroom curriculum
• not as high of board scores/good of prep. (Students find they have to teach themselves more)
• Have ophthalmology matches but not as established and students had a harder time getting exp
• Not very academic/research focused
• May have to travel/move for rotations
• Does not have affiliations with other more academic institutes

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[BarrBodyGuy]

FIU

 

[Thorgan17]

FIU

Any reasons or based on mine?

 

[BarrBodyGuy]

Any reasons or based on mine?

mostly based off of what you stated. I think having Bascom Palmer in the city is going to help, I know a good amount of FIU students do research there and take advantage of the Gap year research fellowship offered by Bascom Palmer.

 

[BattalionX]

All I can say is that I am an FIU undergrad student and all the FIU med students I know are very happy and only have exceedingly positive things to say about their school. I have friends who have graduated doing optho/gas/derm at great places that are sad I am commiting elsewhere. Nonetheless, I know there's a lot of bad press regarding the FIU 'scandal' from years ago, but even students who attended when all that went down still speak positively of the school.

The faculty are also a charm. However, I don't know if you can classify the weather as a pro. Lots of northerners come to Miami expecting the sunny dream they might get in California but the humidity is something else. It could be your biggest enemy.

Don't know anything about Wright. FIU has a lot of optional attendance and not too much mandatory, so it shouldn't be hard finding research opportunities in Miami.

Good luck 🙏

 

[indebtedsaddle23]

I might be biased bc I got into Wright State and considering, but having a home residency in ortho is HUGE and will help you get LORs, research, connections you need. The students and faculty were and have been so supportive and nice too during this process.

 

[eyeeye_captain]

You listed a bigger pro/con ratio in favor of FIU. Seems like that’s your gut feeling. In pro/con lists, I always put curriculum at the top so people pass and excel, and you don’t feel like Wright State is a fit there.

For the non-ophtho crowd, Bascom Palmer is not just a top place in the country - it’s number one. If I got a LOR/call from any number of the faculty, it’s going a long way in such a small field. The caveat is that you do have to make it happen (hopefully the connection to FIU does exist), and you have to be productive and a good member of the team. I’m pretty sure Miami has a good ortho program as well, so if there’s something similar in that department, it’s a big win. At worst you would have the FIU fellowship folks as a resource.

 

[threeroses]

I have been accepted into both Wright State and FIU and am struggling to pick between them. I’ll list some pros and cons and info that I’ve gathered from speaking with a lot of students and residents. I am out of state at both. I am open to any info / guidance people may have. The biggest thing I struggle with is the battle of home residency differences that may not even end up applying to me.

• I am interested in beginning med school with a focus in Ophthalmology or Orthopedic Surgery as they are competitive but am open to changing
• Neither has a home residency ophthalmology program.
• I’ve compared the matches in the last 5 years and they are incredibly similar especially in competitive specialties including ones where Wright State has home programs

FIU

Pros:

• Miami weather (I’m from the north)
• Lecture based curriculum with optional attendance at most sessions
• Research is required for all students
• Fellowship programs in Ortho
• Baptist Health Partnership (newer full partnership and may have more opportunities)
• Rotate within Miami and can live in same place
• Supportive of away rotations
• Ophthalmology is growing and they have more applicants each year. I can utilize previous students and their experiences/research.
• Bascom Palmer Eye institute nearby and works with FIU students
• After speaking with numerous students: culture is very supportive and essentially the Reddit stuff was a lie/exaggerated extremely
• Great board scoring and prep

Cons:

• No home residency in Ortho or Ophthalmology
• Slightly higher avg cost and increased cost of living
• Not super research based
• Have to find lots of own opportunities

Wright State

Pros:

• Closer to home (not hugely important but considering)
• Home residency in Ortho and other programs
• Supportive student culture
• Good local partnerships and hospital affiliations
• Slightly less avg cost and lower cost of living

Cons:

• Weather
• Flipped classroom curriculum
• not as high of board scores/good of prep. (Students find they have to teach themselves more)
• Have ophthalmology matches but not as established and students had a harder time getting exp
• Not very academic/research focused
• May have to travel/move for rotations
• Does not have affiliations with other more academic institutes

FIU student here who matched ophtho - I will say that I loved my experience at FIU and we have been doing better in the ophthalmology space! However, do understand that it's really on you to make opportunities for yourself and pursue competitive specialties like ophtho or ortho. There just aren't many resources for us. I think it is a great growth experience to have to advocate for yourself and make it happen though, so I wouldn't change my experience. Just food for thought! My DMs are open if you want to discuss further.