Hi all! I know I'm just adding to the pile here, but like many others, I am in the extremely fortunate but difficult position of choosing between 2 schools that I love. I figured some outside perspectives would be beneficial! 
Tiny bit of background: I am from Maine (family is there) and now live in Boston/went to college here, my SO lives and works in Boston as well. I have NO idea what specialty I want - interested in pediatrics, family med, OB/GYN, and psych BUT also some interest in derm, neuro, PM&R, etc. Definitely not a surgeon. TLDR; I like primary care but don't want to close any doors.
Tufts Maine Track
+ Location/comfort - stay where I am for 2 years (and Boston is great), then return to my home state for 2 years, close to home/family/support system/friends who are going to Tufts
+ Received half-tuition scholarship for at least M1-M2 (hopefully for all 4 years)
+ Fairly strong reputation in New England -- good residency opportunities? I think I do want to do residency and practice in N.E.
+ Pretty strong & varied match list
+ Already have a bunch of faculty connections because I work at a Tufts-affiliated hospital
+ Pass/fail
+ Students seem really happy, collaborative, fun
+ Maine Track is an awesome program & seems to be small and close-knit group within the larger class
+ As a scholarship recipient, I have to participate in the LIC during 3rd year -> get to develop close relationships with faculty (usually 1:1 ratio), have longitudinal patient panel to follow (long-term relationships with patients = important to me), not traditional block rotations - would have more variety every day
- As cool as the LIC is, I'm a bit worried that it could limit my exposure to specialties in M3, and may hurt me if I decide on a competitive field because I won't have as much experience or all-star faculty connections, definitely strong focus on primary care which I am not set on, and requires a lot of self-directed learning and discipline, which I'm not sure will be my best learning style? I tend to like a lot of structure
- Location/comfort - a double-edged sword because I have lived in N.E. my whole life and have been itching to live somewhere new; getting kind of tired of Boston (and terrible winters! I HATE winter/snow/cold), worried I won't have many more opportunities to move across the country
- Tufts is definitely not a research "powerhouse" and I'm not sure if it would be tough to find projects to get involved in? Doesn't seem like a major concern
- Terrible cost of living in Boston, but 2 years in ME would be more affordable
- Scholarship not guaranteed for M3-M4 (depends on funding) -- if not, would be paying a lot more than anticipated
Total anticipated debt: ~$250,000
UCF
+ Interview day blew me away; I loved everything about it. Students, faculty, admissions were all so energetic, happy and helpful. Most visibly happy students I encountered at any interview. Think I felt a little of that elusive "fit" concept here
+ Not really sure what living in Orlando/Lake Nona would be like, but I LOVE Florida (family about 2 hours from Orlando, was practically my 2nd home growing up) and would love to live there for a few years -- can you say hot weather & sunshine??
+ Administration (esp. admissions staff) is so transparent and helpful, tons of support is provided to students and it seems like the school really wants students to be happy & successful
+ Brand new, beautiful facilities and teaching hospitals, building the "medical city", lots of technology involved in the curriculum
+ iPad and laptop provided with all books/materials you need
+ Orlando cost of living/housing looks REAL good coming from Boston
+ There are some positives to it being a newer school - Dean German's vision is really inspiring, and the match list this year looks like students are doing really well. I do think this school is going places and it would be cool to be part of it.
+ Did get a modest scholarship for 4 years that helps a bit with that OOS tuition
- Reputation - like I said, I think this is on the rise, but there's no denying it does not have the reputation of Tufts (especially for those residencies in the Northeast)
- Newer school = cool but still a bit scary
- Far from "home" and having a support system nearby is important to me, plus I want to be near aging family members; also more difficult for my SO to move down there so we may be apart for a while
- ABCF grading - I don't think this is as huge a deal as most people make it, but would prefer P/F
- Kind of the opposite problem of the ME track in terms of specialty selection - this match list has very LITTLE primary care (can you tell I want it all? LOL)
- Still not really sure about the quality of clinical years / rotations
- FIRE project - I want to have research opportunities at hand, but have heard some meh to negative things about FIRE's usefulness from students
- Expensive OOS tuition, close to $40k more than Tufts over 4 years (which I realize isn't that bad in the grand scheme, but I have UG debt so need to minimize it)
Total anticipated debt: ~$280-290,000
Sorry I'm not very good at keeping a long story short! If you made it through my random stream of consciousness, thank you!
Tiny bit of background: I am from Maine (family is there) and now live in Boston/went to college here, my SO lives and works in Boston as well. I have NO idea what specialty I want - interested in pediatrics, family med, OB/GYN, and psych BUT also some interest in derm, neuro, PM&R, etc. Definitely not a surgeon. TLDR; I like primary care but don't want to close any doors.
Tufts Maine Track
+ Location/comfort - stay where I am for 2 years (and Boston is great), then return to my home state for 2 years, close to home/family/support system/friends who are going to Tufts
+ Received half-tuition scholarship for at least M1-M2 (hopefully for all 4 years)
+ Fairly strong reputation in New England -- good residency opportunities? I think I do want to do residency and practice in N.E.
+ Pretty strong & varied match list
+ Already have a bunch of faculty connections because I work at a Tufts-affiliated hospital
+ Pass/fail
+ Students seem really happy, collaborative, fun
+ Maine Track is an awesome program & seems to be small and close-knit group within the larger class
+ As a scholarship recipient, I have to participate in the LIC during 3rd year -> get to develop close relationships with faculty (usually 1:1 ratio), have longitudinal patient panel to follow (long-term relationships with patients = important to me), not traditional block rotations - would have more variety every day
- As cool as the LIC is, I'm a bit worried that it could limit my exposure to specialties in M3, and may hurt me if I decide on a competitive field because I won't have as much experience or all-star faculty connections, definitely strong focus on primary care which I am not set on, and requires a lot of self-directed learning and discipline, which I'm not sure will be my best learning style? I tend to like a lot of structure
- Location/comfort - a double-edged sword because I have lived in N.E. my whole life and have been itching to live somewhere new; getting kind of tired of Boston (and terrible winters! I HATE winter/snow/cold), worried I won't have many more opportunities to move across the country
- Tufts is definitely not a research "powerhouse" and I'm not sure if it would be tough to find projects to get involved in? Doesn't seem like a major concern
- Terrible cost of living in Boston, but 2 years in ME would be more affordable
- Scholarship not guaranteed for M3-M4 (depends on funding) -- if not, would be paying a lot more than anticipated
Total anticipated debt: ~$250,000
UCF
+ Interview day blew me away; I loved everything about it. Students, faculty, admissions were all so energetic, happy and helpful. Most visibly happy students I encountered at any interview. Think I felt a little of that elusive "fit" concept here
+ Not really sure what living in Orlando/Lake Nona would be like, but I LOVE Florida (family about 2 hours from Orlando, was practically my 2nd home growing up) and would love to live there for a few years -- can you say hot weather & sunshine??
+ Administration (esp. admissions staff) is so transparent and helpful, tons of support is provided to students and it seems like the school really wants students to be happy & successful
+ Brand new, beautiful facilities and teaching hospitals, building the "medical city", lots of technology involved in the curriculum
+ iPad and laptop provided with all books/materials you need
+ Orlando cost of living/housing looks REAL good coming from Boston
+ There are some positives to it being a newer school - Dean German's vision is really inspiring, and the match list this year looks like students are doing really well. I do think this school is going places and it would be cool to be part of it.
+ Did get a modest scholarship for 4 years that helps a bit with that OOS tuition
- Reputation - like I said, I think this is on the rise, but there's no denying it does not have the reputation of Tufts (especially for those residencies in the Northeast)
- Newer school = cool but still a bit scary
- Far from "home" and having a support system nearby is important to me, plus I want to be near aging family members; also more difficult for my SO to move down there so we may be apart for a while
- ABCF grading - I don't think this is as huge a deal as most people make it, but would prefer P/F
- Kind of the opposite problem of the ME track in terms of specialty selection - this match list has very LITTLE primary care (can you tell I want it all? LOL)
- Still not really sure about the quality of clinical years / rotations
- FIRE project - I want to have research opportunities at hand, but have heard some meh to negative things about FIRE's usefulness from students
- Expensive OOS tuition, close to $40k more than Tufts over 4 years (which I realize isn't that bad in the grand scheme, but I have UG debt so need to minimize it)
Total anticipated debt: ~$280-290,000
Sorry I'm not very good at keeping a long story short! If you made it through my random stream of consciousness, thank you!
