UCF vs FAU

[Chastyre]

Hello SDNers!

I've recently been accepted to UCF and FAU, and I was curious about what feedback anyone could give about the two schools apart from what I've already figured out myself. I'm OOS, so both schools would be equally expensive. OOS FA info is not yet available from FAU, so I'm working on the assumption that it may be comparable to UCF (if not better, if rumors hold true.) But being OOS and both of them new programs, I don't know a lot about their reputations. Will FAU retain the same basic status as UM's regional program that was there before? Any feedback and opinions would be appreciated!

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[Badancil]

my two cents.

As an FAU student and having been down to see the medical school and also being a likely UCF student for medical school, here is the comparison I can make.

FAU does carry with it some affiliations. Many of those are NOT in boca. but are either in Fort lauderdale, or in Palm beach. Also, while it is easy to say that the school is just going to pick up where it left off when the break happened, i highly doubt things will be quite that simple. Breaking off means that they no longer operate under the umbrella of UM which means less funding (FAU is cutting funding pretty much everywhere). I have heard good things about FAU from interviews, but no where near the good things ive heard about UCF.

as far as im concerned, the second FAU decided to break (in the middle of an application cycle no less, and i know a student who got accepted to the FAU campus and then was told they couldnt go there and had to go to miami now)
any established matchlists, or board scores went out the window. It may have many of the old faculty, but no matter what when that happens, things will change.
Could their board score average stay the same? sure. Will it? who knows. it is officially a new school, and one that has done a poor job of looking responsible.
I can tell you that there are many students here who are begging to get a different acceptance than FAU purely because of their dealings with the BOCA campus and how they handle things. It is not looked favorably upon by its own students.

UCF on the other hand has made it clear that they WILL be in competition for the top med school in the state. and in all honesty they are striving for that in every other area of the school as well both in their grad and undergrad programs.
to compare the two places. Boca can be nice, but its more of a retirement community than a college town, and is a VERY expensive place to live. Also miami is around 20~30 minutes away. Orlando is a tourist city, but it is also HUGE as far as surface area goes. and only one section is touristy, there are many neighboorhoods in olrando that have their own character. Oveido is where the UCF main campus is, and feels like a college town, Winter park is artsy and amazing, Downtown is a great mix of clubs, music, and great stuff to do (ibar and bbqbar are fantastic for white kids like me that cant dance and would rather listen to indie music while I drink and gyrate).

also to clarify Guju. the closest beach is cocoa, and if you live in the main campus area, its just about 40 min away on the 528.

FAU did used to be with UM. but i think theyre trying to milk that for all its worth after doing such a poor job with getting their admissions started ( i am aware that it was because of accreditation rules, but that doesnt mean this was the way to do it) and I dont want to go to a place that says "we used to be part of this really great med school, and we still have some of their hospital affiliations and some of their professors, and when we were a part of them we had great board scores and match lists.

because that says to me, great i woulda gone there then, but you could be going anywhere now that that great school doesnt tell you what to do anymore.

but go where you get the best financial package. and where you feel like youre going to be the happiest.

for me, thats UCF.
-BA

 

[fungirl]

I can not make a true comparison between FAU and UCF, because I am from OOS and have never had the opportunity to interview at UCF.

I believe there are several factors to consider when making the decision:
1) Location: Which did you like more?
FAU:
- is within a mile of a beach and in a resort town (very safe), but very close to Fort Lauderdale and Miami
- you will have to commute to clinical affiliates, but you will be given a cluster of hospitals in the same area to minimize the commute. You could move closer to your hospital cluster during your third year.
UCF:
- is in Orlando, which seems to be a thriving tourist destination and fun community

2) Current standing and future of the school
FAU:
- has retained many of its previous faculty and staff from when it was affiliated with the University of Miami
- because the curriculum has been tested through the UMiami students @ Boca, as the charter class, we will have less bumps in the road in terms of education
- the Deans of FAU come from very well known schools, such as Harvard, UMiami, and Cleveland Clinic and seem very committed to the students happiness and education
- the curriculum will be almost all Problem Based Learning in small teams, which is designed by one of the leading curriculum organizers in the world, Dr. Henson, who came from Cleveland Clinic!
- Like the Cleveland Clinic with a class size under 50 students and the Mayo Clinic, FAU will be maintaining its class at 64 students. This is HUGE, especially for a public school to continue to provide such personalized education after the first few classes have long since graduated. I believe the small class size will maintain the schools spirit and enthusiasm, but will also attract the smartest and brightest from Florida and the rest of the nation.
- FAU is offering joint MD/PhD programs through the Scripps Research Institute in Juniper, Florida. Since TSRI is a top 5 graduate program in the world, it will also serve to attract the future physician-scientists in the state of Florida as well as nationally. Additionally, even those who do not wish to do a PhD can still embrace the plethora of research opportunities available at TSRI and other clinical affiliates, such as the Cleveland Clinic.

3) Cost
FAU:
- still to be determined how much, if any, scholarship OOSers will be given
- the scholarships will most likely only pertain to the charter class, meaning they may have more difficulty next year retaining high quality OOSers with such a steep tuition.
UCF:
- still offering 15K scholarships for OOSers to the second (?) class. This will help retain those who loved the school, but were hesitant to go because of the risk factor and money (I hope FAU will continue to offer scholarships like UCF. )


It is clear that both schools are absolutely wonderful and I believe it will be a matter of deciding which one is a better fit for you and your career goals. I personally do not think you can go wrong with either decision, which is a wonderful problem to have.

I am also very curious if you would still consider going to either of these new schools if you got into the more established UMiami. I have been debating this question too, but with the other schools that I have interviewed at and subsequently been placed on the alternate list.

If cost is the main decision breaker! Perhaps you will have a decision made this Friday!! Do you remember how they said they were going to contact us?

 

[Chastyre]

Thanks for all of the feedback! And thanks for bumping this up, Guju. I thought it was going to float away and die like so many one-post threads.

I sat down and did a preliminary ranking now that I'm down to two acceptances and two waitlists. Guju, SLU is a fantastic school, but I think I've come to the conclusion that its time for me to have a change of scenery. I may have a change of heart if actually accepted, though, since I went there for part of my undergrad and have been a St. Louis girl all my life.

I am looking forward to PBL learning, but I also like the idea of having some structured learning with PBL as a supplement. UCF and FAU have very integrated programs (FAU's slightly more by description). When it comes to clinical locations, Jackson in Miami has to be the best from what I've looked at. UCF and FAU have comparable as far as distance and reputation. I don't really know how SLU's sites stack up against OOS, but they all have excellent reputations at home.

UCF has the best facilities, being the newest (except for a rec center, which Miami and FAU have amazing centers.) Florida wins on climate against SLU hands down! Orlando might be a little cooler than Boca or Miami, though I don't know by how much.

SLU and FAU both use a pass/fail system, whereas UCF and Miami both have grades or numbers attached. Grades can help distinguish yourself for residencies, but you might sacrificie teamwork. I guess it depends on the rest of the student body. FAU and UCF have smaller student bodies by a long shot, but having many people to meet and learn from is important, too.

At the mention of money, I throw my hands in the air since I've only had a scholarship offer from UCF. FAU won't know anything until the end of this week at the earliest, and who knows if I'll get off the waitlists as Miami or SLU. So until I have more than one offer, I'm taking that off the table for the moment. Now that I've typed a long response that no one will read (TL;DR ), I guess this sums it up for my personal preferences at the moment (subject to change): UCF = Miami > FAU > SLU. I have been in love with UCF ever since the interview, and my gut says everything is working out in such a way I should go with it. Miami just has some great opportunities and reputation, which would mean I'd have to give it a second look before turning my nose up at it.

In the end, I'm just so frickin' excited that I even have a choice to make! Three weeks ago I didn't think this would be an issue. Now I can't stop grinning and waving my hands around when talking to people...