USF vs OSU

[user5730]

Having second thoughts on my decision so I figured I’d ask one more time to see if anyone has feedback.

USF
pros
Close to family in state
Shiny new medical school building in a great location
No class rank (at least in m1 and m2)
Warm weather
Know some people already in Tampa
Cons
Tiered grading
High soap rates compared to the avg
Finals week at the end of each block contains 3 tests (in house, anatomy practical, and NBME cumulative) which seems kind of stressful. 2 other exams spread throughout the block.
Hospitals that we rotate at could be up to 40 minutes away from main campus in st Pete

OSU
pros
higher ranked (may help when it comes to residency apps?)
P/f
Renovating the current med school building
Less exams (one at the end of each block) with some quizzes sprinkled throughout
All rotations are within 13 minutes of main campus and the hospitals seem super nice
Cons
It’s ohio
Cold
Far from family
One test per block can be stressful
Don’t know anyone in Ohio
Ranked in quartiles

Costs are essentially the same.
I only attended the usf second look, got weird vibes from the staff, but I don’t know how much stock to put in “vibes”
My brain is telling me osu, but my heart says usf. Any insight would be great, thanks!!

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[mdog31415]

OSU has way more matches into competitive specialties than USF in recent years, so if you are big about neurosurg/plastics/ortho/derm, I'll give the bounce to OSU. OSU is not only renovating their med school building, but also building an entirely new hospital building. Having rotations limited to Wexner, Riverside, and Nationwide is a big pro. But the support network and warm weather of USF is huge. Basically, if you want to do a competitive specialty someday or do residency at a competitive institution, I'd go with OSU. Eitherwise, USF for the intangibles.

 

[deleted1161395]

Pretty equal, I say USF b/c support & weather!

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Ohio State is going to help you more later on than South Florida. Listen to your brain!

 

[showkayaker]

Sounds like OSU! Less exams and the SOAP-ing doesn't sound great for USF

 

[user305614]

Based on your pros and cons it seems like you wanna go to USF but the match lists between the two schools is stopping you. I would advise that most schools do hide the # of students that soap in order to make them look better, therefore I think this worry of yours isn’t reasonable. Instead you should really think about if you would be happy/ok with living in Ohio and being far from family, these are the things that will determine if your happy in school and if you made the right choice. Ultimately matching is on the student, USF and Ohio State are both incredible MD schools that will allow you to match into any specialty of your choosing, the only reason I could recommend OSU over USF is if you wanted to do residency at OSU or in the state of Ohio.

Best of luck with your decision and congratulations.