Who's applying to Florida schools?

[NervousNed]

my opinion on reputation on schools in florida, and since i am have lived most my life not in florida heres the general idea, once again its my OPINION:

usf umiami uf - all fine schools, no one really cares to be honest about any of them outside of florida (sorry to be brutally honest, but its true), you wont be at an advantage if you went to one of these schools over the other, its not like going to a harvard, or a upenn, or a mayo, so you wont really be distinguised amongst the three, so pick which school seemed funnest to you


fsu- research oppurtunities are near null here, be careful to choose this over the other three, because if you want to do some speciality, and you want to distinguish yourself from other applicants, you almost have to do some type of research, and being at FSU will not grant you many oppurtunities, i would never pick this school over the other three because this school seems to shut out some oppurtunities that the other three dont

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[DrZeke]

my opinion on reputation on schools in florida, and since i am have lived most my life not in florida heres the general idea, once again its my OPINION:

usf umiami uf - all fine schools, no one really cares to be honest about any of them outside of florida (sorry to be brutally honest, but its true), you wont be at an advantage if you went to one of these schools over the other, its not like going to a harvard, or a upenn, or a mayo, so you wont really be distinguised amongst the three, so pick which school seemed funnest to you


fsu- research oppurtunities are near null here, be careful to choose this over the other three, because if you want to do some speciality, and you want to distinguish yourself from other applicants, you almost have to do some type of research, and being at FSU will not grant you many oppurtunities, i would never pick this school over the other three because this school seems to shut out some oppurtunities that the other three dont

LOL get ready to rumble.

 

[natusss]

I am soo happy!!

I have a question though, accepting the offer does not mean I will go there for med school. Or does it?
Thanks

 

[deuist]

You are correct. You must accept the offer if you want UM to hold your spot. If you do not respond in a timely manner, they will consider you as disinterested and will give your spot to someone else.

 

[TPROrgoTutor2]

Academics wise I believe most people consider UF the top of Florida, FSU the bottom (I loved it there, I guess bc its new and no real research yet), and USF/UM about tied in the middle.

 

[gujuDoc]

You are correct. You must accept the offer if you want UM to hold your spot. If you do not respond in a timely manner, they will consider you as disinterested and will give your spot to someone else.

To add to this, you have until May 15th to hold multiple acceptances at most schools except those like FSU which have early start programs and hence require you to notify them earlier then May 15th. Well its May 15th, unless the date has changed since last year. Don't know if it has though.

Perhaps Deuist can comment on this if he knows.

 

[gujuDoc]

my opinion on reputation on schools in florida, and since i am have lived most my life not in florida heres the general idea, once again its my OPINION:

usf umiami uf - all fine schools, no one really cares to be honest about any of them outside of florida (sorry to be brutally honest, but its true), you wont be at an advantage if you went to one of these schools over the other, its not like going to a harvard, or a upenn, or a mayo, so you wont really be distinguised amongst the three, so pick which school seemed funnest to you


fsu- research oppurtunities are near null here, be careful to choose this over the other three, because if you want to do some speciality, and you want to distinguish yourself from other applicants, you almost have to do some type of research, and being at FSU will not grant you many oppurtunities, i would never pick this school over the other three because this school seems to shut out some oppurtunities that the other three dont

Also to add on to this post, FSU was built with the focus of creating primary care doctors for underserved areas. So while I don't know how things will change in the future, its probably important to note that while it is still possible to go into other specialties, there school was founded on the prospect of producing primary care physicians and especially for underserved areas.

FSU isn't bad but its not the best in terms of a few things.

The things that truly concern me about their program are their lack of research as mentioned, but more importantly their lack of nearby medical facilities. One of FSU's greatest pitfalls is that they don't have an on campus or many nearby established teaching hospitals. Their rotations, like some DO schools and like Caribbean schools requires a lot of the students to have to move to other cities during years 3 and 4. Some go to Orlando. Others go to Sarasota. I don't know much about where else they go but the point is they don't have the stronger clinical facilities of UM and USF or even Shands Jacksonville and Shands Gainesville that UF students have access too, and to me that is the most important thing.

On the bright side, however, they do have strong affiliations with ORMC in Orlando which is a very well known and reputable academic teaching hospital as far as teaching hospitals go in Florida. While ORMC isn't Shands or Mayo or Jackson, it is definitely a top notch academic hospital and has been an established teaching hospital with established residency programs and qualified clinical faculty for a long time even before FSU ever had a medical school. But again, its very far away and I think they need to gain more established teaching facilities nearby.

The lack of research is something that will only be rectified over time as those things are things that don't change over night. Even USF 30 years ago wasn't that great but they've worked hard at establishing their name and I believe FSU will be able to improve in way of research and even clinicals in the future with time. But again as I've repeated over and over, they need more facilities nearby. That's the bottom line.

 

[gujuDoc]

I am soo happy!!

I have a question though, accepting the offer does not mean I will go there for med school. Or does it?
Thanks

BTW, you crack me up with your funny way of avoiding putting your profile details on your mdapps.

 

[vtucci]

Hey All!
I've been enjoying this FL thread for months now, and I have finally decided to seek some advice from you wise fellow FL folk. I am a current UF student, with family in St. Petersburg, and I have been accepted to UF and USF. I know it is an awesome problem to have, but I am really having difficulty deciding. I really would have called USF my number one choice, except that my interview day seemed really underwhelming. I guess i just didn't get a feel at all about what USF is really about. My question is, do you guys know if USF and/or UF has a second look? I haven't heard anything about this and it seems like this would really help. Also, if a school doesn't have a second look, have you ever heard of anyone shadowing a student or something like that? I am just grasping at straws trying to get the info I need. Thanks for all of your help, and for the FL applicant support!

To the best of my knowledge, there is no official second look at USF but if you want to come down and hang out with us and look at the classes, you are welcome to sit in (the only exception will probably be anatomy lab due to privacy concerns).

 

[gujuDoc]

Thanks for all the support everyone. I have some new developments lately - ie: starting to volunteer and do research within the next month. When should I start updating UM/USF of this information? I suppose I'll be well into it all 2 months down the line...is that too late? I'm hoping to maybe send in an additional letter from my new research supervisor.

What do you guys think?

PS - Laney...I'm routing for you!

Did you change your usernname??

 

[natusss]

BTW, you crack me up with your funny way of avoiding putting your profile details on your mdapps.

 

[DrZeke]

Did you change your usernname??

Yeah, but I left the avatar as not to confuse people. See it works well already

 

[deuist]

You should change the avatar, too. Pick something manly so that people will keep mistaking you for a guy.

 

[pipedream812]

Is it a better sign to be put in the interview hold category or to hear nothing at all as of now. I had a 3.2 in UG, but a 4.0 from the 1-year SMP at Barry University, a 29 MCAT, and I was completed in like August. I expected to at least be interviewed. Should I be thinking at this point I am sitting in the "rejection pile" right about now.

 

[DrZeke]

Is it a better sign to be put in the interview hold category or to hear nothing at all as of now. I had a 3.2 in UG, but a 4.0 from the 1-year SMP at Barry University, a 29 MCAT, and I was completed in like August. I expected to at least be interviewed. Should I be thinking at this point I am sitting in the "rejection pile" right about now.

Hey PIPE, it's me the Canadian from Barry. I know that you are going to get accepted somewhere and kick ass at Med School. It's just a matter of time, so hang in there.

 

[DrZeke]

You should change the avatar, too. Pick something manly so that people will keep mistaking you for a guy.

Yeah...I think I should...hmmmm what to put as my picture...

Grissom and not Sarah? oooo or Horatio

 

[nataly1313]

Is it a better sign to be put in the interview hold category or to hear nothing at all as of now. I had a 3.2 in UG, but a 4.0 from the 1-year SMP at Barry University, a 29 MCAT, and I was completed in like August. I expected to at least be interviewed. Should I be thinking at this point I am sitting in the "rejection pile" right about now.

I am looking into SMP programs and I was wondering what you thought of Barry's program. I would love to remain in Florida and I feel that I will have a better chance of acceptance into a Florida school if I maintain my residency. Do you know what the general requirements are in terms of GPA and MCAT? Also, do many of these students get accepted into Florida medical schools? Also, how many do they accept?

 

[DrZeke]

I am looking into SMP programs and I was wondering what you thought of Barry's program. I would love to remain in Florida and I feel that I will have a better chance of acceptance into a Florida school if I maintain my residency. Do you know what the general requirements are in terms of GPA and MCAT? Also, do many of these students get accepted into Florida medical schools? Also, how many do they accept?

If you screwed up your med pre-reqs and don't have a strong bio-sciences background do a post-bacc. Barry is a good program, but won't get calculated into your AMCAS GPA for undergrad. I think the program is known among Florida schools, but outside of that it doesn't carry you as far as you'd like. Universally, other post-baccs outside of the state of Florida - like Harvard extension program or whatever or anything at big NorthEast schools go a long way. Also, BU and Georgetown's 1 year SMPs are better known universally.

If you want to get into a Florida school, you can do something cheaper than Barry. On the interview trail, I've so far met people who did post-baccs/SMP or just plain old MS at FAU, UNF...and I can guarantee those are cheaper. Just get good grades somewhere in Florida... If you want more universal coverage, go to Georgetown

 

[facewait]

I am looking into SMP programs and I was wondering what you thought of Barry's program. I would love to remain in Florida and I feel that I will have a better chance of acceptance into a Florida school if I maintain my residency. Do you know what the general requirements are in terms of GPA and MCAT? Also, do many of these students get accepted into Florida medical schools? Also, how many do they accept?

If you have your heart set on UF, then dont go to Barry. Ive spoken to the admin director about this and she said to go anywhere but Barry. Im sure the program is decent but UF loves to hate. I also had a friend that did well in the program, had a good app and MCAT and still didnt get in after Barry.

 

[DrZeke]

If you have your heart set on UF, then dont go to Barry. Ive spoken to the admin director about this and she said to go anywhere but Barry. Im sure the program is decent but UF loves to hate. I also had a friend that did well in the program, had a good app and MCAT and still didnt get in after Barry.

I'd have to agree and I went to Barry. Some schools love us and some schools hate us.

I think UF is a sl*t for names and thinks they are Harvard. Earth to UF...you aren't. Of course, if they really were Harvard then they would be excited about where I went to undergrad...but they probably haven't heard of it...

Well, that's my personal reason as to why I didn't apply...

 

[futuredoc64]

Hey I heard that some programs at USF are on probation. I think anesthesia is one of them.

Any comments?

 

[pipedream812]

Well I havnt gotten any love from any of the florida schools thus far!!! WTF. Dr. Zeke have you interviewed anywhere in FL? If so when and where? Thanx

 

[DrZeke]

Well I havnt gotten any love from any of the florida schools thus far!!! WTF. Dr. Zeke have you interviewed anywhere in FL? If so when and where? Thanx

Yeah WTF bigtime, I don't know how that's possible, you seem like a very awesome applicant to me. I got interviewed at USF and UMiami. I only applied to those 2 Florida schools.

UMiami:
November 10th @ main campus ---- waitlist
November 21st @ FAU campus ---- accepted

USF:
December 11th --------------------waitlist, not looking all that promising...

I think Florida schools are starting to get very anal about ECs and motivations for practicing medicine have to very clear. My motivations were not clearly outlined in my AMCAS from what I can tell... I think UMiami interviewed me, because of where I went to undergrad. On my interview day, they had 2 from Harvard, 1 from Columbia, several from Emory... I dunno, just an observation I guess...

If I've learned anything, it's that this process is a complete crapshoot. I was rejected from SUNY Upstate and other 'less qualified' applicants are accepted their daily. It's all very subjective, and if you don't come across in a certain magical way, sometimes you just get passed over.

I'm routing for you, and if you are serious about a school like USF, get on the phone with REL asap. Anyone that you can talk to in that office is an asset. Get on the phone with them and just push for review or interview. There is no reason why you shouldn't be interviewing there.

The only thing I can think of is that this year several of the schools have mentioned that MCAT averages are going up, even for Florida residents. I think some schools are becoming anal retentive about seeing MCATs 30+... that's what REL said at least...

 

[nataly1313]

Thank you guys for your help. I am studying to retake the MCAT in April so I could have a chance to get in to an SMP. I would love to attend USF for medical school since that is my undergrad institution. Do you guys know anything about the USF SMP type program and how it looks to the USF adcom?

 

[PBandJ]

Thank you guys for your help. I am studying to retake the MCAT in April so I could have a chance to get in to an SMP. I would love to attend USF for medical school since that is my undergrad institution. Do you guys know anything about the USF SMP type program and how it looks to the USF adcom?

Gujudoc would probably be your best contact for that information since i believe she is in the program currently and is the resident expert on both the USF SMP and USF school of medicine.

 

[nataly1313]

Great, thanks again!

 

[MedStudentWanna]

In general, no. Attendance at lectures in UMiami is not required. Our lectures are videotaped and posted on the web shortly after classes finish for the day in the afternoon. We were told that if attendance drops significantly, they would stop doing this. Some people watch the videos at home and only come for tests or when required to do so. I attend lectures anyway (that's how I learn best) and so does apparently most of the class, because out of 150 I estimate somewhere between 120 and 130 people are always there. You get flexibility with the lectures. However there are group sessions every now and then that are for credit and you must attend, as well as clinical skills sessions where we meet with our fellow society members to learn/practice clinicals or see patients.

What about USF, FSU, and UF? Is attendance mandatory at those schools? Anyone know?

 

[deleted106503]

Does anyone know when the last interview invites are given at USF and Miami? Have they stopped giving out invites?

 

[MichiganManiacs]

I don't know about when Miami stops giving interviews, but their admissions office seems pretty disorganized. We were supposed to be told our admissions decisions on 12/20, and I haven't heard anything yet.

 

[rajad10]

wow, its been a while

 

[BrownianMotion]

Just needed to vent a little bit:

WHat is is up with UM-Miami, they are ridiculous, i came into this whole ordeal a huge hurricane fan thinkin I would probably end up at UM, but as this application cycle has run its route, i interviewed at UF, FSU, and USF all of them fairly early too as well as a number of OOS interviews AND I also got a Sept! interview from UM-boca branch (which i really dont want to go to), my numbers are above average for UM-Miami, my clinical experieneces and letters are solid and i call the office and they are like you have been reviewed and we are waiting and im like waiting for what? ive been complete for 4 months now, and then i send an emial to dr. hickley and he never responds, with all deceny you could atleast respond....the hurricanes were my favorite ncaa team goin into this, if this cycle ends like this....you can beat ill be the biggest anti-hurricane fan on this planet....

 

[vtucci]

Thank you guys for your help. I am studying to retake the MCAT in April so I could have a chance to get in to an SMP. I would love to attend USF for medical school since that is my undergrad institution. Do you guys know anything about the USF SMP type program and how it looks to the USF adcom?

REL can answer this best.

It is my understanding,however (and REL feel free to correct this if it is wrong) that most (7/8) of the masters students in the first year of the special masters program were admitted to USF COM in the next application cycle and 6/8 enrolled with the other one preferring the problem-based curriculum of a DO school in Florida.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hey I heard that some programs at USF are on probation. I think anesthesia is one of them.

Any comments?

I believe you are referring to the Anesthesia program but I don't recall hearing it being any other programs. That's the only one Ive heard of being on probation.

That is a residency program but I don't believe it is part of the 3rd year rotations so I don't think it will affect your education much whatever happens with that program. I wouldn't let that one program's difficulties affect your perceptions of USF.

 

[gujuDoc]

REL can answer this best.

It is my understanding,however (and REL feel free to correct this if it is wrong) that most (7/8) of the masters students in the first year of the special masters program were admitted to USF COM in the next application cycle and 6/8 enrolled with the other one preferring the problem-based curriculum of a DO school in Florida.

I've gone to the info sessions and to Mrs. Jackson, and they said that there were 7 students last year and 5 of those students got into USF. 1 student did not make it into med school due to their uGPA and 1. went to DO school.

Originally there were slightly more then 8 students but I believe they said one or two students dropped out of the program before it started because they got into med school off waitlists or things of that nature. I don't remember the details of how many dropped. Just know that it was 7 that ended up doing the program in its initiation and 15 this past year.

 

[gujuDoc]

Does anyone know when the last interview invites are given at USF and Miami? Have they stopped giving out invites?

Mid March for USF

I believe someone said something about April for Miami but I don't know if that is for sure. I only know USF stops some time in March. I believe middle of March is the last interview dates if past trends are anything to go by.

 

[NervousNed]

Just needed to vent a little bit:

WHat is is up with UM-Miami, they are ridiculous, i came into this whole ordeal a huge hurricane fan thinkin I would probably end up at UM, but as this application cycle has run its route, i interviewed at UF, FSU, and USF all of them fairly early too as well as a number of OOS interviews AND I also got a Sept! interview from UM-boca branch (which i really dont want to go to), my numbers are above average for UM-Miami, my clinical experieneces and letters are solid and i call the office and they are like you have been reviewed and we are waiting and im like waiting for what? ive been complete for 4 months now, and then i send an emial to dr. hickley and he never responds, with all deceny you could atleast respond....the hurricanes were my favorite ncaa team goin into this, if this cycle ends like this....you can beat ill be the biggest anti-hurricane fan on this planet....

what does football have to do with their medschool? those two things are fully unrelated, and so what if your stats are higher, there are tons of people with higher stats that dont get interviewed, just be happy you have interviews. and if your going to stop rooting for their football fan based on not getting into the medschool, you never really were a true fan

 

[gujuDoc]

what does football have to do with their medschool? those two things are fully unrelated, and so what if your stats are higher, there are tons of people with higher stats that dont get interviewed, just be happy you have interviews. and if your going to stop rooting for their football fan based on not getting into the medschool, you never really were a true fan

Amen! We are not the one who judges who's a better candidate. I mean not even people on here with a 43 and 42 MCAT got in every school they applied to even with awesome ECs and GPAs and what not.

It just doesn't work that way. Different schools look for different things and its hard to predict anything in a process as unpredictable as this process.

 

[R-35]

QUOTE=BrownianMotion;4630865] Just needed to vent a little bit:

WHat is is up with UM-Miami, they are ridiculous, i came into this whole ordeal a huge hurricane fan thinkin I would probably end up at UM, but as this application cycle has run its route, i interviewed at UF, FSU, and USF all of them fairly early too as well as a number of OOS interviews AND I also got a Sept! interview from UM-boca branch (which i really dont want to go to), my numbers are above average for UM-Miami, my clinical experieneces and letters are solid and i call the office and they are like you have been reviewed and we are waiting and im like waiting for what? ive been complete for 4 months now, and then i send an emial to dr. hickley and he never responds, with all deceny you could atleast respond....the hurricanes were my favorite ncaa team goin into this, if this cycle ends like this....you can beat ill be the biggest anti-hurricane fan on this planet....[/QUOTE]

Its ok man our football team sucks now anyways. UM, miami campus tends to be sloww. I received my interview invite a month after the boca invite or a little more, and I applied super early. Hang in there

 

[natusss]

I don't know about when Miami stops giving interviews, but their admissions office seems pretty disorganized. We were supposed to be told our admissions decisions on 12/20, and I haven't heard anything yet.

I would call them if I were you.. because I was told about their decision yestarday, and I probably interviewed after you (early december).
Best of luck to ya!

 

[DrZeke]

what does football have to do with their medschool? those two things are fully unrelated, and so what if your stats are higher, there are tons of people with higher stats that dont get interviewed, just be happy you have interviews. and if your going to stop rooting for their football fan based on not getting into the medschool, you never really were a true fan

Seriously. You're trying to be a doctor now. I'm not saying you should stop loving football, but what does that have to do with your frustrations towards Dr. Hinkley and the Adcom at UM...LOL I think you're going to have to grow up a bit.

 

[Soccer885]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I made a thread on the aloopathic class forum for people who are/or think they will be attending FSUCOM next semester! I just wanted to get to know some future classmates!

 

[REL]

REL can answer this best.

It is my understanding,however (and REL feel free to correct this if it is wrong) that most (7/8) of the masters students in the first year of the special masters program were admitted to USF COM in the next application cycle and 6/8 enrolled with the other one preferring the problem-based curriculum of a DO school in Florida.

Be careful with SMP's, especially the ones where you are actually doing the Med I curriculum alongside medical students like the one we have here at USF. We did end up with 7 in the initial cadre, and 5 did get interviewed, and each did receive an offer to be in the following year Med I class here. It is not an automatic entry process.

I urge each one who wants to get into an SMP like this to carefully evaluate your situation. IF you do not have a solid basic science background, I recommend that you DO NOT get into an SMP. I do recommend that you go about taking a MS in the basic science areas to beef up your knowledge to show an admissions committee that you can cope with the academics. I would also recommend supporting your new-found knowledge with an MCAT score which reflects science knowledge. Those who have a solid basic science GPA and maybe have struggled on the MCAT, or maybe the reverse, may be the ones who would benefit from an SMP. I consider these types of SMP's to be your final effort -- if you do well, you make yourself marketable bacause you have passed the Med I year, if you struggle, beware the fork because you are probably done (and it cost you $40k to find that out). For those reasons I urge caution and most often recommend a 1 yr MS in a basic science area (like our COM's MS Pharm or Molec Med) to show full time basic sci "muscle" to help show a committee that your undergrad was in your "past life."

 

[REL]

Mid March for USF

I believe someone said something about April for Miami but I don't know if that is for sure. I only know USF stops some time in March. I believe middle of March is the last interview dates if past trends are anything to go by.

We will interview until the end of March this year. We have completed scheduling through the end of January so far.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

I would also recommend supporting your new-found knowledge with an MCAT score which reflects science knowledge. Those who have a solid basic science GPA and maybe have struggled on the MCAT, or maybe the reverse, may be the ones who would benefit from an SMP. I consider these types of SMP's to be your final effort -- if you do well, you make yourself marketable bacause you have passed the Med I year, if you struggle, beware the fork because you are probably done (and it cost you $40k to find that out). For those reasons I urge caution and most often recommend a 1 yr MS in a basic science area (like our COM's MS Pharm or Molec Med) to show full time basic sci "muscle" to help show a committee that your undergrad was in your "past life."

To prove that your undergrad was in your "past life", can you also do an informal post-baccalaureate where you take full-time, upper-division science courses (physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, etc) and get all A's and score above a 30 (10 or higher in each section) on the MCAT? Does it have to be a special SMP?

 

[DReject]

what is the special master's program at USF COM called? does anyone have the website?

Thanks.

 

[deleted106503]

Mid March for USF

I believe someone said something about April for Miami but I don't know if that is for sure. I only know USF stops some time in March. I believe middle of March is the last interview dates if past trends are anything to go by.

Heh, I said "invites." Said it twice just to make sure no one thought I meant just interviews. I guess REL indirectly answered my question by saying the Janurary interviews are set up. So I guess that means there are some invitations left to offer.

 

[PBandJ]

Heh, I said "invites." Said it twice just to make sure no one thought I meant just interviews. I guess REL indirectly answered my question by saying the Janurary interviews are set up. So I guess that means there are some invitations left to offer.

i know he is saving up two just for us, williams, so no worries...

 

[REL]

To prove that your undergrad was in your "past life", can you also do an informal post-baccalaureate where you take full-time, upper-division science courses (physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, etc) and get all A's and score above a 30 (10 or higher in each section) on the MCAT? Does it have to be a special SMP?

It's probably best to take an organized full-time degree to leave no questions to a committee. But if you are trying to show basic science academic strength, you can take 2-3 full-time semesters of solid coursework with good outcomes and achieve the same things.

 

[DrZeke]

Needed to vent a bit. Does anyone else wish it was the time when waitlists started moving? I'm having a nice time this year, but wouldn't mind knowing where I'm heading next year...

Ok...I'm done complaining.

 

[GatorKMM]

when do the waitlists start moving? Can we really expect to not hear anything until after May 15th??