Ask a graduating senior...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Miami - Florida
1

<p>Hi boys and girls;</p>

<p>I always wanted to do this because websites like this have been VERY important and influential on my success so far in life. If you have any questions at all about UM feel free to post it here. </p>

<p>I am graduating in the spring and heading to a top medical school next year. Academics, athletics, the attractive females, weather, housing, the women (oh, did I already mentioned that?)....anything I'll try my best to give an honest and helpful response. Yeah, so let me know if I can be of any help...</p>

2

<p>this may be a bit too personal but are you in a lot of debt? If not, how? Its so hard to pay for it besides full scholarships and only a select few get them. I got the 20k and my families EFC is 0 which means they cant pay anything so I am assuming financial aid will pay the rest, but how much of the financial aid package is going to be loans?</p>

3

<p>Did you feel the students were overly cliquey at Miami? Did you find it easy to make friends and/or relationships at the U?</p>

4

<p>I want to go to med school as well and wanted to get yor opinion on the overall pre-med program. Like how are classes do you get a seperate advisor and does the school do a good job of setting up research opportunities either at the Miller School of Medicine or elsewhere?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

5

<p>Miami or university of Michigan? Can’t decide…help!</p>

6

<p>UMcane343,</p>

<p>I cannot stress it enough, do not get into serious financial burdens during your undergraduate years. I will explain below.</p>

<p>I was not a Singer Scholar, I received 3/4 scholarship and Bright Futures which came out to about 30k in scholarships (plus about 20k in external scholarships and roughly 5k each summer working in labs). Remember that while the UM tuition will rise anywhere from 2-5% each year you are here, your scholarship will not. Hence, I have gone from only paying for my dorm freshman year (a mere 5k) to (now my senior year) paying about 4k in tuition plus my luxury apartment in Brickell (not necessary). Fortunately, my parents did pick up whatever tab the scholarships did not. This was my situation and I do realize that this will not be the case for many.</p>

<p>If your EFC is 0, you will likely be paying the rest on loans. Figure that tuition for 4 years will run about 160k. I don’t know if you are from Dade or Broward, but if you live on campus, you may live in the Stanford/Hect and/or Mahoney/Pearson/Eaton for your first two years (I’m not sure on the rates these days but figure 7k each year along with the meal plan 2k? each). Your junior and senior year you will at least want to live in University Village (12k each plus food…another 3k each?). Now you are upwards of 200k. So basically with that 20k a year you are still looking at 120k (easy!) in loans. Please use an online calculator to see what that really is with interest. </p>

<p>In my opinion, this is simply way too much in undergrad loans. Honestly, without external scholarships, I would not advice getting into this type of debt. Why, you may ask?</p>

<p>If you go the med route, you are looking at an ANOTHER 200k+ in loans (everyone takes out loans for med school!), law school is similar in loans, and business school is a little less but nonetheless still expensive. Grad school (phd) is free though… You also have to figure in potential salaries, will you be able to pay off that 120k+ later on, and do you want to dig yourself into that hole?</p>

<p>Now, I know you are asking, but won’t that 120k be nullified by the bump I get in grad school (or job placement) with a UM pedigree. Well, my answer (from a med school perspective is no)… I had to bust my back to get a high MCAT score and keep a consistent GPA and EC to even get noticed by the top 20 med schools (a feat you will have to do at ANY school in the country). Law is the same, if you don’t pull the 160+ LSAT here you won’t get into a Tier 1 school and make the type of money you will need to pay off this debt. Business students here generally will NOT get into in IB (you know those cushy 100hr per week jobs in Manhattan paying 120k to straight out Ivy League students). </p>

<p>Lastly, remember this (and I know it is clich</p>

7

<p>RGHelmcamp;</p>

<p>After spending 4 years here, I think I have finally figured it out. Yes, UMiami definitely has its cliques.</p>

<p>1) Those coming down here to party. These individuals join frats and sororities. Grove on Thursday, SoBe on Fridays, SoBe again on Saturdays. Rinse and repeat next week.</p>

<p>2) Those who focus on academics. You will notice that the same kids are at the library at 11pm every night…</p>

<p>3) Mid-tier, those who want to get into graduate or professional school but want to have fun. They “try” to manage getting wasted on Th,Fr, Sat while excelling in classes. It’s a hard feat to accomplish.</p>

<p>4) Engineers…yeah they are a group of their own.</p>

<p>5) The 305ers, commuters get to know each other early on and tend to stick together remarkably well.</p>

<p>Now, some kids come in here freshmen year, get wasted every night, and become Grove-aholics. Sophomore year they realize they f’d up their lives and try to change, but it is too late, the damage is already done. Remember if you plan on applying to grad school at the end of junior year, your 1st three years matter most (hence 1/3 of that is already ruined in this case). I know plenty of wannabe pre-meds who like to party excessively freshmen year and have now become “business” majors.</p>

<p>You will find your group here. While a lot of people drive a 3 series (leases) there are also middle class and poorer students. Academics to social, it all exists here in a variety of forms.</p>

<p>Now for relationships:</p>

<p>I know I will get flamed for this by other students, but they don’t exist here. I came to Miami with a gf (she went to Emory) and I stayed with her until last year. Why? My gf actually wanted a relationship! Huh, what the hell is this guy talking about??</p>

<p>Well, save the random frat/soro exchange most good looking girls down here (and believe me this school is getting hotter every freakin year it seems) don’t want relationships. Good looking girls, if you are reading this, you will see what I mean when you get here. You see, while you may club with the same group every week, why tie yourself down? So many good looking people, you can get laid by whoever / whenever you want. And if you are a hot female, the club doors magically open everywhere. Plus, if you are ultra into your studies and gunning for law, business, med, grad school you don’t have time to get wasted, so you never really have time to associate and make these relationships. Its not like the IVY League where everyone sees things the same way and is looking for a partner to spend their life with. </p>

<p>Bottom line, UMiami resembles Miami itself. Lots of external flash (people try to show off beyond their means), lots of random hookups, little true relationships. The GOOD does exist though if you look hard enough.</p>

8

<p>Vdub212;</p>

<p>Excellent questions, and the type you should be asking about any school you are looking it. For med school there are three compenents to every puzzle: GPA, MCAT, EC.</p>

<p>GPA: this is critical, meaning you need to have it. If you don’t you are screwed, if you do congradulations you are officially in the race. You need to get around a 3.7 to get into the race to get into a med school (note I did not say a 3.7+ equates getting into a med school).</p>

<p>MCAT: this seperates the men from the boys. I know far too many 3.9 GPA students not getting into med school. Why? This test. It is possibly the second most brutal test a doctor will ever take in his or her life (second to Step 1). Why is it so difficult??? It integrates knowledge with reading comprehension. You must be able to know your basic sciences cold and do something not many can do: Reasonably use logic to derive the best answer. Memorization will help but will not get you a 30+ on this test. </p>

<p>EC: quite simply you got to have these. You must set yourself apart from the pack somehow, and this is the key. Do something unusual or as I like to say, advance science and medicine. But, I’m a sophomore in college how can I advance science when scientists in the field have hit a brick wall on certain treatments? Well, you hit the nail in your question, adcoms don’t want you to cure Paralysis or Cancer (would be nice and would gaurantee that HMS acceptance letter) but they do want to see that you have contributed to science. You do this through research (summers and school years). Publishing, presenting research, winning science/research related awards. Very important is your letter of rec from your PI. </p>

<p>Now, how does UM relate to each piece of the puzzle:</p>

<p>1) GPA: it is VERY important to pick your classes WISELY. For example there is one teacher in the general biology sequence who only gives A’s to 10% of the class. Uh-oh, good thing I stayed away from her. A particular Cell-Molec professor is much harder than the alternative. Genetics can be said to be the same way. The chemistries are generally easier in the Honors sequence. A particular ochem teacher really prepares you for orgo for the MCAT but may kill your GPA (and at what cost when my MCAt only had 1 passage on Ochem). Premed411.com is very helpful and posts old test questions so this helps. The guy who runs this website supposedly is a good tutor from what I hear. So yes, there is particular way to structure your education here to give you the best possible opportunity to get a high GPA.</p>

<p>2) MCAT: this can make or break you. Arguably the most important. In some ways UM prepares you well for the basic sciences, but I feel that my friends who went the IVY and top 25 route have better fundamentals at really understanding the concepts and analyzing the situation (don’t know why though). From my perspective the past 2 years, students with 3.7 and 30 mcats land their state schools (and if FL residents quite possibly UM). It will take a 33+ (most of the times 35+) and 3.8+ will solid ECs to land a top 30 med school from here. The numbers should be adjusted for URM applicants as my friend 3.9 and 32 got into Columbia med last year. The test is very challenging and so I advice you to take it very seriously and prep (even a course if you can). Use SDN, they are wonderful for this type of thing.</p>

<p>3) EC: UM does give you the opportunity to succeed here. Miller has great research going on if you are willing to travel back and forth…usually takes me about 1 hour including traffic going back and forth. Remember research takes time if you do it correctly and so make sure your school work does not suffer in its expense. Sylvester is great for cancer research, Miami Project has excellent researchers, the Biochemistry department is “good”, and there are many other great labs on the med campus. Dr. Gaines has a list of all the researchers. Note, that they only let you sign up with the UG research office starting your sophomore year though. My advice would be to get involved earlier, just contact on your own, there are a lot of friendly professors down here.</p>

<p>EC-continued: You MUST get involved clinically. Volunteer at Miami children’s hospital, shadow at physician, or join HEARTS. Some way you must show a passion for medicine, and clincal activities are a must. </p>

<p>EC-more: Go outside your box, and create opportunities…start a club or take leadership in a club. Direct your fellow students. It is easy to do this because while there are many bright students here it is not the IVY League where everyone has a superego and has beaten the nail on the coffin with every idea one can fathom. Start something and make it progress, if its science related even better. This is really in your hands but the opportunities are there.</p>

<p>Lastly some advice:</p>

<p>About 1/2 the students here start out pre-med (oh I’m going to to be a cardiothoracic minimally invasive surgeon when I gradute)…yeah, but most unfortunately don’t make it. Graduate school becomes an option as does “business” school. Make your choices wisely. Eva Alonso is an excellent and good hearted lady, and she can answer your questions about pre-med advising early on. Go see her your freshman year. Remember the puzzle I am talking about: GPA is the foundation, MCAT is the walls (if this falls you fall), and EC are the roof (know how Lil Wayne makes it rain, you need the roof or the rain will wash away all your hard work laying down the foundation and putting up the walls).</p>

9

<p>Rocko2:</p>

<p>Help me out a bit. Are you looking to be pre-med, pre-dent, pre-law, pre-grad… Each school has its strengths. Are you a FL resident or Michigan resident…</p>

<p>Luckily I am fairly familiar with Michigan (more so their med school) but I can tell you both schools are excellent. If you give me your situation I will try my best to lay out what would be the pluses and minuses in each direction.</p>

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<p>Looking for pre-med. Michigan Resident, but rec’d the University Scholarship for Miami. Applied for BioMedical Eng pre-med concentration at Miami. At Michigan, will major in Neuroscience.</p>

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<p>My question is pretty simple: Engineering or Computer Science? What are the pros/cons? Anything that you know about the two would be great.</p>

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<p>Yeah, Jicmic pretty much stole my question. I’m just wondering how the Computer Science program is at UMiami.</p>

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<p>Coleonaroll… I was hoping you’d be able to answer a few questions i had on UM…</p>

<p>How accessible and qualified are the pre-med advisors?</p>

<p>Can you start volunteering/shadowing/research as a freshman?</p>

<p>How competitive is admittance to the med school, as an undergrad? Advantage of going UM to get into UM med? I remember during the presentation there was mention that you can apply to the med school during your sophomore year, can you shed more light?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

14

<p>How are engineers a group of their own? Do you know any engineering students who socially fit in, or are they all introverted nerds who study too much? Because trust me I will see enough of the latter if i choose any other engineering school I was accepted to…</p>

15

<p>Coleonarole, I don’t mean to partially hi-jack your thread, but I thought I’d reply to ZapadniyRus since he asked a question about the program to which I’m currently applying.</p>

<p>Zapadniy, the program you’re thinking about is the Medical Scholars Program. UM has two early entrance to medical school programs. One is the HPME program, which you apply to out of high school, and which I can’t tell you much about.</p>

<p>The other is the Medical Scholars Program, which you apply to in your sophomore year at the University. If, at the end of your freshman year, you have an overall GPA and a science GPA greater than 3.7, and your SAT/ACT scores were greater than 1300/31, you’re invited to the apply to the program in the spring of your second year. If you don’t have those stats at that time, you cannot apply.</p>

<p>In order to apply to the program, you need to get three recommendations from UM professors, and can optionally get two recommendations from others. After you submit your application, they may or may not invite you to an interview.</p>

<p>If you get in to the program, you’re guaranteed a spot in the Miller School of Medicine’s class as long as you maintain an overall GPA and science GPA greater than 3.7, graduate with your degree, and you score a 30 or higher on the MCAT. Additionally, as long as you complete all the class requirements, you’ll begin taking classes at the medical campus a year early (so, starting in your senior year). If you wish to postpone entrance into medical school, you can request to do so (which I may do if I get accepted, because I’d like to complete both of my degrees).</p>

<p></p>

16

<p>Awesome! Thanks rankinr! You wouldn’t happen to know how competitive admission to the program is?</p>

17

<p>I don’t know how you developed your five ‘cliques’, but they are incredibly naive and simplistic.</p>

18

<p>Rocko2;</p>

<p>As a Michigan resident your best chance at medical school is going to be medical schools in your state. University of Michigan Medical School is obviously the most competitive out of the three to get in. No matter where you go (UM or UM…) you are going to have to pull a 34+ (most likely a 36+) and 3.8+ to get interviewed here. They are notorious for having a selection bias toward the Ivies and high MCAT/GPA. Fortunately for you, they are a little more lax with in-state students from what I have seen. I’m pretty sure that they strive to have half the incoming class from Michigan and half from out of state (the out of state being a more competitive admissions game).</p>

<p>My advice would be generic, go where you will thrive more. The biological sciences majors at Miami cater to those who memorize and forget (you can get by here all four years by simply memorizing the information and spitting it back out…even in Biochem). Engineering classes may be more conceptual. Which type of student are you? Conceptual thinking will definately help with MCAT preperation. Also, you could major in Neuroscience at Miami too, the program is very good here.</p>

<p>Personally, I would go where ever is cheapest. Med school is too expensive to have to worry about finances in undergrad. If you can try to sit in on some of the core-premed classes at each university (ochem, physics, gchem, biochem, genetics, cell/molec, etc.) see which seems to be a better environment. Ultimately, you need to go where you will thrive and get the highest GPA and MCAT score possible while doing ECs on the side. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Jicmic and Rocko2;</p>

<p>I’m sorry I’m not really familiar with the Computer Science or Engineering department here. I hear that there are some pretty harsh professors in both the departments though. I have some friends in Engineering (some actually transferred out of UM) but I really don’t know any Computer Science majors (nor have I have taken any courses relating to it here).</p>

20

<p>ZapadniyRus;</p>

<p>There are three ways to get into Miller School of Medicine from undergrad here.<br>

  1. Get in as a high school year/ when you apply to undergrad
  2. Get in after your sophomore year
  3. Get in during the regular admission cycle after your junior, senior, or gap years</p>

<p>Getting as a hs senior is the most competitive way in my opinion. I actually didn’t even know about this option when I was a senior, you guys are obviously very informed! All I can say is that you most likely will need SATs in the top 1-2%, be in the top 1% of your class, have high SAT IIs in Science and/or Math and have a significant EC that is science or medically related. </p>

<p>Getting in after your sophomore year is difficult but not as difficult. I did not apply for it because at the time I wanted out of UM. Most of the kids who got it were in the honors classes with me the first two years. I studied with most of them and they all had around 3.9s at the time (having taken most if not all the premed prereqs). You don’t have to be anything spectacular to get in, just have a high GPA and show involvement in UM. Note that you don’t have to take the MCAT to be admitted although you have to take it before being promoted to medical school.</p>

<p>If you get into one of these two programs, my best advice is to keep only 1 EC that is not terribly time consuming and just focus on the MCAT. You don’t have to worry about beefing up your CV beyond this point, just get a high MCAT score. Why? The only way you will get promoted is if you hit a 30. The only way you will get a scholarship in this program is if you get a 34/35+ (sucks because you can apply regularly and with a 32/33 and still get 3/4 scholarship if you have good grades and good ECs). The girls who I studied for the MCAT with in this program both did good though, high 30s each.</p>

<p>The final way is the good old fashion way. Work your but off for 3 or 4 years and just apply in the application cycle.</p>

<p>The pre-med advisor here is very friendly.</p>

<p>Of course you can get involved in anything you want whenever you want…see one of my earlier posts. Just never let your grades or MCAT prep fall victim to your ECs.</p>

<p>Is there an advantage to going to undergrad here to get into Miller? Hmm, I would have to say so. Given that you are a FL resident, if seems easier than if you were coming from say UF. Why? The admissions committee is familiar with classes here and some of the faculty who may be writing your letter of rec. Find the right faculty, get the target GPA/MCAT and you are in.</p>