For a pre-med: UF or UofMinnesota-Twin Cities?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>This coming fall, I'll be applying to several (9) schools: some reaches, some safeties, some matches. I'm pretty sure my choices are going to come down to:</p>

<p>University of Florida
and
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities</p>

<p>I am an in-state FL resident, and thus, UF is cheaper. However, I don't think I'd be so happy at UF as I would be at University of Minnesota. But on the other hand, UF has better name recognition and [apparently] has better research than University of Minnesota.</p>

<p>So, I think the logical decision would be UF (due to better[?] academics), but I like University of Minnesota more...but would it be a stupid decision? I visited UF, but in the summer, and I've heard it's a party school (which I don't like).</p>

2

<p>I’d definitely check out the U of M. I live in St. Paul and about five/ten minutes from the campus. I am not sure about Florida, but the medical research at the U of M is huge. Over the years they have made numerous medical discoveries and stuff. A year ago or so there was this big thing all over the news and suff where they took a pig heart (or maybe it was a sheep?) and where able to fill it with human cells and keep it beating for a period of time, or something like that. If it is medical research you want, the U of M is a leader in that field. Of course that is mainly in that graduate programs so I don’t know how much it involves premeds, but I am sure you could get involved.</p>

<p>[About</a> Our School - Medical School, University of Minnesota](<a href=“http://www.med.umn.edu/about/home.html]About”>http://www.med.umn.edu/about/home.html)</p>

<p>Basketball and hockey are huge at the U. (You probably aren’t a big hockey fan now living in Florida, but trust me, if you go to the U of M, you will be) Football has been down lately, but that should be turning around with a brand new stadium that is being completed this year right on campus. First game in the stadium is this September!</p>

<p><a href=“http://blog.lib.umn.edu/carls064/freealonzo/west_rendering_lg.jpg[/url]”>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/carls064/freealonzo/west_rendering_lg.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>On the coasts (and obviously in the South), Florida probably has better name recognition, but in the Midwest, Minnesota has the upper hand. Especially in the Minneapolis and Chicago metro areas.</p>

<p>Minnesota’s name recognition is growing, too. Since the mid-90’s, the acceptance rate has went from the about 75% to about 40%. This is in large part due to very cheap OOS tuition (14K plus room and board) which is about the same as some instate flagships.</p>

<p>The location of the U of M is unbeatable, right accross the river from Downtown Minneapolis. There is a light rail going up and in a year or so, you will be able to just jump on a train and go to Downtown Minneapolis, Downtown St. Paul, the Mall of America, the Airport, etc. I have nevr been to Gainseville, but I have heard it is kind of a boring town in the middle of nowhere. There is definitely a lot more to do in Minneapolis.</p>

<p>Both schools are party schools, but there are so many students at each that you can definitely avoid this as there are plenty of other things to do.</p>

<p>Anyways, both schools are really good, but you would definitely not be stupid for choosing Minney over UF. I am going to be a senior as well this year, and am really having a hard time choosing beeteen the U of M and Wisconsin-Madison. Anyways, definitely check out Minnesota. I would highly recommend visiting. And yea, just be warned, however cold you think the winters are here, it is much colder.</p>

3

<p>It would be a good decision for you to pick where you feel is better for you. Plus both schools’ academics are near equivalent and both are LARGE research uni’s. Also if you’re going pre-med I’d be excited to work with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota!</p>

<p>I can’t comment entirely on Florida but if it’s academics are better than the U’s, it’s by a slim margin. If you have any Minnesota questions let me know!</p>

4

<p>Oh yah, I forgot about the Mayo clinic.</p>

5

<p>The Mayo Clinic is in Rochester, about an hour and a half away from the campus. It is unlikely that you could get regular research or clinical volunteering experience at Mayo. My gut feeling says that you would have a very similar experience at either the U or UF, the academics, student life, research opportunities, prestige etc are all pretty similar between the two schools. I moved from a warm weather climate to the frozen midwest for college when I went and I felt that the weather presented some unforeseen challenges. Be cautious about signing up for -40 degree Fahrenheit temperatures and long walks to class through the snow that make you reconsider your life decisions.</p>

6

<p>Easily University of Minnesota- Twin Cities</p>

7

<p>Oh…that’s nice to know that UMN is on par with UF.</p>

<p>Yeah, I visited Minneapolis a month ago and saw the campus (it’s really nice!! I like brick construction) and it was so weird seeing tunnels (being from Florida, there’s nothing under the ground except water :p). Yeah, I was attracted to it partly because of the low tuition and partly because a sibling of mine is going to be a freshman there this coming fall :slight_smile: and he said it looks to be a pretty good school (in terms of academics), so that I should consider it (he’ll be doing Chem. E)</p>

<p>Do any of you guys know about the BME major? Like, is it super-rigorous? Helpful professors? I’m planning on pursuing that…</p>

<p>On a more general note, I heard a drawback is that University of Minnesota has huge classes (like, 300+ students)… o_O that’s really big…Can you approach a teacher with so many students in a class?</p>

8

<p>Yes the gopher tunnels will help make your transition to the cold a lot easier!</p>

<p>As for class sizes, the lectures can be rather large, but there are seperate discussion groups of around 15-20 students to help with the coursework. Professors are also required to have offices hours where you can go and have 1 on 1 time with your prof. I have already signed up for my 1st semester classes and I only have 1 large lecture which is around 100 students (Microecon.). But large lectures are typical at pretty much all uni’s that size.</p>

9

<p>i’m not going to be a huge help, but you have no need to fear “-40 degree Fahrenheit temperatures”… i live nearby and the weather is never that extreme. the windchill can get pretty wicked, but you won’t be taking classes outside, so that shouldn’t matter as much.</p>

<p>and the u of m has a great rep. the school has great research opportunities and is in close proximity to places like the mayo clinic.</p>

10

<p>First of all, I need to confess that I’m quite biased. I was rejected by UF (due to their ridiculous dual enrollment policies), and on top of that, I’m going to the University of Minnesota in the fall. Anyway, on with my advise… </p>

<p>If you think you’ll like Minnesota better, then by all means, go there. They’re very comparable academic institutions, so I could stop there and say go where you feel is a better “fit.” But… I won’t :wink: </p>

<p>Minneapolis>>>>>>>>>>>> Gainesville</p>

<p>The academics are hard to compare, because they’re both HUGE Universities with a variety of differences and strengths, but overall they’re basically equal. If you like to look at rankings, UMinn jumped 10 spots last year to 61 (UF is 49 I think), and should easily jump into the top 60 this year with improvements in several areas, especially acceptance rates/student quality. </p>

<p>With regard to name recognition, I can tell you (I just moved out of Florida) that UF does not have the name recognition that most Floridians would think or hope. Outside of the Southeast, UF is known as a party school, and that’s about it. It is a good school, I’m not saying it isn’t, but no one where I am now in Colorado would ever guess that it has a lot of good programs and a low acceptance rate. And the U of M’s recognition is growing quickly, as has already been pointed out. It went from a relatively easy school admissions-wise into the third(?) toughest school in the Big 10(which, academically speaking, kicks the **** out of the SEC) to get into behind Northwestern and Michigan. </p>

<p>I don’t know which is better, but I know they both have strong med programs. </p>

<p>Regarding research, the U of M is actually better. It’s ranked right behind schools like Michigan, Johns Hopkins, UC-Berkeley, and UCLA. And it’s ranked above schools such as UW-Madison, UChicago, Washington U, Cornell, UT-Austin, Brown, CalTech, and yep, you guessed it, UF. Here’s the link: <a href=“http://mup.asu.edu/research2008.pdf[/url]”>http://mup.asu.edu/research2008.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I was a resident of Florida up until a few weeks ago, so I am well aware of the budget cuts that are crippling the state U’s, especially UF and FSU. UMinn does not have that problem. </p>

<p>And as far as student life goes, it’s up to you. UF has a better “party scene” with TONS of school spirit, whereas Minneapolis is an awesome city with lots to offer (and there’s still a lot of school spirit). </p>

<p>You tell me, does it sound like a stupid decision?</p>

11

<p>Thanks for the info. AT9! Seems a lot of people here like U of M. :p</p>

12

<p>If I had the choice I would go to UMTC, and I live in Florida.</p>

13

<p>I know what you mean pal, I’m in Florida because of in-state tuition but I don’t really want to be here either. The logical choice from a fiscal standpoint would be to simply go to UF. If you think quality of life would be exceptionally better at UM-TC maybe it would be worth the extra money.</p>

14

<p>^^
According the U’s website the estimated cost of attendence for an out of stater is only $26,000. That’s quite a bargain for someone who doesn’t want to stay in state!</p>

15

<p>U of MN is a fantastic school, especially for engineering and biological sciences. OOS tuition is pretty cheap as mentioned above, and it also has a top notch medical school. The weather’s obviously going to be drastically different, but it really isn’t that bad. In fact, it makes you cherish summer time that much more. Just wear a coat and hat during the winter and you’ll be fine :)</p>

16

<p>Actually AT9 if you look at your link more closely UM is tied with UW and several others when using all the measures and when only state schools are ranked UW is ranked above UM. Also when you just look at total research funding UW>>>>UM by about 38%. On most head to heads on all the items they used UW beats UM pretty handily. The only place it does not is in Endowment becasue they miss half or more of UW’s total as uW has more than one major endowment.</p>

<p>Uminn would be my choice by a nose over UF. But I’d choose whichever is instate first.</p>

17

<p>barrons, I’m too lazy to go back and look, so I’ll take your word for it haha. So I’ll revise what I said, UMinn is very similair to UW in terms of research. However, the OP doesn’t seem interested in UW right now so it’s an irrelevant point. </p>

<p>But, because the two schools are so similair, just go wherever you think is a better fit (assuming it works out financially). Because in reality, you’ll get a very comparable education at either school and you’ll have great opportunities at either school as well. Good luck!</p>

18

<p>Yea, Minnesota is probably the fifth best in the big ten, not third. UW Madison is better and Illinois is just a tiny bit better.</p>

<p>But back on topic, U of M=UF academically and reasearch wise they are pretty much just the same.</p>

<p>Go wherever you like the most.</p>

19

<p>In the end it doesn’t matter to the med schools where you went. Go where you’ll be happiest and most able to succeed academically, socially, physically and emotionally. What you ACCOMPLISH matters far more than where you do it.</p>

20

<p>I didn’t say Minnesota was the 5th best, I said it was the third hardest to get into. But with that said, I would still argue that it is at least equal to Illinois, if not better.</p>