Hi everyone,
I had recently posted on here previously about my dilemma between UCSC and TAMU, which I narrowed down to UCSC (at the given time). But recently I’ve been having the same dilemma about choosing between UCSC and USF. In both schools, I am a Biology major (although more specifically a molecular, cell, and developmental biology major at UCSC), and I’m gearing towards medical school via the pre-med track.
Since this seemed to be a recurring point (with good reason of course) that everyone made on my TAMU thread, I will mention that COST IS NOT A LIMITING FACTOR BECAUSE OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES: I received a Presidential merit scholarship (about 76K) from USF, as well as additional need-based financial aid that set UCSC (no aid as of now) and USF (as of now) at the same cost. It just reached the benchmark for my affordability which I’m super happy about. 
I am yet to contact UCSC for additional aid, but the main thing for me to underline is that since USF’s cost has become equivalent to UCSC’s, I am considering it either way depending on which is better for my track, even if later on, UCSC ends up being cheaper.
I’m not sure which school to choose, because their environments are both different from each other, and I would greatly appreciate some of your guys’s opinions on their 1) strength in/quality of biology/pre-med/medical track and 2) environment overall (social, clubs, demographics). Even though there’s still a lot more schooling to go, it still is 4 years and I want to make sure it’s an environment I can truly see myself grow in and enjoy, haha! I have also heard that private schools have a reputation for having smaller student-to-teacher ratios, which allows students to engage more with their professors, ask them questions or help if needed, and get to know them better. Is this just a misconception, or does this apply to USF?
I’ll be visiting both campuses this weekend, so that should definitely give me some more insight on how the location suits my personal taste. But if anyone can give me feedback on the two points mentioned in the above paragraph, I would really appreciate it. (sorry this was so gd long, just wanted to make things a little clearer of what I need help with than last time I tried this so it’s a bit easier to reply to. )
Thank you!