<p>Greetings!</p>
<p>I am graduating from an Illinois community college this summer, and have narrowed my transfer choices down to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (UIUC) or Florida International University (FIU).</p>
<p>I know that most people would (and have) told me, right away, that UIUC is the better choice, but I think there's more to it than school prestige and academic merit. Having completed all of my pre-med requirements, I just feel that as long as I keep a solid GPA, the undergraduate institution doesn't really matter as much as how I, personally, prepare for medical school. I realize that med adcoms are human and, thus, retain some bias (so UIUC may be regarded in a more favorable light), but lets entertain the idea that they didn't--just for the sake of argument.</p>
<p>I have done extensive research into the matter, including dozens of hours of forum navigation if FIU or UIUC was even mentioned. Medical school acceptance rates don't interest me, nor does school pride. Let's try to stick to the facts, and only if they're credible.</p>
<p>Okay, my questions are as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>As a TRANSFER STUDENT (ie, just meeting the professors the beginning of my junior year, and with intent to graduate in 2 years), what is the current availability of research opportunities at FIU compared to UIUC? I understand the schools are of comparable size, with UIUC being a bit larger. I assume research opportunities will be plentiful at each, but it would be very helpful if anyone could offer some insight onto how difficult it is to get a spot in a lab (or elsewhere) conducting research--especially as a transfer student!</li>
</ol>
<p>If I can almost guarantee a moderate amount of research time at either institution, then this does little to affect my choice. But, since FIU is in Miami, I assume it would be much easier to find off-campus opportunities (as well as clinical, which brings us to my next question).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Clinical involvement is a must for any premed student, obviously. Here I am finishing up my sophomore year with but a couple dozen hours of volunteering in the microbio lab at the local hospital (not even patient contact!). So, this is by far the most important part of my decision! How plentiful are clinical opportunities in Champaign-Urbana? Being such a large school, in such a small town (by comparison to Miami), I feel that I may have a hard time finding opportunities to job-shadow (which aren't very important in my book), for patient contact, or anything that could develop into a leadership role. It seems Miami beats Champaign hands down for clinical involvement. Though, UIUC has a huge Greek society...</p></li>
<li><p>Obviously, I'll be able to find some way to get involved on campus at UIUC because they have a club for pretty much everything. I'm sure some of these would develop into leadership roles, and some may even be medically-related. So, that's all fine and dandy, but what about FIU? It has a huge student body as well, but I haven't been able to find out much about getting involved on campus (besides a few links from their website). With UM being closeby and FIU not being an NCAA god like UIUC, I'm inclined to believe that FIU is the type of institution where the students generally show up for classes and try to get the hell out of there ASAP! Of course, I could be wrong, so any insight would be nice!</p></li>
<li><p>Academically, I am majoring in biology at FIU and integrative biology at UIUC (but, perhaps I should switch to MCB). I feel that the coursework will be comparably strenuous, but that UIUC may have a slightly more competitive student body and this could lead to a slightly lower GPA. Regardless, I think I could pull off a 4.0 at either institution, and plan on trying. But, if one school is inherently easier than the other, why not pad my GPA? (Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not just looking to take the easy road. I'd just be a fool not to take this into consideration.)</p></li>
<li><p>How is the premedical advising at either school? I've heard some good stuff about UIUC (but not a whole lot), and virtually nothing student-based about FIU. I feel that I know what I have to do for medical school, and have a pretty good idea of how to get there, but an intelligent advisory team is not something to overlook. I don't worry about not being a "prime" premed applicant and that either university would attempt to hinder my applications to raise their own acceptance rates. I'm more concerned with the advisor's ability to help me get involved or put together and stellar application or what have you. Once again, any information on either school would be appreciated.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, how about each school's ability to prepare its students for the MCAT? While I'm definitely an independent studier (<em>cough</em> procrastinator <em>cough</em>), it just cannot compare to a proven system that has consistently turned out high scorers. Do FIU and UIUC both have some type of MCAT prep course? If so, how effective it is? (Or, should I just utilize one of the outside resources such as Kaplan?)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That pretty much sums up all the transfer-related stress that's been rolling around in my noggin' the past few months. Otherwise, my largest concern is quality of life and where I'd fit in better. I've been to both campuses and they are nice, but I've also lived in central Illinois my entire life. I'm ready for a change, and think Miami is a great contender for just that. However, I am perfectly content with staying in IL if the cumulative experience will better prepare me for--and grant a higher chance for access to--medical school.</p>
<p>Any assistance will be invaluable, and don't hesitate to respond to just one part of this novel!</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>