I plan on pursuing the premed track at either FIU or USF. I have been accepted to both but am torn on which school to go to. I want to pick the school that can offer me the best pre-med wise and can allow me to be prepared for medical school. I have looked online and can´t seem to weed out the useful information from the useless.
If anyone can offer me some insight or give me their personal experience, it would aid me tremendously.
USF has a 7-year BS/MD program. Would you qualify for it? * Initial eligibility: 4.0 weighted HS grade point average (GPA), as calculated by USF Undergraduate Admissions and SAT (Critical Reading and Math sections) score of 1500 or combined ACT score of 34 (we super-score all attempts for both tests)
This student is already accepted to these two colleges for fall. If he had wanted to apply to the BSMD program, he would have needed to do so already.
@Ricardo_Mimbela it is very likely that you can fulfill the required courses for medical school at both of these colleges. The schools will offer you the courses…but it will be up to you to prepare for medical school. This includes all the other things in addition to coursework…shadowing, volunteering, patient contact work, and preparation for the MCAT.
Do I get to vote? If so…University of South Florida. Consider the schools administrative policies before choosing. South Florida is more established with a stronger convenient hospital nearby for clinical exposure.
What would your major be?
(If you’re not sure, avoid biology, as its ROI is among the lowest. If you really like biology-related majors, look into Bioinformatics or Biostatistics).
Were you admitted to the Honors College at either one?
USF has a decent amount of connectivity with the Moffet Cancer Center (major cancer treatment center in FL). They do a lot of research as well as treat patients. Might be a good opportunity to connect with Moffet for research, shadowing, etc. Also, has the Pepin Heart Center right across the street which is connected to a major hospital. It’s all right there (I live about 5 minutes from there).
@thumper1 USF seems different in that regard. If the OP was admitted into the Honors program, then he can declare his intention to pursue the BS/MD track if he meets the GPA and SAT/ACT requirement.
From USF website,
“PLEASE NOTE: There is no formal application for the 7-Year B.S./M.D. Program. Students interested in following the 7-Year B.S./M.D. Track must reach initial eligibility requirements (below) and should communicate this information to their Honors College advisor during their summer orientation. Students will formally declare their intent to follow the Program by completing a declaration form on the B.S./MD website in mid-April of the first year on campus.”
I have heard this business about avoiding biology as a major elsewhere as well. What does this mean: lowest ROI? Are you comparing to, say, other premed overlapping majors like psych or chem (or dare I say, physics) or is there something about the number or bio majors (at USF in particular perhaps) that drives down their stock in the post-grad environment?
There are fewer job openings requiring a 4-year degree strictly for biology majors AND there are WAY more of them (especially considering 2/3 applicants to med school don’t make it into any).
Biostats, bioinformatics, biophysics work (rare and associated with much sought-after fields). Psych with a minor in stats can lead to marketing and other business jobs.