<p>My first choice was UF but unfortunately i wasn't able to make the late deadline application date. Therefore, I am now having to chose between USF, and UCF. I have already been accepeted and have a full scholarship to both of these universities. However, I am having a hard time deciding which one to attend. This is my scenario:
1. I want to be a biology major/or related
2. I am a 100% sure I want to go to med school and become a Pediatrician
3. I would be moving out of my house, and living on my own. Parents would not be able to provide me with any financial aid. Family of 5 with a low income.</p>
<p>Based on the above: I would like to know which of these could:
1. allow me to be a full-time student, and an active participant within the university activities/without having to worry about getting a part time job to cover my expenses from books, fees, personal expenses, etc.
2. offer me the best undergraduate biology major program/academic education
3. offer me the best opportunities as far as internships, research, volunteering in health related professions/hospitals, etc.
4. other than considering my MCAT scores, which would ultimately provide me with the best chance of entering a great medical school after graduating.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for all the feedback, if you need any addtional information to assist me better in my decision just let me know.</p>
<p>Does your scholarship to each school cover tuition, fees, room & board, textbooks and other expenses? Does one cover more of these than the other? If you want to share the details (not your name!) of the financial aid awards and the estimated cost of attendance at each of the schools then we might be able to help a little more.</p>
<p>Not many students get full scholarships that cover EVERY cost of going to school, so it would be very important for you to understand what might not be covered. And, many schools expect that you’ll work during the summer for some “self-help” toward your expenses.</p>
<p>I got the “Florida Bright Future Scholarship”…but unfortunately they have cut down their funding, so they do not provide anymore with college realted expenses money every month. I plan to visit both of these Universities pretty soon, and meet up with the financial advisors to see what would best work out for me. But ultimately, what im concerned with is pretty much which school would most likely give me “less stress trying to cover up expenses”, and allow me to focus more on my academic path towards medical schools; and allow me to have time to volunteer and work in the medical related field. I mean, any of these two schools usually offers more financial aid or grants to students?</p>
<p>I can’t help directly with that, but I do have a few ideas:
- When you go to meet at with the financial aid folks at each school, ask them to help you figure out what specific funding (earnings or loans) you will need to take out, and what parts of the budget might have some flexibility. I will say that I expect that textbooks will probably run you more than their estimate because of the premed courses.</p>
<ul>
<li>Is either campus adjacent or near medical facilities where you could volunteer? Can you meet with the premed advisor at each campus to find out about medical school admissions experience from the school and any school-facilitated internship or volunteer opportunities?</li>
</ul>
<p>Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>arabrab…thank you so much for your feedback, it’s been really helpful. I would really make sure I do this when I meet with the folks at each school. By the way, other than the financial aid aspect, which university you think is better?.. University of South Florida, or University of Central Florida?</p>
<p>dperalta – I’m sorry, but I really don’t know anything about either school – I live far from Florida. However, in your case, it may not matter as much about which school is better OVERALL, as it matters about which school might be better in terms of more success in medical school admissions, since that’s your big dream.</p>
<p>thank you for everything arabrab</p>