Hey all my son has been selected so far into University of San Francisco(scholar’s program) and the University of South Florida at Tampa(honor’s program). He is determined to study Medicine and would be majoring in Biology or Biomedical science.
Could you help us decide the better college? USF has a 7 yr BS/MD course but teachers at USFCA are said to be better.
Much appreciated!
Compare the acceptance rate into medical school and MCAT scores of students from these schools. Does class size and student/professor ratio make a difference to your son? What type of mentorship/advisor program do both of these schools have. I’m adding a link to a website that discusses whether a college offers letter of recommendation to medical school by committee or individual letters. There are pros and cons to each: http://www.dummies.com/careers/medical-careers/decide-between-premedical-committee-or-individual-letters-for-medical-school-applications/
Did he get into the 7-year program and, if so, what type is it (what does he have to do, is it guaranteed)?
Which is cheaper - can you afford both off current income and savings, without debt ?
Usf has an excellent reputation for health related fields and being in the honors program would certainly mitigate the large, public university setting.
Thank you very much ECmotherx2 and MYOS1634 for your helpful replies.
1.USF has seperate page of Health profession advising on its website. They have pre health 2 regular advisors, 3 certified pre health advisors and 5 other pre health advisors in their Honors College. USF has its own page for Research and scholarships and Office. USFCA has Pre-Professional Health Committee Advising Program.
Both prepare students for interview/mock test etc.
2.Being in the Honors college at USF would probably nullify/compensate the problem of student faculty ratio as well said by @MYOS1634.
3.I have gone through the website suggested by ECmotherx2 for the recommendation letters.
4.@MYOS1634. He is qualified for 7 years BS/MD program in which he has to fulfil their benchmarks like GPA/MCAT/ Health-Related Research/Honors college curriculum/Medical observations and community service/Interview with the timeline to remain in the program. So it isn’t a guaranteed program.
5. @MYOS1634. I have received financial aid award letter from USF but not from USFCA yet.
By March end I can compare the cost of each. Yes, I can afford USF for his 4 years undergrad for the financial award I have received (without loan/workstudy/debt) but for next 4 years of medical college we do have to take all loans.
I request you both to compare these statistics and give us your valuable opinion.
Thanks once again.
Percentage of students admitted to medical school is almost meaningless since it doesn’t tell the story of those not allowed to apply, weeded out, etc.
The 7-year program sounds like good preparation for any medical school, but the compressed format would put a lot of pressure on students (and premeds have a lot of pressure). Does your son have enough AP/AICE/DE credits that he would already have advanced standing anyway?
The fact 10% of the 7-year cohort complete their BA/BS + Honors requirements in three years may eb worrisome, look into what happened to those who didn’t: did they take their 4th year but ultimately end up in med school (ie.? are they part of the 100% or not)?
Right now, Honors College at USF (Florida) sounds like the best solution and is probably the cheapest, which allows you to save money toward med school.
You may have already seen this data? It includes MCAT and GPA scores (but not specifically for Morsani). You may want to use the state of Florida MCAT/GPA scores as a proxy for Morsani, since 40%+ of Morsani students come from Florida.
https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/
USF-Tampa had 366 med school applicants in 2016-2017, a respectable amount. It’s a great deal for in-state students, who usually roll in with lots of AP/IB/AICE credits. Even better if they can get into Morsani and pay in-state tuition rates for med school.
Good Luck!
USF has always been unclear as to how many kids accepted in the 7 year program make it through. If only 10 percent make to USF’s med school, I would discount that program entirely. BTW, the average MCAT score at Morsani under the old system was a 31, so the MCAT benchmark is not that strong overcome.
Frankly, with only a 10 percent success ratio, UCF is doing a lousy job screening these kids as other combined programs have much higher success ratios. Brown and Northwestern are close to 100 percent, and most programs are closer to 70 or 80 percent. The lowest I have seen before USF was St Louis University which has a 25 percent success ratio.
The South Florida 7 year program is described here:
http://www.usf.edu/honors/accelerated-programs/7-year-med.aspx
Note that the student must earn a 3.70 college GPA (overall and BCPM) to remain eligible in this program. A competitive MCAT score, medical-related research activity, medical related observation and community service, medical school interview, and letters of recommendation are also required.
(You mean USF instead of UCF?)
It also looks like the South Florida program requires the applicant to go through what appears to be the normal competitive medical school application process, rather than having some short cuts to medical school admission like some other programs.
QuoteIt also looks like the South Florida program requires the applicant to go through what appears to be the normal competitive medical school application process, rather than having some short cuts to medical school admission like some other programs.
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My typo. USF also requires successful applicants to achieve the median MCAT score for Morsani in order to be accepted. If one has go through the normal competitive application process, I don’t see what the advantage is of attending the program.
^I think the advantage would be to cut a year at the undergraduate level, but with so many AP/AICE/DE credits Florida applicants can bring, I don’t see the advantage.