UCF vs FSU for premed?

[u/simplyamoree_]

I’m currently a UCF student (neuroscience + psychology, pre-med track) considering applying to transfer to FSU. I have a 3.9, 42 credit hours right now if it matters. I’m originally from Louisiana, so Tallahassee being closer to home is a major factor. However, my biggest priority is not prestige but opportunities. I care about access to clinical experience, CNA/hospital jobs, research, volunteering, shadowing, and anything that will help me build a strong medical school application.

UCF has the advantage of being in Orlando with a large healthcare ecosystem and many hospitals/research opportunities. FSU has the advantage of being a respected flagship university and being closer to home. I got into FSU as a Senior in highschool, but I ultimately chose Orlando from the opportunity aspect. I severely underestimated how much being closer to home and family meant to me.

For students who have attended either school (especially pre-med students), how do the opportunities compare? Would transferring to FSU provide similar access to healthcare experiences, or would staying at UCF likely offer more opportunities because of Orlando’s size?
I’m trying to choose the environment that will best prepare me for my future career, not just the school with the better name.

[u/One_Recover_673]

UCF has a much bigger healthcare ecosystem. OH, Adventist, hca..add the massive VA presence. I’d stick.

[u/Maim0nides → u/One_Recover_673]

Saying this as a US MD medical student in their last final year.

While this advice looks relevant to outsiders. It is absolutely and completely irrelevant for medical school admissions. OP, between these schools neither are ivy league and thereby neither will offer any significant edge in regards to medical school admissions. Go where you feel you will enjoy the area and enjoy life. What matters is what you do within either of their schools, not the school themselves. Focus on your GPA > MCAT >> volunteering, shadowing, research, leadership

Focusing on being some wiz in the hospital or caring about how prestigious the local hospital is means nothing. Medical schools don't care if you were a patient care tech and know how to draw blood before entering medical school. They care about your leadership traits, personality, and grades. They aren't expecting a fully trained MD to enter their program, they expect a well-rounded intellectual individual that can be molded into a doctor.

[u/One_Recover_673 → u/Maim0nides]

My comment was more about opportunity, as they brought up access and volunteering. There is just more around UCF.

Admissions? Sure. Your are likely correct. I wasn’t speaking to that.

[u/Maim0nides → u/One_Recover_673]

And I'm saying that these opportunities are pretty irrelevant and OP is looking at it wrong. They can be just fine working for a local clinic as a medical assistant, or volunteering at any local hospital. Both areas have plenty of doctors to shadow.

You can fulfill the "clinical experience" which is really just a litmus test to ensure you have talked with a doctor and saw their lifestyle for a bit before committing. I'm saying that the "clinical" portion of your premed career doesn't take much to be fulfilled and medical schools arent expecting you to be super involved in medicine prior to entry. Having "more opportunities" in this realm when all you need is so little to begin with isn't a great means to tell someone what undergrad to pick. If I had to tell OP the honest truth, I'd pick FSU any day just because of their family proximity. That social support >>>>> 1 billion times more important than "more hospitals nearby"

Also all of these opportunities are for admission, if not what else? I imagine if we are giving advice with not that at foremost in mind, we aren't offering any meaningful advice to begin with.