Which Florida schools would be a good fit for a student looking to eventually apply to med school? They are not sure which undergrad they’d pursue yet (maybe biology, neuroscience, psychology but major doesn’t seem to matter). From what we’ve read what does seem to matter is they have a strong advising program for getting into med school. We’re OOS but going to Florida in a month and want to visit some schools while we are there (currently a sophomore).
Most.
So the question becomes where would your student excel ? Small, medium, large?
Urban, suburban. Rural ? Big sports or not ?
Not some Florida schools are hard admits academically. How is your student ?
Do they want Greek life etc ?
Is budget an issue ?
Pre med is advising but in the end yiur student has to deliver - including academically.
So find the right school.
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Not sure where you’ve heard that. Twenty-plus years ago before the internet was widely available an accessible source of reliable info was a plus. Now with a few clicks anyone can find out the requirements and get advice on excelling in med-school admission criteria and applying. In fact one of the top schools in number of students admitted to med school (UCLA) doesn’t even have a dedicated premed advisor, you’ve got to piece it together by talking with the general Academic Advisors and Career Counselors.
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If you’re going to Florida and want to visit some colleges, then I would suggest checking out different types of colleges. Try to find small, medium, and large colleges to visit. If possible, try to have a range of urban/suburban/small town/rural, though that may not necessarily be as easy, depending on how far you want to travel. So long as the school has the areas of interest, they’re game for an initial visit.
For instance, if you’re going to be in the Orlando area then I would check out some combination of:
- Rollins: About 2200 undergrads
- Stetson: About 2800 undergrads
- Southeastern: About 4600 undergrads
- U. of Central Florida: About 42k undergrads
If you’re going to be in the Tampa area then I would check out some combination of these:
- New College of Florida: Don’t know this year’s enrollment, but we’ll call it a small school
- Southeastern: About 4600 undergrads
- U. of Tampa: About 9500 undergrads
- U. of South Florida: About 29k undergrads
If you’re in the Miami area, then checking out some schools like these could be informative:
- Barry: About 2600 undergrads
- Nova Southeastern: About 5800 undergrads
- U. of Miami: About 12k undergrads
- Florida International: About 26k undergrads
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I would also consider costs, as med school is expensive.
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Are you only looking at the Florida public schools for the great price? If so, then I’d look at one or two of the big ones (UF, UCF, FSU, USF) and then one or two of the midsized one (North Florida, West Florida) depending on where you are visiting.
If you are looking at Florida for other reasons than cost and are considering privates, I’d recommend Florida Tech (great psychology program, several flavors of biology, biomedical engineering, etc). Florida Southern has nursing.
At all large schools, you’ll want to learn about the Honors college - honors students have a personal adviser which can make the difference wrt scheduling, knowing about opportunities, and support.
It makes a HUGE difference at UCF in particular (the Honors college is topnotch to snatch NMSFs from UF); good at FSU, worth looking into at USF. New Honors at UF (because it was nothing to write home about until recently and for a university that wants to be elite, it was a problem.)
Be aware that Florida publics require a summer term and, I believe, some online credits.
WILKES is FAU’s honors college, with a definite science bend.
Some families have a strong athletic affiliation with UF or FSU.
Floridians can’t believe it when people think UF is FSU and vice versa 
Another college worth a visit : Eckerd is known for its science program and 1st year research experience, offers good merit aid, and is right on the beach.
I think @Creekland’s kid attended?
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You can take the required courses for medical school applicants at just about every four year college in this country, arts conservatories excluded. So…where in Florida do you want to live?
I would suggest taking medical school out of your college search equation. Find a college that you think you will love.
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So the reason I drilled in on Florida is because we will be there for other reasons so figured we’d look around. We are definitely not limiting the search to just Florida. As for budget, we are looking for merit to keep costs down given the costs of med school. Very good student in a rigorous private school, high GPA but no test scores yet. Current feeling is medium to small school, mostly because there’s more personal attention but large school would be fine with an honors program. Not Urban and Greek life is not important. Reading through all the responses now!!
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So Florida is a big state. Which area are you going?
All Honors Colleges aren’t the same - so look at what each provides vs. just assuming - i.e. attention, etc. In general, one can get attention if they seek it:
But what you described and I don’t know where you’re headed, look at:
Eckerd in St. Pete - out of the urbanness - might be too party - the two kids I know - describe it as such (well their parents do).
FAU Wilkes Honors College in Jupiter (main campus in Boca) - very small
Florida Tech in Melbourne
Rollins outside Orlando
Stetson - will be better than Rollins since you mention not urban
For publics - maybe UNF or FGCU - but likely not at the level you need. USF is not “urban” a la downtown but is in not a high end part of Tampa…it has a solid national rep. It’s a bigger school. FSU and UF are obviously very well known.
I left off U Tampa and U Miami - based on not urban. And Flagler because…well it’s not…strong.
But if you want merit, at the time you’re ready to apply, there will be a better way to build a list.
But it never hurts to visit schools and narrow in on campus size, etc. that you like so early visits will help with that.
Good luck.
If your student is in a rigorous private school, it is very likely that they have good college counseling services…and that is worth pursuing!
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If your child is a very strong student, they likely won’t find Eckerd or Stetson their ilk. If they are a very strong applicant, they could consider applying to the BS/MD program at USF.
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Great list
Just want to add USF has another campus in St Petersburg you can apply to if you like USF but want a smaller campus than Tampa its around 4000 students and not all majors are offered. It’s a beautiful campus right on the Bay.
However, you can switch campuses just by signing up for courses at the Tampa campus if you decide you want a bigger campus in your sophomore year for example. no paperwork
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