Despite soaring application pools for new Florida medical schools, UF's College of Medicine is still receiving a healthy number of applications.
The University of Central Florida and Florida International University will begin their inaugural classes in fall 2009 and started receiving applications in June.
Along with UF, they will contine accepting applications through Dec. 1.
Dr. Ira Gessner, assistant dean for the admissions office at UF's College of Medicine, said it is too early to estimate how many applicants to expect. But based on how many the college has received so far, the numbers do not appear to be much different from years past.
Last year, UF received 2,850 applications for 135 spots.
"We believe that amongst students who choose to go to school in Florida that we are applicants' first choice," Gessner said.
Robert Larkin, director of admissions at UCF's College of Medicine, said most pre-med hopefuls in Florida apply to all the medical schools in the state, so application rates at UF probably wouldn't change.
Larkin said UCF has received more than 1,900 applications since the college started accepting them earlier this summer.
Betty Monfort, director of admissions and records at FIU's College of Medicine, said the school has received about 1,400 applications so far.
Both UCF and FIU are assembling an inaugural class of 40 students, but UCF stands apart.
The medical school will provide a free ride to its inaugural class, which amounts to $160,000 for each student's tuition and living expenses for four years, according to a UCF news release.
The scholarship program is fully funded by private donations, Larkin said.
He said the school will provide scholarships to its second class as well though to what extent has not been determined.
This model was spearheaded by the dean of UCF's College of Medicine, Dr. Deborah German, who received a full scholarship to Harvard Medical School in the 1970s.
"She herself is a truly blessed story," Larkin said. "She simply wanted to give back."
Monfort said FIU's unique curriculum that combines patient-based learning and a community outreach program attracts altruistic applicants.
She said FIU presents a less expensive and innovative alternative to the University of Miami's medical school.
UCF and FIU were two of three medical schools preliminarily accredited this year by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, Monfort said.
Texas Tech University's School of Medicine was the third.
In Florida, accredited medical schools exist at UF, Florida State University, the University of South Florida and UM.
