<p>And so the waiting begins!!</p>
<p>Yes the beat does go on, we applied back in September so the wait continues.</p>
<p>UCF told us this morning to expect a decision within the next week.</p>
<p>That's kool, It something to look forward too. I hate how waiting for college decisions seems so life taking almost. I hope to get in, I already received two acceptance letter. But my first choice is def FSU :-). Good luck!</p>
<p>bbecker, you shouldn't worry too much about getting into FSU. With your grades and SAT, your'e almost guaranteed admission.</p>
<p>:-)Maybe, I don't want to be to modest.</p>
<p>Can someone with experience talk a bit about how they segment these kids into their classes especially when they enter as freshman? I don't know the levels of granularity in the class sections but do they have different levels of classes for the different levels of incoming freshman based on their HS performance?</p>
<p>Other than HONORS sections of courses or CARE sections of courses, the students select courses that meet the liberal studies, multicultural, gordon rule, literature, computer competency and oral competency requirements. They also follow the academic map with milestones for their major. Some courses have prerequisites before you can register for them. HONORS and CARE sections are smaller and you have to be in one of those programs to register for them.</p>
<p>Not sure about FSU but UF has a calculus Readiness test and a Chemistry Readiness test that a student must take (online) before registering for classes in those areas. What grade they get determines which level of math or chemistry that they are put/recommended into. At FSU, certain SAT scores will exempt a student from basic English composition classes (my daughter had gotten a letter that she was awarded three semester hours of credit for Freshman composition and Rhetoric - ENC1101). The letter went on to say that at orientation, she and her academic advisor would discuss the approprite higher-level course in which she should enroll.</p>
<p>Yes if you have a 650 READING score FSU generously offers 3 credits for ENC1101 English I and if they have a 690 MATH score they get 3 credits for MAC1105 College Algebra. FSU allows the student to take a choice of a second freshmen English composition course from the list to satisfy the second English course requirement. The student also needs a second math or statistics course to satisfy the 6 credit math requirement.</p>
<p>This website shows all the basic general education requirements:
<a href="http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/undergrad/info/undergrad_degree.htm%5B/url%5D">http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/undergrad/info/undergrad_degree.htm</a>
<a href="https://cfprod.ais.fsu.edu/anr/CourseRequirementsView/index.cfm?ORIGIN=J&app=PUBLIC%5B/url%5D">https://cfprod.ais.fsu.edu/anr/CourseRequirementsView/index.cfm?ORIGIN=J&app=PUBLIC</a></p>
<p>This website links to all the academic maps for each specific major:
<a href="http://www.academic-guide.fsu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.academic-guide.fsu.edu/</a></p>
<p>very good helpful information.</p>
<p>I'm wondering either factual of personal experience how kids do in their first semester and or year at FSU? We all worry about our kids adjusting from HS to college. College in general can offer alot of distractions along with the radical change for some kids between HS instruction and college instruction and the additional demands and responsibility that they now have to demonstrate. I think we as Parents want to make sure they are on a success oriented vector. </p>
<p>Did anyone do anything in particular with their schedule in the first year to help facilitate the transistion? Did anyone get any advise about their proposed schedule from students who had already been there or are there now? Anybody want to share any recommendations.</p>
<p>The FSU freshman retention rate is around 89%, so they must fare pretty well.</p>
<p>The staff is helpful and aware of the concerns of the new students. You hear all about this in the Orientation session.</p>
<p>My wife and I went through it in the 1970s; both daughters have been through it and it's much better now than when we attended 30 years ago.</p>
<p>Here's an excerpt of an article that may help, and the link to the full article:</p>
<p>"As the Legislature considers dispensing dollars to universities based on how many students graduate, not just how many come to the campus, Florida State University is in good shape.</p>
<p>Its 66 percent six-year graduation rate is second highest among the state's 11 universities. It's exceeded only by University of Florida's 79 percent graduation rate. Nationally, the graduation rate is 54 percent.</p>
<p>"One thing we need in the state of Florida is to increase the number of college graduates," said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee. She said adjusting dollars allocated to universities based on their success at moving students toward degrees is "something we are looking at very seriously."</p>
<p>It's no accident FSU performs well in this arena.</p>
<p>Ten years ago, it embarked on an elaborate $2 million-a-year intensive computer mapping of student progress to make sure FSU students don't fail or fall behind.</p>
<p>It added 40 to 50 academic advisors and sprinkled them around campus.</p>
<p>"If somebody is struggling academically, I'll sit down with the student and discuss how they're approaching the course, talk about time-management issues, study skills and sort of steer into stress management," said FSU advisor Craig Filar, who works in the biology department. "I like to see students at least once a semester." If needed, he refers students to labs, tutoring or counseling.</p>
<p>With students, "One thing I tell them, 'It's OK to ask for help. It's OK to say I don't know.' That's why I'm here," said Filar.</p>
<p>FSU sends e-mails at the end of each semester congratulating students with good grade point averages or warning them if their grades are dropping or falling so low they must see an advisor and come up with an education plan to improve their grades. Two semesters with a below-2.0 average? The student is out.</p>
<p>"Some students are in denial, and they need to realize they have to perform academically if they want to get a degree," said Karen Laughlin, dean of undergraduate studies.</p>
<p>"From the point of view of the family, student and university, it is highly undesirable for someone to attend FSU for four or more semesters and then flunk out," faculty Senate president Jim Cobbe said. Intervening quickly "is in the interest of everybody. It's clearer communication and earlier communication. It's even in the interest of the taxpayer."</p>
<p>Freshman Jennah London had a 2.8 GPA as of the end of last semester, but got a warning and a hold on her class registration for spring, until she saw an advisor. That may seem extreme, but it emphasized for her that she must get her GPA up to 2.9 to be on target to get a nursing bachelor's degree.</p>
<p>"It's good thing," she said of mapping students' progress.</p>
<p>More recently, FSU put up an online program on its Web site that lets students map course requirements and semester GPA benchmarks in their majors, so they have a better idea where they're going and if they're getting there. Or what different major they may want to consider, if they're struggling.</p>
<p>"I really use the Web site," said freshman art education major Sarah Howard. "It establishes what you need."</p>
<p>It's all to make sure students don't fail or fall behind.</p>
<p>"I just felt like our graduation/retention rate should be better," said FSU Provost Larry Abele.</p>
<p>He is the one who has administrators checking a day-by-day list that has notations like: "E-mail to all... students with a significant downturn in GPA."
With the trend of accountability hot and heavy in K-12 public schools, it's no surprise this is coming to universities."</p>
<p>As far as choosing a schedule, some students take a minimal 12-credits the first semester but that leaves them no option of dropping a class that was not a good fit for them (and remain a full-time student (keep in mind health insurance too)). The adviser will help the student with their first schedule during orientation and they should follow the academic map for their major but keep in mind that they might decide to change their major so try to take courses that fit general requirements for any major. They can try to choose courses that meet multiple liberal studies requirements to get the "most bang for your buck". You can use <a href="http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5B/url%5D">www.ratemyprofessors.com</a> to look up some of the professors ahead of time and see what others have to say about them. Many courses have student note takers provided by <a href="http://www.studentnotes.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentnotes.com/</a> for a fee. Most professors or teacher assistants are very available to answer questions for students and some classmates form study groups that meet in the library before big exams. Free courses are available to teach term paper writing and organizational/time-management skills.</p>
<p>The student has to realize what is at stake if they lose focus with all the fun and freedom to distract them. They may lose substantial scholarship monies, lose the opportunity to remain at this wonderful place or have to take a job to support themselves as adults before they have an education to make a decent wage. If they understand the consequences of their actions, they will learn how to balance work and play or they will live with the unpleasant result.</p>
<p>I found it interesting that Fsu reports the freshman year grades to your old high school, so one of my counselors showed me there freshman year grades compared to there senior grades, 9 actually increased, 5 stayed around the same range, 1 dropped out, and one went from a 3.5 to a 1.6, so i believe it shows that college isn't as bad as many claim, and that the transition is not as difficult</p>
<p>Thanks for all the excellent information. We had success with our two boys starting them on General Liberal studies tracks. At that time there wasn't a strong conviction or what I'd refer to a very structured analysis that would have convinced us that that they had any idea what their major would be. It worked very well, it probably added a year on to their degree completion, but during their first two years they were able to sample courses from different areas, attend talks and coffee's, and talk with their friends to make a comprehensive decision. After that two year period they went on to teaching and computer science areas of concentration. My D is much the same way, she has talked about Advertising, Hospitality, Social work, Business and probably a few more that I have left out, like the boys I think she needs that time to figure out what is the right course to follow. From the links that you have sent it does look like there is a broad sampling of course work that they can take to help to formulate that decision.</p>
<p>Good catch on the 12 hour comment by cybermom, I hadn't really thought about it in the context of drops, it doesn't leave you much wiggle room.</p>
<p>I should ask what the lecture and small group 101 level courses are like. Are they basically taught in the large weekly lecture, and then twice a week small sub group format? also do the prof's teach all sections or you can end-up with TA's for the smaller groups?</p>
<p>It really depends - the Honors sections are always/almost always taught by professors in small classes. General lower division classes like freshman English or math may be a small class taught by a TA. Other general required classes like psychology (not Honors, mind you) could be a lecture with 200 kids taught by a professor. Basic chemistry for science majors is a lecture with ~200 kids then recitation with a TA. Labs are directed by a professor but hands-on instruction is by a TA.</p>
<p>TAs are graduate students in that area of study who can be wonderful, mature teachers or something less. As FSU students rate each instructor/class at the end of the semester, all instructors get rated and thus the weak ones usually get the push if they don't perform well. Some departments, like math, are still pretty rough - math is considered a "take no prisoners" department where kids must perform if they are to survive. With this being said, there are lots of tutors (usually grad students working for ~$10 to $20 per hour) and official help sessions, not to mention a professor's office hours for kids needing extra help.</p>
<p>The big thing is to get help ASAP, if needed; as courses move so briskly that any weakness is quickly compounded into a serious condition if kids wait. Boys are sometimes notoriously and dangerously optimistic about last minute cramming (take it from me, it does NOT work ;)) and overcoming semester acquired weaknesses in the subject matter, according to one really funny dean we spoke with during Orientation. Girls tend to seek help more reliably and promptly.</p>
<p>{Side note: Of course, as a male FSU grad, the reason boys wait is obviously the fault of the many girls, who tend to be so gorgeous they distract the males from necessary academic work. :rolleyes: (think Landis Green with all the flowers and a bazillion beautiful coeds)}</p>
<p>Honors, CARE and living/learning community courses are small but most of the other general education classes are large except math/science lab and english. Computer literacy course can be taken online with SAM software which is great if the student is comfortable with computers already. The Economics courses use modern technology of APLIA (online textbook & assignments), PRS (radio frequency transmitter to answer questions) and exams in the computer center. Some of the teachers video their lectures and provide the powerpoints online as well.</p>
<p>I think some of the courses are taught by graduate/doctorate students which are young, enthusiastic and easy to relate to. Others are taught by experienced professors with TAs.</p>
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<p>I think that classes at FSU are easier than AP classes in high school. This may not hold true for upper level classes, but thus far this has been my observation. This observation is also supported by students who have both gone to FSU and taken AP classes at my former high school. I found the transition to be almost entirely without complication.</p>
<p>My daughter took six AP courses at a "gifted" public school here in Sarasota. I just asked her about the relative difficulty of FSU courses vs. AP courses and her perspective was that even though the AP academic material was similar to lower division courses at FSU (and the AP courses varied) the university culture was quite different. This means that the professor in a class at FSU would not rescue a student academically, unlike high school, unless the student specifically sought help.</p>
<p>Basically, the high school had much more of a safety net than FSU.</p>
<p>Upper division courses at FSU are not comparable to AP courses, at least in biochemistry, as the FSU courses are much more difficult.</p>
<p>amw, it sounds like you are a student, are you still in your first year?</p>
<p>Difficult is a tough concept to pin down so is easier? Can you expand a bit like on what primary factors make you think it's easier, workload, teachers, level of homework, marking system test, quizes, labs, papers those types of things.</p>
<p>Upper level classes always get harder, but students as they progress through school almost always do better. It has a lot to do with cracking the code and just understanding and having a work process for what needs to be done and then doing it Unless they work at it it's usually very hard to find a upperclassman that isn't doing pretty well. Technical courses I would agree at the upper level can be very tough, expectations and specialization of the specific course, plus the fact that they build on previous coursework can give some kids fits. the interaction between the Prof and the students tends to be less and less, the expectations to work on your own like you will have to in Industry become much greater. I can remember a number of upper level courses where you meet one or twice and then it was just off working on your simulation project or whatever it was with your small work group. Contact me if you have questions but here is the timetable for handing in the work.</p>