<p>As respite from my honors thesis and midterms I'm willing to answer a few questions!
I remember how much CC helped me in the college admissions process, and I'd like to give back.
A bit of background: I was in a Panhellenic sorority and I was also pre-med for 2 years, so I know the path most Freshmen want to go on. While I enjoyed my experiences on both tracks, they both ended up not being for me. Also, I then went on to be pre-law (whatever that means) and prepped for the LSAT for 3 months. Long story short, I discovered law school was not for me, and am now gainfully employed instead. </p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE: Anyone is welcome to ask or answer questions in this thread.</p>
<p>Edit: To clarify, my job begins after graduation and I am not currently employed, but I have been hired! </p>
<p>@cogitoergo2</p>
<p>How would you describe your time at UF? What did you love, hate, or would do different?</p>
<pre><code> The time here is what I’ve made of it. This is a long read, but if you’ve got time….
</code></pre>
<p>After dropping out of my sorority, I found that my time around alcohol and frat boys decreased rapidly (instantly, really). I wasn’t 21 when I dropped out, so I couldn’t go to the bars. Shortly thereafter I got a boyfriend.
I went out with a few friends I had in the sorority and in other sororities, but it was awkward. I didn’t feel like I was fitting in with that crowd. Even though my friends told people I was still in a sorority, I wasn’t alright with the slurred words of frat boys, being called a dimepiece, etc. As you can imagine, I had left the sorority because I had changed. What hadn’t changed was the culture that had cultivated the sorority worth leaving.<br>
I’ve now been out of the sorority for 2 years (since I’m a graduating senior and dropped the second semester of my sophomore year). Since then, I have found a lot more time to focus on my schoolwork and have fallen in love with my major (am writing a senior thesis, expect to graduate summa or magna cum laude).
I also have had to opportunity to work in the UF libraries as an archivist, and I played an integral role in planning an exhibit at the FL Natural History Museum. I find that I also have talked to my professors more, and so my understanding of university is different. If you think about it, your professors are academics. They are fairly well-read, especially in their fields, and they hang around other academics. They will influence you in ways that your peers wouldn’t. For example, as a result of my exposure, Spring Break isn’t a trip to Key West where I #getweird. Instead, it is a time for me to reflect on my coursework (this year was spent writing the thesis), plan other breaks to countries that interest me, or help teach courses at local schools on financial literacy, career planning, etc. This break was also spent researching the job market and distilling what some relevant work skills to brush up on would be.
UF is a party school, but if you look beyond the campus, Gainesville is actually a quaint and artsy town. I did the party thing, but to be frank, it wasn’t for me. Really taking stock of university resources (the Career Resource Center, my professors, my mentor who is a professor here) is what really has helped me grow. Plus, if you want to get technical, it has strengthened my “soft skills” which is what employers list as the number 1 problem with Generation Y. We just don’t know how to communicate professionally!
I have less affection (read: little to none) toward UF for the sport teams or the parties whereas I hold my professors, mentors, and department in the highest esteem. </p>
<p>PS I don’t know what I would have done differently…I always saw myself at a small to medium sized LAC. But being here has taught me to be scrappy and I surround myself with academics, so I think I would’ve turned out a little more awky had I gone to a small to medium sized LAC. The scrappiness made me more outgoing. If you want it, you’ve gotta go for it here! Because if you don’t, then somebody else will. </p>
<p>@cogitoergo2</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing!</p>
<p>Very helpful! I’m a senior and deciding whether I should to to UF for pre med. How can you describe the pre med program at UF? How is the advising? Just out of curiosity (obviously not a deciding factor), how many UF undergrads get accepted to top ranked medical schools (Harvard, UPenn, Duke, etc.)? </p>
<p>@Bluedevil18</p>
<p>Well let’s see…a few questions I see are:
- How is the pre - med advising?
It sucks…they want to weed you out and they don’t care about your problems. Remember that scrap I was talking about? You’ll need it at a school this big.
- How is the pre-med track?
It’s difficult but not impossible. Not like you have to take P Chem but if you didn’t take calc in high school…get ready.
- How many undergrads get accepted to top - ranked medical schools?
Not to be short here but probably the same amount who did at least 2 years of research, had a strong rec from their PI (person who sees over research), had a 3.9+ GPA, and an MCAT score within range. I have a friend in chemical engineering who is sad over a 39 MCAT with some lab experience getting into so so schools and a bio friend who is happy with a 85th%-Ile MCAT who did extensive researching/TA work who is getting into T-20 schools.
Edit: Do not know the GPA of ChemE friend but bio friend’s is high (3.7+).
It’s all up to you, bub </p>
<p>Hi. I’m a senior, and I’m currently deciding whether or not I should go to UF. As of right now, there is a good chance I may attend since it is the cheapest school (I’m in-state and I have BF and FL prepaid). My parents and I haven’t entirely eliminated other schools, though, since I’ve gotten very good scholarship offers. So, my question is how is the pre-law program? I know that since you left it, you may not look upon it so favorably, but I’d still like to know about it. Also, any anecdotes about anything you’d like to talk about would be nice.</p>
<p>The AAMC provides data on undergraduate institutions supplying applicants to U.S. medical schools. It does NOT say how many where successful. </p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html”>https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html</a></p>
<p>In 2012, UF supplied 712 applicants, which made it the 5th largest in the nation.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/321458/data/2012factstable2-7.pdf”>https://www.aamc.org/download/321458/data/2012factstable2-7.pdf</a></p>
<p>It’s behind UCLA 823, U of Michigan 812, UC-Berkeley 768 and UT-Austin at 740.</p>
<p>Hi @arrozconleche –
There is no such thing as a formal “pre-law program” or “pre-law major” very unlike the pre-med track strongly recommended to those wishing to take the MCAT and applying to med school (that track just so happens to closely coincide with the Biology major). For what it’s worth, Physics majors scored the best on the LSAT, then Economics majors, then Philosophy. From there on the majors of the best-scoring students run the gamut in the CLAS (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences).
Further, I did not apply to or join a pre-law track or program. I just will receive a degree in a major that has students that statistically do very well on the LSAT (yes, that’s how I chose my major…I just ended up loving it).
Additionally, my minor is in Communication Studies, and a class that is offered in that dept is Argumentation – very valuable for the LSAT.
All in all, I have what they would call a “strong liberal arts education” as defined by the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society (I certainly have the distribution requirements…I’ve taken quite the spread of courses…but my GPA is 0.01 away from an invitation). That is what would, combined with intense and consistent preparation for the LSAT, contribute to a high LSAT score. That is to say that there is the strong possibility of science passages on the LSAT in the Reading Comp section and a focus on formal argumentation helps in both the Logic Games and Logical Reasoning sections of the LSAT. In my case, I took courses that were geared first toward science (remember, I <em>was</em> pre-med), and then toward communication/argumentation.
I did an internship at UF’s Levin Law School last summer and discovered that the lawyering profession was not for me. I do have friends in law school, though. They aren’t all bad.
Feel free to inbox me with further questions.
PS Anecdotes….
Hmm I don’t have any offhand, but I’m sure there’s something to be said about a turtle and a hare in here somewhere…be the turtle in some cases and the hare in others…
Maybe an inspirational quote? A lá Modern Family “…let’s get this party started…don’t stop believin’…” </p>
<p>How’s the overall experience in uf. How are they with FAFSA and financial (I am out of state) are their lots of scholarship availability after your first year. Or even before your first year. If their are PLEASE POST LINK. I AM THIRSTY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS. THANK YOU. GO GATORS BEAT UCLA </p>
<p>Hi @135pipe –
UF is a cool place. You can read my experience above.
You no longer have to apply for FAFSA to be eligible for Bright Futures (though this is not relevant because you are out of state), but it would behoove you if you were looking for scholarships or student loans based on financial need. Perhaps applying to private scholarships would be your ticket.
I have only experienced small scholarships (think $1500) being offered to me at the end of senior year after extensive community service and a 3.5+ GPA. Paid internships might be something to look into, but I’ve never had a <em>paid</em> internship. It’s worth it to go to the UF CRC (Career Resource Center) as a freshman to get all of that research started.
Boo, I have UCLA in my bracket. My favorite professor teaches at UCLA Berkeley and I have no loyalty to the sports here, haha. Well, we’ll see tonight (will use this occasion as an excuse to eat pizza). </p>
<p>@cogitoergo2 Thank you so much for the info! I’m well aware that pre-law is not a major, and I’ve considered either psychology or political science or maybe even double majoring in both. Could you elaborate on phi beta kappa honor society? Is it a sorority or an honor society? How can you join? Thanks again!</p>
<p>@arrzoconleche –
No problemo. Yeah, both of those majors are alright. Phi Beta Kappa is an academic honor society that evaluates candidates in the top 10% of their graduating classes based not only on GPA but on spread of classes in CLAS (they have a guide on their website detailing what they consider a spread).
They send out invites either the beginning of your Junior year or the second semester of your Senior year. </p>
<p>Haha lol traitor
Thank you @cogitoergo2</p>
<p>@cogitoergo2 What clubs were/are you involved in? What extracurricular activities have you been able to do at UF? How was the internship? Is it hard to get an internship at UF, especially one law related? Thanks! :)</p>
<p>Edit: UC Berkeley* </p>
<p>@arrozconleche –
Let’s see…I have been in everything from the pre-dent club (when I was pre-med and switching out) to the WSA (Women’s Student Association). Obviously I don’t put everything on my resume, but I think my best work came out of independent research (a paper in communications was up for publication) and independent work (read: the intern archivist gig). I also worked in a lab as an undergrad assistant for a while during the time where I was pre-med. I had to count cells. The science was fascinating (I really do like biology), the lab staff was awesome, but the cell counting really got to me (I used to listen to sad 40’s jazz music in my sessions…). I got to learn some lab techniques and about DNA tagging – again all amazing – but the allure wasn’t there for me in academic biology and I didn’t have the conviction for medical school to stick it out in the lab.
For all of my opportunities I kept my eyes peeled (looked for flyers on campus, wrote down dates/times/places of clubs that looked interesting) and my Facebook friend reach wide. A more efficient way to get involved is to go to Reitz Union and check out the Student Affairs on the 3rd floor. They’ll give you the names of organizations on-campus based on your interests. As for my internships, I got the law school internship (ah wait, that one was paid) by talking to one of my professors who referred me to a law school professor who introduced me to the secretary of the legal writing dept who was organizing the event I interned for. As you can see, the internship hunt is not nearly as straightforward as campus involvement itself. My archiving internship I got in a similarly convoluted fashion.
I really appreciated both internships as they gave me the opportunity to build some of my hard skills up (e.g. using a complex bookkeeping program) and soft skills (professional communication skills and talking to different groups of people).
I also used the folks from both internships as references for my job opportunity. </p>
<p>Haha lol traitor
Thank you @cogitoergo2</p>
<p>Don’t know why it showed up twice ^ sorry. What about on campus jobs. Are they plentiful and pay good. Also what about pre-med internships thank you. How hard is the university itself as a whole. Is psychology a string major in uf </p>