<p>my son has applied to UF and FSU and we are anxiously awaiting answers. We will hear from FSU on December 8th and UF of February 11th. It seems like an eternity!</p>
<p>I'm curious as to what my sons chances are for both schools.</p>
<p>4.6 GPA
10 AP courses
8 Honors courses
27 ACT
Top 10% of class
National Honor Society
HOSA member
Student Volunteer at local hospital and science fair participant.</p>
<p>Also I keep hearing really good things on here about FSU - small feel of the campus, nice people, state of the art facilities and nice dorms. UF seems way more pretentious based on the responses here from UF students. Is that really the case?</p>
<p>My son is kind of quiet and a loner. He has friends at school but is not exactly what I would call social. He gets lost in his own hometown. Great kid but very straight laced.</p>
<p>How would he fair at these two schools? I've tried to convince him to apply to smaller schools but he really wants a big, well known school.</p>
<p>I’d say your son is accepted at both schools.</p>
<p>The schools are in reality very closely matched. UF is an agriculture school while Florida State is more liberal arts oriented. There is little or no basis for arrogance by UF students, but a lot of that likely comes from recent sports success.</p>
<p>Much of this decision depends on what major your son wants to pursue and where he wants to study. You really cannot go wrong with either school generally.</p>
<p>Both FSU and UF were recently declared to be “Budget Ivy” universities by a national college review publication.</p>
<p>They’re both great schools, and honestly he can’t go wrong either way. He will most likely get into both, but don’t be too crushed if he doesn’t get into UF - I have a few friends with similar stats who didn’t get in, although I know plenty of students with much, much lower stats who did get in (don’t ask why).</p>
<p>You might want to visit both schools and see which has a better feel. They’re both beautiful schools; FSU definitely has a much smaller campus, and it is much less crowded. FSU is classically beautiful and more comfortable/homey feeling, some might say. There are plenty of pretentious students at UF, and there are probably plenty at FSU, too. In both places, they are the minority, so don’t worry about it. They are both very similar and are great schools.</p>
<p>I was accepted to both schools, and I chose FSU over UF. I like the campus better, and I like the people better. Everyone on this campus bends over backwards to make sure you have a great experience. There’s a really strong sense of community here, and there are so many opportunities to take advantage of. FSU strongly encourages undergrad research and they will work with you to make sure you are the strongest applicant for any grad/med school program. My favorite thing about FSU is the personal, individualized attention every student is given. When I meet with my advisor, I feel like he is only focused on me, and not the hundreds of other students he has to advise. I know I can succeed here, because there are people here to make sure I do. That’s not an impression I get from my friends at UF; I feel they kind of leave you on your own there, without any kind of guidance or attention. </p>
<p>And no matter which school your son chooses for undergraduate, he is not forced to go to med school there. There are plenty of UF grads who come to FSU Med School and vice versa. Going to a school certainly does not guarentee one a spot at med school. That’s a long way off, still. He has to make the best choice for himself, and either school is great. If he wants the feel of a small school and community combined with great research and scholarship opportunities, he can’t go wrong with FSU.</p>
<p>I agree with FSUCharlie’s idea of visiting both schools. I have a son at UF, and both a son and a daughter at FSU. All three of them got into both schools and made their decisions after visiting and deciding where they would most like to spend the next few years. The campuses really do feel quite different. I suggest you visit when school is in session, meet with an advisor in your son’s intended major, look at some dorms, and talk to and ask questions of students that you meet. As others have said, you really can’t go wrong either way!</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your replies. We are going to visit once we know where he has been accepted. Any input on Financial aid at either UF or FSU? I’m in that unfortunate category where I make too much to qualify for aid, but not enough to pay out of pocket -although I am going to try. I’m a single mom with two other sons.</p>