<p>Festivus, about the letters of recommendation. That’s not completely true, at least for SFC. I have had several professors that have written me letters of recommendation for a school that I applied to overseas. Many of the professors at SFC are actually ex UF professors. They usually go to SFC for various reasons but the one I have heard the most is because they want to teach, not do research. You can usually find these “gemstone” like professors by sifting through ratemyprofessor.com (a great website but you must take it with a grain of salt). In fact, I have built a report with three of my professors over the last two years. They are genuinely nice people who love their job. As far as the research goes, I agree with you. That’s one thing that you miss out on if you go to SF. However, I’m going to see if my program (I met with the director - a super nice guy!) will let me work in a lab for a semester or two. The first semester you’re in a lab you are pretty much just doing menial tasks anyways.</p>