Congratulations to UF23 and all of the new gators! I am a second-year out of state student and remember the excitement and stress that came from going to college! If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask or if you want to message me please do it! I love UF and love talking about it and would be happy to help!
My daughter was admitted to your school and she’s excited,we’ve not been able to do a campus tour yet until during spring break,however we are trying to settle the housing issue before then and she’s leaning towards Beaty towers,how close is this to the lecture halls and cafeteria?.Also what are her chances of getting space here.Also is it honor students only that can get accommodated at the Hume hall?Any suggestions on the best accommodation for a freshman?
I know one of the Beaty Towers is held for IA students, but the other one is open to anyone. Beaty isn’t super close to most freshman classes (kinda south of that area), but it is very walkable.
I was in Beaty Towers. Both towers are open to all students, but they do hold rooms in East for Innovation Academy. Some people with really late housing deposits only get half-year contracts, but if you get a spot via Building Selection and not automatic selection, then it should be for the full year.
Also, it’s EXTREMELY close to the dining hall. Maybe a 5 minute walk! That was honestly my favorite part because it was so close and on the way to classes so I could eat on the way to class and then continue on to class.
It is VERY hard to get Beaty during Building Selection IF you have a roommate attached to your contract. I had to refresh the page for 3 hours nonstop before I grabbed a space. I had a very early selection time, around 10am, but it could have been earlier. If you are a single person on your housing contract, it should be easier as long as you have an early selection time.
Also, it’s pretty close to classes in my opinion. It could be closer, but all my classes were within a 10 minute walk. I suppose Rawlings is closer AND has a pod market/subway right next door and the bus stop, but that’s community style. I didn’t have any problem walking from beaty and it didn’t fee exceptionally far at all. I was pretty against community style which is why i wanted Beaty. But Buckman/Murphree/Sledd/Fletcher/Thomas are community style, but you only share with 7 others on your floor and nobody is ever in the bathroom, it’s quite small, so while those are TECHNICALLY community style, it really doesn’t feel like it. I would recommend those too, but Sledd/Fletcher/Thomas typically are upperclassmen. I don’t remember seeing that on the list when I signed up for freshmen housing. Murphree is VERY nice and you even get your own private bedroom with a door in the two room double setup. Only downside is it’s a bit further walk to Broward Dining hall, but Gator Corner is closer maybe a 5 minute walk if you prefer that. It’s also extremely close to Midtown, Marston Library, Library West, and StudyEdge is within a 5 minute walk.
Thank you so much @FutureGator55 ,that was very insightful,she’s planning to pair up with a friend who was admitted to the summer program,I just hope she’ll be lucky enough to get s spot.She reserved a spot very early in the process,I’m hoping it will count at the end,but even if she doesn’t end up in her first choice,we will rather settle for such a minor disappointment in the bigger picture of getting into her dream school.She kids me that I’m more pumped about the whole thing even more than her.When your first child gets into a top 10 public university,you can’t help but be giddy!
Thank you, @FutureGator55! My D was accepted into engineering! Is there a place where she can indicate her (general) preferences for resident types, etc., now? Any help with housing is greatly appreciated!
@FutureGator55, Nice of you to offer to help. Question: How easy/hard would it be for my DS (accepted to Bio Eng) to switch majors within the school of engineering? Not that he wants to switch since his heart is set on Bio, but just wondering what his options are. Is there a policy/rule in place? (i.e. maintain certain GPA, etc.). Thanks!
@sawadeeka He can do it at preview or any other time. UF does not lock students into majors listed on applications.
Very nice! @fl1234 thanks!
My daughter was accepted to business school and really liked it, but concerned about huge class size. Seems like a lot of the intro business classes are just lectures posted online with no breakout sessions. Info session we went to wasn’t that helpful they didn’t know and we didn’t get a chance to meet with anyone at business school, how are those classes set up?
I put down my $25 fee in the beginning of this week, what are my chances of getting spot in broward? Im OOS and already accepted
My D got accepted in Elect Engineering.She wants to change major to Computer Science.Is it possible .she is international student from India and have to be sure of getting CS major.
@Attrisandeep She can change her major at any time. In fact, she can change it at Preview. As long as she has decent grades (around a 3.0 GPA) she can switch to any engineering major, before her junior year.
In other words, if she’s been accepted, she can take CS, just change that to her major at Preview.
What do you consider the best housing options for freshman? My daughter was looking at Jennings and Beaty. We toured these two and also Mallory and Reid (she wasn’t as keen on the last two) Being that the Murphree area is a combination of freshman and upperclassmen, will it be harder to meet people as a freshman? What are dorms would you recommend in the Murphree area? Any info on Infinity Hall for a freshman?
@20177588 What is the best dorm for an out-of-state freshman? Is it recommended to try for the out of stater gator living community? If not the out of stater gator LLC which dorm has the most freshman?
Also, what is the best way to get to Gainesville. We are flying into Jacksonville and then renting a car. My daughter’s friend is flying directly into Gainesville. Are you aware of bus services from Jacksonville airport to campus? She will be going alone to preview.
Hi,
I know I am out of your topic but would love your feedback. My son was accepted to Chemical Engineein at UF Honors program (all costs covered), Georgia tech, UMinnesota, UIllinois at Urbana, Rensselaer with half scholarship. We are now deciding which to choose. Any feedback are very much appreciated!!!
@ProudFLMom Congratulations to your son! All great schools.
If finances are a non-issue, pick the schools based on best “fit”. Which one does he feel most comfortable at? All have very good programs and he can expect similar outcomes at each.
If UF is an option, don’t go into "significant’ debt (whatever significant is for your family) to attend any of these OOS schools. At UF, he can expect to be recruited by the same national companies (like Chevron, ExxonMobil, etc) and be offered the same starting salaries.
You can look up each school’s college of engineering profile at the ASEE website:
http://profiles.asee.org/
That will give you a sense of the size of each program, number of students, faculty, degree’s offered, amount of research, etc.
You can also use LinkedIn to look up each school. Then select Alumni, then under “what they studied” enter Chemical Engineering. That will give you a sense of where they work and for what companies.
Finally, for UF, you can look at the Graduation Survey results. Search for Chemical Engineering.
https://career.ufl.edu/student-outcomes/
This will give you average salaries, bonuses, how many have found a job before graduation, what % worked an internship, etc. Other schools may also publish “graduation survey” results. Keep in mind if comparing with UF’s results, that UF’s survey is done as part of graduation (it’s a requirement to fill out), while other schools may collect their data up to 6 or 12 months after graduation.
Good Luck!
Thank you so much for your feedback!!! I hope the decision is the best for for him. Wishing you the best!!!
Last question, if you were to choose again and had to choose between GT and UF, what would be your choice? 
@ProudFLMom That’s easy, UF all the way. 
Both of my kids can’t see themselves as anything but Gators.
My son, who was accepted to both GT and UF (as was his roommate), is happy with UF’s aerospace program (so far, he is finishing up his 2nd year), likes his SAE Formula racing team, where he has found his “tribe” (he also likes how SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others stop by to recruit from his design team) and it’s a short drive home (about 90 minutes), so we can drive up a visit or he can come home (dentist/doctor appointments, laundry…).
My son also didn’t like the “urban” feel to Atlanta, and much preferred the college town experience. I’m sure others may have the exact opposite response. However, UF seems a bit less stressful than GT, for whatever reason. I have a theory on this, and it has to do with the mix of students at UF. When you’re surrounded by other stressed out engineering students, it makes you feel even more stressed. When your other friends are non-engineers, it makes for a less stressful environment.
There are advantages to going out of state, and going to a program like Tech’s that offer lots of different options. However, staying in-state is less stressful, and it’s easier as a parent to keep track of how your kids are doing (mentally). If they are feeling especially stress, perhaps it’s time for a road trip to Gainesville and a family outing to a nice restaurant (but don’t overstay your visit, they have things to do!).