My son is close to committing as a freshman to USF, and I a wondering if any current students can provide any insights into positives/negatives. How is class rigor (he is a Business major, but I wonder about G.E. courses as well). What is the social scene on campus and in the freshman dorms? How is the area around campus for safety? Finally, has anyone had any internship opportunities? We live near S.F., so we know the city well, just not USF and the environs specifically.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I’m a parent not a student, but I’ll chime in. I think my son has always found the area around campus to be very safe, I have never heard him mention any issues. I’ve been very impressed with the rigor of the GE classes and he’s had some incredible professors (and never any class larger than 40, most smaller than that). He’s not a business major but I know kids who are and they are all planning to have completed three internships prior to graduation. Social life, hard for me to say because I’m sure what I’ve heard has been filtered for parental consumption! The kids who go there seem very happy, the social life isn’t centered around Greek life (which is present but quite small) but more around taking advantage of what the city has to offer - bonfires on the beach, going downtown, exploring neighborhoods, etc.
Let me know if you have other questions I can answer for you.
Thanks for taking the time to respond @oneofthosemoms Our son has already mastered the art of filtering events in high school, so I know what you mean 
It is good to hear about campus safety as well as the rigor of classes. All of your information is helpful as we move closer to decision day (he is our oldest, and the process is stressful).
I have a DD looking at USF as one of her choices (along with LMU and Chapman) and have a couple concerns I hope current students could chime in on. 1. Housing: Only guaranteed for first year, and rumor is you will most likely get stuck in a triple where it is sized for a double. Plus, off-campus housing for years 2-4 are very expensive and hard to come by. Is this the case for most? College sites list only 23% of students live on campus. Does this make it feel like a commuter school?
2. College sites also show that USF has a low retention rate (83% or so return for sophomore year). Do kids tend to transfer out or drop out? what is your experience?
Thanks
Parent here again, only because students aren’t chiming in. @AlohaScott, I posed your questions to my kid who is a USF student and here’s what he said.
- Most freshman were placed in triples last year because USF had a much higher than expected yield. That’s something that can vary year to year, so no telling what will be the case Fall 2018. It is possible to get reasonably priced housing within a mile or two of campus! If you are willing to share a room you might pay $700/mo. It is also possible to get guaranteed on-campus housing all four years if you are in a program such as St Ignatius Institute.
In NO WAY does USF feel like a commuter school. The kids who live off campus are usually in a shared house or apartment within 1-2 miles of campus. Very few people live at home and commute.
- There are two reasons students might not return for sophomore year. One is due to cost; family circumstances have changed and they transfer somewhere less expensive. The other is that some foreign students opt to go back home after a year or find they can’t handle the English and are academically disqualified.
Hope this helps!