Florida Atlantic University .....

<p>Hi all, anyone out there live locally and their S or D considering going here or already been accepted and considering it?</p>

<p>Definitely want my daughter to have the experience of going "away" even if its in Florida (accpeted to UCF, FGCU, and waiting on UF) but accepted to FAU which is about 20-25 min from the house. She has a really good part time job locally already, and kind of a volunteer / internship with a local vet (she wants to eventually be a vet) so.....in her situation, trying to find that at a school 2-3 hours from here (without doing a lot of legwork etc.) ...... we / she is thinking that FAU might be the right choice (but still not sure). How is it being a commuter student, how is the student life there if you don't live in the residence halls, etc....??</p>

<p>thanks in advance</p>

<p>we had much the same dilemma, only living close by and going to UCF. D had a part time job that she really loved, but wanted to go away to college and really preferred UCF over all the other FL schools. So she lives on the campus and it is working out really well. This way she gets the full experience, is near her classes and library, making friends, etc. and comes home some weekends for laundry (of course!)</p>

<p>mm… interesting. Thought about it (to live at FAU , for about one second), but its crazy, we literally live 10 / 12 miles from there, I know what you’re saying, but not paying for her to live there when we live 20 min away…good idea though if you can do it. :)</p>

<p>I’m a current student at FAU, after a long-round about way of getting here.</p>

<p>I grew up in Southern Broward (about 45 min from FAU), went to Northwestern Univ out of HS, transferred to Broward College after my first year, got my AA and just started at FAU. </p>

<p>Most students here are commuter students (I’m considered one, and I live in an apartment 2 min off campus). I don’t think you can have the “typical college experience”, like I had at Northwestern, since it mostly still is a commuter college, but they’re working on the stadium and more dorms on campus (hopefully done by 2011). The main problem here is parking… as in (especially at the Boca campus) there is none. I have friends who get to school at 8 am, for a class at noon, just because of parking. </p>

<p>As far as making the best of the experience, there are plenty of ways to get involved. Many many clubs and organizations for all sorts of hobbies. There’s a small but relatively strong greek life, and athletics aren’t the strongest, but there’s still school spirit at football games and such.</p>

<p>Feel free to PM with any questions. </p>

<p>I’m a Junior, Mathematics major, Computer Science minor.</p>

<p>I’m also an FAU student, albeit a graduate student. I actually went here for undergrad as well (double majored in psychology and biology) so I’ve been at this school since 2000. As you might imagine, it’s become my second home.</p>

<p>I’ve lived off-campus in Delray since my freshman year but I’m still very much involved with campus life. The fact is that FAU, like any college, is only as good as you make it. I’ve felt like I’ve had a traditional college experience (I have been to UF so yes, I can make the comparison). </p>

<p>If your daughter wants to be involved in a sorority, college club (we have a pre-vet association, for instance) or intramural sport like ultimate frisbee (I play on Monday nights here on campus) then she can definitely do that. Her life will be better as a result of it since she’ll meet a ton of people. I’ve chosen to get involved since my sophomore year of undergrad and now I’m very much connected here.</p>

<p>Now, your daughter wants to be a vet and I can tell you that our biology department is excellent. I’m actually a graduate student in Biology. The professors are smart, kind, they speak English and they do interesting work with sea turtles, dolphins and even contribute to conservation ecology work down in the Everglades. If she comes here and wants to be a bio major, she’s in good hands. The only downside I can think of is a lack of a specific “Zoology” class; we offer only Biodiversity, Bio Principles, Microbiology, Ecology, Genetics, Evolution, etc.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any more questions!</p>

<p>Update, my D was accepted back in September, and just recently received a half tuition per year award. Hard to say no to since we live locally and I would prefer her not to have debt when she graduates…
Most likely accepting before the deadline…any other FAU’ers out there?</p>

<p>cya !</p>

<p>My d is a junior in Philadelphia. My son goes to ucf. My d has a 3.75 but only a 21 act and only 950 sat. Fau has athletics Greek life shecwants. Our concern is if the students all leave on weekends Now that they are building innovation area I hope that more kids stay there. Let me know</p>