Florida Colleges - HELP!

<p>As a prospective political science major, I am looking for a quality undergrad school. I know that I might not be able to pay for out of state universities (but that's not going to stop me from applying!). Assuming I don't/can't go out of state: should I attend University of Florida or the New College of Florida?</p>

<p>From what I've read, and correct me if I am wrong, the New College PolSci program is much stronger than UF's program and the campus is more politically active. But would UF hold more weight when I am applying to grad schools or getting a job? </p>

<p>I understand the atmosphere of the colleges are entirely different, but I want to know, would I have more opportunities for my future coming from UF?</p>

<p>The great thing about UF is that it has an incredibly wide variety of programs and a huge amount of resources so you can really pick and choose what is best for you. I am not familiar with New College, I just know that it is a relatively small liberal arts school, so at this point the big debate would be whether you want an intimate liberal arts college vs a powerhouse university. </p>

<p>A lot of times people think that they know what they want to study but that most often changes once you get to the school so I don't know if I would advise choosing a school dead set on a particular major...when I started my college search I thought I wanted to study international relations but things changed in a matter of months and I started looking at schools in a different way- if I had excluded schools that didn't have IR programs I would have really limited my opportunities. My point is, that in the case that you do decide that you'd like to study something else, UF has strong programs in many areas (most interesting to me were business and journalism)</p>

<p>It is difficult to generalize about UF because the student population is so big and there are so many opportunities that it offers something for everyone. What I've understood from the most part is that the trick to UF is going out and finding these resources yourself, so if you're a gung-ho person you should find no shortage of opportunity. </p>

<p>Anyway, it really comes down to the environment you want. Talk to people at both schools and figure out where you'd be happier and what sort of academic and social environment works for you. Visit both if you can, you learn a lot from an overnight stay that you would never learn from a college brochure.</p>

<p>UF No doubt.
If you are going to stay in Florida I reccommend three schools: UF, UM or FSU.
These three schools are nationally ranked schools. They have a lot of endowment, Research funding and best of all recognition nationally. When u mention New College, since its only 5 years old, few have ever heard of NCF and that could be a problem when it comes to getting jobs as few employers have experience with NCF grads and how well they are prepared for the job market. </p>

<p>Also heres another thing: if u pick schools like UF, FSU or UM, they have schools of medecine, business, law, engineering, architecture, journalism, communications etc... If u want to change major or career path the bigger you can remain in school simply switching major, instead of transferring and going to a new school. </p>

<ul>
<li>im not sure how politically active NCF is. UF is a huge school and you should be able to find politically active groups on campus. Shouldnt be a problem. Also if u really want a politically active school, consider UM (u mgiht get scholarships and good grants as a State resident) because UM has lately become extremely politcally active. In 2004 they hosted the Presidential Debates between Bush and Kerry. they will also possibly be hosting next years Presidential Debate as they have been nominated along with 9 other schools. </li>
</ul>

<p>Pick a school with lots of resources, national recognition and prestige (nationally ranked schools). You will have better career opportunities from these schools. If you dont want that massive school environment that you will def see at UF or FSU, then consider UM which does have smaller classes and more personalized education (13:1 Student faculty ratio) while providing the huge school perks (Many schools/colleges, sports, facilities, large campus etc...). I would hate to reccommend NCF just because since its such a new school, it lacks many of the resources that other schools that have been around for a lot longer provide for a similar and even cheaper price.</p>

<p>acarta07, New College of Florida is older than 5 years old(I think it's sp,ewhere around 35). I don't know about opportubities after college, but in termns of the best education, New College is much better. Do you honestly want to sit in a class with 200 other students, and have the professir not know who you are at all. New College has less than 1,000 students, with a totally unique approach to learning. If you aren't very independent though, New College might not be right for you.</p>

<p>I would go to New College,</p>

<p>• The nation’s #1 value in public higher education (Princeton Review, America’s 374 Best Colleges, 2006 edition); </p>

<p>• The nation’s #1 ranked public liberal arts college (U.S. News & World Report, America’s Best Colleges, 2007 edition); </p>

<p>• One of the nation’s 45 Best Buys in Higher Education (Fiske Guide to Colleges 2006); </p>

<p>• The nation’s #3 ranked per capita producer of Fulbright Scholars among all four-year bachelor’s colleges (Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2005). </p>

<p>But if you like huge classes and arent looking for much personal attention go to UF.</p>

<p>All of the arguments bring up good points.</p>

<p>I am pretty set on my political science major, but I know that I am young and my plans could easily change so I do want a school that would offer a wide variety of strong programs. Here is another question then: what else is New College strong in?</p>

<p>As for the environment, ideally I wanted something fairly small but not as small as New College is (3000-8000 maybe), but I am pretending that I didn't get accepted/get the right financial aid to attend a private or out of state school, so my choices of environment are limited. </p>

<p>As for UM, it too is a private school and would be like going to Georgetown or the sorts. I suppose I could have a better shot at financial aid so I will consider applying there. It has the name recognition because of the 'canes and it is a strong school, but it still doesn't fit my environmental needs. One can't have everything I suppose.</p>

<p>I think I would be self-motivated enough to do well at any school.</p>

<p>Thank you for the input so far.</p>

<p>Have you thought about Stetson?</p>

<p>i<em>am</em>jam, I'm personally a UF advocate but reading what you wanted about a smaller school, have you thought about Rollins? Also, UF has an honors program that you might want to look into if you would like more personal attention.</p>

<p>If u want a school that offers a wide varety of programs NCF is not the school u want to go to.
LIke I said, the schools that offer the widest variety of programs are UF, UM and FSU.
UM has around 15,000 - 20,000 undergrads so it is a little big for what ur looking for. However it does have the wide selection of programs and the national prestige. Compared to 40,000 at UF, its still a lot more personalized. </p>

<p>Options I would reccommend that are smaller and still are good:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Stetson: its not nationally ranked but has a much higher degree of name recognition than NCF. its also got more programs than NCF. Stetson is mostly known for having a strong Law School and Business school. </p></li>
<li><p>Rollins: Ok ROllins is exactly like NCF. its a liberal arts college but Rollins has been around longer and much more well known. You might want to look this up. Also believe me when I say the campus is GOOOOORGEOUS!!!</p></li>
</ul>

<p>OP: I am not sure if my information is out of date or not, but I know that previously at least New College had a unique curriculum based on independent study and guided project work- there was something involved with signing a "contract" with professors regarding work progress and fulfilling that "contract" in order to pass (I am not sure of the details). Anyway, the point is, New College used to be something much different than a typical LAC, and it required a certain type of individual who is self-motivated and self-directed, so look into that and consider it before going there. As to reputation/opportunities after college, I would not worry AT ALL about New College- it is not very famous with the general public, but it is very well-recognized and highly-regarded in academic circles at least.</p>