Florida Schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello</p>

<p>I've been looking at some Southern schools to go to college at and I only have one of FL school on my list so far. </p>

<p>I'm looking at bigger schools and was looking at FSU, UF, and UM and one point. I dropped UF because I am OOS and I'm not as likely to get in and would not get any financial help. I'm probably not going to apply to UM because I'm not sure if I fit the mold of their student body, as I would rather party/hang out than go clubbing. But I heard not as many people go to South Beach and Coconut Grove as students of previous classes have gone, but it is still a big part of life at UM. But that one may creep its way back onto my list.
FSU is still on and I'll probably apply there. </p>

<p>Any other recommendations? </p>

<p>Here is some basic criteria that I'm looking for. </p>

<p>-Big. Like 20k+ Students
-Good Academics and/or good scholarship opportunities.
-Decent school spirit and not a suitcase or commuter school
-Active, active Campus with a lot of student clubs and activities and parties,etc... on the weekend
-Near the beach or a big city. Preferably an hour or less away
-Decent, but not dominating Greek life, with some decent choices of frats
-Beautiful Campus
-Laid back student body, but not a stoner school.
-Good in the field of Poli Sci, Econ or Business and other social sciences. </p>

<p>Those are just some basic criteria and I realize I won't be able to get most of those thing in one school, but a lot would be nice. </p>

<p>One of my biggest problems is size. Most of the bigger schools, are well known, and I already know a lot about them. Schools like USF, UCF, schools I mentioned above, etc...</p>

<p>But I'm willing to bend on size a little bit, maybe preferably 10k, but I'd settle for 5k. </p>

<p>Stetson seems like a nice school, my cousin went there a few years ago, but they only have about 2,000 students. </p>

<p>And I'm going to need some help financial help. My dream world goal is to get COA down to $15k, maybe $20k. Realistically, I think I would settle for $25k to $30k COA. So I would need some merit aid or schools with good need based aid. </p>

<p>Here are some of my basic stats:
Jr., White Male from Midwest</p>

<p>GPA: 4.2 W, somewhere in 3.8 range UW.
SAT/ACT: 194 PSAT score. Took ACT once, and got a 29. Really studying and working hard to get a 1400/32+, either or.
ECs: Eagle Scout, Eucharistic Minister, School Ambassador, school paper, work a couple of jobs, MUN, mock trial, Track, etc... Besides Eagle Scout, nothing too spectacular, but a decent amount. </p>

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>As a safety school (and I think you would get good merit aid), you could look at the University of Tampa. About 6200 students, located in a nice town, near the beaches. It’s not an academic powerhouse, but it has some decent programs. The total COA is about $30,000.</p>

3

<p>-Big. Like 20k+ Students -----UCF, UF, USF, FIU, U Miami
-Good Academics and/or good scholarship opportunities. – -UF, U Miami, FSU, USF, UCF, FIU
-Decent school spirit and not a suitcase or commuter school ---- UF, FSU, U Miami, USF, UCF
-Active, active Campus with a lot of student clubs and activities and parties,etc… on the weekend. ---- UF, FSU, U Miami, UCF, USF
-Near the beach or a big city. Preferably an hour or less away.---- FSU (in downtown Tallahassee, 30ish minutes to the beach) U Miami (15m to downtown Miami, 30-40M from the beach.) USF (15m to downtown Tampa, 40m to downtown St. Pete, 35M to the beach), UCF (20m? to downtown Orlando, 45-50M to the beach) UF (not really close to anything)
-Decent, but not dominating Greek life, with some decent choices of frats— UF, FSU, U Miami?, USF, UCF.
-Beautiful Campus------ U Miami, FSU, UCF, UF, USF
-Laid back student body, but not a stoner school.----USF, UCF, FSU, U Miami, UF
-Good in the field of Poli Sci, Econ or Business and other social sciences. ---- UF, U Miami, FSU, USF, UCF</p>

<p>I’d go with FSU.</p>

<p>If you don’t like UM because students go to South Beach then you probably wouldn’t like USF because students tend to go to Ybor and I believe UCF students go to downtown Orlando. As with any big school though, some students will do one thing and other students do something else so you should be able to find a group of people you fit in with regardless.</p>

<p>If you want a big school I don’t think you’ll be satisfied with U Tampa. For that matter, I don’t really think there are any other schools you should consider in FL aside from the ones I listed above.</p>

4

<p>I will throw the caveat out there that, at FSU, greek life can be stiffling, and parties are often exclusive. I’m from Florida and I would recommend UCF, but that was based more on personal choices. Not a very good state overall for social sciences, I’m afraid, with some interesting small privates like Rollins, Stetson, Eckerd, University of Tampa, Flagler, etc, but nothing that seems to fit your mold.</p>

<p>Don’t apply somewhere in Florida just because you feel obligated to, if you want a strong academic school in the social sciences while meeting the criteria above then I don’t think you’ll find a perfect match of large size in Florida.</p>

5

<p>Did, not really think of UTampa. I always thought it was more expensive than 30k, and they do have some decent scholarships. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t know, but it just seems like every review mentions most of the students head to South Beach and clubbing is huge…more so than any other school. But who knows, a lot of UM people say they hated clubbing when they were incoming freshman and it eventually grew on them, so maybe I’ll give it a try and leave UM on my list. I also like how UM has decent scholarships, although I have to keep working on my test scores to get one.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

<p>Edit: I guess forget size for the most part, as long as it is over 4000 undergrads, it should be ok. </p>

<p>Anyone know anything about Stetson? I know it only has like 2500 students, but it seems really nice and my cousin seemed to enjoy his time there, but he graduated a few years ago.</p>

6

<p>*Here are some of my basic stats:
Jr., White Male from Midwest</p>

<p>GPA: 4.2 W, somewhere in 3.8 range UW.
SAT/ACT: 194 PSAT score. </p>

<p>Took ACT once, and got a 29. </p>

<p>Really studying and working hard to get a 1400/32+, either or. </p>

<p>ECs: Eagle Scout, Eucharistic Minister, School Ambassador, school paper, work a couple of jobs, MUN, mock trial, Track, etc… Besides Eagle Scout, nothing too spectacular, but a decent amount.*</p>

<p>Ah…I’m a Eucharistic Minister, too. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>What else do you want in a school?</p>

<p>Big sports to watch?</p>

<p>Does it have to be in Florida?</p>

<p>UF and FSU aren’t that great with OOS scholarships (or aid). </p>

<p>Their OOS Cost of Attendances (COA) are around $35k.</p>

<p>When are you taking the SAT and ACT again (pay the extra for the detailed score report and test book)</p>

7

<p>Smaller schools great with financial aid.
Florida Southern College - 2,000
Rollins College </p>

<p>both have smaller enrollment, but great financial aid packages. No football though.</p>

8

<p>mom2collegekids makes a good point about the cost… I’m not sure if these schools are worth OOS. U Tampa is pretty cheap for a private school so you may want to check them out. Rollins is better but more expensive.</p>

9

<p>I was under the impression that FSU was so-so, hit or miss with OOS merit aid, but I honestly have not done to much research on some of their scholarships. But looking through some of the thread on the FSU boards, apparently there is a waiver or a scholarship that will bring OOS costs down to near IS rates, but it did not seem that straight forward. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>And m2ck, I think I know where you are going with this… Bama is currently (probably) my 3rd choice, behind two of my reaches, Notre Dame and Cornell. Scholarships lured me in and I visited the campus and was very impressed. </p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

10

<p>I was just trying to figure out what you wanted…</p>

<p>you’re kind of “all over the place” with FSU and UTampa and UM and Stetson.</p>

<p>There wasn’t any connections except for all in Florida. LOL I thought maybe the grandparents had retired there or something. :)</p>

<p>I’ll try to research what merit is from FSU, I know my kids’ classmates got nothing from FSU as OOS good students.</p>

11

<p>FSU merit scholarships…</p>

<p>The scholarships listed here are for U.S. undergraduate students. </p>

<p>*Each eligible student may receive only one of the noted merit-based Admission scholarships. Because these scholarships are limited in number, students should be admitted by January 1 for full consideration.</p>

<p>University Scholarship* for Freshmen - [$2,400 per year]
A $9,600 scholarship distributed over four years. Recipients are selected from the best freshman students admitted to the University based upon high school grades and test scores. </p>

<p>21st Century Scholarship* for Freshmen - [$2,000 per year]
An $8,000 scholarship distributed over four years. Recipients are selected from our top freshman students admitted to the University (just below University Scholarship for Freshmen level). </p>

<p>Incentive Scholarship* for Freshmen - [$2,000 per year]
An $8,000 scholarship distributed over four years. Recipients are selected from minority freshman students admitted to the University based upon high school grades and test scores. </p>

<p>Tuition Reduction Scholarship (Waiver) for Freshmen
Awarded to a limited number of Non-Florida freshmen students based on academic merit or special talent. Recipients will receive a partial reduction (waiver) of out-of-state tuition.</p>

<p>Anyone know how much the waiver is for and what stats are needed to get that? How many are awarded?</p>

12

<p>I’d like to hear more feedback on some of the smaller Florida schools - Rollins, Eckerd and Florida Southern come to mind. Son is a 10th grader now - but it’s fun to look. He could be a business major. Not a sports fanatic - but I think would enjoy going to basketball/football games. Not sure if he would go greek. Kind of an average easy-going kid. So far we’re thinking Elon and C of C, but would not rule out Florida schools if there was a good fit.</p>

13

<p>* Son is a 10th grader now …Not a sports fanatic - but I think would enjoy going to basketball/football games. *</p>

<p>LOL…reminds me of my older son. He was not a sports fanatic at all. He played Varsity tennis in HS, but never paid attention to pro or college sports. But once in college, he began going to football games, and now he’s hooked. He’s addicted. I never would have thought!</p>

<hr>

<p>*Bama is currently (probably) my 3rd choice, behind two of my reaches, Notre Dame and Cornell. Scholarships lured me in and I visited the campus and was very impressed.
*</p>

<p>When did you visit? You’re a junior, right?</p>

14

<p>What attracts you about Florida in particular? If it’s the climate, Louisiana State has a similar climate to Tallahassee, and it seems to have everything you’re looking for.</p>

15

<p>rockvillemom- Rollins is pretty good. Eckard is alright but I wouldn’t chose it over Elon. Personally I wouldn’t go to FL Southern.</p>

<p>Hanna- To be fair, Tallahassee’s climate really isn’t that similar to the rest of FL. lol I was monitoring the weather recently and noticed a few days where it got down to 16 degrees or lower in Tallahassee. Compare that with mid 20s in most of central Florida and mid-low 30s in southern Florida. and of course theres Key West which only made it down to like 48… It may not sound like too big of difference but in terms of what plant life will live in Tallahassee verses the stuff in S. Florida, the difference is huge.</p>

16

<p>UM has some good scholarships but you need to look over the SAT/ACT requirements for the scholarships because at present you would not be in the range. Once you retake you will probably be in a better situation. UM was my S second choice and did like the campus and programs offered but ultimately chose Rollins. They have good merit aid (again look at the scholarship pages for your range). For him he liked Orlando better than Miami and he is not a football fan which Rollins does not have. Rollins is alot smaller so it may not be for you. At any school you will find many groups of people you either will hang with or not. From S point of view there are always partiers at his school but he has his groups of friends that go out or just make their on fun on campus. BTW my S is an Eagle Scout.</p>

17

<p>gekko - thanks for that input. I see a lot of students who apply to Elon (or other similar schools) as their reach/match school and then are looking for similar schools as safety schools. So, Rollins, Eckerd, Flagler and Florida Southern come up a lot as safeties. Just wasn’t sure about considering any of these for my own son - I really need to visit them at some point. Thanks for your thoughts.</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>I visited last year as a Sophomore on the way down to Louisiana for Easter Break…and I also saw LSU. Though I took an official tour at UA and not LSU. Yes I am a Junior.</p>

<p>LSU was very nice, liked the campus, but I don’t think I’m going to apply there. The scholarships are VERY good though. </p>

<p>Oh and SweetTea, I know my test numbers are a little low for scholarships at UM. But I’m banking on getting it up. If I can’t get it up for whatever reason, I’ll probably apply to a school like LSU, or UTampa, a school good merit aid, over over it. </p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

19

<p>No problem rockvillemom, let me know if you have any questions.</p>

20

<p>But the OP clearly is open to the Tallahassee climate, because he’s already got FSU on the list.</p>