<p>I attended Florida Tech as an Astronomy/Astrophysics major from 2002 2006.</p>
<p>Admissions & Acceptance
There wasn't anything in my application that made me stand out as far as I can remember. I got decent grades at an all-girls prep school and participated in a few activities. I don't remember my average grades, SAT, or ACT scores. What I really had going for me was potential. I had interest and determination that drove me to succeed in college that wasn't yet recognized in high school, but the admissions office must have seen enough of a hint of that to accept me. Actually, they really wanted me. Florida Tech was the only school that sent me a personal note in a card after I visited. They also called me after I had been accepted to encourage me to enroll. I was offered a Presidential Scholarship, which covered a third of my tuition.</p>
<p>Visiting
I HIGHLY recommend visiting the campus. For one thing, it's beautiful! Palm trees and hibiscus flowers are everywhere, and there's a botanical gardens (the jungle) throughout the campus. Plus, the beach is only a few miles away, with Orlando only an hour's drive and Kennedy Space Center a 45 minute drive.</p>
<p>Meeting students, faculty, and staff and realizing how friendly everyone was and how much I fit in was the number one reason why I applied. My parents and I visited during the summer before my senior year. Without an appointment, we dropped in on the Physics & Space Sciences Department, and a professor (now the current department head) took an hour of his time to chat with us about the school and the program. We were really impressed.</p>
<p>While attending Florida Tech, I volunteered as a tour guide for 3.5 years. The student tour guides are trained in the history of the school, all the departments and programs, every building on campus and its function, the popular research areas, common statistics such as class size and student-to-faculty rations, how to positively interact with prospective students and their families, and how to walk backwards. We really give a great tour.</p>
<p>Freshman Orientation
The orientation program is fantastic. It's a several-day period of fun activities to settle in, get used to the campus, and meet friends. A small army of students help you move into your dorm. The staff is mostly made up of older students who volunteer their time to help new students. There are evening shows such as a hypnotist, a registration session to choose your classes and talk to financial aid, a session to meet with fellow freshman in your department, and trips to local areas. I would recommend not skipping out on these activities, because they're a great way to meet new people.</p>
<p>Dorms
From what I saw at other college tours and what I heard from parents over the years of giving tours, the dorms at Florida Tech are quite large, comparatively. I was assigned to Shaw Hall my freshman year, which at the time was all-girls. Based on a survey of habits and interests, I was assigned a freshman roommate who matched me on paper. My Shaw Hall dorm was a single room with bunk beds, two desks, two chairs, two phone jacks, two TV connections, two internet connections, a combination microwave and mini-fridge, two closets, and a window. That room was always freezing from the air conditioning. The common bathrooms for the wing were down the hall and were cleaned by a maintenance staff.</p>
<p>Sophomore year, I lived in a newly opened Columbia Village four-person suite. I had my own small bedroom and shared a common living room with couches, tables, and chairs, and kitchen area with a full-sized refrigerator, cabinets, and a sink. The suite also had two bathrooms. Each suite has its own thermostat. I lived on the third (top) floor, which had vaulted ceilings. I preferred this arrangement over my freshman year dorm, but I did not pick my roommates carefully enough.</p>
<p>My boyfriend had a single room in Evans Hall. He had a very large room all to himself with a private bathroom. It was very convenient for him to travel downstairs to eat in the cafeteria.</p>
<p>I moved off-campus starting junior year, first to an apartment, then to a rented townhouse. Living off-campus is fantastic because of the increased space, freedom to own a pet, and freedom from being required to buy a meal plan that is not cost-effective But it brings more responsibilities such as paying bills and commuting. It is much cheaper to live off-campus, even taking into account electricity, cable, and internet bills. I'm glad I lived on campus for my first two years, though, because I felt much more connected to the school and its activities when I did.</p>
<p>Classes
One thing I loved was that I started taking my major-specific classes immediately. The earlier students are introduced to their intended fields, the earlier they can decide if it's the right field for them to pursue.</p>
<p>My largest classes were Calculus 1 and 2. Those had maybe 100 students in each class in a lecture setting, then were broken up into labs of about 20 students each. Even with the huge number of students in the class, the professors knew me. My fantastic Physics 1 and 2 (also large lecture classes) professor knew the names and grades of every student he ever had.</p>
<p>Aside from the large core classes, class size was very small. A common class was around 25 students, with the higher-level major-specific classes numbering maybe 15 students. Student-professor interaction was typically high.</p>
<p>As with any school, there are good professors and there are bad professors, and you will have both. I had some really great professors who truly cared about their students and wanted them to succeed. One professor we even called Papa because he viewed us like his children. On the other hand, I had a really bad experience with a professor who is widely known to look down on students and who threatened me; I had to go to the department head and the dean of students to protect myself from him. I don't think my experience with the latter is common, but it does happen. And of course, there will be great professors who can easily teach material with clarity and even excitement, and poor teachers who can't teach even the basics clearly and make for very dull classes.</p>
<p>For most majors, you will be challenged. Chances are, you will be very challenged. Florida Tech is a very demanding school. It's not hard to get accepted, but it is hard to graduate, because those who can't cut the work don't make it. But there are many, many ways to gain extra help if needed, such as professor office hours, teaching assistants, a free tutoring center, etc. For me, junior year was the hardest, and the level of difficulty stayed hard through senior year.</p>
<p>Activities
I was a very active student. During my time at Florida Tech, I participated in the following:
Student newspaper (1 year News Editor, 2 years Editor-in-Chief)
Student Ambassadors (1 year as Historian, over 3 years as a campus tour guide)
Physics and space exploration groups (1 year)
Student Government Association (1 year as a senator)
Drama group (1 semester)
College Media Board (2 years)
Campus Quality of Life Committee (1 year)
7 Open House events for prospective students and their families
2 Freshmen Orientation sessions as staff
1 Homecoming planning committee
1 intramural volleyball team
1 state science conference planning committee</p>
<p>Strangely, I was not very active in high school and did not consider myself to be a leader until college. I found there was always something to do on campus, always some activity or event. Usually, I had to pick and choose, because there was more going on than I had time to commit!</p>
<p>Research
There are many, many opportunities to get involved in research as a student. It may actually be a requirement now for all majors. I actually started researching at another university during the summer after my freshman year, which continued during the summer after my sophomore year. I gained an internship the summer after my juniors year, and continued that research during my senior year. My experience with that research was the primary factor in gaining admission to graduate school.</p>
<p>Grades
I did decently well. I got a lot of A's and a few B's in the beginning. I purposely took a really hard (but really good) professor for Calculus 2 and got the first D of my life, but used the university's forgiveness policy to retake the class and replace the D with the new grade. As I previously stated, junior year was my hardest. I worked my butt off but made only a few A's, a good number of B's, and even a few C's. My final GPA was 3.2, which was good enough at the time to graduate cum laude (they've since toughened the requirements for honors).</p>
<p>Surrounding area
I love the beach! That was my favorite off-campus local hang-out. I would visit Indialantic Beach frequently and treat myself to a slice of Bizzarro's Pizza (best in town). Cocoa Beach is also nearby. Melbourne is a cute little town. I've heard there's things to do in town, but I was always so busy with school activities that I never really looked into it.</p>
<p>Seeing Space Shuttle and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral is also a favorite activity. You can drive up to Kennedy Space Center to see them, view them from the beach, or stay on campus. Florida Tech is probably the only school in the world that pauses classes or lets them out early in order to view Shuttle launches. It's a very unifying feeling. I would also recommend touring the KSC visitors center at least once.</p>
<p>Orlando is a popular weekend destination for students. I couldn't afford to visit the popular tourist attractions (Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, etc.) without my parents paying, so I didn't go there very often. Every once in a while, some friends and I would go to a restaurant in the free area of Universal (City Walk) or Disney (Downtown). Orlando is also a good place to see shows and concerts.</p>
<p>Transportation
Cars are allowed on campus for all students, and parking permits are relatively inexpensive. Owning a car isn't necessary, but it is very useful. There is public transportation in town, but it's not very popular. Bicycles are a common means of transportation on campus. I've also seen students use scooters, roller blades, and skateboards, in addition to walking.</p>
<p>Melbourne has a small airport very close to campus. I always booked my flights out of Orlando because of the great amount of choices.</p>
<p>Romance
I can't really comment on the dating scene. I accidentally found the love of my life during my freshman orientation (he was a junior who was helping as orientation staff), so I pretty much skipped the whole dating thing and went straight into serious life-long commitment. Males greatly outnumber females as a whole, so girls: we get a lot of choice. Don't discount meeting local non-students.</p>
<p>Student body
The student body was surprisingly diverse. Something like 18% of the students are intentional, and more than 2/3rds are from states other than Florida. It's a tech school, so the geek stereotype is present. But there's also the athletes, fraternity/sorority members, drama enthusiasts, outgoing overachievers, normal people, etc. Visit the campus to see if you feel you'll fit in.</p>
<p>I've already written four pages, but I probably missed a few topics. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer.</p>