Floridians: Do you realize how lucky we are to have the University of Florida?

<p>I wonder sometimes if Florida residents truly comprehend how lucky we are to have the University of Florida in our state. Historically we are a Southern Univeristy that has been able to fight our way into being one of the Top Public Universities in the country. Considering the odds, it's amazing that we have come this far (we were ranked the 29th best overall Public University back in the early 90's now we are tied for 13th overall). I have no doubt that we will not only become a Top-10 public, but we will be giving Michigan, UNC, and UVA a run for their money very shortly!</p>

<p>I understand that the population of Florida is almost 19 million residents, but always remember most of these people are transplants. For many generations we have had sacrificed for the greater good of UF. As a student you will be representing not only yourself, but the thousands of alumni who gave blood, sweat, and tears to give you a premier education.</p>

<p>Never forget this!</p>

<p>i'm thankful for bright futures too</p>

<p>I'm thankful for this turkey dinner, our health, and being a family.</p>

<p>I'm thankful for Ohio State....because without them we'd have no one to beat up on</p>

<p>I saw a shirt once that said:</p>

<pre><code> OHIO STATE
PROPERTY OF
the
</code></pre>

<p>UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA</p>

<p>Lol... </p>

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFwERRJOl_E%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFwERRJOl_E&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oMVjzXmMeU%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oMVjzXmMeU&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Yes, we are truly lucky. Although I wish we had a school ranked like UNC Chapel Hill, or even Georgia Tech. But that would take a lot of money from our legislature, which ain't going to happen.</p>

<p>Well UF really doesn't get that much from the State of Florida in our operating budget (like below 40% total). What they do fund is new construction for future facilities. We are actually in the midst of a 1.2 Billion Capital Campaign, and with all those National Championships it may get us to the 1.5 billion mark. Also keep in mind that we will be getting the Tuition Differntial money and that should give us about $70 million a year, which will be used primarily on new faculty & advisors. Our student to faculty ratio will drop from 22/1 down to 15/1.</p>

<p>Things are looking good in that fact that by 2030 Florida is projected to have over 28 million total residents as well. Keep in mind that there will still be only around 6,000 total spots for the incoming FTIC classes, so it will continue to get insanely competitive. Graduate Programs should also increase, and become more selective in that their will be a much higher demand for open spots.</p>

<p>Exert from WIKIPEDIA:</p>

<p>Three years after university officials capped the size of the freshman class at about 6,600, competition at UF is at an all-time high, forcing admissions workers to choose among the brightest and leaving behind an unprecedented number of disappointed families.[27] Of those who applied to be part of this fall's incoming freshman class, an estimated 42 percent were accepted -- the lowest acceptance rate in the history of the state's public schools. Selectivity at the state's top university is expected to heighten as UF continues to work toward becoming one of the nation's Top 10 public universities.[28] It should also be noted that a record 57 percent of freshman students who were accepted actually enrolled, placing the school firmly in the realm of top picks rather than safety schools.</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>didn't UF drop in the recent U.S. News rankings?</p>

<p>Is that supposed to be connected to the title of the thread?</p>

<p>I'm just thankful that since my family has lived in Florida for so long I have multiple legacies there.</p>

<p>I just got back from a MUN conference at FSU. Until now, i never fully realized how lucky we are. tally's pretty sketchy...it was still fun, though :)</p>

<p>Clearly FSU is better than UCF, wouldn't you agree?</p>

<p>as far as the town/campus/atmosphere goes, I like UCF better. i would never want to live in tally. most people i know who were rejected from UF this past year chose UCF over FSU because they're majoring in engineering (IB kiddies) and felt that UCF had a better engineering program than FSU...but my friend who wants to be a teacher chose fsu over ucf because their elementary education program is better. so, basically, i guess it just depends on what you want to do.</p>

<p>luckily we have UPD stopping terrorists on campus <a href="http://www.starbanner.com/article/20070917/NEWS/70917006/1053/BREAKING_NEWS%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.starbanner.com/article/20070917/NEWS/70917006/1053/BREAKING_NEWS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>"Police threatened to user a Taser on Meyer if he did not "comply," but he continued to resist being handcuffed. He was then Tased, which prompted him to scream and writhe in pain on the floor of the auditorium"</p>

<p>GOOD for the Police!</p>