Help!!! UF or UCF Honors?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
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<p>I have been accepted into both University of Florida and University of Central Florida. Both schools seem decent, and I don't know which one to choose. I have been wanting to go to UF badly ever since high school started (a dream), but now things have complicated. I have been considering a lot of factors when thinking about this. Please see what I have come up with so far and input your opinion about it.</p>

<p>University of Florida:</p>

<p>Pros: A couple of hours from home so would be able to come home every couple of weeks or so, strong academics, high prestige, new environment, new friends, perhaps better opportunities for research (pre-med here), good pre med program, awesome party scene</p>

<p>Cons: huge classes, feel like you are lost in the crowd, slight financial trouble.. parents are in a bit of a tough spot right now because of the failure of a business venture they undertook.. therefore don't know the amount of money they would be able to contribute to my education.. if it comes to worse, i would have to take small loans (around 3k).. i don't want to have any debt when i graduate as i will also go to med school and that will be enough debt as it is.. but if uf will be the better choice for me i'll sure go there</p>

<p>fin aid: around 13k with 3k in loans and the rest being some grants and some work study, outside scholarship of 2k (only for freshmen year) .. therefore if i wanted any spending money i would have to work my ass off during the summer</p>

<p>University of Central Florida:</p>

<p>Pros: No having to pay room and board and meal plan since its the town i live so college would be pretty cheap, got accepted into honors college so smaller classes would be the norm, know where to volunteer so it would be easy to get stuff to put on med school app, i would have no debt and would be able to earn some cash to blow when going out and etc</p>

<p>Cons: near parents so I feel like I might have less freedom and constantly be monitored by them, same old environment and same out people, less renowned than UF so perhaps I would have to do more stuff so i can compare to those who went to more prestigious school, don't know the quality of their pre med program (but they are building a new med school set to open next year)</p>

<p>Fin aid: around 9k per year with 3k being loans and the rest grants.. loans would not need to be taken as i could work year round at disney or something and have cash money to spend.</p>

<p>I am really confused about this.. I want to go to a school that is affordable and will provide me with the best education in my goal towards med school, but I would also want financial relief and not be constantly worried about bills and etc.. Please help!!</p>

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<p>Go to UF. The amount you'll be paying extra is worth it.</p>

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<p>It doesn't seem like the monetary difference is very great. If you like UF, I don't see a reason for you not to go.</p>

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<p>It would be wise for you to pick UF.</p>

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<p>Of course, you'll get a biased answer when you post your question on a UF board full of people who have their hearts set on UF, and nowhere else. Personally, I wanted to go to UF but was rejected, and already accepted the UCF Honors College's offer of admission. UF does have the greater reputation, and sometimes it IS a slight factor in the graduate and med school admissions process. However, the honors designation on your UCF transcript gets rid of any disadvantage there would be, and likely would even rise you above a typical med school applicant from UF. You can even go further, and do an Honors in the Major thesis, which looks excellent on grad school apps. I'm not sure if you applied for the UCF Honors/USF med school program, but if you did, that would be a huge plus for you and your parents financially.</p>

<p>I can understand the uneasiness that would come with being close to home though. That's why I turned down UM even though they gave me a big scholarship. Really, you should set all your academic worries aside about UCF--they are unfounded. Your decision should be based upon which environment would be the best for you, and that choice appears to be UF from what you wrote here.</p>

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<p>UF has national prestige, whereas UCF is a regional university that can't even compete with FSU. Also keep in perspective that UF is in the midst of a $1.5 billion capital campaign, and is on the rise.</p>

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<p>This site has info on where UCF grads have gone to med school:
MDapplicants.com</a> - Search Results</p>

<p>This site has info on whre UF grads have gone to med school:
MDapplicants.com</a> - Search Results</p>

<p>You will need to determine if you are at a dissadvantage coming from UCF vs UF</p>

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<p>Maybe this question should be asked on a more general board. This is full of biased responses regardless of which choice is better.</p>

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<p>Link straight to the schools did not work. You will need to insert each school individually under the " school search" tab.</p>

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<p>It doesn't seem that UCF would be much different in terms of financial aid. Although you could work at Disney, you still have to work your ass off at Disney.</p>

<p>If you don't want to be around your parents, then go to UF.</p>

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<p>UF. I think it would probably cost the same for tuition. I chose UF over UCF. Going to college means having a dorm experience...away from parents.</p>

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<p>As much as you say it again and again ssobick, it isn't true any longer. UCF is beginning to surpass FSU, and already has in some respects. UCF is a very popular school across the state, just like FSU, UF and New College. UCF should not be ranked alongside FAU, UNF, FGCU and others. Those are the true regional universities of Florida.</p>

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<p>dvm258-
Please explain how you came to the conclusion that UCF is "surpassing" FSU. I don't see this happening anytime in the next 20+ years. I will admit that UCF does have a better engineering program than FSU though. I agree that UCF is a notch above FAU, UNF, FGCU, FAMU, but it is still below FSU in most aspects.</p>

<p>OP-
I would choose UF over UCF Honors anyday. Have you visited the schools? Pick whichever school makes you happy.</p>

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<p>UF. Then you can enter THEIR honors program by way of lateral admissions.</p>

<p>University</a> of Florida Honors Program: About Us</p>

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<p>"Cons: huge classes, feel like you are lost in the crowd"</p>

<p>It's funny that people actually think that UF has larger class sizes than UCF & FSU. People just see overall enrollment and assume UF must have the worst class size because their are over 50k students. Keep in perspective that UF has about 16k Graduate Students and only 35k Undergrads, whereas UCF has over 41k Undergrads.</p>

<p>The truth is UCF's class size is 28 to 1 (which is significantly larger than UF's). Also important to note that UF & FSU are tied.</p>

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<p>If he attends UCF, he will be in the honors college, where classes are capped at 20, and the comp. class is capped at 15.</p>

<p>As for the comparison to FSU, I think the decision is mostly a regional thing. Now that UCF and FSU are equally selective, a lot of students here in South FL are choosing UCF over FSU, probably because it's closer to home while being a good 4-5 hour drive away. FSU is 9 hours from where I live, and many students just don't want to live that far away, and go to a school in a town that doesn't have too much to do outside of campus. I can easily imagine a lot of FL residents from North FL or the panhandle choosing FSU over UCF for the same reason. Don't get me wrong, FSU is still the flagship state school behind UF, and should stay that way because of their stronger traditions and athletic programs, but its academic reputation is beginning to take a hit from UCF's growing programs.</p>

<p>Either way, we should remember that this thread is about choosing between UCF Honors and UF, and does not involve FSU. If the OP is looking for more separation from his parents and stronger college traditions, he should choose UF. Academics should have no bearing in this decision because we're talking about the Honors college at UCF. If he was choosing between regular UCF and UF, I think the choice would be obvious--UF.</p>

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<p>Honors college isn't that big of a deal.The best part is priority registration. Honors classes shouldn't be an issue because you rarely take them anyway.</p>

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<p>UCF honors is run differently than UF or FSU honors. UCF honors students take a minimum of two honors classes per semester. Almost all the Gen Ed classes at UCF have a honors section (Eng Comp, Bio, Chem, Stats,Trig etc...)that has a very small class size and is limited to only Honors students. The honors students at UCF have their own building on campus with a private study lounge and outdoor garden....Yeah, it is a big deal at UCF to be in the honors program. Congratulations to all that got in!</p>

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<p>Go to UF. No comparison.</p>

<p>Not to be too direct, but UCF is no where close to FSU. The faculty-student ratio alone at UCF is poor. Also remember that UCF is composed of 16 different campuses (you'll need a car) as opposed to UF or FSU, which are essentially on one campus.</p>

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<p>parent2noles - that information is incorrect. There's no need for students attending the main campus at UCF to travel to the different satellite campuses. The classes they need are there on the main campus. There are many students attending who do not have cars. (Exception: If students are majoring in Hospitality Management, they would attend the Rosen campus).</p>