<p>Throughout these past couple of weeks, I have been researching on the Internet reviews and advice from students who have attended Central Florida in their past. Considering the fact that I have to have a decision soon, I am trying to narrow my choices down on which path to follow. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised by the results. </p>
<p>It turns out, not everyone enjoyed their experiences at UCF like I once thought. Obviously there will always be students who just simply do not get involved with their community and surroundings, or those who get caught up with the party life of college. My question is, is it just them? The reviews I have read have all said the same typical things. They say that the University of Central Florida is nothing more than a degree-mill that focuses far too much on their athletics and not enough on their education. Students have posted saying that they are looked at and treated as a number, rather than being looked at as an individual. Being home to 56,000 different students, I can easily see that being so. </p>
<p>As the days left to May 1st are quickly dwindling down, I am left with the decision of if I truly want to attend UCF or not. I was deferred from FSU and will most likely be denied acceptance. Though I would like to attend Florida State, the chances are slim. However, I was accepted into the UCF Summer term along with FAUs fall term. I chose not to apply to USF due to it being too close to home. With that being said, at this point I have 3 options: (1) Attend UCF Summer (2) Attend FAU Fall (3) Attend a local Community College for 2 years and try to transfer to either Florida or Florida State. </p>
<p>I suppose my real question is how has your experience been at the University of Central Florida? If you had an option to go back and choose a different route, would you? Or would you do it all over again? Keep in mind that I would like truthful answers from past students or current students of the University, and not some Football or sports crazed future students (I love sports as much as the next guy, but still) who simply think that UCF is the best place on Earth! I want to know how the life and education really is at UCF, from a students perspective.</p>
<p>So far, I have enjoyed my time at UCF. I’m not a sports crazed person, so that doesn’t bother me, but I do go to some games.</p>
<p>If I had the option change my decision, it would be a hard choice. While I truly love UCF, I made a mistake with an application to somewhere else, which screwed up my admission. I probably would not have been able to afford it, but I will never know. Either way, I don’t have any regrets choosing UCF. I’ve made a lot of new friends, worked hard etc.</p>
<p>Education is what you make it. The education you get at UCF, UF, FSU etc. isn’t really going to be much different. What’s important is that you make the most of the classes you take. Don’t slack off, don’t complain about assignment x or test y, don’t ***** about your professor being awful, it’s up to you to do your best to learn. Every school is going to have fantastic professors and horrible professors.</p>
<p>As for social stuff, there’s always a lot to do on campus and Orlando has a lot going on as well. There’s clubs nearby and downtown (if that’s your thing…it isn’t for me), activities run by the CAB and several hundred clubs. The most important thing is to get involved wherever you go, or else you will HATE it.</p>
<p>I feel like my answer is really general, but if you have any other more specific questions, I’ll be happy to answer.</p>
<p>Im currently in my third semester at UCF (engineering major). I spent almost 4 years at Valencia CC, taking as much as I could there before transferring over. I only have VCC and UCF for a basis of comparison, but I definitely feel like “a number” at UCF. This could just be the engineering department, but I get the feeling that the professors there are doing their research, and teaching is like community service for them. Im not sure if its because there are typically 200ish students, but they tend to treat people like children (Im 32). </p>
<p>I cant comment on the social scene there, as I prefer not to be involved in it. </p>
<p>I chose UCF for its proximity to my house, and that a BSME from them is considered pretty good. If I could do it over again, I would do the same thing (but wished VCC had a BSME program).</p>
<p>Every Florida public university can be called a degree mill and treat most students like numbers. Thats the way the system is setup in Florida, its going to be the same at UF, FSU, FAU, etc… UCF is a place that gives you a ton of opportunity, probably the most of any state university, but there is absolutely no one who is going to be there to motivate you. You have to motivate yourself at UCF, getting involved and taking initiatives, willing to do a little bit of your own research. The programs, for the most part, are all pretty great, best then many of the other state counterparts, but no one is going to send you to any program. If you aren’t self-motivated, you’re better off starting out at a community college. UCF focuses less on athletics then UF/FSU (the entire towns revolve around it), but probably more then the other state schools. I loved my time at UCF.</p>
<p>One word of advice to avoid the most common pitfall of UCF, a big source of problems for everyone is advising. UCF’s advising is absolutely terrible, they will make stuff up, tell you everything wrong, and just waste your time and have you run in circles. If they tell you that you need a class, find it on your degree audit or catalog to make sure, they’ll just make stuff up. Avoid the advisers as much as possible.</p>
<p>I do agree with aent about the self-motivation part. No one at UCF (or any other college, I think) will babysit you like when you were in high school. If you have a problem or ever need help, you need to put yourself out there and go find the necessary resources to help yourself. Everything is about taking the first step. No one will make you do anything so if you want to get involved and have a decent social life, you have to do what it takes like join clubs, interact with people and whatnot. </p>
<p>However, I disagree about advisers not being helpful. In my experience, I’ve had great advising at UCF. The thing is, you need to be ahead of the game. Look at your major course catalog and see what you need to take, when you have that ready, go schedule an advising session. I just came back from an hour long advising session today with a very enthusiastic man and I learned so much from him. Not really sure what aent is talking about with advisers making stuff up or whatever… Also, there is a career planning center so if you’re iffy about your career choices, you need to go talk to them.</p>
<p>My experience at UCF has been a worthwhile one so far. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose UCF. Do I feel like a ‘number’ here? Sure, there are times when I do feel that way. I think it’s normal to feel that way with so many students here though. I can tell you though, aside from one or two professors here at UCF, I’ve had a great experience with all the other professors (I’m about to finish up Sophomore year). Even though the first two years you will most likely be placed in large lecture-based classes, you will often see professors with office hours available to everyone and you can come talk to them one-on-one, something I don’t think too many students take advantage of.</p>
<p>And like I always say… college is what you make of it. It’s really up to the individual to make his college experience a worthwhile one, especially at a school this large.</p>
<p>My only legitimate gripe is that UCF’s aesthetic is on the messy side. “UCF stands for Under Construction Forever” is a common little joke, since there are always new buildings popping up, often taking no stylistic cues from the buildings built prior. This gives the school more of a modern, brand new feel, and less of a classic “university” feel.</p>
<p>Aside from that, I can’t really complain. I mean, there are plenty of little personal gripes, but they would only detract from the opinion I’m trying to get across. </p>
<p>(For example, I live in the Towers dormitory right now, which is U-shaped, and built directly across from the UCF Arena and baseball diamond. The noise from events held at these locations reaches the building and the U shape envelopes the sound, creating a pulsing echo right in your bedroom.)</p>
<p>(Also, drunk freshmen coming home at 3 in the morning and running/stomping down the hallways.)</p>
(To the OP> Fantastic idea!)</p>