<p>Lot's of discussion on the Innovation Academy, but few concrete answers. Has anyone who is accepted to IA for sure going, and if so, what are your deciding factors? Also, is there anyone who checked the IA box on the application that got admitted to another term? After the UF chat sessions today, I am more confused than ever, really doesn't seem like they have thought this through very well.</p>
<p>I was accepted to UF under the innovation academy , i was able to confirm my admissions and housing . I am in complete agreement with you on how this sounds like a poorly drawn out idea and i myself did check the IA box . Since acceptance day i have talked to numerous admissions counselors , i have received minimal and contradicting answers from the people working their. So what i did was i found one person who was able to somewhat answer some of my questions and i did request a term of change to summer b 2012 , because frankly i am not excited about IA , but i am about attending UF . Also to add to that , i actually called someone on the following Monday from acceptance date and she was like we dont offer term change request for IA admits , although i had already done so with another counselor so the person seemed stuck on what to say next and transferred me to someone else . I have been to UF before to visit ,have older siblings who went to UF before me and they talk wonders of this school and i believe it . when it was my turn to get in, i fell somewhat short in way by getting into UF IA and not just UF . Also im also looking forward to hearing from other IA kids ,thanks for the post .</p>
<p>Mooveh - I get it, UF is the most fantastic place on earth! My S is the one accepted into IA, we are OOS, but both his mom and dad are Gator alums. Sat in on the chat sessions today and the admission counselors either couldn’t answer questions or were down right snotty! My concern is they are saying this is the same as any other UF student, just on a different schedule, but that isn’t true. No other UF student is limited in majors or terms and no other UF student is not allowed to live on campus during Fall semester. Not to mention if you are going into engineering, you cant participate in the EFTP during summer B. What will you be majoring in and what was your final reason for accepting?</p>
<p>Im a Business - Finance major , the only reason for accepting to be quite honest is because its UF , Im not 100% thrilled about it , at the same time i will give it the initial benefit of the doubt because it is literally a trial program. The only thing that keeps me a little motivated is my pending term change request , im praying it goes through , i mean im not 100% counting on it ,soo at the same time im going to give IA a try and if i feel if after a year its not for me i will transfer out .</p>
<p>Curiosoty: what chat sessions are you talking about? I heard nothing of this…</p>
<p>Also what questions did you ask them (and what were there answers?)</p>
<p>All required classes will be offered to IA students. </p>
<p>The degree an diploma of an IA and traditional student will be the exact same. </p>
<p>Transcripts for IA students will be the same as UF students except there will be something on the IA transcripts to indicate that the IA program was done. </p>
<p>IA students SHOULD expect the same recruitment opportunities as traditional students because they are still UF students who met the SAME requirements and studied the SAME coursework. </p>
<p>The reason why not much info. about IA is out is because the director coordinating everything was JUST hired. </p>
<p>No fall housing for IA students. This is because there is no housing for non-full time students (even traditional students can’t get summer housing unless they enrolled full time). </p>
<p>Required classes for a specified major WILL be offered to all IA students. Electives or extra courses (not required) will only be offered on the terms given (so basically if you want to take a certain technical elective offered only in Fall physically, you can’t). </p>
<p>There may be experiences between IA students and the Innovation Hub. </p>
<p>IA students can expect to be in the same room as traditional students. </p>
<p>If you are on your 5th year</p>
<p>The chat sessions were put on by the admissions office, we received an email. They had one in the afternoon for parents and another in the evening for students.</p>
<p>Originally they said you could stay on campus in fall to work and take advantage of football. Now you have to be off campus. So if you want the full Gator experience, you have to rent an off campus apartment for 4 months. Seems like this might defeat the purpose of having them all live in Beatty, once you move off campus, probably won’t come back.</p>
<p>Yes,they say all course will be available, but no answers as to what happens if one isn’t. The big advantages of IA as I see it are the small school feel and the added seminars, colloquia, etc. but nothing is set yet so we don’t really know if those are valuable or not. Also, fall as a prime opportunity for internships is good, but many companies run large organized internship programs over summer and don’t hire during the fall. There is not yet an organized job/internship relationship between IA and the innovation hub, it is up to the students to find their opportunities. </p>
<p>I still think this program can be great, but not sure all the i’s were dotted and t’s crossed before they launched it. It seems they waited to see if there would be any interest before figuring it out, they didn’t even hire the director of the program until March 5th!</p>
<p>I was also accepted into UF through the Innovation Academy. Although obviously I miss out on the Fall experience, I am excited to be a Florida Gator. I would rather be a Florida Gator than a traditional student in any other school. IA limits me out of Fall, which makes it more difficult because of the lack of time to earn credits. IA can give me many benefits with future employers(on top of UF’s CRC) and because UF is making innovation square I can candy it on my resume. But the main reason I will be attending UF is because of the Florida Gator label (I did put a list of factors for me). Thankfully, the IA majors fit my interests, before I even heard back from colleges, I decided to pursue a degree as an Inudstrial Engineer and if that failed my back up was marketing or finance. </p>
<p>Also, since this is a pilot program maybe we can ask if we can do one fall term for the specific classes during our upper level class years but live off campus? I really have no questions to ask from UF because I understand what they are trying to do and I just want it to be next year already. I do want to stay on campus my first 2 years so I am glad they reserved 300 spots in Beatty, but I think housing should be the same for any UF student because I wanted to live in other halls as well. However, there should be special IA meetings or an IA preview, so I can feel at ease that UF knows what they are doing and are prepared for the various situations before the Spring term begins. </p>
<p>ADVANTAGES
-Being known as a Florida Gator 
-UF perks
-IA is another thing to candy my resume
-Having a group of students in my same situation
-Being housed with IA students to have that “familiar group”
-Longer college break (if you look at it that way)</p>
<p>DISADVANTAGES
-No Fall experience 
-No way to make up credits expanding the average IA student time to 5 years
-Clear information of the IA program
-Limited majors</p>
<p>My guess is UF was simply not prepared, but I am glad they decided to start it this year or I would of been like many of the other disappointed students. I am motivated to make the best out of this brand new experience and I am sure many of those who attend IA the first year will be full of UF pride. Try to make UF basketball as important as UF football. Go Gators!! :)</p>
<p>Not sure why you think you’ll fall behind and need 5 years but if you did need to make up credits you would do it during the fall semester - the same way traditional students use summer.</p>
<p>Lol, I’m confident it’s definitely possible to do your degree at UF as an IA student in 4 years. Plus, you can take online classes, get a job, internships, or do something else in the Fall. IA students can still participate in all campus activities during the Fall…We just can’t physically take classes during the Fall (which means we can’t be full time students during that term, THUS, we can’t have housing in the fall).</p>
<p>Also, UF basketball is just as important as UF football in my opinion. I mean, UF’s basketball team did win two NCAA championships. That’s amazing stuff right there :)</p>
<p>Can’t help with reasons to take the plunge as S is still ambivalent. Hard to commit when the questions keep going unanswered as your frustration over the chat session indicated. S is interested in Physics which is currently not offered but would seem to be a natural fit for the Innovation Hub. Just not very committed to a major yet in general and the limited # available makes that confining. I would say if you are comfortable in your major and it is already included in IA, the rest of the issues are workable. Paying for off-campus housing is tough if not actually taking classes, but if you are picking off a couple of GenEd or other requirements online, it’s essentially like Summer.</p>
<p>I worded the years to complete all the credits wrong. The major I want is Industrial Engineering, which is a recommended 5 year course according to UF’s registar. Although I may be able to complete it in 4 years by taking full loads every semester. Most of the classes are difficult because of the various sciences and math engineering students are required to take. As opposed to some of the other IA majors, which I agree can deffinitely be completed in 4 years. So the disadvantage I listed only pertained to me.</p>
<p>I actually love basketball, I guess I was just bandwagoning football.
Worst comes to worst I spend more time at UF :)</p>
<p>Ohhh okay. But actually I’ll be honest, I looked at the recommended semester plan. I think classes like the electives, genEd, and such can be done online in the fall. Then in spring and summer, you focus on your major classes :)</p>
<p>I think you can totally finish in 4 years.</p>
<p>Has anyone considered transferring from Santa Fe after 2 years and be a regular UF student to be a better option than to be an IA student for the entire undergraduate degree program?</p>
<p>Hmm, idk why anyone would want to do that. UF IA students still get the SAME education and have the SAME requirements as normal UF students, just they have to do it Spring/Summer for their college careers. IA is just another program at UF. Just like UF Honors being a program, lol. </p>
<p>I’d actually say IA students could possibly get more education than traditional UF students because in addition to required classes and the same coursework to study as all other UF students, IA students also explore innovation, entrepeneurship, and creativity with colloquias, seminars, and etc. So they still get the same UF education as traditional UF students and even perhaps more with the whole innovation exploring.</p>
<p>TBH, I think IA is for very prospective students that want a unique experience.</p>
<p>Sabertooth, if I were only accepted to UF under IA conditions, I would either go to a CC and transfer if I were bent on UF, or go to a different college.</p>
<p>IA students get the same requirements, but education depending on what definition you want, is different. Education isn’t just the class, it’s also the process.</p>
<p>IAs have no advantages. Have you heard of a program with zero benefit, why would anyone join that(that’s what I don’t get)? In a sense its a program, but its also a useless program for the students themselves.</p>
<p>Any traditional student in UF can do what IAs do, but a program like honors, give access to extra classes, dormitories, internships, and such. IAs get nothing. Nothing stops traditional students from exploring “innovation, entrepeneurship, and creativity with colloquias, seminars, and etc” Unless you call BF during summer an advantage, but even then they get funding for semesters, just like traditional students</p>
<p>There are also many disadvantages
1)Aid may be limited in summer
2)if you fail a class you fall behind (obviously doesn’t apply to everyone one, but it happens and we can’t ignore it, the 4-year graduation rate for IAs will definitely be lower) and extend graduation
3)It’s difficult to get ahead in your degree
4)Major changes are limited to what IA offers</p>
<p>IA may be for students that “want a unique experience” but you can see from the posts, 1) none of the people accepted actually “opted” into it
2) many are disappointed by IA, they’re clearly saying “I want a transfer to fall or summer”</p>
<p>Anyone innovative to actually want to explore innovation in this manner, would not want to be forced into it. They all want a choice, even if they do end up choosing an IA like manner of school</p>
<p>I recommend you research more on IA…</p>
<p>1-IA students will have experiences with the Innovation Hub. </p>
<p>2-These colloquias and seminars are for IA students. Period. </p>
<p>3-Aid is not limited in the summer. Actually even Bright Futures works in the summer. </p>
<p>4-If you fail a class, retake it the next term while taking that terms elective or humanities online or somewhere else </p>
<p>5-Less people in the fall do internships. Meaning more of these internships and opportunities are open to IA students. </p>
<p>6-There is only one restriction: no physical classes or on campus housing in the Fall. That basically the off term. </p>
<p>7-You would be surprised at just how many classes are offered in spring and summer </p>
<p>8-going back to have to retake a class, you can always take on a harder schedule. </p>
<p>9-There’s only a handful of students unhappy with IA and they are all on CC</p>
<p>10-IA students get the same education. They will be in classes with traditional students next to them. In addition though, they will have certain experiences (in exploring innovation , creativity, and entrepreneurship)…with just them. </p>
<p>11- IA is for prospective students. It’s not forcing if you choose it. </p>
<p>12-Education is a process as you said. But quality matters. The quality is the same for IA and traditional in their respective manners. But the process is simply different. Education can have different processes but as long as it is comprehended and understood and received, does it matter what the process is? What you say seems to imply (or so I assume) that education has inferior and superior paths. But I disagree they are just different and you choose. In the end, you get educated. That is all that matters. </p>
<p>Look into IA a bit more.</p>
<p>Also do note that IA does have certain experiences exclusive to them from my understanding of it. </p>
<p>Fact is, it’s no easier to get into IA than it is to get into Traditional. UF confirmed this. Why would you waste your potential going to a CC when you can go to UF? Does it matter what it’s schedule is? You get the same education, same opportunities, and a unique experience. It’s a great program if you’re prospective.</p>
<p>I am traditional UF student and IA was not offered when I applied however more I learn about IA more it feels like great option as long as your intended major is offered.
They have the entire fall semester to explore study aboard, work, internships, research etc. w/o falling behind in the major. I want to study aboard the entire semester and options are very limited unless I sacrifice graduating late. Most of study aboard programs do not offer the full course load you need for your major. I think some IA accepted students are anxious/eager to start the college and feel disappointed not being able to start in the fall with their friends but at the end I think IA students will come out more rounded and with great experiences outside the college. After first year it will not matter so much and some IA students will find out the benefits of having the entire fall semester to explore interests outside the traditional college.</p>