<p>I will apply for Stanford and some others, but since UF would be practically free for me there is a high chance I will go there. It's such a large school and I know the programs are great, but I'm a little biased due to being a local. Anyone out of state have opinions on the school?</p>
<p>Well living in MA, most people know Florida because of its football team (Percy Harvin is a beast), but UF is a very good school from what I’ve heard and the large size means that there are lots of alumni and networking opportunities. Good majors at UF include engineering, premed, journalism. UF is known as being somewhat of being a party school but this could be because it is a crazy sports school.
If someone is looking for a good mix between sports and academic quality, I’d definitely point them towards Florida. However, I did read recently in a Money Magazine article that the University Of Florida is facing budget problems as most state schools and may have to cut enrollment in certain majors such as Geology.</p>
<p>I’m telling you this as a UF alumnus — UF is a very good school, but if you can get into Stanford, you can’t pass that up. I don’t care what the cost.</p>
<p>I agree with harvardgator, UF is running into budget problems so it is getting harder and harder to provide academic quality without cutting majors and departments. Private colleges such as Stanford are impacted less by these problems.</p>
<p>It has a very good reputation, and I would consider it in the top fifteen state schools, just behind Wisconsin and North Carolina, and about equal with Florida, Texas, and Washignton.</p>
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Yes, just about. ;)</p>
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<p>Depends what money is worth to the OP. I know plenty of people who went off to such excellent schools and still haven’t found a job that’s not on par with working at Starbucks. Maybe you’re arguing from “experiencing the culture” perspective though.</p>
<p>[The</a> Independent Florida Alligator: News - UF ranked 19th in research funding](<a href=“http://www.alligator.org/news/uf_administration/article_9567106c-1a66-58f0-80d4-fe670e4346d3.html]The”>http://www.alligator.org/news/uf_administration/article_9567106c-1a66-58f0-80d4-fe670e4346d3.html)</p>
<p>Top research universities by expenditures
- The Johns Hopkins University
- University of California, San Francisco
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- University of Michigan
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Diego
- Duke University
- University of Washington
- University of Pennsylvania
- Ohio State University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Stanford University
- University of Minnesota
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Cornell University
- University of California, Davis
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of California, Berkeley
- <strong><em>University of Florida</em></strong>*****
- Texas A&M University</p>
<p>Source: National Science Foundation</p>
<p>"I’m telling you this as a UF alumnus — UF is a very good school, but if you can get into Stanford, you can’t pass that up. I don’t care what the cost. "</p>
<p>I agree- well, not totally. I’d say even if the cost is signifigantly higher, but 100K versus almost free, no way. And If you do pick Stanford at a premium, make sure you major in an employable major.</p>
<p>They have a strong alumni network:</p>
<p>[List</a> of University of Florida people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Florida_alumni]List”>List of University of Florida alumni - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I know someone who turned down Stanford and went to Berkeley for cost reasons. Major regret when it came to jobs and salaries. If you can get into Harvard, Stanford, or Princeton borrow money and go!</p>
<p>^ Every situation is different. It depends on the major, how much debt you’d incur, if you’d do better academically in a particular environment, etc. Do a cost/benefit analysis for your own situation.</p>