<p>Hey guys!
I seriously don't know what my deal is!
UF has been my dream school for as long as I can remember. Now that Im finally a senior & have been admitted for Fall of 2012, something doesn't feel right. I received a 9000 scholarship to UCF & everybody keeps telling me Id be stupid to turn it down. They say UCF is basically as good of a school & they are throwing money at me to go there.
Needless to say, decision day is coming up & I absolutely don't know what right for me. Can someone please talk some since into me? UF is worth it, right? or is UCF really the better choice? Helppppp</p>
<p>9k over 4 years? If that’s so it’s hardly worth it, not even in the realm of consideration. Your experience and education is worth more than 9k to stay at UF</p>
<p>two things:</p>
<p>a) don’t let other people tell you what you should and should not do. “they’re giving you more money, you’d be crazy to pass it up…”. unless they have some vested interest in your short term finances or if money is really a concern, its just not cool, and they have no business telling you what to do.</p>
<p>a lot of people have to deal with peer pressure when choosing where they go to college. if thats really whats clouding your judgement (other people telling you you’re wrong), sit down, write a list of all of the things people are saying, who is saying them, and what their motivations might be or why they believe what they believe. some things will be unbias facts (“UCF has a better _____ program that you’re interested in”, “you’re unlikely to get a good job after graduation in this major/in that field it doesn’t matter where you went to school, so if you really want to do it, go to where you’ll have the least debt”)</p>
<p>b) UCF does not afford its students the same opportunities that UF does. “UCF is basically as good of a school” is true in the sense that you can learn the same math, science, and language skills. harvard students learn the same calculus we do too. that doesn’t mean the schools are equivalent.</p>
<p>Can you make some visits to both campuses while classes are in session? Even if you have visited before, my children always said it feels different once you know that you are in and as you walk around that this campus could be where you spend the next few years of your life. Having visited both UF and UCF, I think that they have two completely different feels to them. Maybe visiting will help clear things up for you.</p>
<p>Yes, Ive visited UF many times (both my parents graduated there) & i just got back from UCF yesterday. The two campuses are complete opposites in my opinion, but I see the pros and cons of both. UF has wayyy more school spirit & homey feel, but UCF has a wayyy better location & nicer facility. </p>
<p>I kinda got the “commuter school” vibe from UCF. Everyone says the school has so many students, but it felt empty! No one was walking around in groups talking to one another. They were just quietly going about their business. That bothered me some. I feel like the people aren’t very social & making friends would be difficult. The pool & cypress pathway was absolutely amazing though. The campus is truly amazing.</p>
<p>I think it’s worth paying $9000 more to go to UF over UCF. Sure, the curriculum may be the same, but you will probably have an overall better experience at UF.</p>
<p>If this aspect of UCF bothered you, then yes, go to UF. My daughter started at UCF and left for Tallahassee after her first year. FSU had more school spirit and there was more of a community feel to the school. Certainly, the same will be true of UF. UCF doesn’t have the school spirit of the other two.</p>
<p>Imagine yourself a year ago and remember the reasons why UF was your dream school. Don’t change your mind because of somebody else’s opinion. Do what YOU want to do. I know the college selection process is overwhelming, but no amount of money should influence your decision or give your peers the basis to tell you otherwise. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone!
I’m sure I’ll end up at UF, it’s just an overwhelming and stressful decision. In the end, UF is an amazing school that isn’t worth giving up because UCF has a snazzy campus in a big city. Besides, I can always go stay with a friend in Orlando for a weekend if I get bored in Gainesville(:</p>
<p>It’s a shame that Orlando isn’t less than two hours away from UF. Just kidding :)</p>
<p>OK are you listening this is real simple:</p>
<p>How many of your classmates applied to UF, FSU and UCF?
How many where accepted to FSU? probably all of them.
How many where accepted to UCF? about 50%.
How many where accepted to UF? about 5%.</p>
<p>This has been the case since FSU became coed. Everybody wanted to be a Gator and not everyone could be a Gator. How could you even consider going anywhere else?</p>
<p>My son was offered a scholarship to UCF $12,000 per year. He was offered a full ride to UM. He is a Gator today with no scholarship.</p>
<p>Dont look back go to UF.</p>
<p>In my opinion, UF has much more of a national reputation than UCF.</p>
<p>To me, that would be an important consideration.</p>
<p>Outside of Florida, I am not sure people have even heard of UCF.</p>
<p>However, we all must make our own choices.</p>
<p>You should do what you feel is good for you.</p>
<p>As you noted, Orlando is a much better town than Gainesville.</p>
<p>I disagree with you fladad. OK I will give you that Orlando is bigger than Gainesville and has more to offer in terms of a metropolitan.</p>
<p>But Gainesvile is the University of Florida. Everything that goes on in that town is for, about and dealing with the University and it’s students.</p>
<p>I am sure UCF has the same issue as UM does. When class is out on Friday I would guess the place is a ghost town. Where as in gainesville the student body are active all the time in gainesville. Whether you are at Walmart, the Movies, restaurants, clubs, lake wauberg, the beach, concerts, or any other place it is all about the student body.</p>
<p>I do agree with your comment that each student has to make up their mind on where they want to go to school. Call me biased but to me it is a no brainer.</p>
<p>Ohh. & if it makes a difference, my major is nursing.</p>
<p>My daughter was awarded 12k a yr at UCF and we visited it and loved it! However her dream has been UF. I completely understand your hesitation. We have also received lots of different advice as well. I suggest you listen to yourself as only you know where you will be happy at. It has been a tough choice for us as well and trust me I do think about the money, but I am completely supporting my daughter’s choice to choose UF!</p>
<p>gator4life, I had to log in just to say this:</p>
<p>Sorry bro, but I disagree with you. Half the people that applied to UF got into it. I was the only one that got into FSU, one other got in for summer. I applied to UF and also got in.</p>
<p>Also, your son’s decision to turn down a full ride to UM for UF is daft…that is all.</p>
<p>Shelbyyy
Are you planning to go to grad school after your undergrad degree? If yes then it really does not matter so much if your undergrad degree is from UF or UCF as long as you maintain high GPA and do EC`s, internships etc. At the end your grad degree institution has more weight in your future. If going to UF means taking loans and/or depleting college savings I would seriously consider going to UCF and be dept free.</p>
<p>Honestly, if UCF is offering you a lot of scholarship money, you should take it. It doesn’t really matter where you get your undergraduate degree at, and you don’t want to graduate UF (if you go there) in debt.</p>
<p>Just realized that you are planning in majoring Nursing. Both UCF and UF have excellent nursing programs. Definetly consider financial aspect in your decision.</p>
<p>@Shelbyyy - if money is a concern, meaning that it will be a financial hardship to your family or if you will have to take out loans that will need to be paid back, you really can’t ignore the 9K that is sitting on the table from UCF. If you feel that having a degree from UF is worth the financial impact to you or your family, then go with it. Last year my son was faced with a very difficult situation. USF offered my son a lot of money and he would not have had to take out any student loans. UF offered him nothing. He decided, knowing that he would have to take out the max federal student loan each year, to go to UF. I’ve not asked him if he regrets it but I hope that he doesn’t.</p>