<p>Visit both campuses, talk to people, look into the programs and weigh them against each other. Ultimately, you have to go to school there for 3-6 years, and if you hate it, you’re not going to want to be there. </p>
<p>Some things I feel that need to be cleared up though…</p>
<p>-There’s a huge stigma in Florida that UF is like an Ivy League. When really, it isn’t.
-“You will have a better overall experience at UF or UCF” is subjective. Ultimately, you carve your own path. UF isn’t going to just give you internships because you go there. Neither is UCF. It is up to you to pursue your options.
-What do you plan to do after undergrad? Graduate school and/or Professional school is expensive. You’re probably going to have loans for graduate/professional school, so is it worth it to take out more money for UF?
-UCF’s acceptance rate is almost the same as UF. UCF had an acceptance rate of 41.3% last year. UF had a 39% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Wow! Getting a lot of mixed messages again. Money isn’t really a problem for my family. I have Florida prepaid, so my only expenses are dorm, meal plan, and books. This being said, I do understand that UCFs nursing program is almost as good as UFs & $9000 is $9000. So… I guess I’m right back where I started:/</p>
<p>You just have to do what feels right. If you really want to go to UF and the $9,000 is not as vital to you, by all means do it. You’ll be happier you did. Also, they’re both state schools, so the costs aren’t going to be overwhelming either way.</p>
<p>My son is basically in the same boat. Got scholarship money from every school he applied to except UF. I hate to walk away from free money but when you break it up over a 4 year period it really doesn’t add up to much. I started out at UF but graduated from UCF. If I had to do it over again, I would have stayed at UF. (got married and moved to Orlando). UF gives kids a taste of what its like to be on their own. It helped me grow up and was a great experience. UCF is still basically a commuter school. Go to UF. That’s where my son is headed. Congrats on getting in!</p>
<p>I don’t know where you got your information from but half of UF applicants do not get in. The rate isn’t that high. And if you were the “only one” that got into FSU, then I’m assuming you go to a small, probably private school. The playing field is way different at a public, large high school such as mine with 2300 students. 90% of the seniors I know, got into FSU. 2% probably didn’t and the other 8% didn’t even apply. As for UF, I know so many people that have been living the UF life (wearing gator shirts, touting UF, bumper stickers, etc.) and didn’t get in. It’s fairly evident that aside from U Miami, UF is the most selective in the state of FL (as far as large universities go). </p>
<p>And I do agree with you on the passing up of a full ride to UM over UF as being a fairly daft decision.</p>
<p>Shelbyyy, I am in the exact same position. I was admitted to Burnett Honors College at UCF and offered the 12k scholarship. I was also admitted to UF. For me, the decision was easy. As soon as I got my UF admission, I was set on being a Gator. UCF is a great school (I live 10 minutes away so I am exposed to it and have spent a lot of time there), but it is tough to deny that UF trumps UCF in almost every category. The academics are the best in the state, and you can’t beat SEC athletics. </p>
<p>But don’t let me convince you. Visit both campuses and see which feels better. Whichever school you choose, you’ll probably have a great experience. But…Go Gators!</p>
<p>And to everyone that says the acceptance rates of UF, FSU, and UCF are about the same, you couldn’t be more wrong. I go to a large public school (about 2,200 students) in Florida, so a majority of students in my class applied to all three of these schools. I can honestly say that I have yet to hear of anyone not getting accepted to UCF. Each year, probably about 100 students from my school go there. FSU was the same. There were a couple “lower” students that didn’t get in, but I’d say about 75% were accepted. Maybe 10% of the people who applied from my school were accepted to UF. I can think of about 20 people who were accepted, where as about 200 who were accepted to UCF. </p>
<p>The point I’m trying to make is that the acceptance rate of UF is much smaller than UCF and FSU, and everyone who says differently does not know what they are talking about.</p>
Of the public schools in FL, yes. UF’s academics do not parallel UM’s. </p>
<p>
Hit the nail on the head with this. I have the same viewpoint: HS with 2300+ students, everybody gets into UCF, most get into FSU, and some get into UF. It truly goes in that order in terms of least to most selective.</p>
<p>Well, considering the average/middle scores of the students accepted is one indicator. There are tons of threads/posts on this throughout the forums. It should be no surprise, really, being that UM is private.</p>