My Dilemma: UCF vs. UF

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Central Florida
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<p>I'm posting this in both the UCF and UF forum to get more opinions. </p>

<p>As of today I have officially been accepted into both colleges. I've really been leaning towards UCF but I am not sure. I like UCF because it's in a big city that can provide many opportunities, it's closer to home, and compared to UF it is not consumed in sports fanaticism. I like sports games now and then, but I don't want my college life to be about football. I know that UCF is up-and-coming; compared to UF's age, UCF has only just started out. Also, UCF has offered me their Pegasus Gold Scholarship while UF offers nothing. I've heard that Gainesville is a small town that is basically all about UF and I don't exactly like that. </p>

<p>I'm not opposed to going to UF, but I often feel I lean more towards UCF. I know that UF has a longer tradition and richer history, and it has very high prestige. My parents want me to go to UF because they feel it is academically better. I acknowledge this factor too, and that's why I'm in this dilemma. </p>

<p>I know that the academics and not the trivial matters should come first, but I tend to think about the factors such as the campus appeal, location, and where my good friends are going as important factors too.</p>

<p>Give me some insight please?</p>

<p>In applying to graduate school, will which school I go to affect my chances? </p>

<p>Also I am planning on applying to UCF's Honor's College. If I do get in, is UCF Honors better than UF regular? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention, I am a bit undecided on majors. I have a list, but I haven’t chosen one in particular. </p>

<p>Some include: Nursing, Pre-Veterinarian, Health Care Administration, Public Relations, Marine Biology, Hospitality Adm. and Management, Psychology. </p>

<p>These are in no particular order.</p>

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<p>I used to be in the same exact situation as you. I could go to UCF honors of UF.
I’m slightly biased towards UF, but I have seen UCF multiple times so I can give you a different perspective.</p>

<p>UCF’s advantages: </p>

<p>Growing rapidly, now has more students than UF.</p>

<p>Nice facilities and dorms.</p>

<p>Orlando is a pretty cool city. </p>

<p>Honors college is top notch.</p>

<p>Have great transportation amenities. This sounds lame now, but there are multiple shuttles to and from campus and free cab vouchers from downtown courtesy of the student government.</p>

<p>Top notch in specific programs, such as engineering or hospitality management.</p>

<p>UCF Disadvantages: </p>

<p>Lacks name-brand recognition. If you plan on staying in Florida it likely wouldn’t be a problem because Floridians know it is pretty good school. However, if you plan on moving far OOS or going to Grad schools OOS UCF will likely be perceived as you perceive the University of North Texas. This is also demonstrated by UCF’s low peer assessment score in USNWR, in which they are close to FIU in terms of prestige.</p>

<p>Pretty apathetic student body. This bothered me the most. When I visited I asked some students and they described a large portion of the student body lacked school spirit and was there just to party…</p>

<p>Larger class sizes than UF, so you know some of your gen classes will be giant.</p>

<p>Overall, UF was just a better fit for me. UF football is BIG. During game day the entire town revolves around the Gators. I found the school spirit was infectious and awesome.</p>

<p>Go to where you feel is the most suited for you, so I would visit both schools again.</p>

<p>Also check out this thread.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-central-florida/573007-why-you-chose-ucf-over-uf.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-central-florida/573007-why-you-chose-ucf-over-uf.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>being honest with you. UF Is a way better school than UCF, you would be crazy to turn down UF for UCF.</p>

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<p>You have to go where you will be happy for four long years! If you don’t like the atmosphere at UF, then you may have a problem. I think that you would be more than fine applying to Grad School (anywhere) big with a good GPA from UCF Honors College.</p>

<p>My daughter’s “dream” school is UF because she is a football obsessed person and will tell you that she lives for football season and all of the “school spirit” that comes with it! But that is definitely not for everyone (including myself)!</p>

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<p>“being honest with you. UF Is a way better school than UCF, you would be crazy to turn down UF for UCF.”</p>

<p>I’d have to disagree, the gap between the two has diminished. And besides, it all matters what you want to major in anyway, in which one school may trump the other.</p>

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<p>Agreed with both Bonafide and Ohiomom. I turned down UF for UCF Honors Jum and I think I’m pretty sane lol. I got into UF for fall 2009 but it just wasnt the school for me. Overall is UF a better school? Academically yes, but UCF is improving by a large margin every year. It isnt the mediocre mid sized commuter school it was a decade or so ago. It always really depends on you. UCF attracted me because of the Honors College which is great with many benefits. As a member of the Honors College you get first pick for classes every semester, small exclusive classes with only other honors students (if you want, you could also take your gen ed classes regularly). I also preferred Orlando over Gainesville. I also wasnt too fond of the elitist attitude that a large number of UF students have, including a bunch that were going from my school. You also have to keep in mind that what matters more than the school you go to is the individual. If you’re dedicated you’ll easily get into grad school regardless of UCF vs UF, but like Ohiomom stated, UCF honors would look just as nice if not nicer than regular UF. A close friend of mine that is also in the Honors College also turned down UF for UCF Honors. There were also several people in my Honors English class last semester that did the same thing. We were all in agreement that UF just wasnt the school for us. SO in the end it really just depends what you want and where you feel most comfortable because they are both great schools.</p>

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<p>Carrie, I’ve struggled with the same question.</p>

<p>Consider what Jum said…</p>

<p>“being honest with you. UF Is a way better school than UCF, you would be crazy to turn down UF for UCF.”</p>

<p>Jum is stating what the common perception is.</p>

<p>I can understand why people believe this.</p>

<ul>
<li>UF is more established.</li>
<li>UF has major sports that keep their name in the public.</li>
</ul>

<p>When you press people on the quality of particular programs, they have no answers, just generalities.</p>

<p>You need to put all the numbers down and ask yourself the one question - is going to UF worth $xxx more than going to UCF? For me, the answer was no.</p>

<p>As for UCF Honors, I’ve visited quite a few schools and UCF’s honors program is the best one I’ve seen, hands down. (I know two people who are in it currently and their experiences correlate with what the school says about the program.)</p>

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<p>I do have to agree the student body at UCF is pretty apathetic. There really isn’t any school spirit but in the couple years I’ve been here it has gotten better, mostly in part to our new football stadium. Sometimes it feels like I do go to UF with all the UF hats and hoodies that I see on campus.</p>

<p>In terms of academics, we are equal with UF, I have a friend up there going through the same program I am and there isn’t any difference between the two, so that is really a non issue. Gainsville is a dump, on my visits up there, most students i’ve spoken to are getting their degree and running as fast as possible away from that area. Orlando is a much nicer area, with much more opportunity, for recreation and good summer/part time job prospects as well.</p>

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<p>UCF honors is MUCH better than UF regular. I’ve talked to several people on this board about this. The UF regular classes for the first 2 years are huge lecture halls with little to no student/teacher interaction with everyone from the motivated academic star to the people who only go to UF for fun and football (there are a lot of them). UCF honors, on the other hand, are classes with about 15 motivated students, more student/teacher interaction and assignments more likely to make you think than memorize. The other good thing is that you also can take ‘regular’ classes too so you can get a nice mix and socialize with not just honors kids. </p>

<p>Other benefits of honors are good too. UCF honors over UF for grad school admission. Being part of an honors college shows ambition and more and more people are beginning to realize UCF is a good school. UCF is coming up in the rankings, too. More student/teacher interaction also leads to more opportunities for research, superb letters of recommendation, an honors community, the feeling of a small college with perks of a big college, special ‘honors’ events and special guests, honors recognition at graduation/diploma/transcript, and an edge for competitive opportunities that may arise such as internships, co-ops, scholarships, study abroad, ect. because of the fact you are in honors and that shows ambition and of course a professor who knows you well can put in a good word for you. Don’t forget the edge you have when applying for a job when it says you are an honors grad.</p>

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<p>Is University of North Texas Honors better than University of Texas-Austin regular?</p>

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<p>Yeah, sure, when UCF jumps from a damn 3rd-tier college to a 1st-tier school like UF, we’ll consider it.</p>

<p>If you can get into UF, you can get into a lot better schools than UCF.</p>

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<p>marlins97 Actually the thing about the elitist attitude, I was thinking about that too. I don’t really like that aspect; I can sometimes see it from people who post on these boards. UF kind of acts as if it’s a grand privilege to attend UF. Don’t get me wrong, I like UF, I used to really want to go there, but the appeal has started to diminish because I see so many people getting big heads over UF, a lot of times just because they have a superior football team.</p>

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<p>SSobick, just curious, but why is it that every time I see your name turning up on forums, it’s to bash UCF? What have you got against it? I would really like to know some of your insights. Besides the University of North Texas vs University of Texas-Austin comparisons that is.</p>

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<p>SSobick don’t you have anything better to do with your time than try to ■■■■■ every thread with how UF is the greatest school of all time? I’m one of many students who turned UF down for UCF. UCF is better than UNT so your sad attempt at being witty doesn’t really apply like it might’ve a few years ago. If you feel you must keep putting down other schools in order to validate your decision to attend UF then good for you but no one really cares and by this point most people on the UCF board have seen you pull out the UF alumni wikipedia link over and over. Get a life.</p>

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<p>ssobick never offers useful information, just generalize schtick.</p>

<p>She’s easy to disregard.</p>

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<p>The elitist attitude was a problem for me too. Some of the people there don’t understand that not everyone likes UF or thinks its the best. Many people will pick other schools over it because of things like they didn’t like the campus and some UF students just can’t understand that.</p>

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<p>I don’t mind the elitist attitude. UF is, as a whole, the best school in the state.</p>

<p>But it’s not the only good school in the state. And it isn’t the best school in every discipline in the state.</p>

<p>And it is not automatic that all of the best students in the state of Florida will go to UF. If that were the case, many current UF students would be pushed out.</p>

<p>There are many reasons why people would choose another school over UF.</p>

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<p>It all depends on a student’s self-motivation and his/her inquisitiveness for learning. You could even go to a low rank XYZ University and compete with an MIT guy if you know the subject well. Everyone has decent IQ at this level and is enough to do wonders if there is willingness to learn and work hard. It does not matter if an Ivy League genius solves a problem in 10 minutes and a medium IQ student solves it in one hour. Important thing is to see if you are making a sincere effort and trying to solve the problem. Science does not change between UF or UCF or any other school. Everybody follows the same textbooks. Unless you are someone who depends on the professors completely for learning and getting yourself motivated, and unless your surrounding environment (students) easily affects you, it really does not matter where you are if you are individualistic. The whole ranking and prestige thing is just a number game. Larger department + more number of students and faculty who are willing to study and work -> more research output -> more publications -> more funding -> better rank. As I mentioned, science stays the same everywhere. I think you should go to a place where you feel comfortable.</p>

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<p>UF is a great school. But I don’t like the elitest attitude. They are fantastic academically. But UCF offers an actual Honors College which gives you the benefits of a small college within a larger one. It’s a small class size and the people who work at UCF genuinely care. They offer more money as well. I’m picking UCF over UF.</p>

<p>I’ve also spoken to a lot of people in med school/grad school. It doesn’t matter where you go, as long as your grades are good and you make the most of it. I’ve heard of more UCF kids in the UF med school then UF kids. UCF will give you more opportunities to do something for yourself if you are driven. UCF is very good for most of the majors you listed as well.</p>

<p>Sounds like you would be happier at UCF. If not, you can always transfer. Plus you would have the scholarship money for the semesters you were already there.</p>