New College versus Other Florida Schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello! I'm in the application process, trying to narrow down options. I'm strongly leaning towards staying in-state, but I may to apply to a couple out of state. So far I've visited a couple small lib. arts colleges nearby in central Florida, and UF, all of which seemed nice for different reasons. However, I'm really unsure as to what I want in a college, especially in terms of size and specialty. Here is my basic info:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Plan: I know that, so far, my "plan" is to attempt to major in pre-med, see if I have the passion and discipline to pursue such a career, and decide from when I get further into college. While doing this, I hope to minor in art and/or music(I have a strong piano background) or cinematography, because I love the arts, but doubt I have the talent or skill to succeed at a career in them. Of course I might, and quite possibly, will change during college, but at this point, that is my game plan.</p></li>
<li><p>SAT Score: 1870, but I recently retook it and felt great about it(I'll receive the scores in a week).</p></li>
<li><p>Unweighted GPA: Around 3.3 at the moment, sadly.</p></li>
<li><p>Weighted GPA: About 4.81, because I'm taking an almost-entirely A.P schedule this year(with the exception of lunch and another elective).</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Here are a couple overly long descriptions of my impressions of two of the colleges I'm more eagerly considering(you can skim them): </p>

<p>I like the "town within a town" vibe at UF; it doesn't seem like a place to get bored of, even if you get stuck on campus studying a lot of the time. I also love that they have such a strong research background, and that they're very science and medically-oriented. On the other hand, I wasn't sure if I'd feel overwhelmed by the largeness and occasional crowdedness. Also, I spoke with someone who is almost finished graduating from there, who said he was greatly disappointed with the English department, saying that they didn't seem to care much about the humanities department. So, while it seems like a fantastic place to have on a resume, make connections, and possibly do research if I pursue a medical career, I don't know if I'd feel deprived of the arts or feel negatively like "a face in the crowd." I've taken/am taking many A.P. classes, which should help cancel out most of my entry level courses in the huge auditoriums, but I'd still be in fairly large classes, at least for awhile, and I'm not sure how I'd react to that.</p>

<p>I also recently visited New College, in Sarasota, which seemed very nice. I fell in love with the admission's office, which is one of the buildings previously used for the Ringling Brothers' estate. It's right by the water, in a nice city/town, and is a comparably tiny campus. Whereas UF holds roughly 44,000 people, New College has under 900. Their normal SAT scores are often above 1900, so it's not "just another liberal arts college". It's also public, so the tuition is about the same, and it's closer to home. Now for the negatives: because it is a much tinier school, from the few buildings I saw on the tour, it didn't seem like it would have a lot of equipment for things like the science departments(keep in mind, I only saw the Marine Science Building, so I don't KNOW, but it's the impression I got). Obviously it's not going to measure all the way up with UF, but that much I can expect. Otherwise, it has a fantastic reputation of students going on to grad school(about 80%), and has a quirky, intellectual vibe. The only other negative, though it's so frivolous, was that it seemed a bit "bleak" to me, almost. The tour guide assured us that the students were very involved, creating different celebrations and clubs often, which many people attended. Sarasota usually has interesting events going on around as well, so I'm not quite sure what I'm worried about. I guess I'm just trying to imagine which school would be more "fun" and interesting.</p>

<p>So my question is, if you have any knowledge or personal experience with either of these colleges, what did you think of them? Also, if you have any experiences with the following colleges, please drop a comment:</p>

<p>Eckerd College
Flagler College
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Southern College
New College
Rollins College
Saint Leo University
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of North Florida
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
University of West Florida</p>

2

<p>Between my son and my daughter’s college searches, we looked at Eckerd, Flagler, FAU, New College, St. Leo, the University of Tampa and University of Miami. Both of my children chose Eckerd College and felt it was the best choice for them. My son majored in international business and my daughter in marine biology. They ruled out larger colleges in favor of the smaller LAC’s. Both received individual attention and opportunities for research as a freshman, for international travel and service clubs and projects. I know that Eckerd has ties to the University of Florida med and vet schools and brings representatives to campus and also brings their students to UF for tours and interviews. Eckerd also offers a wonderful music and art program, (my daughter has a minor in studio art), a theater program and a new major in film. You would major not in “pre-med” but bio, chemistry or physics. Each student is assigned a mentor that works with you to plan out your courses and advises you on grad schools. This mentor will be your professor for the required freshman global prospectives course that meets 3x per week for one year so they get to know you very well. Class size is about 18 to 1. I would suggest that you visit the campus. Best of luck.</p>

3

<p>I’m a New College graduate from a long time back, and my kid has applied for next year. I’m not sure what you mean about New College being “bleak.” Nothing bleak about it. The campus is gorgeous. Do you mean less-populated, which is obviously true. Certainly with way fewer students there, there will seem like there is much less going on. But how many different things do you want to do? You don’t need a place with 2000 majors–you just need a school that has what YOU need. (I toured the Marine Science Building and thought it was amazing.) Comparing NC and UF is apples to oranges. If you want a small, personalized school where you can develop and individualized program and have tutorials with your professors, go to NC. If you want the large school experience, complete with sports, and are happy feeling anonymous, pick UF. I don’t know about UF, but at NC you have to produce a serious thesis, which is a pretty daunting process. It’s a commitment bigger than just taking a bunch of classes to graduate. At this point, you have to apply to both (maybe you have?) and see what happens.</p>

4

<p>Based on what you want, I’d look into Harriet Wilkes college - it’s Florida’s other public honors college (with New College) and it’s especially dedicated to students interested in medicine and science. Well, you can major in anything, but they have a partnership with the Max Planck Florida Institute and Scripps Research Institute where students can have internships.</p>

<p>No 1st hand knowledge of Rollins except from a couple friends and general rep: it’s been a known rich-kid party school for a long time. Good academics. Apparently is to cocaine what Dartmouth is to beer.
UMiami: like that, but with alcohol, stronger academics, and D1 sports. :slight_smile:
I hope alumni from these two schools will come post about their personal experiences and that Gator88 will chime in because I feel that what I’ve been told is not balanced.
However based on what I know a student who likes New College wouldn’t like these two schools.</p>

<p>Florida Southern: conservative. Gorgeous campus.</p>

<p>New College: excellent academics, intellectual, great grad school preparation, “ivy feeder” reputation, rigorous, wild parties on Fridays, gorgeous campus and location</p>

5

<p>LAC vs. “large” University</p>

<p>You’ll have to decide this one, as it’s really a personal preference issue (unless your major dictates otherwise, such as engineering). You really should make the effort to visit these other schools and talk to more students. For the smaller schools, make sure they can support your music or cinematography interest. However, with pre-med your first goal will be one with a decent STEM program.</p>

<p>All of the (small) privates on your list are good schools, but I would lean towards New College based on reputation and cost. However, it is a quirky school, so you need to be ok with how they grade classes.</p>

<p>If you haven’t already, check out the NCF Pre-med handbook. It does a great job of explaining the challenges of going this (Pre-med) route and how it’s handled at NCF. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ncf.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=247182a7-2579-41d2-9e84-8e475311ff91&groupId=48902[/url]”>http://www.ncf.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=247182a7-2579-41d2-9e84-8e475311ff91&groupId=48902&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Good Luck!</p>

6

<p>I’ve visited Eckerd, UF, UT, and New College so far. I’ve only applied to UF, but plan to apply to the others as well. Overall I liked the atmosphere at each for different reasons. UF is the furthest from home, UT is the closest. I thought Eckerd and UT were both nice, but I just wasn’t sure what really set them apart as private colleges. It seemed as though New College was above each academically, so I’m kind of leaning towards it. As far as activities, I’m not a “party” person, don’t plan on getting drunk/stoned or the like, so I liked the introverted, quirky atmosphere of New College.</p>

7

<p>New College was on my son’s list two years ago (as well as UF, FSU, UCF). After all the tours, he had narrowed it down to New College and FSU. Both had their pros and cons. In the end, since he was interested in majoring in physics, he decided on FSU. (not on your list?). He had the same feeling like you did about wanting more ‘science-y’ equipment, labs, etc. He also wanted to be able to interact with more faculty (only about 3 physics professors in New College). </p>

<p>He ended up at FSU and it has worked out wonderfully. One thing we had not considered during our search was the availability of graduate classes. He came into college quite advanced in math/science and realized that he would need to take graduate classes as part of his undergrad coursework. That would not have been an option at New College.</p>

<p>As far as our experiences, we both felt that the administration people at FSU and New College were fantastic - helpful, supportive, really ready to answer any questions. UCF was okay. The administration at UF was horrible! It felt like we were a burden to them and they really didn’t care if my son attended. I was afraid of what that would translate to down the road if he were to attend.</p>

<p>And fwiw my son is not a partier and doesn’t care for football. He is a very dedicated quiet kind of student. That was one of the reasons he liked New College. Surprisingly, he has had no problems finding a social group at FSU. Not everyone at a big university is into greek life and football games!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Eckerd has the largest number of NOAA Hollings Scholars in the country, a Phi Beta Kappa Chapter and a new $35 million James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences. The 3 buildings that comprise the natural sciences are undergoing a complete renovation with 1 building now open. The separate marine science building was renovated as well. Did you ask to sit in on a science class or tour the James Center? There are opportunities for freshman to work with their professors on research, the 4-1-4 calendar allows for winter term abroad and the career center starts working with you as a freshman for internships and grad schools.</p>

9

<p>I’ve never visited Eckerd, but I have heard they have pet-friendly rooms! </p>

<p>There’s a nice write-up of Eckerd in Colleges That Change Lives, if you haven’t read it, that does explain why it’s different than other LACs. </p>

<p>I’m guessing there is an entirely different kind of student that goes to Eckerd than New College. </p>

<p>Physicsfreak–I certainly understand the desire for fancy labs and graduate courses for a Physics student, but I just want to add that New College science students can and do get into major universities for grad school. The big names. I know some personally. Not to say your choice wasn’t right, not at all, just saying that a scientist can do very well at NC also.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for the responses, guys. And by the way, I finally got my ACT score in: 25 out of 36. =P Not amazing, but not horrible. </p>

<p>redpoint, what do you mean by “an entirely different kind of student goes to Eckerd” compared to New College?</p>

11

<p>I’m looking forward to seeing an answer to this question, as well. I gather that both NCF and Eckerd stress interdisciplinary studies and put an emphasis of undergraduate teaching rather than “publish or perish”. Similar faculty-student ratios, similar expectations for students to take responsibility for their own programs.</p>

12

<p>I would think it’s Public vs. Private. </p>

<p>NCF: 30% Pell Grant; Average Net Price = $11,710 (after grants/scholarships)
Eckerd: 21% Pell Grants: Average Net Price = $29,359 (after grants/scholarships)</p>

13

<p>Sorry; another update: my newest set of SAT scores came in: 1930 total, making my superscore 1950.</p>

14

<p>Eckerd scholarships for CR+M for 1250 SAT/29 ACT = $19,000 yr
1170/25 $17,000 yr
1110/23 $15,000 yr
1050/22 $10,000 yr</p>

15

<p>Tuition at Eckerd is about $36,000 a year. Not bad for a private, but Florida has very low instate tuition rates (about $6K a year). That’s why, on average, Eckerd’s net price is almost $18K a year more than NCF…</p>

<p>Of course, this is an average. If you looked at students/families with an average net income between $30K-$48K, NCF is about 10K, while Eckerd is about $21K (or a $11k delta). For families with incomes over $110K+, the delta is about $20K. </p>

<p>I’m not familiar with the students at either college, but I would think any differences in the student body, are likely being driven by Public vs. Private dynamics. </p>

<p>NCF students are 80% in-state, have higher stats (GPA/test scores) and in general have families that have lower incomes than Eckerd (based on Pell grants).</p>

<p>Eckerd students are mostly out of state (78%), have lower stats (they average about 2 to 3 points less on the ACT, for example), and are more likely to be able to afford the higher COE at Eckerd.</p>

<p>Let me stress again, I’m not familiar with the students at either college! Just making a guess, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about both schools.</p>

16

<p>As I said, I am a New College graduate and have never visited Eckerd, only read about it, so I’m not saying I’m an expert, but I do think they attract a different kind of student, and it’s not really exactly a public/private thing. For one thing, stats. Eckerd’s CR SAT middle 50 percent are 510-620. That means 25 percent are hovering below 500. NC’s mid-50 percent are 620-740. That means that 25 percent of the students there are in the range of 740-800. New College kids tend to be (and there are exceptions, this is a generalization), quirky, geeky, eccentric, artsy, intellectual, self-described as being “from the island of misfit toys” but in a good way, and we are fine with that. If you read the descriptions of Eckerd you often see people describe it as a great school where B students can shine and become their best. It doesn’t sound like these kids are the same set. Some kids, as I know, are going there because it’s pretty easy to get into, it’s warm, it’s not crazy expensive, and it has great water sports. It also has a, by reputation, great Marine Bio program, so it would probably be worth it for those kids. NC also, by the way, has a nice Marine Bio facility and a relationship with the Mote Marine Lab.</p>