not happy with my college search so far...help?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Alright so I'm a Florida resident and a rising senior and I've been visiting lots of colleges here in Florida recently but none have really made me say "wow! i want to go here" or made me want to consider them further...so am i just being too picky or not looking at the right schools? I'll give a run-down of the colleges I've visited so far. </p>

<p>FSU - just got back today and it was ehh. It was sooo unbearably hot during the tour and very hard to focus on anything the tour guide was saying. I was really banking on FSU to be my school that i would "fall in love with" since I havent really seen anything I've liked, but I wasn't too impressed...maybe i was just setting my hopes too high. The campus just seemed so HUGE and chopped up to me...there's many busy streets running right through campus and it was soo loud! I know many people that go to FSU and love it and cant say one bad thing about it. So I don't know if I just didnt get the right look at it or what. There was so much construction going on also so they may have skewed my view of things as well. </p>

<p>UF - I visited UF almost a year ago so I don't have a very fresh memory of it in my mind, but it's probably been my favorite out of all the ones I've seen. I just really liked the whole atmosphere of the campus and could definetly see myself there, but I haven't gotten my hopes up since I dont think I have a high enough GPA or SAT for it...my counselor has said I could probably get in since my school has big ties there, but still I'm not going to get all excited to just get let down. </p>

<p>Rollins - I visited here the same weekend I went to UF and it was WAY too small. I went into one of the classroom buildings and I felt like I was in high school. I want to feel like I'm in college not high school all over again! I loved the town, Winter Park, that Rollins is located in though. Rollins is also private which could be a problem money-wise. </p>

<p>UCF- If I had to rank this would probably be my second favorite behind UF. I liked how the whole campus was layed out and all the buildings seem very new. I also like how its close to a major city (Orlando). That's probably another thing which was a downside to UF and FSU was that outside of campus theres basically nothing happening. UCF is also close enough to home for me not to get homesick (if i do) but far enough for me to be independent. </p>

<p>USF- Ew. I did not like this school at all. The only plus is that its by Tampa which is one of my fav. cities </p>

<p>Eckerd- another small school like Rollins, but I could see myself here more than I could there. But for the money that you pay to go there, I would think you would get more bang for your buck but I dunno. </p>

<p>So yea so far thats it. I know I havent hit all the colleges in Florida but right now I'm just feeling really down because I havent found anything I've loved but maybe I'm just looking for that "perfect college" that everyone is looking for but doesn't find. </p>

<p>I'm completely undecided as far as my major which makes me think that I would be better off at a big school where I could explore more options, yet I've gone to small private schools my whole life so I'm not sure how well I would adjust to a HUGE school. </p>

<p>My stats are:
GPA: 3.4ish
SAT:1170/1760 (deff retaking, i bombed math)
So yea if you read all that then your a saint! lol So if anyone could tell me what other colleges I could look at or what im doing wrong please do so!</p>

2

<p>I take it you want to stay in state?</p>

<p>Since you seem to like UF and UCF best, I'd keep those two on the list. </p>

<p>Another to look at is Stetson. I have a friend who went there and loved it.</p>

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<p>Tallahassee gets VERY hot during the summer time, it's almost unbearable. The seasons are very pronounced in Tally, as opposed to the rest of the state of Florida. There is also a lot of construction on campus, which is a good thing in my opinion. Most of the construction is done during the summer so it doesn't interfere with the students in the fall. It's difficult to get a feel for the campus and town in a short visit. My advice would be to go up there for a weekend and stay with one of your friends. That way you'll get real feel of the school and the area.
UF and UCF are also good choices, maybe they're a better fit for you. I felt the same way you did when in visited UF. I was already accepted and ready to enroll at UF, but after visiting the school, it just didn't feel right for me. So I decided on FSU and I've never regretted it. You should go to the school that feels right for you.</p>

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<p>UCF is a great school with a great campus.everything you need is on campus and its in Orlando!</p>

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<p>If you have time, I'd suggest visiting FSU during the springtime when the students are there. The campus really is gorgeous. Sounds as if you got stuck near a construction site. The weekend idea is a good one. There are a few more site visits in the FSU section which you may want to look through.</p>

<p>I did not see a reference in your post but what do you want to study? It could make a big difference where you should attend.</p>

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<p>I second looking at Stetson, it's a nice school. I would also give FSU another chance, try to visit it again next term when the school is busy. You'll get a better feel for the campus.</p>

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<p>Yea I think half my problem may be that I've been visiting all these schools on weekends when there are no classes or during the summer when no ones around so I technically haven't been getting the best feel for any of them. </p>

<p>In response to world changer, yes staying in state would probably be the best option for me money wise although im open to looking at colleges outside of Florida. My mom would love for me to go to college in the carolinas but my dad is like its too much money blah blah blah. </p>

<p>And yes i have NO idea what i want to study...its kind of frustrating as well b.c I know it would make my search a lot easier. So thanks for the replies so far everyone!</p>

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<p>buuuummmmppppp</p>

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<p>I suggest attending Preview at FSU.</p>

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<p>You could try university of Tampa but its private and expensive, it has about 5000 undergrads so its larger than Rollins avg gpa 3.28
SAT - Critical Reading Middle 50%: 480-570
SAT - Math Middle 50%: 480-580
TPR Projected Range SAT Writing: 550-630
Just try to get your SAT to at least 1300, it seems UF keeps getting harder to get into every year and thats where I want to go also</p>

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<p>parent2noles, I thought preview happened in the spring and was just for accepted students. </p>

<p>Yea I've heard of University of Tampa but haven't looked too much into it, and yea im going to work my butt off for the SAT...I got a 680 on verbal but a 490 on the math :-( math will be the death of mee!</p>

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<p>Is there a reason why you wouldn't consider UNF (near Jacksonville) as another alternative? I ask because I'm not really familiar with Florida schools but it seems like a school with decent academics, a nice campus and good location</p>

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<p>Orientation is for accepted students; Preview is for anyone near enough to apply. If you're even thinking of attending FSU I would apply. If you're accepted and decide to attend, get your ID card at Preview. (beat the rush at Orientation)</p>

<p>Aug 1 is the first date to apply to FSU. By all means get your app in by then...no one knows how difficult it may become if they cut freshman enrollment.</p>

<p>Here's some more info: <a href="http://www.fsu.edu/students/prospective/admissions/requirements/timeline.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fsu.edu/students/prospective/admissions/requirements/timeline.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Why not look at FAU?</p>

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<p>Well I've barely even heard of UNF but i guess I could give it a look. </p>

<p>Yea my dad mentioned going and looking at FAU so I will probably end up doing that when I go and look at schools down there. </p>

<p>What do you guys think of Nova, UM, and FIU?</p>

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<p>UM>>>FIU>>>>Nova</p>

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<p>FAU, like the other schools, has much fewer people on campus now over the summer and we're deep in the middle of multiple construction projects: right now it's a completely renovated both cafeterias, expanding our basketball arena, building a new dorm for freshmen; later this year it will be apartments for 2000+ more people, a shopping village, an alumni center, and a new recreation center (gym); next year it's parking garages, more dorms, and a nine-story teaching hospital; year after that will be football stadium and likely Greek Housing.</p>

<p>Anyway, come Fall the campus will be at full speed and the place is awesome. FAU is a quickly-growing school (much like UCF) and people really dig it here.</p>

<p>Nova is beautiful but expensive -- most everybody goes there for grad school since they have a million of them (medicine, optometry, dentistry, law, etc)</p>

<p>How you feel about UM and FIU will be determined in large part with how you feel about Miami. Personally, I would never live there so I never even considered those schools.</p>

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<p>I was going to suggest New College of Florida, but you thought that Rollins was too small, so I guess not...</p>

<p>Keep UCF, FSU, and UF on your list. Are you willing to go out of state?</p>

<p>What exactly are you looking for in college (major, size, location, sports)?</p>

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<p>FAU GUY, well FAU seems like a pretty nice place thanks to your description ;-) I will definetly check it out now. I used to live in Ft. Lauderdale when i was younger and family still live down there so I'm familiar with the area around there and I kind of like the whole Miami scene although I know its pretty dangerous. </p>

<p>Worried Student, yea I've checked out New College a little bit and its definetly too small and I dont really like how they do their whole curriculum. And yes I am willing to go out of state its just money MAY be a problem but who knows. My mom I know wants me to go to school in the Carolinas since shes thinking about moving there soon. </p>

<p>Majors that I have kind of been "entertaining" are business, psychology, and something along the lines of urban planning...I dont know I just think it would be a really cool job to be some sort of city planner. But still I'm basically undecided.</p>

<p>Size is kind of what I'm still trying to decide. I know by visiting Rollins that I probably dont want anything under 2,000 but I dont know how well I would fare in large schools such as UF and FSU since I would like to get know my professors on a personal level which makes me think that my ideal size might be like 5,000 to 10,000 range perhaps? </p>

<p>Location is kind of up in the air. I do love Florida and I wouldnt mind staying here one bit. But I know my mom is going to move so if I'm down here in Florida and my family is somewhere say in the Carolinas then its going to make coming home a lot tougher but who knows. Ultimately I probably just want a college in the Southeast but if I find a college in the North thats a perfect fit then I will definetly be flexible. </p>

<p>Sports. I LOVE sports. I could seriously sit and watch Sportscenter all day and not be bored, seeing as I'm a female some boys find that weird! So this makes me think that I would love schools such as UF and FSU that have HUGE school spirit and love their sports. But I dont know because normally schools that have great sports are huge in terms of population and I dont know if thats something I want. So basically sports arent that big of an issue I could deal with a small school that has no sports scene but a school that does have a big sports scene would just be an added bonus :-] </p>

<p>ok wow that was long but heres some schools that I have been considering out of state so if you guys could give me your input on them it would be much appreciated: College of Charleston, Elon, Appalachian State, NC State, Wake Forest (reach), Furman, Qunnipiac (I did a college search and this was one of the few colleges that came up. So I went on their website and it seems like a really good fit for me, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to visit since its in Connecticut!!), Indiana University (legacy), DePaul University. </p>

<p>Oh yes and another thing I forgot to mention is I dont think I want a dry/strict campus. I'm not implying that I'm a huge drinker because I'm not. Eckerd was a dry campus and its something that just really turned me off because I guess they go around to everyone's dorms every night and make sure no underage drinking is going on. I dont know that just seemed SO high school to me. </p>

<p>So thanks again if you read all of this you guys are awesome!!</p>

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<p>College of Charleston is a very strong school. I'd definitely recommend it. </p>

<p>I'd also recommend IU and DePaul for business. Both have great business schools. Then Wake Forest is also quite strong.</p>

<p>The others on your list...although they're good schools, I don't think they'd be worth the money, compared to what you could get from one of your state schools.</p>