Random NCF/Sarasota/Florida Questions.

Colleges and Universities A-Z New College of Florida
21

<p>True there are no grades, you either "sat" (satisfy) your contract or not. Contracts are made between students and their faculty advisor each semester. My D has found professor expectations to be quite high, but I'm sure, like any other school, there will be some courses easier than others. </p>

<p>It would be best to visit campus during the week so you can take the opportunity to sit in on a class or two. Then you can see for yourself how rigorous the academics are. If you must visit on a weekend, make an effort to talk to students.</p>

22

<p>For grades, because they write such intimate reviews for you its kind of hard for it to be inflated. From what I can tell(I live in Sarasota and work with a bunch of NCF kids) while there are obvious fun classes for the most part the students are a bunch of brilliant, if non conformist, kids who work very intensely on their particular subject of interest. You have to keep in mind that a lot of kids leave after their first year if they realize its not the right situation, some kids can't handle the level of freedom given in their academics. </p>

<p>In defense of Sarasota, being a native and living here 18 years, there's a lot to do if you know where to look. While its not a bustling as a big city our downtown has a bunch of awesome little stores that allow for hours of exploration. From what I can tell by the students I know, though, is that the majority of kids stay on campus most of the time. With public transport while it does exist it tends to be inconvenient, although more people are starting to use it. NCF is out in the middle of nowhere, but a lot of students have cars so it shouldn't be hard to bum a ride. </p>

<p>Another thing that you should be aware of is the drug culture in NCF. The students are like heroin junkies or anything, but if you can't stand to be around people who smoke or drink I recommend looking elsewhere. Of course not everyone participates, but a lot of the student body does. Also it seems like a lot of the students smoke cigarettes, but I think you can get smoke free dorms to avoid it.</p>

23

<p>My d is a fourth year. Challenging curriculum, adult learning, little hand holding. She is OOS but received very good scholarship which got better with another d in college. Scholarship fully transferred to semester away program. Sarasota is quirky but there is sailing, kayaking on campus, a bike group, outdoor swimming pool, etc. Although there is the party scene, seems from my d's report that you can be perfectly sober and still have fun. Library staff great and you can read senior theses in the thesis reading room. For students that work hard, there is serious help with Fulbright apps, etc. Overall, I can see how NCF keeps winning a top best value position. However, it is not for the immature/ those needing hand-holding. My d lost a number from her first year group due to failure/ too much distraction.</p>

24

<p>Hi momgeh50!
So true about the number of first years that don't make it through to the second year...too many students come to NCF attracted by the no grades policy. They don't realize how much work they are expected to do to pass a contract. </p>

<p>How's your daughter's thesis coming? After doing the paper from this ISP, my D said she feels like maybe she'll be ready for it when her day comes.</p>

25

<p>I'm not sure how asking this will make me look, but I'm just going to ask it anyway. </p>

<p>I applied to NCF and it's one of my top choices, but I'm kind of worried about its reputation as a college with a high prevalence of drug use. I've avoided drugs and drinking during high school; I certainly have friends who participate, but my close friends and I are a pretty sober bunch, and I don't expect this to change in college. Besides that fact, I'd say I'm a fairly hippie-granola kind of kid: don't like shoes, vegetarian, peace activist, etc. Would I still be able to fit in at New and find things to do? I'm going to visit as soon as I know if I'm accepted, but I'd kind of like to hear from anybody who has experience with this.</p>

26

<p>I think there are enough students who are quite sober but have a good time. Lots of vegetarians and certainly mostly flip flops. I think my d found there were too many things to do and not as much time as she wishes. Volunteering, bicycling, kayaking, clubs, work-study, etc. I would not paint NCF with a broad brush. Making a visit for a night or two is a great idea. Be sure to go to lots of classes. Again, my d found there were just too many courses she would have liked to take. Good luck.</p>

27

<p>Alright, I'm sure you're probably right. The academics sound absolutely amazing and I'm sure I'd find more than enough to keep myself occupied. Thanks. :)</p>

28

<p>standardprints, it sounds to me like you would fit just fine at NCF. I know that my D, while she enjoys the parties, is not into drugs and heavy drinking. In fact, most of her close friends are either straight edge or light drinkers. There really isn't heavy peer pressure at NCF to drink or do drugs. As I've said before, students tend to accept you for whoever you are...and you can go to a party there, dress up and dance without a single drink. No one will know the difference. The kids that are really into substances don't last at NCF...they can't keep up with the workload.</p>

<p>As far as things to do go, my D tends to stay on campus most of the time and never complains of boredom. The dance tutorials and yoga classes by the bay are really nice. D enjoys the kayaks, too.</p>

29

<p>Until I started reading the posts in these threads, I didn't realize there was much discussion of alcohol and drug use at NCF.</p>

<p>Until now, most folks' impression of NCF seems to have been 1) the students are really smart and 2) many of them are somewhat unusual.</p>

<p>In light of the posts on this thread, the question I would pose is "Are drugs and alcohol more prevalent at NCF than at, say, University of Florida?"</p>

30

<p>Senior's Dad:
My brother has a friend who transfered to UF from a local community college, evidently it's less party-oriented than FSU (where my brother attends), and they supposedly study more.
Then again, everything is relative (FSU is a big party school, and not a big study school) -my guess is that they probably party some, but their frat scene is not as big so it would be a different level of partying than with FSU, but more so with New College.</p>

<p>Hey everyone, I've been accepted into my top 3 (FSU, NCF, UF), which is nice, but it also has complicated my decision process. So I have a couple of questions about NCF:</p>

<p>1) How diverse is the student body?
-Is there a lot of different opinions/views? Or is everyone kind of alternative in the same way? I know it sounds like a silly [hopefully not rude], but I like it when people are diverse and come from different backgrounds because it keeps me open-minded and humble. The idea of going to a college with people who have my same ideals and opinions is really tempting, but I don't know if it would be bad for me to go to a college like that for 4 years and not be challenged by people with different lifestyles. </p>

<p>2) What options do you have for studying things outside your major?
-I guess what I'm talking about would be along the lines of having a minor/taking electives, because what I want to major in is something different than what I want to minor in (art, guitar, and fashion [like constructing & designing clothing]). I know there's an art department, but would there be upper-level art classes I could take without majoring in art/needing alot of pre-reqs? Could I get into the guitar program with out majoring in it? Are there any clothes-constructing classes? If not could I make my own?</p>

<p>3) Do any students enroll at other colleges during the summer when New College is closed?
-I've heard that some travel abroad and take internships but what do other people do? I'm just wondering because I might be able to enroll at FSU and take classes possibly not available/prevalent at NCF such as maybe guitar, art, and fashion. If I took classes related to my major at another college during summer do you know if it would be hard to transfer credit given NCF's different grading system?</p>

<p>4) My friend vaguely mention something about transfering to another college/program after 2 years through this program they had at New College... does that sound familiar maybe?</p>

<p>I'm not so worried about the drugs, the need for work ethic, or the liberal culture. I visited the college during summer, but sadly there wasn't a lot of student body present. I'll probably have a big talk with my admissions dude about a lot of these questions. I figured it couldn't hurt though, and thank you in advance if you answer any of my questions!</p>

31

<p>I think these are great questions to ask admissions, but I'll venture a response based on what I know:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It is a small student population, that does trend on the liberal side. But from what my D and her friends say, some now are leaning towards libertarian. There are also conservatives and anarchists (or anything else you could imagine) in the mix. NCF kids also really enjoy intellectual discussions and debating issues. If you're into that, I doubt you'll be bored. </p></li>
<li><p>There are plenty of opportunities to take classes outside your major through electives or ISP. ISP is an especially good time to study an outside interest. I think the art classes may be hard to get into for non-majors, you may want to check with the professors that teach the courses you would be interested in taking to see if it's possible. You will find, however, other opportunities to perform in student run groups. I have no idea if there is any clothing construction and design courses or groups. I have heard that FSU has a really great program for it though.</p></li>
<li><p>You need to speak to admissions about transfer credit. I think some students do take courses off campus during the summer, and there is some number of credits that equals one contract or ISP.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, there are students that don't last at NCF. It's not for everyone. But if it is for you, it is a place where you can thrive and have a wonderful college experience.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>If you have a chance to visit while students are there and you can sit in on a few classes, I think you'll get a much better picture whether this is the best place for you or not. Really do make the effort to go to the classes...that's what helped my D decide what was best for her.</p>

32

<p>Since there are no grades at NCF, how does that affect admissions to graduate school? What about medical school?</p>

33

<p>I asked that same question at the admissions session my daughter and I attended in January. The answer from the admissions people was, in so many words, "the proof is in the pudding."</p>

<p>They cited to NCF's success in placing graduates in top graduate, law, and medical schools as evidence that the lack of grades does not impair NCF graduates from getting into top graduate, law, and medical schools.</p>

<p>They also cited to The Wall Street Journal ranking as the nation’s #2 public university for sending graduates to elite law, medical and business schools as well as that NCF graduates include a Rhodes Scholar, a Fields Medal winner, and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship recipient, and that since 2000, more than 30 New College students have earned Fulbright Scholarships.</p>

<p>From NCF's website:</p>

<p>Take a look at some of the graduate schools our recent alums attend:</p>

<p>Audubon Institute Stanford University
Brown University University of California
Cambridge University University of Chicago
Caltech University of Florida
Columbia University University of Miami
Cornell University University of Michigan
DePaul University University of Oxford
Duke University University of Penn
Harvard University University of Illinois
Johns Hopkins University University of Texas
Lehigh University University of Toronto
London School of Economics University of Virginia
New York University University of Wisconsin
Princeton University Yale University</p>

<p>I'm convinced that NCF's unusual grading system does not hinder admissions to graduate, medical, or law school.</p>