<p>Consider this information per USNews reference these schools for serious academics.</p>
<p>search: USNews Rankings - PhD: FSU vs UF vs USF vs UM </p>
<p>(in the FSU forum)</p>
<p>"UCF is known at the school where no one graduates--seriously."</p>
<p>I thought that the little word play on UCF was Under Construction Forever. Never heard anything about their graduating rates...I thought they were at least better than USF since USF is U Stay Forever</p>
<p>(just things I've heard randomly around FL)</p>
<p>KandKsmom,
My niece and nephew both attend Flagler and seem happy there. The school is small and the campus is even smaller. I've been told it's beautiful. In fact, visitors to St. Augustine come through on a town tour (girl's dorm used to be a hotel). Not alot of school spirit. Many students can't wait to move off campus as soon as possible because of the strict dorm policies - no girls allowed in boy's dorms and no boys allowed in girl's dorms - EVER. Aside from the obvious, this policy restricts opposite sexes from just hanging out together, watching movies, collaborating on projects, etc. Lots of complaints about the food. Seems like a lot of partying going on, off campus (as on many campuses). Then again, many of these kids are living in houses on or near the beach. Sunbathing and having a few seems like a typical way to relax. Have heard academics aren't too tough so lots of free time. I believe the art degree offered is a BA. Very affordable, esp for out of state.</p>
<p>I know this one is not in FL, but have you looked at Arcadia in PA? It's small and offers nice merit $ - also has great travel abroad pgm. I think students can even spend freshman yr abroad, if they want. My d has a classmate who spent spring break in London (school sponsored trip).</p>
<p>ucf IS THE fastest growing U in the US...i got in there and im happy</p>
<p>u should also consider FAU</p>
<p>Eckerd College is new and small...i live in St.Pete and that college still doesnt really have a buzz. it seems like a community college. but i heard the dorms are very nice and they are good academically.</p>
<p>UF & UM are hands down the best of that group</p>
<p>then i would SLIGHTY put FSU over UCF/ and UCF over USF</p>
<p>Curious conclusion. Here are some ratings to consider.</p>
<p>parent, those are PhD rankings and this is an undergrad student.</p>
<p>Agreed; but the profs don't change typically and their grad students have a lot to do with undergrads.</p>
<p>i applied to new college how is it there?</p>
<p>NCF is a nice, small school in Sarasota. It is the so-called Honors college in FL. My kids called it the 'blue hair' school as kids who attend can be very individualistic. I could not get them to consider it though.</p>
<p>It's a fine school with solid academics.</p>
<p>Academically - UF->UM->FSU->USF->UCF->New College=FAU
Campus Wise - UF->FSU->UM
Party Scene - UF=FSU->UM
Surrounding City - UM->FSU->UF</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? UCF over New College? USF over New College?</p>
<p>In general, I dislike all Florida schools, but UCF takes the cake for possibly being one of the WORST public schools on the face of the planet, and New College has a reputation of being one of the best public colleges.</p>
<p>Yep. I'd say that analysis is weak in several areas.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Effulgent said:
In general, I dislike all Florida schools, but UCF takes the cake for possibly being one of the WORST public schools on the face of the planet, and New College has a reputation of being one of the best public colleges.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>As a parent who researched UCF (and other schools) a great deal, and who has an honors student who just completed a fantastic first year at UCF, I'd be interested to hear why you have such strong feelings against the school (actually, why do you dislike all Florida schools?).</p>
<p>UCF has no campus and the surrounding city sucks. (Yes, I know, it's ORLANDO, but Orlando isn't as much a glamorous city outside of International Drive as everyone not familiar with the area as a whole believes.) </p>
<p>A lot of artsy people from my school are going to Flagler. It's a beautiful campus, sure, but trust me: St. Augustine is possibly the worst place to study. First off all, Flagler is smack dab in downtown St. Augustine, a haven for tourists, and the town gets seriously boring quickly.</p>
<p>I would never go to FSU. Hated the student life, hated the faculty, and 98% of my class is going there. The academics were average.</p>
<p>Bringing us to either UF or UM -- don't know much about Tampa or USF. If money isn't a concern, I suggest UM: Miami is beautiful. UF is a great, great school for a cheap, cheap price, but Gainesville is almost as horrible as St. Augustine, just not with the tourist crap; very, VERY boring.</p>
<p>Party schools: UF=FSU>Miami>UCF
Surrounding City: Miami>FSU>UF>Flagler>UCF
Academically: Miami>UF>FSU=UCF
Campus Wise: UM>FLAGLER>FSU>UF>UCF</p>
<p>To suggest that Florida State is equal academically to UCF is nonsense. </p>
<p>Equally silly is to equate UMiami, a fairly small private school, to either UF or FSU, both huge state universities with massive quantities of students, assets and resources.</p>
<p>I agree with parent2noles. UF and FSU are really very comparable academically. UF has the better national reputation of the two but it really depends what individual undergrad program you are going for. Some programs at FSU are far superior to those at UF and vice versa. Cannot really compare these huge (30K plus undergrads) public schools to U Miami....they are different animals. My daughter chose UF over U Miami, FSU and UCF for the reputation of the undergraduate marketing program, the distance from home (300 miles was just right for her), the "reputation" of the student body (slightly more intellectual/academic as a whole). She didn't like the atmosphere at U Miami....where many of the girls walked around campus in bathing suit tops on the day of our tour and the tour guide spoke at length about the clubbing scene at South Beach. Incidentely, I loved U Miami....
All of these have reputations as Party Schools.</p>
<p>Well, I live in Orlando. I know many students who have gone to UCF, and most don't have much academic ambition. It seems like most of the student population go to college for the sake of going to college.</p>
<p>And, in addition to having a not-so-great campus, UCF is also known as the School Where No Man Graduates. I heard that less than half of the student population graduates in less than six years.</p>
<p>Furthermore, I went to UCF a while back, and encountered the Students for a Democratic Society... and I have to say, as someone who is leaning towards the left, UCF's SDS is a shame, an absolute embarassment to the left wing. It seems they've confused liberalism with communism and are extremely ill-informed.</p>
<p>The UCF campus is absolutely dead.</p>
<p>I dislike Florida schools in general because of my personal dislike of Florida. Most schools are huge, contain too large of a ratio of kids who don't care to kids who do, and are overly conservative (although most schools are democratic in general).</p>
<p>If I had to stay in-state, I would most definitely attend New College. My second choice would be UF or FSU, for its respectable honors program, good price, and for the fact that many of my classmates will be going there.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with you Efflugent. I also live in Orlando (well, Clermont), but FL schools suck in general. Especially UCF. All the kids from my school that are going there really have no academic ambition, and just got in there because they took easy classes at our school and got at least a 3.0. And Orlando sucks as a city, the traffic is horrible, other than the immediate tourist areas and a couple other pockets of nice neighborhoods, there is a lot of nasty areas. Honestly, Rollins is a way better school than most Florida schools, so if you really want to come to FL and don't want super huge but don't want to go to NCF, then consider Rollins. But other than that, UF is the only school that I would even consider going to in Florida. UF, UM, and FSU naturally have the biggest party scenes, but UCF has a decent one too. </p>
<p>But if you're coming from out of state, then you will definitely be surprised at how some of these kids could have even made it this far. The sun down here goes to way to many peoples heads...</p>
<p>If you do have to choose a school here, then choose UF. The campus is actually really nice, there are a TON of people there so you can easily find a group of friends just right for you (not everyone parties contrary to popular belief), and the academics there are superior to all other FL schools in general. And can you say national champions? If you even have a passing interest in watching college sports, then you will love the all-around amazing athletic programs (and club and intramurals) at UF. I know FSU may be good too, but people from our school got in way more easily than they did to UF and in general all of the sluts and drunks from our school are going there, and one of our former students just got arrested up there for stealing over $2,000 worth of stuff from Wal-Mart and then pleaded innocent when there clearly were witnesses.</p>
<p>No love for the dual admissions programs at Nova Southeastern University in Davie/Ft. Lauderdale?</p>
<p>But if you must choose between UF,FSU,UCF, or UM...</p>
<p>UF>UM>FSU>>>>>>>>>>>>>UCF</p>
<p>Anbody know people that actually graduated from UCF? :)</p>
<p>Really you said that the students at your school took easy classes and were admitted into UCF WITH A 3.0 GPA?</p>