Schools in Florida???

Student Lounge College Life
61

<p>Yes FIU does suck its like a 4 year CC. All colleges are commuter because dorms suck so people live in apartments but the real commuter is FIU. They JUST started building dorms. Before 2000 they only had like 4 apartment buildings at the UP campus where over 30,000 students go. Nothing to do at FIU at ALL but go to classes. Miami sucks in general it may be great to visit once in a blue moon but its a living hell to be here. If you are into hispanic culture and speak spanish then it is perfect for you. If not its boring as hell and annoying because of all the damn spanish.</p>

<p>FAU is in a crappy location as well. Isnt that in Boca where all the old people are?</p>

<p>As much as I hate FIU and Miami nothing compares to UNF and Jacksonville. I spent 6 weeks there which felt like an eternity of being in the deepest depths of hell.</p>

<p>Don't know much about FGCU except they got some sweet dorms. And UWF thats seriously in the middle of no where. Like inbetween the backwoods of florida and alabama. Nobody goes there I think they have less than 9k students.</p>

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<p>Not that I support FIU, but it is definitely not the worst school in Florida. They currently have a decent business school, a law school, and soon to be medical school that caters to the large hispanic population here in Miami. Also, about the high out of state tutition, its not like they expect anyone to come to them. I do agree that UNF and Jacksonville is probably the worst school/city because of the lack of stuff to do there. But Miami does not suck in my opinion, what more do you want?</p>

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<p>
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FAU is in a crappy location as well. Isnt that in Boca where all the old people are?

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</p>

<p>This is frequently misunderstood. FAU is actually in a great location for college students if you consider what college students usually want.</p>

<p>Consider:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>One minute from I-95</p></li>
<li><p>Two minutes from 18-theatre Muvico, Boomer's (arcade games, mini-golf, laser tag, go-carts), 2-story Barnes and Noble w/Starbucks, Whole Foods, Driver's Seat, Bed Bath and Beyond, nice restaurants (i.e. PF Chang's), gas station, Boca Raton Community Hospital (soon to be on campus itself)</p></li>
<li><p>Five minutes from the beach, the mall, Moe's, Cheesecake factory, Publix (grocery store), pet store, art supplies store, Blockbuster Video, Denny's (where FAU students get 10% off with their student ID)</p></li>
<li><p>Ten minutes from downtown Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach (bars, restaurants, shopping, jazz festivals), Boston Market, Mizner Park (concerts, movie theater, shopping, art museum), sushi restaurants, Boca clubs</p></li>
<li><p>30+ minutes on I-95 in either direction (North to West Palm Beach/South to Miami or Fort Lauderdale) and you're in a city where you can hit up bars/go clubbing. Also, drive 30 minutes and you can visit the Museum of Science and Industry in Ft.Lauderdale, the Miami Seaquarium/Miami Zoo; in the other direction you have the Dreyer Park Zoo, Lion Country Safari, a huge waterpark called The Rapids, and the South Florida Fairgrounds.</p></li>
<li><p>Plus the campus is extremely, extremely safe at all times (no bums on campus!). Everybody hangs out at night on campus and nobody gets hassled.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>etc etc</p>

<p>But yes, there ARE elderly people here. Homes in Boca start in the $500k range, so you do have the older, rich people here. But they're not on campus and I've never had a problem with them, so let's not make a mountain out of a molehill about the elderly.</p>

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<p>Yeah FAU is gorgeous. My whole family lives in Boca. My cousins go to Eagles Landing Camp at FAU. Ive been to Boca MANY times and my parents are considering buying a house there. BTW, you can get a house for <$500K, but it'll be a crappy house with like two rooms.
FAU is in a GREAT location. The Muvico is one of the nicest theatres ive been to. Shadowood isnt bad either. BTW, we went to Moe's. Awesome Burritos. Town Center is a nice mall as well.</p>

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<p>Eagles Landing Camp is on the premises of the North Broward Prep School in Coconut Creek, Florida (just south of Boca).</p>

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<p>Ok. Theyve mentioned NBP before. We have gone to FAU before though. But still, Boca is a great place to go to college.</p>

67

<p>
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FAU is in a GREAT location. The Muvico is one of the nicest theatres ive been to. Shadowood isnt bad either.

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Shadowood is alright... we usually go there for the smaller films that Muvico won't show. It's right next to a huge Best Buy and across the street from a great wings place... Wings Plus.</p>

<p>
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BTW, we went to Moe's. Awesome Burritos.

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Their food is fantastic. A couple friends of mine are petitioning the administration in an attempt to get a Moe's on campus. Until that time, it remains down the street. It's great too because, like 620-Subs down the street, they have FAU stuff up on the walls there. They support the school and the athletics... which is in their best business interest since a lot of FAU students either work or eat there.</p>

<p>
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Town Center is a nice mall as well.

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I hear they're building a whole new wing to it too. Plus, they just put in a Grand Lux Cafe and they're building a California Pizza Kitchen.</p>

<p>Good stuff.</p>

<p>So yes, FAU is in a great location.</p>

68

<p>UCF is seriously... weird. The only motivated people are in the Honors Program. This chick had a 2.8 WEIGHED (NO HONORS, NO APS, TONS OF ELECTIVES). She had a 1100/1600 SAT and 27 ACT and she got into the fall term. She had no clubs whatsoever either.</p>

<p>This other girl had a 3.2 weighed with all honors, 1010/1600 SAT and got only into the summer term.</p>

<p>AND LAST, this chick with a 3.4 weighed, no honors, 850 SAT got into the summer term.</p>

<p>And then this guy, all honors 3.0UW no aps, 940 SAT got rejected.</p>

<p>It makes no sense. </p>

<p>My friend with a 4.0, 1200 SAT goes there. She wants me to. I'm thinking HELL NO.</p>

<p>It's a weird school. Some smart people go there.</p>

<p>They have days called "Condom Days" where they throw out free boxes of condoms in the quad. No joke. It's pretty hilarious.</p>

69

<p>Yeah, as much as I love UCF, the students are DUMB AS HELL.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
It's a weird school. Some smart people go there.

[/quote]

[quote]
Yeah, as much as I love UCF, the students are DUMB AS HELL.

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</p>

<p>Yeah. </p>

<p>There are pockets of smart people and "how'd they get into college?" people on every campus of every college in Florida -- even at UF, which people often herald as a public Ivy.</p>

<p>I think there's this pre-college/parental notion about the Florida colleges where smart students only go to one school and dumb kids only go to another. </p>

<p>That's just not the case.</p>

71

<p>I completely agree with FAUguy. My daughter is at UF, and although she has met some bright people, she cannot believe how some of the kids she has met got into any college, let alone UF! All the schools in Florida seem to have "all types". We know kids just about at every school.
A close friend of hers (4.0 H.S. GPA/1350+ SATs) is in Honors at UCF and absolutely loves it there. The dorms at UCF are gorgeous. A freshman can have single (if they are willing to pay for it of course) in a four bedroom apartment on campus! The student union is beautiful. The campus is very nice, classrooms are nice and the surrounding area has tons to do....not a college town but a lot like... Boca. Orlando is a great place to go to school.</p>

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<p>Sure, if you want to go to a Tier 4 school.</p>

<p>The OP wanted criminology or criminal justice. The best program in Florida is the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State. </p>

<p>See: >> FSU</a> College of Criminology</p>

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<p>People have all different reasons for attending the various colleges that they were fortunate enough to be accepted to. Not everyone cares about the prestige or rating of a college. Certainly, in the grand scheme of life, it really is no predictor of future happiness or wealth. I would be thrilled if my daughter chose UCF. It is four hours closer to our south florida home than her other top choice of FSU. That alone, may, in the long run, make her decision for her, since she refuses to look at FAU (half hour away).</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Sure, if you want to go to a Tier 4 school.

[/quote]

You're right. Students should go to the most highly-ranked school possible so they can grow up and make immature comments like that one.</p>

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[quote]
I would be thrilled if my daughter chose UCF. It is four hours closer to our south florida home than her other top choice of FSU. That alone, may, in the long run, make her decision for her, since she refuses to look at FAU (half hour away).

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Students love UCF. They just do. UCF had a really smart strategy where they actually listened to what the students wanted and then provided it for them. Crazy, right? Your daughter would be lucky to attend a great school like that. I hear their stadium is going to be finished next year... exciting stuff.</p>

<p>Anyway, it's a double-edged sword about FAU. On one hand, she's missing out because FAU is a great school. But I understand where she's coming from. </p>

<p>I understand why she wouldn't want to attend if it's only 30 minutes away.... a lot of students have these grand plans about going away from college and severing the parental umbilical cord. I helped the freshman move in to the dorms here and a lot of them were from out of town (MA, IL, NY, etc). Number one reason for coming so far to a florida college? "To get away from my parents."</p>

<p>However, she may have been victim to a negative vibe that permeates because the complainers voice loudest. We have these people at FAU... "former UCF students" is the broad term... they went away to college, partied it up, were placed on academic probation, then their parents reeled them back in. They had to live at home and go to FAU instead of going to UCF/FSU/UF like they wanted. As a result, they **** and moan about FAU even though it's not about FAU... they're really just upset that they can't go back to the school they wanted. So it gets around that FAU is a bad school when it's not even about FAU. That's one of the reasons I started posting on here, to dispel the rumors and misinformation.</p>

<p>I hope she gets in UCF. She'll have a great time there.</p>

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<p>I'd rather go to FAU then UCF. UCF is freaking huge.</p>

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<p>If I recall correctly, UCF has the seventh largest campus in the US. I've looked at a map and you're right, it's fairly intimidating. I've heard that driving there is somewhat difficult too... most people take a bus?</p>

<p>On the other hand, FAU you can walk across in about ten minutes (which is great because if you schedule classes back to back you only get 10 minutes between classes). Also, driving in the thick of campus is very reasonable.</p>

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<p>Also class size at FAU tends to be small (20-30 student classrooms is rather typical) and classes are mainly taught by faculty.</p>

78

<p>"FAU is in a crappy location as well. Isnt that in Boca where all the old people are?"</p>

<p>The median age in Boca Raton is 43. People here also live a long life.</p>

79

<p>You're right. Students should go to the most highly-ranked school possible so they can grow up and make immature comments like that one.</p>

<p>I suppose your definition of maturity has a lot to do with your ox being gored. :rolleyes: No matter. I dislike the ratings services as well, but find that those who are trying to differentiate between huge universities do, in fact, use them to quantify information for their own evaluation purposes. </p>

<p>It's logical to attend the school at the least cost with the highest quality program of your interest. The poster was interested in Criminology; the answer is Florida State. It's Criminology/Criminal Justice program is one of the oldest in the US and certainly the best respected in Florida. The next best program in Criminology in Florida is at UF.</p>

80

<p>
[quote]
Also class size at FAU tends to be small (20-30 student classrooms is rather typical) and classes are mainly taught by faculty.

[/quote]

This is true for a number of classes, but not for all. All my sciences (Bio, Psych, Anthro, etc) -- minus the computer science classes -- have been 100+ people. </p>

<p>This may sound like a bad thing to someone who hasn't yet been to college but it really isn't; only half of the people attend on a regular basis. </p>

<p>Case in point: During the week before my last psych final, only ~35/120 were present for lecture.</p>