SF to UF?

I was recently denied admission to the University of Florida, which was extremely disappointing. I am now heavily considering attending Santa Fe and applying to transfer for spring 2020. I have roughly two semesters left before I finish my aa, so this would be perfect. However, my parents tell me that by doing this, I’m going to miss out on the ‘freshman college experince’. For anyone who attened SF and transferred to UF - do you feel like you missed out on the full college experience? Are SF students actually able to participate in UF clubs?

Additionally, I do want to begin classes over the summer. I was considering completing the summer semester online (maybe one blended honors course), and then a full Honors on-campus schedule in Fall, to finish my aa. Could an online semester hurt my chances at sucessfully transferreing to UF in the spring? I emailed the the UF college that I intend to transfer to asking about that, but have not heard back.