Should I attend USF or TCC?

I am faced with a bit of a dilemma. I grew up in Tallahassee,FL and decided not to apply to FSU because I wanted to get out of Tallahassee. I applied and was accepted to every school I applied to (most were more prestigious than FSU) even though my stats were fairly low (3.0 GPA, 1660 SAT score). I think this is due to my essay. I chose USF because they offered great financial aid and a scholarship. Long story short, I regret it now because my senior year of high school (after FSU admission deadline) I met a lot of cool people that go to FSU and started going out. I will be starting USF in just 2 weeks (summer B) and I don’t know how I feel about it. After orientation and just after visiting the campus, I realized that the people and the city are not for me. It doesn’t seem like my kind of atmosphere. Either way, I want to transfer to either UF or FSU after getting my AA or possibly before (but this will be unlikely since its hard to transfer with low high school stats like mine without an AA.)

My problem is, I will be transferring to a finance major, which is a limited-access major at FSU. Admission to those is based on available spaces so I am quite worried.

I really would rather not start at TCC. I want to experience a new city and start at a University, but if I don’t like USF after Summer B (which ends around August 5th), should I transfer to TCC and start working towards my AA to transfer to FSU? Or would it be smarter to just suck it up for those 2 years and transfer after getting my AA?

My main question is: is it harder to get into FSU (limited-access major) as a transfer with an AA from a university like USF or with an AA from TCC? I know TCC and FSU have a program and I thought FSU takes priority for TCC applicants.

I would just really like to finish my degree at FSU or UF.

Should I just try to transfer to FSU after my first year at USF? I feel like this may not be possible since I have low high school stats. But I do plan to maintain a 4.0 GPA in college.

What do you think my best option is? Keep in mind, I am willing to give USF a try. I just like to plan ahead and know that a finance degree from UF or FSU will open many more doors for me than a finance degree from USF.

If you want to transfer into any limited-access major at FSU, you will want your AA degree. This is especially true if you have low high school stats that will hurt your application.

You’re also overestimating the difference in USF/FSU/UF for a finance degree. Unless you’re going to one of the top-tier finance schools, it really doesn’t matter where you get your degree.

You said it yourself, you don’t want to start at TCC. Give USF a chance for at least a year, and if you decide that it’s not for you, then you can worry about transferring. You’re getting way ahead of yourself, because you won’t likely get into FSU as a transfer until you have your AA completed.

Give it a try a USF.
First, you can’t "plan " to get a 4.0 in college. Only the tipsy top students get 3.75 and that means about 5-6hours of studying outside of classes, every day.
One resolution you can make right now is “I will only party on Friday and Saturday nights, even if my roommate invites me” (your partying roommate will be gone by the end of the semester) - 12%, more than two per corridor in your freshman dorm, won’t be back for sophomore year.
Another resolution should be for you to attend office hours for each of your classes, during the first two weeks, bringing your outlined reading and starred problems with questions (“I’m not sure if understood this”/ “I had trouble with that problem”).

Join clubs.
Are you in a Living Learning Community? See if you can still join as it helps in getting involved and making friends.
During your first week, before you have lots and lots of work (2-3hours per class period to get a B or higher) go to the career center, learn about their services, sign up for a resume workshop. Keep an eye out or internship announcements and job announcements (good summer internships are announced in October-November so you need your resume in order by then.)
If after 3semesters you’re not happy, try to transfer to fsu. Having a good GPA and good study habits will help you regardless.

Does anyone know if the transfer guarantee rule applies when transferring from a 4 year university?

“The state of Florida guarantees that students who complete an AA degree at a Florida college have the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree at a state university.”

This seems to imply you might not be guaranteed admission when transferring from USF. However, you would be guaranteed admission if you transfer from TCC. So there would be an advantage going to TCC. FSU or UF must accept you if you get an AA from TCC (and your major isn’t limited access).

Actually, the tranqfer guarantee only means you will be accepted to one of the public universities - not necessarily to your favorite one and only if you completed all major pretty reqs and will start right away. It’s a narrow road and if OP got into usf, I’d take that over risking being sent to fgcu.

I’ve heard that before, but I don’t think it’s true. This would require communication between universities or a state wide system for tracking admissions. “Hey UF, are you going to accept him?” “No.” “We weren’t going to accept him either.” “Well one of us has to accept him.” “Let’s flip a coin.”

Universities are not sharing info, and you’re not guaranteed acceptance to your preferred school. However, it is up to you to apply to each school. If get shut out of all 12, and you have the stats to qualify, I’m sure you can go through an appeal process.

The real advantage of Florida’s system, is that almost all of your classes (and credits) will transfer, and that you have a priority for admissions over any out of state students (really useful if applying to a competitive program at UF/FSU, etc.).

quote An AA graduate from a Florida public postsecondary institution shall receive priority for admission to a state university over out-of-state transfer students. Recruitment materials, catalogs, orientation programs, and student handbooks provided to freshman enrollees and transfer students at state universities shall include an explanation of this provision.
(b) Within curriculum, space, and fiscal limitations, admission to the upper division of one of the state universities shall be granted to an AA graduate of a Florida public postsecondary institution, provided the AA degree has been awarded based on the following:

[/quote]

@loller If you’re transferring from one of the 12 universities (like USF), you don’t have the AA transfer guarantee. In fact, you may not even have an AA degree, since most of Florida’s 12 universities do not offer it.

However, most if not all of your classes will transfer and you’re not at an admissions disadvantage vs. a CC transfer student. The AA guarantee only helps in comparison with out of state students.