<p>Greetings all. </p>
<p>I attended Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton campus) from 2000-2009, earning two bachelor degrees and a master's degree. This August I matriculate into medical school, which just proves that you can go anywhere you want and achieve your dream - not just the Harvards of the world.</p>
<p>Now, there doesn't seem to be much solid information about my alma mater on here. In fact, there may be more misinformation than anything else. I loved my experience at FAU and I wanted to share some of my knowledge to help you find out if FAU really is the best fit for your sons and daughters.</p>
<p>==================================================================</p>
<p>ON ADMISSIONS
- Every once in awhile someone on here will claim that FAU will "take anybody", a remnant of the 90's when acceptances were in the high 70-80's range. It's simply not true anymore. The reality is that nowadays, only about half (51%) of FTIC students who apply get admitted and FAU does indeed keep a waitlist. More information here: <a href="http://iea.fau.edu/factbk/aae10f.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://iea.fau.edu/factbk/aae10f.pdf</a>.
- As of Fall 2010, the GPA range was 3.2 - 3.8 and they will not even LOOK at your application unless you have a minimum recalculated high school GPA of 2.6.
- SAT scores during that same time period were 1510-1720 and ACT scores were 22-25. If you're wondering if you're competitive, you really should be asking yourself, "How close are my numbers to those?" and "How late in the application cycle is it?" If you're below the average but it's early, roll the dice and see if they bite. If you're below the average and it's late, you might want to reconsider applying next year. If you're at or above the numbers, why are you even worried? Yes, you have a good chance. Apply.
- And do it soon. The school is skyrocketing in popularity: FAU President Mary Jane Saunders recently pointed out that in Feb 2010 we had ~9,000 FTIC apps while in Feb 2011 we had >20k.</p>
<p>ON CAMPUS AND STUDENTS
- ~28K students overall, ~20K students on the main campus in Boca Raton specifically
- Clean, pastel-colored buildings, mostly new. No red brick or gothic arches here.
- Ethnically, FAU is very diverse. Culturally, we all seem to wear shorts and sandals. We live near the beach, what can we say.
- Most common form of transportation around campus is not a bike, but rather, a longboard.
- It's common for student groups to table to increase membership; it's NOT common to see student groups protesting something such as animal rights, global warming, etc
- Not many "gunners"</p>
<p>ON PROFESSORS AND LECTURES
- Average lecture size 200-300 people. Never 500+.
- Most (if not all) professors speak excellent English and have Ph.D.'s.
- Professors are very approachable. There's a feeling like not many do.
- Very good opportunities to get involved with undergraduate research.
- It's common to have graduate students teach lab sections. I did.
- FAU is trying to expand its online presence and does offer online courses.</p>
<p>ON BOCA RATON
- The surrounding city is clean and very safe. In all my years there I saw one bum. One.
- Boca Raton is not considered a "college town" because although the university opened in 1964, the surrounding town matured more as a popular "snowbird" spot for affluent northerners to play golf. The housing prices and local businesses reflect this, as they can make more money off the affluent than the poor college student.
- On the upside: next to campus is an FAU-themed gas station, 620-SUBS restaurant is almost entirely FAU-themed, there's a Greek Life Store by campus, the nearby Hooters has a special group FAU table, across the street is a "University Commons" shopping plaza, etc. Numerous places in town (Pei Wei, Denny's, etc) have student discount as well.
- The campus is currently right down the street from the beach (<5 minutes away), bowling, movies, go kart/mini golf, assorted bars and a two story Barnes & Noble bookstore.
- We don't have a string of bars/downtown area directly across from campus. There are no bars in reasonable walking distance. Performance-wise, we do have a Kava bar and a hookah lounge that have acoustic acts but no indie bars to dance in or anything like that. There's one concert venue but it's in the middle of expensive housing/shopping so it books symphonies more often that rock bands or hip hop artists. To be honest, the downtown area in Boca sucks. Instead, students go to downtown Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami to go barhopping.
- One huge downside to this part of South Florida is poor public transportation; although there are Palm Tran buses, they tend to run every 30-45 minutes (as opposed to every 7-10 minutes in other college towns) and shuttles to/from the Tri-Rail train station are not a popular choice for students. So you really need a car to attend this campus.</p>
<p>ON CAMPUS ENTERTAINMENT
- Nearly the same offerings as every other college campus, including:
- Student organizations and Greek Life hold meetings, socials, competitive events
- Campus Rec (gym, pool, basketball, tennis, ultimate frisbee, fitness classes)
- Student Union (pool, ping pong, campus media)
- Student Government Program Board events (Comedy shows, speakers, etc)
- Living Room Theater movie theater
- Jogging trails, although it's not very scenic.</p>
<p>ON TRADITIONS
- Weeks of Welcome (for freshmen) including the Freshmen Foam Party
- Owl Prowl (Homecoming) including float parade
- Bury the Burrow in Red (basketball game against rival FIU)
- Shula Bowl (football game against rival FIU)
- Timucua Pageant (talent show)
- Pumpkin Drop (Physics department dress up as famous scientists to explain science to the public... then drops pumpkins off the roof)</p>
<p>ON THE SO-CALLED "COMMUTER SCHOOL REPUTATION"
- We have 3,600 residential students with another 1,200 coming in the next few years.
- We have students from all 50 states, although out-of-staters tend to be from New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin... anywhere with snow on the ground.
- Directly east of campus one can find apartment complexes dominated by college students (e.g. Addison Park, Bicycle Club, etc).
- Apartments in this area tend to go for ~$600-900/person, although you are free to check for yourself on Craigslist or FAU's own Off-Campus Housing website, Florida</a> Atlantic University Off Campus Housing Service - Home.
- Because of these moderate to high apartment rental prices and the fact the the university is literally two minutes away from a major intersection (I-95), students tend to look for cheaper apartments in the neighboring cities Delray Beach (to the north) and Coral Springs (to the south). This is not as great of a distance as it may seem; I lived in Delray Beach the entire time I attended FAU and drove 10 minutes to campus each way.
- Everyone I knew at FAU lived within 10-15 minutes of campus.
- Some people do treat FAU like a job, attending 9-5 and then going home. But you'll find that at every college. Get involved in student organizations/intramurals (popular at FAU) and don't become good friends with people who go home on weekends and you'll be fine.
- I live in Gainesville near UF. That campus is nearly as empty as FAU at 7:00pm during the week. Don't be fooled into thinking 30K-50K students are on a university campus 24/7. Most student traffic is during the day. </p>
<p>ON GREEK LIFE
- According to the Fall 2010 Community Report (available at <a href="http://www.fau.edu/fslife/documents/Reports/GLCommunityReport_F10.pdf):%5B/url%5D">http://www.fau.edu/fslife/documents/Reports/GLCommunityReport_F10.pdf):</a>
- 23 Greek organizations.
- 811 members (4% of the campus population).
- Greeks wear their letters on Wednesdays and table in the Breezeway (the main hallway on campus) all the time.
- No Greek houses.... yet. I was told that nationally there's been a crack down on "McMansions" and the university is hoping to build houses in the next few years. It's an EXTREMELY complicated issue.
- Greek Week is a big deal, involving penny wars, talent show, A-frame building, Greek Games, dance socials, etc</p>
<p>ON GOOD PROGRAMS AT FAU (Should I go to FAU for ______)
- Like most universities, the bigger a department is, the more funding it gets, and therefore tends to be one of the better departments.
- I WOULD recommend FAU for majors in accounting, ocean engineering, education, marine biology, architecture and medicine. Basically science and business are good bets.
- I WOULD NOT recommend FAU for anthropology (small department), chemistry (only good chem teacher I had was in biochem), journalism (students fstruggling to get into necessary classes to graduate in a timely manner) or film school (we don't have one, which is weird considering we have the only digital movie theater on a university campus).</p>
<p>ON SPORTS AND SCHOOL SPIRIT
- School spirit was pathetic when I started in 2000. Now it's at an all-time high. Excellent time to be an Owl.
- FAU has an on-campus baseball stadium (small, but has a grass berm for students), basketball stadium (the Burrow, holds ~3000 fans) and football stadium (beach-theme and holds 30K fans). Check out the new football stadium here: FLORIDA</a> ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY | Virtual Venue? | Powered by IOMEDIA
- FAU basketball won the conference title last season and upset teams from the Big East and the SEC last season. FAU basketball attendance >1000 students average and growing. We have a good team. Best event: a tradition called BURY THE BURROW IN RED against our rival, FIU. We sell out the place and it's rocking.
- FAU football won back-to-back bowl games in 2007 and 2008 but have underperformed recently. Attendance has been in the 10-15K range but the football stadium opens this year and is expected to change everything in a big way.
- FAU baseball went to Regionals last year. Big home game every year is against Miami Hurricanes. Attendance >1,000. Usual 200-300.</p>
<p>==================================================================</p>
<p>I think that should cover the most common concerns/questions/complaints. Hopefully that will give you a good picture of the university, campus life and Boca Raton.</p>
<p>Go Owls!</p>