<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am currently finish up my AA at a local community college and have the choice to transfer to either UCF or FIT to finish my bachelor's degree in computer science. Financially, tuition fees would be completely covered by financial aid and scholarships at both colleges, however at FIT I would need to take out small loans to help pay for the mandatory health insurance (~$1000 year), books, and transportation costs; as for UCF, I should get enough financial aid to cover books and transportation costs as, and I didn't see any mandatory health insurance, so that means I wouldn't have to take out loans.</p>
<p>At the moment I am currently leaning more to UCF, however there is one major thing that's bothering me -- employment rates post graduation. I have been unable to find any solid statistics about this; I came up with nothing for UCF, and for FIT I could only find the statistics that they publish themselves, which is ~96% employment within a year with $50k average starting salary for computer science undergraduates. </p>
<p>I have, however, read multiple reviews on UCF where people that claim to have degrees in computer science say that they have trouble finding a job, and that a lot of employers refer to UCF as a diploma mill and won't hire them because of that.</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone could comment on this? Would employers generally look down on a degree from UCF over a degree from FIT?</p>
<p>Also, here is a pros/cons list I made for myself when comparing the two schools, if anyone is interested.</p>
<p>UCF Pros & Cons</p>
<ul>
<li>Nice Campus</li>
<li>Big, lots of options for different class times</li>
<li>Cheaper, tuition and books are fully covered, and I should have enough left over for transportation costs</li>
<li>Seems to be well known for engineering/comp sci</li>
<li>Cheap health facility (and no mandatory insurance?)</li>
<li>Cheap enough to consider continuing my education past a Bachelor's degree, even if I have to pay out of pocket</li>
<li>Statistics that I've seen show that students test slightly higher than FIT</li>
<li>It is a much longer commute for me (~60 miles)</li>
<li>Possibly harder to find a job with a diploma from UCF?</li>
</ul>
<p>FIT Pros & Cons</p>
<ul>
<li>It is nearby. (~5 miles away)</li>
<li>Possibly easier to find a job with a degree from FIT?</li>
<li>Small class size, more student/faculty interaction and attention</li>
<li>Expensive. Tuition will be covered by scholarships, but I'll need to take loans out for books, mandatory health insurance, and transportation costs.</li>
<li>Mandatory health insurance (~$1000 a year)</li>
<li>The administration I've talked to seemed more worried about getting money than helping students</li>
<li>I felt like I was unimportant to them once I was through registration and signed up for attendance in Fall; they seem a lot less helpful and as if they are trying to rush my questions when I talk to them now.</li>
<li>Scholarship only covers up to my Bachelor's degree, and it is too expensive to really consider continuing an education past what my scholarship covers, unless an employer is willing to pay for it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks in advance for any help!</p>