<p>My daughter is trying to decide between UCF and Rollins. She was pretty much decided on Rollins, got a great scholarship, but the bottom line is it will still cost more to attend Rollins than UCF, way more. We are local and she will have to live at home either way, whichever she attends, until she can get her own apartment, maybe after her first year. We have told her we will help her with an apt and expenses if she goes to UCF but if she attends Rollins, all of that money will have to go towards tuition and we would not be able to help with an apartment. We just don't have the money to do both. She was still certain that Rollins was her choice and did not even tour UCF or give them a second glance. We have tried to tell her to at least looking at UCF. A friend that works at UCF is arranging a private tour for her next week so that she can look at the school. Many of her friends are already decided on UCF, they know they want to go there, and one or two going to Rollins. I know they are completely and totally different schools. We know all the good and bad about Rollins, bad being that she will not be one of the rich kids that gets to live on campus, and that she will have to work if she goes there. If she goes to UCF, she only has to work if she wants to get her own apt eventually. That takes a lot of pressure off of her. And the commute to UCF is 10 minutes, Rollins 20-30. She already commutes to school 20 minutes, so she is used to a drive, so that isn't much of an issue, still 10 min would be great. She really loves Rollins, feels it is a fit, but she is now seeing that it may be much easier for her if she attends UCF. Anyone else have this tough decision between the two schools? I know many kids in FL get the wonderful scholarships that Rollins offers so that they can compete with UCF, FSU, USF and UF. We are doing some serious thinking and this is so hard! Help!</p>
<p>I think it’s best for your daughter to decide at the end. As long as she knows everything you posted here about the finances, she can make an informed decision. Ultimately, she has to go to the college for 4 years (maybe more, depending on the program) and if she’s not happy, it will destroy the experience. </p>
<p>I had the same issue between picking UF honors, UCF honors, RIT and Purdue. UF and Purdue weren’t hard to eliminate, because I got practically nothing from them (which I understand from Purdue…but UF is stingy). However, RIT gave me their National Merit Scholarship and so did UCF. Ultimately, I really did want to go to RIT, but even with the scholarship it would be practically unaffordable (other costs, plane trips home, etc.) and my parents really didn’t give me a choice in the matter. However, I am extremely happy with my choice to go to UCF and I’m glad I picked (read: forced) to go.</p>
<p>So have her tour the campus, talk to people etc. Lay down all your expectations regarding finances to her and what she will be responsible for based on her choice and then let her make the decision.</p>
<p>Hello I see your post and that is basically the same issue that I’m having today with my son. He is a HS senior and applied for Rollins and UCF. The major issue with Rollins is the cost. We are pretty sure that is the best choice for him he also got some scholarship to cover some tuition but more expensive than to attend UCF. I see that its been a year since you posted the comment. Did your daughter decided to go to Rollins or UCF? How is she doing today?</p>
<p>Having the same issue here for eight months, and totally surprise about it because UCF was the talk since elementary school. But we were told about a program at Rollins that tuiton was more affordable for us and with scholarships became possible. Classrooms are very small compare to UCF wich was the main goal, therefore Rollins was picked and I have a happy college student, I am praying that the decision made was the correct one, the good thing is that we had nothing to do with the decision. So if you still have the decision to make, look into the evening program and still be part of the whole Rollins team and access to all for a more affordable price.</p>