<p>alexithymia- be carefu,...someday an FSU alum may be in the position of deciding whether to hire you for a job you really want or need.</p>
<p>It's easy to write off all UF students as "arrogant" - labels are easy. I don't have any delusions about what UF is or isn't. It is what it is, a good public state school, not Harvard or Princeton. My issue is with people who come here asking for an honest assessment of UF and FSU getting the "nice" answer that is so popular here. Lying to them about the difference in the schools doesn't do anything for FSU, but it does take away the tools a student has in choosing the best college choice. I have a major problem with that.</p>
<p>FSU does have many students who didn't get into UF, and you'd be very hard pressed to find the opposite.</p>
<p>Feel free to post your data of this claim. ;)</p>
<p>Unfortunately I think there's little more than anecdotal evidence - but it is overwhelming. Let's not put our heads in the sand.</p>
<p>No, UF stopped offering those scholarships to NMF because most recipients were from out of state and a lot of people started complaining to the legislature about the amount of public money being allocated to OOS applicants. The general money crunch regarding state funding didn't help either. However, if they were allowed, they'd still be offering such scholarships. </p>
<p>Also, they were doing it precisely to raise their national profile from an academic standpoint. And they most certainly made a huge deal over the number of NMFs they enrolled. It was touted to anyone who would listen and included in all their marketing materials and press releases. </p>
<p>UF may be perceived as the top public in FL, but nationally, they are still not where they want to be. They have a definite agenda to increase their prestige at the national level, and I think to some extent it has been working.</p>
<p>Who cares that FSU has students rejected by UF? It also has a lot of students who did get admitted to UF and still chose FSU. It also has students who didn't even bother to applying to UF simply because they preferred FSU. UF also has a lot of students who were rejected from ACC schools and the like, or who wouldn't have been admitted to them if they applied. </p>
<p>UF is certainly a fine place, but remarks like those about FSU suggest some people have an over inflated idea of UF. UF may pull a lot of top students from FL high schools, but those FL high schools are mediocre at best. Most, in fact, are comparatively weak. In other words, UF pulls from the same pool as FSU, USF, etc., and the differences among those students aren't nearly as great as some UF people would like to believe, so I'd be careful about trying to identify where all the rejects attend.</p>
<p>FLVADAD: I get the impression from your posts that though you agree UF is a good school, your pretty happy your kids don't want to go there.
The original post is in this thread was from an OOS student accepted to both FSU and UF and needing to chose between the two. It has nothing to do with ACC over SEC schools, or whether or not Forida high schools are mediocre or weak, or whether you're at one because you were rejected by the other.
In all fairness, this students needs to know these things:
Both are good schools (and your choice of majors does matter when considering which school).....also
It is much harder to get accepted to UF than FSU. Over the years UF has become the "school of choice" for academic students in the state of Florida due in part to Bright Futures and the fact that excellent students are staying in state for their free undergraduate education. Ten years ago it was harder to get into UF than FSU and each year it gets harder and harder. Not to argue that some students still prefer FSU, UCF, USF.... but these are the facts.</p>
<p>I agree with IDC. Many of the top students in the state (which would be top students in any state regardless of how "mediocre" their high school is) that apply to the top schools in the nation have UF as a "financial safety" and will exercise that option when the finaid package is not up to expectations (I call them financial rejects, but that doesn't sound too nice, a better term would be financial realists). Bottom line, if they are staying in-state they'll rather go to UF because it is perceived as the better school (stress perceived) on the part of high school students. It is probably more of how they "feel" as schools because in that sense, IMO, they are quite different. Academically they have different strengths and as IDC said before, it will depend on your major.</p>
<p>By the way, FLVADAD, have you people checked the ad by UF in the March issue of Smithsonian magazine? First time I see one like that.</p>
<p>IDC, I would be fine if my kids wanted to attend a FL school, and we did in fact, conduct some due dilligence in that regard. Their decision to go elsewhere was their own based on several factors. That said, it's also true I'm somewhat relieved they are not subject to some of the overcrowding and budgetary problems currently threatening the quality of undergraduate education in FL institutions right now. </p>
<p>Also, no disagreement with you or J'adoube in general, and I apologize for straying off topic. I consider myself neutral, but I can't appreciate the FSU, UCF, USF, bashing from UF fans. Notwithstanding specific areas of study, general perception, and anecdotal circumstances, I just think it is misleading to prospective students to try to characterize UF as being so much more superior to the others when it isn't. From an objective viewpoint they all have much more in common than they do differences, and I think suggesting otherwise is both, disingenuous and ill-informed. It simply comes down to academic fit and personal preferences, not blanketed superiority of one over another. </p>
<p>I think the OP is entitled to such objectivity in lieu of comments about where UF rejects attend, etc.</p>
<p>FLVADAD...I agree that fit is more important than college rankings for any individual student. But this college rankings game....as misleading as it can be when looking at individual fits...is a game of statistics. And in this statistical game, UF <em>is</em> far superior to the other schools....objectively comparing student quality (SAT, percent in top-10%, GPA).....US News rankings...Kiplinger rankings...AAU membership....quantity of research....breadth of programs...programs ranked in the top-50...established professional schools. Yes, it is fair to portray UF as that much better <em>in general</em>. </p>
<p>For any given student with specific needs....no, of course not. But like it or not, comparing "schools" is a game of statistical comparisons...and UF is objectively better in that regard by a substantial margin.</p>
<p>Rogracer, you make a good point, which I understand. Furthermore, I don't pretend to be a definitive source of knowledge regarding their statistical differences, and have no problem conceding that UF probably enjoys better ones in several categories. </p>
<p>However, the OP was asking for qualitative opinions, which is not the same as statistics. Of course, I recognize many don't make such distinctions as the latter, and perhaps that's a different discussion altogether. Yet, I'm guessing he's already done some due dilligence on that point since such data was readily available before he applied. </p>
<p>Instead, the OP was asking about experiential differences from the perspective of those who have attended or know people who are attending these schools. This was followed by some posters making what I felt to be unfair and disparaging remarks about FSU. </p>
<p>The fact remains that the undergraduate experiences at those institutions is not qualititively different by most tangible experiences. As I said, there is much more commonality between them than differences at the undergraduate level, and as such, claims of UF superiority are substantially overstated --- kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, as the saying goes. I think that makes for great rivalries, but doesn't accomplish much else.</p>
<p>I know this is a really late reply but if the OP happens to read this again, here is my two cents-</p>
<p>I've known people who applied to both UF and FSU, some who applied to only UF, some who applied to only FSU, some who applied to neither. Some got accepted to FSU and not UF, some got accepted to UF and not FSU. I've also known some who got accepted to UF or FSU and rejected from other schools like UCF, FIU, USF, etc. It all depends on the person, what sets you apart from other applicants. The usual stereotype is that UF is better than FSU. No matter where you go, there will be people who are extremely arrogant, and think that their school is better than any other school and that they themselves are better than anybody else. Though I am trying to be un-opinionated, I must disagree with those who are saying that FSU students are less intelligent than UF students and that all the applicants rejected from UF go to FSU. </p>
<p>When it comes down to it, go where you think you will be the most comfortable and happy. Look into both campus life as well as off-campus life and other aspects of both schools. Don't base your decision on what people on this forum have stated.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to both FSU and UF. He is still undecided but is leaning towards FSU because he like the feel of the campus and felt the people there were more down to earth.</p>
<p>RRR or anybody else for that matter - </p>
<p>I've heard on numerous occassions that the students at FSU are more "friendly" and "down-to-earth" than their peers at UF. If, assuming that the students from both schools are primarily from Florida high schools and mostly come from the same socio-economic backgrounds, then how can one school have more arrogant types and 'nice' types?</p>
<p>People make it sound like the students who go to UF automatically become arrogant and smug the day they start classes in Gainesville and that it has nothing to do with traditional up-bringing or any other miscellaneous factors.</p>
<p>Again I'm not necessarily targeting anybody in particular, but I'm curious as to how people come to that conclusion.</p>
<p>ladistar, your assumption that the kids are similar simply because they come from the same background is where you're wrong. that's a pretty big generalization, as is the notion that each college has a student body that adheres to specific traits</p>
<p>The reason many FSU students appear more down to earth is because the majority of them have had to eat a big slice of humble pie. Most of the students I know who are going to FSU applied to both FSU and UF. Being denied admission to UF has knocked many folks' self esteem down as few notches. One the other hand, most of the students at UF got exactly what they wanted.</p>
<p>Don't yu know the only reason people even go to FSU is because they couldn't get inot UF. Guaranteed over half the students at FSU are UF rejects. UF is academically superior to FSU and thats known to all. I guess if you are studying STD's you'll have plenty of subjects for research though.</p>
<p>Even though I like UF I have to say that the school is full of arrogant fools. UF tends to elicit the attitude of "you're so lucky to be here!" and presents itself as an elite university. UF is nothing more than a decent public school and anyone outside of Florida knows it as such. There's an artificially high demand here in Florida due to word of mouth and championships. Can anyone tell me exactly HOW UF is better than FSU academically aside from blabbering about how anyone at FSU would die to go to UF and people go there for 'a reason'? Present to me what that reason is. The class sizes are the same and the faculty isn't any better at UF. </p>
<p>Don't get me wrong. I would go to UF in an instant, but it's not because of academics - I just like the surrounding area better.</p>
<p>uf is not academically superior. they hold higher admissions standards, yes. an undergrad degree from florida holds the same exact merit as one from florida state, or ucf, or fiu. it's what you do with that.</p>
<p>"ladistar, your assumption that the kids are similar simply because they come from the same background is where you're wrong. that's a pretty big generalization, as is the notion that each college has a student body that adheres to specific traits"</p>
<p>Both are public schools with identical financial requirements and recruit from the same pool of students. The students might be better students ON AVERAGE than the ones at FSU, but I don't see how that automatically warrants the generalization that most UF kids are arrogant and obnoxious.</p>