<p>So University of Florida's decision just came out last night and I got accepted for Fall 2012. However, I was also accepted to UCF for Fall 2012 and they offered me $9000 over 8 semesters and I have a good shot at getting into the honors college there.</p>
<p>From what I've heard UF and UCF's engineering programs are near identical with UF being just a bit stronger than that of UCF. I'm planning on going into either EE or ME.</p>
<p>Would UF provide me with benefits and warrant the loss of $9000 to attend there? Would it be worth it just for the prestige?</p>
<p>$9000 over 8 semesters isn’t much. But going to UF isn’t going to make up for that money, UF has no prestige outside of the state.</p>
<p>I would probably just forget about the 9k and go wherever you feel most at home.</p>
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<p>I always read on here that UF is a regional school, but I go to UF and have received interest from several top aerospace and defense companies for internships - ALL out of state. With the huge alumni base that UF has, there are bound to be graduates from the school working at a lot of companies out there, which means potential connections and school name recognition. Also, the UF Career Fair typically has many more technical companies than the UCF Career Fair.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it’s more important that you get involved in engineering extracurricular activities early on. Both UF and UCF have student design teams that anyone can join, and taking active roles in those is important. Get involved in some of those and it helps level the playing field with some of the top tier schools out there.</p>
<p>I was in the same situation as you with the UCF scholarship thing or choosing UF. I chose UF, got involved in design teams, and I’ve had incredible opportunities to intern with the top companies in my field. Therefore, I would probably agree with noleguy… “I would probably just forget about the 9k and go wherever you feel most at home.” The educations may be similar, but it’s what you do to set yourself apart that really matters.</p>
<p>We’ve had two UCF ME interns in recent years that were both offered fully-funded grad student admission to MIT, so it will serve you perfectly well if you go that route and do well. Still, UF has significantly more national exposure and reputation and it would likely be the better choice if you can afford the difference in cost.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. Except I was offered 24k over 8 semesters.</p>
<p>Choosing between UF, UCF, and Georgia Tech is driving me insane.</p>
<p>UCF is the best option financially; Georgia Tech is the best option Academically</p>
<p>And UF is in the middle of the two.</p>
<p>Going crazy right now, I have no idea what I want to do either</p>