<p>To any current UF student who chose UF over a private, first tier OOS school, are you happy with your decision? Why did you choose UF? If money was not the reason, would you still choose UF over your other options?</p>
<p>seiclan, my S is very happy at UF. He chose it for the scholarship over other privates and his in state public. Money was initially the reason, but he has found that he is really enjoying Gainesville and the Florida beaches. He is surfing on the UF team and has his first competition this weekend. I hear a lot about the fun, not too much about the school work except that it is harder than he expected and he is having to work his behind off. He has not regretted his choice.</p>
<p>Thank you. My D is not the athletic type, more of a band kid for her extracurricular fun. She is applying to a few OOS top private schools but has recently thought more of UF for her number two choice. Just wondering if the more academic kids are happy with their UF decision...she grew up near the Florida beaches so it is not a big draw for us. We are wondering if she would be happy with the academic caliber at UF, the quality of the teaching, the value of what is being taught, and the student body (in terms of finding her niche...highly motivated, highly intelligent but outgoing and practical). Anyone choose UF over Wash U., Emory, Penn, Tufts....???</p>
<p>My son is very happy with the academics. At the end of his first year, he elected to take 13 credit-hours over the summer...including two senior-level math classes that are not required in his major...just because he was enjoying the academics so much. YMMV, but UF has turned out to be a good-fit for my son. I would say his professors have inspired him beyond his/my expectations.</p>
<p>Rogracer, that is sooo good to hear. What does YMMV mean? So he was able to find a nice group of like-minded kids to hang out with?</p>
<p>I wish I could say my S was more interested in the academics. We can all dream!!</p>
<p>seiclan - YMMV, Your Mileage May Vary. Yes, my son is living off-campus this semester with a great group of guys. The top 25% of UF students are Ivy-league calibre....and that's a lot of kids. I can't imagine anyone not finding a like-minded group to hang out with.</p>
<p>My S was a NMF who chose UF over Vanderbilt, UNC-Chapel Hill (both with substantial merit awards) and Boston College. He has never regretted his decision, although I have, a little. He thought the free ride at UF was such a great deal - he couldn't understand why we would consider paying for him to go somewhere else. I worried (and still do) about the size of UF. But he isn't bothered by it at all.</p>
<p>He has moved off campus for his second year and is surrounded by friends from HS as well as new ones he has met at UF. His classes are a mix of hard and not-so-hard, which is how he likes it. He has finally declared a major after being undecided for all this time, so I think he'll get more involved in his studies now that he has a focus (I HOPE!). </p>
<p>Overall, I think he chose UF mostly for social reasons so that he could be with friends. But he's happy with his choice and our pocketbooks are VERY happy. It really depends on the individual, I guess.</p>
<p>I'm a FL resident and i turned down Cornell and Emory for UF, mainly for financial reasons: its hard to beat free tuition. plus, i hate cold weather. anyway, UF is great, and I think that the academics are very rigorous...definitely challenging even for the book-worm types. football is also really fun, even for the nonathletic types. there are some great faculty at uf, and there are a lot of opportunities and things going on bc it is such a big school. there is definitely a great mix of people there, your more reserved quiet types, your wild party animals, and many many people in between. its possible for anyone to find their niche.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman here at UF, and I chose to go here over many higher ranked schools. I LOVE it here. UF has something for everyone... I feel sufficiently challenged in my classes... have gotten involved in Student Government (I'm a senator), and have a volunteer job at the infirmary (pre-med). UF is an amazing school.... I encourage your daughter to seriously consider going here.</p>
<p>Honestly, if money was not an issue at all, would you still choose UF?</p>
<p>How close is UF to the beaches?</p>
<p>It is an hour or so....but why would that matter?</p>
<p>Well, you can't exactly walk to the beach. So how often do people actually go?</p>
<p>dstark - I do not see your point. Why would I care about the beach? We go to the beach whenever we like here at home in sunny South Florida. D is going to college for the academics and the social life. This thread is about if student's are happy at UF and if they would pick UF regardless of the financial issue.</p>
<p>Our daughter will be a freshman next year. She has chosen UF due to the whole package. She had a good shot at getting into an ivy but did not apply anywhere else. She wanted a warm climate, did not want to be more than a few hours from home, etc. She is a highly motivated, academically oriented person. Although money is not the issue, as a NMSF it will certainly be nicer on the bank account. It's a very nice perk, but not the reason she chose it.</p>
<p>Dstark, to answer your question about the beaches. My S who is in the surf club at UF goes on Tuesdays (no classes) when the weather is good, and just about every weekend. He chose UF for the money, BUT also for the proximity to water. For him, his social life revolves around the music scene and surfing. If you love the beaches, you will find many like minded folks in Gainesville. Oh, he is also going to college for the academics, luckily he has a grade point he has to maintain to keep his scholarship and somehow is managing to do that while having a blast.</p>