I was recently denied admission to the University of Florida, which was extremely disappointing. I am now heavily considering attending Santa Fe and applying to transfer for spring 2020. I have roughly two semesters left before I finish my aa, so this would be perfect. However, my parents tell me that by doing this, I’m going to miss out on the ‘freshman college experince’. For anyone who attened SF and transferred to UF - do you feel like you missed out on the full college experience? Are SF students actually able to participate in UF clubs?
Additionally, I do want to begin classes over the summer. I was considering completing the summer semester online (maybe one blended honors course), and then a full Honors on-campus schedule in Fall, to finish my aa. Could an online semester hurt my chances at sucessfully transferreing to UF in the spring? I emailed the the UF college that I intend to transfer to asking about that, but have not heard back.
You have several questions in here. First, the freshman experience is what you make it. Sometimes I think parents fondly remember their freshman/college experience and want their kids to have the same or similar experience. I think that’s a bit flawed. I know kids who went to Santa Fe and loved it. They got involved. Liked the smaller classes. They didn’t have a freshman dorm experience but that was their own choice. I say do what feels right for you - as long as you are living in a good, safe environment that is conducive to learning. Santa Fe students can participate in some UF clubs – like marching band. And I think that you could probably participate in the Greek system, either officially or on the sly.
I think you will have better luck mapping out your plan by talking to the folks at Santa Fe. They are very in tune with the UF requirements and should be able to help you figure out the best next steps. Apply and get accepted to Santa Fe and then they will start your degree audit – which shows what you have/need for your AA. May or may not be possible to get everything done in time for next Spring.
Many classes at Santa Fe are offered online and I don’t think UF will truly care. (I have heard that students are discouraged from taking certain classes online, but Santa Fe would be able to explain it.)
thank you for all of that information! I really appreciate it.