UF vs FSU vs UM (or Emory or Duke) Business Majors

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Hey, so I"m having a tough time making my decision about whether staying in my home state of Florida (Miami) or going out of state (I’ve been accepted into Emory University and I’m still waiting on Duke). I have two main issues: the cost of attendance and the quality of the education I will be receiving. I come from a relatively middle-middle class family, my family gets by fairly well, but I’m pretty sure that I qualify for minimal Financial Aid (EFC of 12493). However, because of my ACT scores (30 composite) and my SAT scores (CR+M 1300), I qualify for the the highest amount of Bright Futures, so for the most part, if I go to UF or FSU, I would really only need money for Room, Board, and books. As for the education aspect, I want to go to a university that will give me the best opportunity to succeed; I plan on majoring in Economics with a Minor in Mathematics.

My main reason for applying to the University of Florida was because I feel that UF is one of the best schools in the State of Florida, and since it’s public, it would be relatively cheap for me to attend it. However, what puts me off from the university is that it’s in Gainesville, which I would feel to be quite of a culture shock for me to go because I’m from Miami. On the other hand, I applied to FSU because they have a decent business program (from what i’ve heard) and they’re in Tallahassee, which will probably be the closest thing to Miami for me. Also, my friend’s and I would be renting an off-campus apartment, which would make the experience better (again IMO). And then there’s UM. Really, the only reason why I applied was because of the fact that both my mother and sister graduated from there and I basically grew up on the campus. But, I wouldn’t want to go there because that would mean living with my parents, which isn’t exactly the best thing if you’re a guy in college.

Essentially, I want people’s different experiences at each of the campuses, mainly UF and FSU, and how you liked it over there and whether or not I should forget about staying in Florida and go to Emory, which has a highly ranked business school in Goizueta. And hopefully this post could help other high school seniors in my similar situation. Thanks in advance!

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If you can afford Emory, by all means go to Emory, it’s a great school. However, it’s pricey, while UF and FSU are fantastic deals for in-state students. Between UF and FSU? UF business school (undergraduate and graduate) is much higher ranked, especially for accounting, finance and a few other fields. Gainesville isn’t Miami, but neither is Tallahassee.

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Are you sure you really want to have your college experience be as close to your hometown experience as possible? I can promise you that compared to Miami, Tallahassee would also be a major culture shock. it may be the state capital but it is much closer to GA or Alabama than it is to Miami, both geographically and culturally.

Gainesville is obviously much smaller than Miami but IMO it’s a great college town in (again, IMO) the nicest area of the state. Many UF graduates would love to stay in the area after graduation.

I agree that Emory is a great school but not sure it’s worth $50k more than the business school at UF. That’s a decision you and your family have to make. IMO, it’s a real shame to walk away from free tuition at a very desirable school so you really should run the actual numbers with your parents and maybe visit all your schools again (while students are on campus) before you decide. Good luck.

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Since in-state will be very inexpensive, go to UF and save the money for later. If you are smart enough to get into Emory or Duke as an undergrad, if you keep it up you will be qualified to attend those institutions for a Masters or MBA degree a few years. On the long run, a BSBA from UF paired with an MBA/MA from Emory, Miami or Duke is much more versatile than just an Emory, Miami or Duke undergrad degree.

As for relocating from Miami, both Gainesville and Tallahassee have lots of kids from South Florida. You should have no problem adapting to either place.