UF vs UCF

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I was born in Florida where my parents bought a college prepaid plan, and I now have 4 years of tuition paid for. I graduate from high school next week, but I am in a predicament.</p>

<p>I currently live in Pennsylvania, and I was accepted in to Penn State main campus very early on in October. Up until about the beginning of May, I thought I was going to Penn State. I knew I had the college paid for in Florida, but I had always been told that it pays for Florida State University and no other. Well, come May and I find out it is for any public Florida university! </p>

<p>Once we found this out, my mom realized, and I do now too, that there is no reason to go into Penn State and dive into $100,000 of debt when I have a free Florida education. I am going into engineering, and I feel that Penn State is leaps and bounds ahead of FSU in terms of their engineering department. But, any public Florida university includes University of Florida, which is a great engineering school as well. The problem, however, is that it's May and UF will not accept applications for fall of 2011. </p>

<p>At this point in time, I realized that I should put Penn State aside and take the free route for college. So I applied to the schools I could and I was accepted to University of Central Florida. </p>

<p>Now here is the problem; I would really like to go to UF, but the only way I could get in would be to wait a year and apply for fall of 2012. UF is odd because they only accept 60 credit transfers, and I hear that the transfer program is pretty competitive. Also, they do not seem to accept spring applicants for engineering, so waiting a year seems to be the only viable option. I will take 3 classes at a local community college, as I have to stay under 12 credits to be able to apply as a freshman. I will also work a part time job while I am at home to keep myself busy. I will not let this year go to waste if I take this option. I will stay in the school zone. I know a lot of people say they wait a year and never go back, but I will not let that happen to me.</p>

<p>So there are two options:
Option 1: Wait a year, apply to UF, and go in fall of 2012
Option 2: Go to UCF for fall of 2011</p>

<p>Is it worth it to wait a year because UF is a much better school, or is it really not that much better and is it not worth waiting for? Will UCF give me a good education and will it be harder to find a job if I had the UF degree? UF is much higher ranked in engineering than UCF, but does that truly matter? Will waiting a year be worth it just to get into FU?</p>

<p>(I got a 1280 on my sats for the two sections, an 1850 for all three. I have a 4.0 for my gpa. I figure I have what it takes to get in, and if for whatever reason I did not get accepted to UF I would just go to UCF next year.)</p>

2

<p>I would go to UCF, it isn’t as bad as many people think. Orlando is a great city and is much bigger than Gainesville. You will make a lot of connections with companies around the Orlando area. People get jobs from going to UF or UCF. If you work hard and land some good internships at UCF, you should be set.</p>

3

<p>“Is it worth it to wait a year because UF is a much better school, or is it really not that much better and is it not worth waiting for?”</p>

<p>I think it’s worth it, but besides that, I think almost anyone will get more out of college after a gap year. Saving money and getting some work experience may do you a lot of good. I don’t see any down side of waiting.</p>

4

<p>Have you visited UCF? It’s an up-and-coming university and some of the people there really love it. </p>

<p>The question of whether it’s worth it to wait for UF comes down to how much YOU value prestige – and whether the engineering program there would really put you at an advantage. You can get a decent education at UCF, and your success will be affected by how well you do. But if you are someone who really needs the more prestigious degree, then UF will give you flagship status and come closer to the national profile you were hoping to get at Penn State. You should ask people in engineering about how much of a difference one program would make in terms of future prospects.</p>

<p>It’s good that you’re aware it may not be a shoo-in on admissions to UF. The 2011-12 admissions cycle was tough, and a lot of people who thought they could get into certain universities were not admitted. Is it possible to go in as a sophomore transfer to UF? Could you do your first year at UCF and apply to UF this coming fall? If so, you might find you prefer to stay in Orlando. Good luck.</p>