Hi!!! I’m a New Englander who recently got into both UGA and UF!! I have no clue what to do because I love both schools! i have a close relative at UGA who is in a sorority right now (I’m planning to rush, and this may be helpful for me there), but absolutely no connections in Gainesville. I definitely want to rush wherever I go, so I’m wondering if one may be harder than the other to get into a sorority with no instate connections! I’m also wondering which campus is more liberal (although I’m aware most SEC schools are not super liberal) and the overall feel! I’m planning on majoring in journalism too! As an out of stater with basically no one to help me compare UF to UGA, any comments could help!! Thanks so much!
UGA! Athens is a wonderful city! Athens is also an incredibly liberal town. You will love it. I’ve lived in Athens for 30 years. My daughter also was accepted to UGA yesterday! Congrats! It’s no easy feat to get into UGA these days.
The journalism school at UGA is very highly ranked if that’s what you are interested in studying. Many student at UF are taking courses on line. I would research that more if I were you since you are paying out of state tuition. It would also be helpful to you during sorority recruitment to have that family connection! Both are great schools, but I’m partial to UGA also. Good luck with your decision!
One of the keys to rushing the southern schools is getting letters of recommendation from alumni ahead of time. Start asking your teachers, parent’s friends, and older co-workers that were Greek which sorority they belonged to and if they will write you a LOR when you decide on the school. My D has friends that are in sororities at UF and UGA and they are all very happy.
One thing to note: at UGA the girls only eat dinner in the house once a week, whereas at UF they eat there throughout the week. So that might be worth considering which better suits you. UF is very strong for sciences and business, but I think UGA has a better school for journalism if you are pretty sure you are sticking with that major. I would consider the total COA for both. As I said, you really can’t go wrong with either.
@dawgnurse Thank you so much! Congratulations to your daughter as well!! One thing I really think makes UGA stand out is Athens, its such a beautiful place, and good to hear that its quite liberal as well!
@snorkelmom Yes I definitely am taking into consideration that UGA has an amazing journalism school, and I’ll have to look into UF and their online classes! I definitely wouldn’t want to be shelling out so much money to learn from my computer
@GAcollegemom6 Thanks so much! I’m planning on getting a ton of recs from my stepmom, her old college friends, as well as my sister and her friends, but I’m going to keep looking for more! And true! I didn’t think about the meal situations… Do you by any chance know if one rush is somewhat “harder” for those without connections? I’m just wondering if as an out of stater I would have a chance at UF, and if I would be able to get into a sorority other than my sister’s at UGA!
You’ll be fine at both UF and UGA. They aren’t harsh on OOS girls like Ole Miss and Alabama can be.
Just FYI: KKG won’t usually take you without a rec letter (at either school), so if you interested in pledging them make sure you get one.
Both schools have a lot to offer and I think you can find a group at either and be happy. My D will probably end up at UGA but I went to UF and had a great experience. I know rush has gotten very competitive at UF, maybe not at all houses. Funny story: a few years ago my sorority rejected/dropped the daughter of one of my UF sorority sisters after the third round and the mom (and probably daughter) was very upset. I know that the chapter can’t take all legacies but this student was an incredible candidate and would have done a lot for their chapter. The daughter ended up happy in another sorority and continued to do great things. She just got into Harvard Law! Those stories are good to remember during the college admissions process and beyond. Good Luck!
University of Florida has a fantastic journalism school. Uga has a good one too but Florida’s is more highly regarded. And it is much harder to get into Florida out of state than Georgia.
@oosbhpparent I thought it was the other way around? UGA is highly ranked in journalism and their college of journalism & mass communication is home to the Peabody award, which is given to outstanding journalists & their projects, and it is definitely more of an english/history school, while UF is known for math/science. UF definitely has a great journalism program but I thought UGA’s was better?
I thought UF journalism was better . . . granted, I am a Gator parent so a little biased. 
One of my favorite journalists of all time graduated from UF.
UF is a liberal campus in the context of north central Florida (which otherwise trends conservative to a certain extent). As a point of reference, Alachua County (where UF is located) went decisively for HRC in the presidential election - mostly thanks to Gainesville.
I don’t have specific knowledge about Panhel at UF because I have a son. But I will chime in that UF is one of those campuses where Greek life is there if you want it (and it looks fun) but there are plenty of other things to do and be involved in too.
I just looked about 4 different sites ranking journalism programs and UGA’s was ranked higher than UF’s on all of them. I’m still a Gator though!
Best of luck to you @ms1316. I hope you choose UGA. You won’t be disappointed!