Well if that’s really true that affirms my decision to go out of state. I cannot stand online courses. Smh, UF should do better.
Oldest son is in his third and final year at UF. Waiting anxiously for tomorrow to see fate of my twins both of whom got in at FSU, USF, UCF, FAU Honors College, U South Carolina. I also was very anti-online classes initially for my oldest son. But I can tell you that at least in his liberal arts major he much prefers it. I can understand that may not be a great option for lab dependent science or engineering type fields. But it worked great for him. He has excelled with mostly online classes and has a 3.9 GPA and will graduate a year early. He is waiting on law school decisions currently. He had no lack of the true Gator experience (at least until COVID shut things down) and was very active in Greek life. Based on his experience while I never thought we’d consider it if either or both of my twins are offered PACE they will seriously consider it.
1 Like
There are a lot of factors involved including whether or not there will potentially be summer classes for that student to take.
Interesting. Are there majors that don’t have summer classes?
@VirginiaBelle and @Bucknut2014 I have 2 studying Finance at UF and it is true that most of the Intro business classes were online even before COVID. Once they get into the upper level classes specific to their majors, those are mostly in person in traditional classroom format. The Intro classes are the ones that every business student has to take including Management, Marketing, 2 Accountings and Business Finance.
For each of those Intro classes there is one Section that is live and can be attended in person (pre COVID). That Section is when the lecture is recorded for the students in the online Sections. It is difficult to register for this live Section since it is limited, but it turns out that anyone from another Section can sit in on that lecture, space permitting. That meeting time is usually early in the morning. Anecdotally, during the first week or so of class the lecture hall may be full, but thereafter it is easy to get a seat. This is because most students would rather watch the lecture online at their convenience.
A benefit of this format is that all of the lectures are always available during the semester, can be viewed as many times as desired, can be paused, rewound, played at 2x speed, etc.
1 Like
Does anyone have a sense of how well regarded the University of Florida is outside of the Florida area (esp. in NY & California)? I get the sense that it is extremely well regarded in-state, but does it have the same pull as UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, UVA, or UNC with employers on the coasts and with graduate schools? I understand that U.S. News has Florida ranked quite high. But I’m wondering whether it has the same weight on the coasts and in graduate schools as the other top state flagship universities. Any advice would be welcome.
4 Likes
No but there are aren’t as many overall classes offered in summer.
I can’t believe decisions come out tomorrow! The anxiety is killing me, I’m seriously questioning everything I have on my application along with my stats. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough I want to get in so badly ughhhh
3 Likes
it will take another 5-10 years before UF is considered on the same plane as UVA or UNC. Much longer for Berkely and UMich, which provide Ivy caliber education in my eyes. If UF is again in the top 30 next year, that will be a very good sign for the future of the school prestige-wise.
5 Likes
Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate your candor.
I love this school though and I’m out of state. UF is generally a well-regarded school nationally. Its in the weird region of being above schools like Penn State and OSU and below UNC and UVA.
3 Likes
Yes that sounds right. The National Merit money they give even to out of state students is really, really attractive.
Yup. I prolly wouldn’t have even considered UF without Benacquisto , but I looked into the school after finding out about the scholarship and I just fell in love.
Same here. Benacquisto made me apply, but I am really excited about the school now! I’m interested in CS and am already in Michigan, but it is 3x what it would cost me to go to Florida (also waiting on Chicago and Cornell which are even more!).
USC is the only other school I found with a similarly attractive National Merit award relative to reputation of school (automatic 1/2 tuition scholarship). Waiting to hear from them too!
I agree with @GrandVilla543. UF is a relative newcomer to the top 10 public rankings and it takes a long time for a reputation to follow.
Regarding National Merit money, that actually comes from the state, not UF. The State of Florida has been very proactive and aggressive in attracting the brightest students for many years and that is what has driven the rise in rankings for UF and some of the other State Universities. The Bright Futures scholarship program for Florida residents was started almost 25 years ago for this purpose and has been an enormously successful keeping many of the state’s brightest in state.
1 Like
congrats on UMich!! I got deferred lmao. USC is my top choice, but if I don’t get in there, it would just be plain stupid to turn down a 160k+ scholarship from UF.
1 Like
USC is in my top 4. I don’t think I have a favorite anymore (used to be Cornell and Michigan because CS is so strong there). Really interested in USC’s CS Games program (I think Florida is strong with games too). If I get in, it will be really hard to turn down even if I get in to Chicago or Cornell.
True. Plus I generally like the campus culture at USC–Cornell just seems too depressing! if UMich gave more aid to oos students then it would have been more attractive but right now I’m not holding my breath for that decision.
1 Like
Yes Cornell and Chicago seem to be pressure cookers! Both are beautiful campuses though with crappy weather.
But I’m not gonna lie, the idea of spending 4 years in Los Angeles or Gainesville is quite appealing!
1 Like
I can’t think of two more different schools than UChicago and USC. Can I ask why you like them both so much?