University of Florida; How is it?

I’m a rising senior and New York resident. I do however qualify for in-state tuition in Florida. This thread is really for current University of Florida students, or people who have visited or have experience with the campus.

I just really want to know if UF is a good school. I hear that one of the biggest problems there is how large the school is, and how that creates competitiveness for opportunities. Another thing that comes from the large student population is huge class sizes. Does this diminish the academic quality?

There also seems to be a very big party sene. As an introvert, I’m not a person that likes a huge party seen. Does the party scene spill out all over campus?

UF is ranked very highly on different rankings. Are the academics really that good?

The location in Gainesville seems pretty isolated. I normally want a campus that’s close to the city. How is the vibe and life of Gainesville? Also does it feel hot year round?

Even though it seems I don’t vibe with UF, you really can’t beat the in-state tuition coupled with great academics. I also like how plentiful social life is and UF seems like it would be a much better in-state choice than the options I have here in New York. So, I just want to see what your feel of campus is like, and if it contradicts what I’ve heard.

You seem to have a lot of preconceived notions about UF. My advice is that you plan to visit, once things hopefully calm down on the COVID front. UF is indeed a large public university and it has those characteristics. There’s always pros and cons. Gainesville is definitely a college town but it has been steadily growing. In my opinion, it is similar to most suburban areas around the country. While it might not have an Apple Store or a Ferrari dealership, it has most of the suburban staples like Trader Joes, Cheesecake Factory, Whole Foods, etc. And while UF once had a reputation as a party school, I think today’s students are more balanced: work hard / play hard sort of thing. But its best to visit, take a tour and see if you like it. (And then you have to get admitted!)

@GatorDad305 Thanks for the info and advice ?

The one thing you list that is true is that Gainesville is hard to get to. Not a lot of direct flights. I think most students fly into and out of Orlando but Jacksonville also works. It can be done, but it’s not as simple as UCF or any of the Tampa schools.

It may feel hot to you year round, but when it gets to 60 the locals will be wearing coats.

@kenneydabest I’m the parent of a rising Sophomore from suburban Philadelphia.

There were several kids from her high school that attended UF last year and all report a very positive experience.

My D loved the size, and she joined a number of clubs (social and academic). I believe she interviewed for some, but certainly didn’t have a problem finding her place. Based on my visits, Gainesville has plenty to offer the student body, and it feels very energetic. Keep in mind, that not only does it support the undergraduates, but there is a large graduate, medical, etc. population.

She reported the work hard/play hard mentality. She also said there are A LOT of smart, motivated students that “up her game.”

It’s not as warm as southern Florida, but this yankee thought she would pass out moving boxes in August … however visiting in February is wonderful!

We usually fly to Charlotte and connect to Gainesville Airport which is super close to campus. We’ve also flown to Jacksonville or Orlando.

I hope you get an opportunity to see UF in person. Between two kids, I’ve toured a lot of colleges and they all have their own vibe with pros/cons.

Good luck.

I’m a student at UF. What majors are you interested in? Knowing that would help me give you a good answer.

Here is a list of all majors, minors, and certificates: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/programs/

@AppaYipYip

I’m interested in the Political Science major.

There are definitely not parties in the main part of campus. Parties are either in fraternity houses (the periphery of campus) or some house off campus, typically north/northeast of campus. There’s a bunch of bars right across the street from the Murphree Residential Area but the partying pretty much stays on the bar side of the street.

It’s hot from the beginning of May until the end of October, basically. I don’t think Gainesville is especially rainy (i.e. it rarely inconveniences me) but it is humid. The part of Gainesville around the main part of UF’s campus and downtown Gainesville is nice. But as you go west it eventually just resembles the usual Floridian pattern of exurban development. Gainesville is not very interesting and everyone I know spends almost all their time on campus or at their residence.

I’m not a political science major, but I’ve taken a good number of political science courses and know some people in the major. My thoughts on the poli sci major will answer your questions about competitiveness and academics.

Some of the undergrad poli sci courses were kind of watered down and easy, but there are definitely in-depth and rigorous courses being taught in the department. You just have to avoid the courses and professors that students like because they’re easy. The best poli sci classes I took changed the way I think about some very important concepts, so there’s definitely a great education available to you.

As far as opportunities go within the department, there are professors who like to work with undergraduates on research projects. Those kinds of opportunities aren’t exactly abundant, however. I know some poli sci majors who wanted to assist with research; while they weren’t told “no,” they were more or less told “maybe another time” or given a task that basically amounted to busy work.

As far as connections to the outside world go, the professors aren’t super connected. It isn’t the kind of department where the professors have the connections to call up someone in Tallahassee/D.C. to land you an internship. If you go to poli sci advising and ask about internships their answer will more or less be “here are some websites where you can look for them and apply online.” (The same is true for the Career Connections Center that serves the whole school, btw). That being said, there have been students who were the favorite of some professor, and that professor was able to get them interviews for a think tank job or something along those lines. But that is a very small percentage of the ~1000 poli sci majors. In general, poli sci majors are on their own.

With respect to class sizes, UF is improving. The student-faculty ratio used to be 22:1 and now it’s 17:1. The intro level poli sci courses are big lectures, but the upper level ones have 30-50 students. There are also some smaller seminars available with 10-20 students. If you’re up for the challenge, you could enroll in a graduate course, which are even smaller and more rigorous/interesting.

Overall I think the poli sci BA is worthwhile if you’re paying in-state tuition. But you really should add another major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that is more lucrative, so you have more options right out of undergrad. A statistics or data science double major would be a great addition to your undergraduate experience.