<p>A state's flagship state university is usually well regarded in that particular state.</p>
<p>However, I am wondering what the general reputation of University of Florida is OUTSIDE of Florida.</p>
<p>Down here in Florida, UF is considered pretty good, but we are no doubt somewhat biased, and would naturally be reluctant to admit that UF might not be that great. So I am looking for "unbiased" opinions.</p>
<p>Like many of you, my son will likely be faced with a choice of either going to the flagship state university (at a very low price, relatively speaking), or going to a more "big name" private college (which costs $50,000 a year).</p>
<p>It would be hard to pass up a big name private college.</p>
<p>I was expected to pay maybe 25k for WashU and paid $500 a semester for UF. Ultimately not that many people know what WashU is so I went for UF. Also I went in as a naive premed and when you’re main goal is premed you don’t want to start piling up loans in undergrad and it’s probably better to go to a safety school to get a higher GPA. </p>
<p>If I was going back through it again(and these schools fit with whatever I was trying to do) I’d prob pick any Ivy, Stanford MIT CalTech and U Chicago over UF. If it got down to <10k a year I’d prob start considering many more schools. Also I’d throw in Williams Amherst Swarthmore even though they have less name recognition because I’d enjoy the small classes of an LAC. I got waitlisted at Amherst and kinda regret not waiting to find out if I would have came off.</p>
<p>Not really. Im from nj and have been somewhat taught to think education in florida Is awful. What’s wierd is that in NJ not many people think Rutgers is a great school, I do though, however many people out of state or from another country think highly of Rutgers.</p>
<p>When you mention UF in other states to people in business. I think their reaction depends on what industry they are in. For example the ag school is top notch, the Engineering school is also, as is the MBA program, the Vet Med is among the best in the Nation.</p>
<p>Great public Universities: Cal, Michigan, Florida, Texas. Ok recently Florida has slipped due to budget cuts. But it is still very well regarded.</p>
<p>Yeah, living in MA I feel like people often perceive the education in the south (in places like Florida) to be not all that great. Although, I am going to be applying to UF just because it’s cheap (:</p>
<p>Take your blinders off for a minute gator4ever. Outside Florida the general reputation of the University of Florida is largely that of: “the party school down in the sunshine state with the football team.”</p>
<p>Well, since Bobby Bowden has little to do with UF except wanting to kick their butts, I would have to agree that you would have to be an idiot (or woefully uniformed) to the of Bobby Bowden (longtime Head Coach of FSU) when mentioning UF. I also disagree with your assessment of UF being largely seen as “the party school down in the sunshine state with the football team.” Any large, state university could fit that bill. My daughter goes to school in Boston and when I spoke with people up there about UF, a school she turned down to be in Boston, the consensus was how fortunate we are in Florida to have such a great and affordable state flagship.</p>
<p>So what is the geneal opinion of these schools: Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Alabama, Georgia, Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona and Florida.</p>
<p>Of those listed Texas, NC, Cal and Florida all aways mentioned among the top public universities in the country.</p>
<p>And as far as value for your money Florida is right at the top.</p>
<p>I guess I would want to know what field/major the student was considering…I would imagine that business connections for a school like UF would be best in the southeast. </p>
<p>But if a student was pre-med, pre-law etc, where GPA rules, UF would be a great option. </p>
<p>If floridadad is “concerned” about what others will think if son attends UF, that is a whole different set of circumstances…those who are involved in college admissions up here in the NY/NJ area know how difficult OOS admissions to UF are…</p>
<p>But the layperson who went to college in the 70’s-80’s would, yes, think of UF as that huge public in Florida…(as opposed to that school in Miami that used to be for “B” students)</p>
<p>My father resides in Minnesota and works in the ag/engineering industry. </p>
<p>His boss, a VP of a LARGE Agriculture firm, has definitely heard of Florida and is well respected. Many of his friends throughout the Midwest generally have had good opinions of florida. (I asked when considering U of Minnesota over U of Florida).</p>
<p>I work at a very large international technology corporation, headquartered outside of Florida, and UF is on its top 15 university recruiting list. As someone already mentioned, UF’s reputation is already known in industry.</p>
<p>I’m in the same position as goufgators. We maintain a list of “key schools” that we most heavily target and recruit from. 27 schools are presently on the list, of which UF is one (and the only school in Florida).</p>
<p>Coming from a high school senior that lives in northern Virginia, UF is considered a “Public Ivy”, just like UVA. But, UF is more appealing that UVA due to its large party scene and great sports team. In Virginia, it is seen is a school everyone would love to go to, but nobody can get into. Trust me, it has a very good and high reputation.</p>
<p>i guesss, but most kids that live in virginia that I know just want to leave the state lol. You could as any Virginian, if they had a choice between UF and UVA and money was not a factor, about 85% would choose UF.</p>