<p>Can anybody give me some feedback about this school?</p>
<p>my Mom attended but transferred elsewhere. </p>
<p>said the classes were small and the campus (although extremely small) was pretty nice. </p>
<p>academically though the school is not serious at all. not sure if the reputation still lives on today but UT is a party school were most rich kids from up north come and do nothing.
This was back in the 80's so again not sure if that reputation it still lives on.
Im from Tampa though and let me tell you that academically it is not the better option. if u want to go to Tampa then choose USF. although a 3rd tier school, it is a tier 1 research institute with a medical school and much more endowment by corporations, governments etc...
if u want to go anywhere in Florida I suggest:
- FSU
- UF
- UMiami
- UCF
- USF</p>
<p>What are you planning on studying? I visited UT with my family son is about to be a senior and my impressions were very very positive. Infact I think it is a gem of a school. The staff and students were genuinely happy, energetic and proud of UT. The Business School seems to be coming on and the facilitities were top notch. Dorm selection included new dorms with semi private baths. Small classes for individual attention. My younger son a freshman already decided he wants to attend! i think he was swayed by the coeds studying and chilling with wireless pc poolside..My older son will apply . However he probably will ultimately choose a large Public University with division one sports.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your help. I want to study economics...</p>
<p>Have you visited? It was a real disappointment when we made our FL swing</p>
<p>The University of Tampa has a nice campus. what may shock u is how small it actually is. to begin with, it neighbors with a Top Prep School (PreK-12) and they often share several facilities. its remarkably small and that may be a shocker. this is in part due to the low endowments the school recieves both from alumni and corporations. Moreover, UT recieves little attention in Florida and Tampa. Normally Tampa is associated with USF (the big state school) and even at UT's neighboring prep school, only 3 or 4 students attend while the majority who decide to stay in Tampa attend USF. </p>
<p>Overall:</p>
<p>Pros of the school:</p>
<ul>
<li>Relatively nice, well kept campus. has a really nice looking landmark building.</li>
<li>Surrounding area: Downtown Tampa is pretty nice. its also waterfront which is great for jogging and biking (not swimming though). </li>
<li>Small classes (expected at most private schools)</li>
<li>Diversity</li>
</ul>
<p>Cons of the school:
- Size of the campus: again its EXTREMELY SMALL and worst yet it shares facilities with its Prep School nearby.
- Lack of academics: despite having small classes, the school recieves little academic attnetion and prestige. The school really only has one solid program which is its business school, but even that program isnt ranked in the top 100. UT is considered a party school. This can be expected by the caliber of students that attend: only 18% of the students are in the top 10% of their HS class.
- Little support from the community: Highly underendowed school and little if any research funding. Most ppl in Florida and even the schools hometown, attend UT.</p>
<p>Some good analysis and on target. We visited 2 years ago as a "safety: school for my daughter (she is at Tulane). We liked UF and Miami much better on our tours through Florida. </p>
<p>Captain Keeves- what are your stats? If you are generally a B student, with average SAT scores (500-550 per session), this may be a real good fit. Where are you from? If from out of state, this may be a better choice than USF, since USF is 95% Florida State residents. If your grades and SAT scores are real good, they have a reasonable academic scholarship program - but then again, this school may not be challenging enough (in this case you should look at UF or U - Miami).</p>
<p>What is strange is that U of Tampa's scholarship program can not attract the best students - if you have outstanding SAT's and GPA, you can get a free ride or 3/4 ride to Miami - a better school. So why pay more to go to Tampa? That's why it is a good fit for average scores.</p>
<p>The campus is relatively small. It's immediate location is not great. Across the bridge it gets better as you are in downtown Tampa. What is strange about the city is that on a weekday, the city is relatviely quiet - everyone commutes and goes right into their office - it's not like NY, Boston, San Fran, etc where you will see alot of activity milling on the streets.</p>
<p>Another concern is that there seems to be a relatively low retention rate after the first year.</p>
<p>They do not have a football team at all and I don't recall basketball (perhaps Div 3). These events at the bigger schools bring the students together.</p>
<p>The school does seem to be on the upswing though and heading in the right direction. The campus was nice, and there is a lot of construction going on for new facilities. the dorms were very nice. Clearly, the population is growing. I think the business program is reasonably competitive.</p>
<p>mishdoob1 - why was tampa such a big disappointment?</p>
<p>UTampa is a DII baseball powerhouse. They have basketball, but it isnt very good. The players they recruit are mostly local and come from non-basketball schools. </p>
<p>UTampa is a good, small school for specific students, but I agree that USF would generally be a better choice.</p>
<p>didn't seem as though there'd be much "school spirit", school was small and dingy, & our guide denigrated the school and the students. </p>
<p>Have you thought about UCF - it's up-and-coming - in Orlando?</p>
<p>if you want school spirit and that college experience with frats/sororities, and sports scene then I do not reccommend UT.
However there are 5 of the better known schools in Florida which have that atmosphere:</p>
<ul>
<li>UF</li>
<li>UM</li>
<li>FSU</li>
</ul>
<p>To a lesser extent:
- UCF: used to be a total commuter school but has tried to change that image and although not fully done yet, has done lots to reach that goal.
- USF: its still a commuter school but has grown in the whole school spirit and has taken several steps to increase the number of residents on campus such as building more dorms.</p>