Hi all!
I am a senior in high school considering the University of South Florida. I was wondering if anybody knows the goods and bads of the school, as “all that glitters isn’t gold”. Basically any benefits and drawbacks to attending there. Any information is helpful. Thanks!
USF is a pretty good school. It is building it’s way up there but still has to get out of UF’s shadow! The people are super friendly and the weather is great. They have cool facilities too and they try to help their students succeed as much as possible. The best way to get a feel out of any university, though, is to tour. USF has a huge campus which can be pretty daunting for some people - you have to walk a lot. Also, the bus system (the BullRunner) is known to be unreliable - at least, that’s what I’ve heard from people. I personally have never used the bus. Hope this helps! 
I have to agree. USF is pretty great and has improved by leaps and bounds over the last 5-10, let alone 20 years. I actually transferred from UF to USF in the summer and I must say that the campuses really aren’t that different despite differences in rural v. urban living and some architectural differences.
One downside is USF is located in an area that’s referred pejoratively to as “suitcase city” . Historically, it’s a poor, ubran/urban-ish area with a marked increased in crime as compared to other areas of North Tampa. In comparison, UF has the comfort of small little Gainesville, FSU benefits in being located right near the state capitol and UCF is located in a nice suburb.
As USF has grown, though, the surrounding areas have added some really nice apartments and, several blocks away, you can find great food - everything from thai to vietnamese and vegan specials - which my friends love (highly recommend the Loving Hut!).
Stressed4lifee outlined some good stuff - the 40k + student population can be daunting but many lecture courses allow for “break off” sessions". For eg: in Calculus, we had two lecture based courses during the week in addition to a peer lead group discussion (class was capped at approx. 20 people). Then, as you get into your major/core courses, all instruction will be capped at 20-30 individuals. The huge student population are not as big a deal as some believe it to be - though everyone learns differently of course.
In larger course sections, you need to be proactive. Make sure your professor is familiar with you, visit them during office hours, if they are a higher level instructor within your major, inquire about research and internship opportunities. Nobody is going to hold your hand at USF - so make certain you have your goals in mind and find ways to act on them – help is there along the way.
I don’t have much experience with the BullRunner system but iI will say: parking is a nightmare. I live 20-30 mins from campus and aways leave myself a 30-40 minute buffer in case of congestion.
Nightlife could be better but most college students spend evenings at house parties (most people do not travel outside a 5 mi radius on average). The entertainment around USF is fine. Ybor/Channelside/Seminole Heights is where a lot of the heavy partying occurs but, realistically, most don’t make it out to these areas every weekend or eve every month. Usually reserved for special excursions - if that. There’s really no time, between homework/tests and jobs/internships to party all the way in Ybor.
As far as majors goes: USF has far more going for it than not. The business college is excellent, engineering is top-notch, focus is increasingly placed on how health, geography and other areas ties with Information Systems. As you may know pre-med majors such as biochemistry are extremely popular.
I would stay away from the liberal arts areas - even though they can teach you valuable critical thinking skills. If you’re interested in political science or even the BA in economics, take a few courses/minor/or double major alongside something like Accounting or Finance. I’m not top familiar with the Zimmerman School of Advertising, but I’d stay away from mass communication. There’s just not a lot of options for mass comm majors in the workforce - it’s nothing to do with USF. Advertising is an interesting blend of business and comm, though, and could be usual if paired with a marketing minor and a good internship.
Study abroad opportunities are fantastic - I’m personally excited to go abroad to Moscow over summer '18 for a language crash course, so to speak. Partnerships between international universities and USF continue to grow and you can study nearly anywhere in the world.
I only have a two summer semesters (one summer was as a visiting UF student) and part of the fall under my belt at USF. Still, I would say that overall that USF is nearly as good as UF in almost every area. I was ticked to leave Gainesville (for partying too much my first two years, DON’T do that!!!) and enrolled in USF but I quickly adapted. Most of the cons are the same for any big universities.
I’ll note that I very much enjoy being “just a number” and therefore free to network, join clubs, research assistance and apply for internships and even studying abroad programs by myself. Help is vital, and attaining assistance is something you need to learn in transitioning from university life to “real life”. So I’m definitely on the pro big campus/large population side here.
@zanya01 if you dont mind me asking why did you transfer from UF?
It’s embarrassing but basically I was partying too much. I’m a Tampa Bay local so my parents thought my final two years would be best spent at USF and not in the swamp!