USF vs FSU

<p>i'm an oos student (nj) i was accepted to USF and FSU, but i'm really in a dilemma as to which school i want to go to next year. i have two sibilngs that are currently at USF, i've visited them there and its okay, but i've never been to FSU.
i'm going to visit FSU's preview in April with my parents,but i just wanted to know what you guys think. i want to be an occupational therapist (i put Biomedical sciences major for USF and Biology as my FSU major)</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>sorry i meant that i was accepted to USF and i'll hear back from FSU in March, i dont mean to come off presumptuous or anything, but i just figure i'd hear your opinions about both schools out of curiosity.</p>

<p>USF has no campus, is ranked below Florida State, has inferior athletics, and is not as respected.</p>

<p>Assuming you get into FSU, it's the better choice; no discussion needed.</p>

<p>Agreed with Matt. Before I applied, I went to visit FSU then to USF. USF is kind of like one big high school. Extremely spaced out. No traditions. Etc. My mom thought USF was "gross" after going to the FSU campus. Of course, this has a small amount of bias to it since I go to FSU, but please believe me when I say that FSU has such a nice campus. I went into the Biology building yesterday (it's new, I think) and it's SO nice. You should defiantly pay a visit to the campus before deciding though. Good luck! :)</p>

<p>Having seen USF and FSU, I must say that there is no comparison. FSU is by far the better school, and it has a much nicer campus/setting. Now, it all depends on what YOU want. If you like a bigger city, maybe Tally will seem much too small. Maybe you'll visit both and you'll just get a "feeling" about which one you should be at. If I were you, it would be a no-brainier (and not just because I'm accepted there). FSU is a better school, better campus, better city (but less to do), better athletics, more respected, and there are probably more opportunities. It's really one of the big three here in Florida, along with the University of Florida and the University of Miami. USF isn't a bad school, but I think it is inferior in almost every way to FSU.</p>

<p>agree with all respondents.</p>

<p>FSU hands down.</p>

<p>Was just to USF..same opinion. bland. supposed to be a good research school though. it depends on what you are looking for, but no comparison in rankings.</p>

<p>i felt like it was kinda a stupid question, but i figured i'd ask people who knew FSU. my brother and sister are a little biased towards USF so theyre obviously trying to sell it to me, so thanks . like i said i'm out of state so i'm not sure how actual floridians view the schools. i dont like big cities, and i am looking for more of a 'college town' so i'm glad to hear tally definitely has that.</p>

<p>If you want a college town, Tally is almost perfect. It's about 250K in the area, so it's not too small, but it's certainly not huge. Gainsville is like that too. If you want a good school in Florida with the "college town" atmosphere, UF and FSU are the perfect places for that. And your question wasn't stupid. I could understand not knowing about our universities if you're an OOS student. But make sure you apply to FSU (and UF if you choose to) really early. FSU had a 36% acceptance rate last year, and it's not getting any better... especially for OOS students. What year are you? What's your GPGA/SAT (if you don't mind me asking)? Good luck!</p>

<p>sunrisegoodbyes</p>

<p>we are from oos (ny metro area) and our son just started FSU last summer. We had visited USF an d after seeing FSU, our son totally felt like that was the place for him. That being said, USF does have a campus and is starting to build an increasing ammount of school spirit. The "Bulls" have really become popular in the Tampa area and while its not the same as the Seminole spirit, things are improving at USF. </p>

<p>The one downside we discovered at USF was that there are quite a few commuter students. Also, the camous lacks any real "college town" atmosphere which is important to some, not to others. In all likelihood, you would need a car at USF, not the case at FSU.</p>

<p>I feel very confident, that after you visit FSU in April, you will feel like its the better of the two choices. Its not to say that USF is not a good place to go to college, it just offers a different experience than FSU.</p>

<p>As an oos student, our son didn't know anyone when he went to FSU last summer. He has made a ton of friends, has a part time job, is a member of the Nole Zone (student basketball section) and seems to be doing well academically..... so far.</p>

<p>anyway, good luck in your decision, Florida is a great place to go to college.</p>

<p>i agree with nycollegedad..florida is a great place to go to college. the public educational system at the high school level here is terrible, but the colleges are a whole different animal. i've visited ALL of the state universities here and there seems to be quite a variety of experiences for everyone, depending on your priorities. my D would like to go up to Hofstra in NY as she has never known anything but FL lifestyle. I believe though, that after a year up there she would be running back to the lush life that she is comfortable with. could be the same the other way around for OOS students, but not as much. Good Luck with your decision. i have to say, i think you will be pleased overall with the FL experience..wherever you choose.</p>

<p>AT9, my stats are:
sat: 1260/1600 & 1880/2400
cr: 620 m:640 w:620
gpa weighted: 4.1 unweighted: 3.64
top 25% of my class
i have done a lot of sports and clubs, track 2 years, 3 or 4 years of lacrosse leagues and teams. my essay was also very good.</p>

<p>i applied to UF back in September as a big reach, i was going to apply to UCF but i felt the people were more down to earth at USF and i have family there too. but for some reason i overlooked FSU, my cousin who went to FSU started to ask me why i never applied or even looked there, so i applied there late November, early December. i also have the Florida Prepay so i count as instate for tution purposes, so idk how that'll factor into my admission decision with the budget cuts and everything.
i really wish i did visit FSU, but after what ive read here and throughout the FSU threads in general i think i'd like it. idk not getting my hopes too high since i applied late and everything, but thanks for the luck everybody!</p>

<p>nycollegedad, i agree part of the reason i dont really like USF is that it does lack that college town feel, especially after seeing UF (sorry i know this is the wrong board to be writing about that haha) i realized that i was looking for more of a college town school. my sister actually told me about the commuters at USF too, she said it really empties out on the weekend, and since i cant go home as often, being on an empty campus would really bother me.</p>

<p>usf is a good solid school, just young</p>

<p>it is the second ranked research school in the state behind uf</p>

<p>i go there, and i like it
give it a chance</p>

<p>
[quote]
it is the second ranked research school in the state behind uf

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This refers to USF's med school research dollars. USF does not have the depth nor diversity of FSU's myriad research programs...which produced the commercial version of Taxol, for example, perhaps the most widely used anti-cancer medication in history.
(An article on the need and development of Taxol: Office</a> of Research: Research In Review: A Tale of Taxol)</p>

<p>I'm a first year student at FSU, and I applied to USF my senior year of high school.</p>

<p>USF accepted me without seeing my high school transcripts. I think it goes without saying that FSU is the better of the two, generally speaking. As someone mentioned beforehand, USF is very young and is certainly growing, but FSU is the superior of the two in almost every genre. I advise that you immediately choose FSU should you get in (after you visit the campus, of course; I can almost guarantee you that you'll fall in love with it).</p>

<p>You need a Master's degree to become an OT.</p>

<p>So eventually you will need to be applying to a different school other than USF or FSU to get that degree.</p>

<p>If the OT program is as competitive as all of the other health programs are, you are better off attending somewhere where you will get the highest GPA.</p>

<p>Call up one of these Institutions offerring the Masters in OT and ask them if it makes a differnce if your UG degree is from USF or FSU.
You can then objectivelly make your decision.</p>

<p>i am aware you need a masters, uf has a really good OT program, i just need to major in a science major, i chose biomedical sciences. UF has a pre OT program which would put you on track to getting a masters, but to get into the program you just need an UG degree, preferably a science related undergrad degree because then you fulfill the requirements.</p>

<p>well if i get into FSU i'll be sure to call up a few schools and see if it makes a difference where my degree comes from. thanks.</p>

<p>ah i cant wait to hear back now! anyone want to chance me while my stats are up? :)</p>

<p>I'm sorry to say this but USF is a terrible, terrible school. I did my undergrad there and am doing my master's at UF. I took two grad courses while at USF and then took them again at UF. The difference in academic quality was like night and day. When I graduated from USF, there was no career help whatsoever. The career fair was a joke and the career center barely functioned. Within 1 month of starting my Master's at UF I already had 6 on-campus interviews lined up for an internship. I'm assuming going to FSU would be much more similiar to UF than USF so I'd say FSU hands down.</p>

<p>I also worked at a research institute at USF for a few years. The research that comes out of there is fluff. The only reason some say it has "good research" is because they spend a s***load of money developing programs that look good on paper but never really produce anything.</p>

<p>Tampa...sucks. You have to drive everywhere, and by drive i mean spend at least 20 minutes getting to anywhere worth going. I would say choosing USF because Tampa is a "big city" would be pointless. It feels more like a large spread out town than a big city. Case in point: check out downtown at any other time than rush hour and it's empty.</p>

<p>Good advice...I grew up not too far from Tampa and this is my impression. Plus the traffic. :(</p>

<p>FSU vs. USF. September 26, 2009--Doak Campbell Stadium.</p>