Hello! I am currently going into my senior year, and I’ve narrowed my top three choices into University of Tampa, Rollins, and Flagler. I have a 4.0 GPA, have passed all of my AP exams so far, and am scheduled to take the ACT and SAT within the next few months (because I’m doing early grad, I haven’t taken them yet) I love to dance, and I really want to get into rowing during college too. I love all three schools but I was wondering if anybody could tell me more about them?
Thank you!
Is paying for college an issue? Have you run the net price calculators for each college and discussed the results with your parents?
Rollins is considered the best of these three academically. Flagler and Tampa are on par academically. Class sizes are smaller at Rollins.
Paying shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but my mom is still advising me to pick the one I’ll get most financial aid with.
One thing to keep in mind is that more “financial aid” does not necessarily lead to a smaller out of pocket cost of attendance. You may find that Rollins is more expensive than either Tampa or Flagler, yet you are receiving a larger bolus of “financial aid” from Rollins. This is why I suggest you run the Net Price Calculator for each college. The NPCs are accurate if your family’s financial picture is uncomplicated (i.e. no divorce, no business or farm ownership).
Here’s the link to merit aid at Rollins. http://www.rollins.edu/financial-aid/as-cps-financial-aid/scholarships/
BTW, my daughter will be a sophomore at Rollins, and we’ve researched all three of the colleges you are considering. I know Rollins has a rowing team (not sure about Tampa or Flagler). If you are set on going to a private college in Florida, you should also be considering New College of FL (public but a LAC), Eckerd, UMiami, FL Southern.
If looking outside of FL but still wanted to staying in the Southeast, additional choices are Anges Scott, Davidson, Emory, Sewanee, Birmingham Southern, Hendrix, Wofford, Furman, Elon, Wake Forest.
Thank you so much! I have tours planned for Rollins and Tampa for the first week of August, and I visited Flagler back in May. You’ve been very helpful so thank you for your time!