What's it like at USF? (Ask here!)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of South Florida
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<p>I'm a first year student at USF and I remember my senior year of high school when I was constantly surfing this website to find out information about all of the schools that I was interested in attending. </p>

<p>If anyone is interested in/plans to attend USF and has questions, I am posting this to give you a place to ask about what USF is like: dorms, dining, classes, student life, etc. </p>

<p>A tip that I have for you guys right off the bat is to get involved with your class of ____ page on Facebook (most of you will be 2017, but for those of you who are graduating early, I would also suggest joining the facebook page for your graduating class.) </p>

<p>Let me know if you have any questions! :)</p>

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<p>Would like to know from a current student what USF is like. My D is looking at schools in Florida, and it’s on her list. What is a day in the life of a USF student like? How are the dorms? the safety? the classes? the school spirit? the food? the surrounding area? the facilities? And anything else you can tell us. Details, details, details:)</p>

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<p>Hows the Business program??</p>

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<p>@musicmom26: USF is an extremely nice campus to walk around during the day, and at night. The campus is pretty busy during the day, especially on Wednesday’s due to Bull Market (9-2 on Wednesdays, it’s a market type event that a lot of student organizations attend, as well as outside vendors trying to promote their businesses to students). </p>

<p>I’ll be honest about the dorms, some are better than others. Housing has renovated some of the dorms in the Andros complex, which has a history for being considered the worst dorms on campus because they’re the oldest. If you’re daughter is looking to attend USF, I would suggest applying for housing as soon as possible, because unless she is applying to live in a Learning Living Community (LLC), her housing placement will be based off of when she applied as compared to other students. </p>

<p>I live in Juniper-Poplar hall, which is considered one of the nicer dorms on campus. I has a dining hall, pod market, laundry facility and starbucks all attached to the building. It’s definitely convenient for students. One of its flaws however is that its farther away from the other dorms on campus, which are for the most part next to each other. If you’re student is planning on majoring in Engineering or a science, it’s closer to those buildings than other dorms.</p>

<p>Overall, there are three housing options for first-year students: traditional (share a room, also share bathroom/showers with entire floor), Suite-style, (share a room, share bathroom with a small amount of people, typically 3-4 people) and apartment style (own room, share bathroom with 1 person, has a kitchen/living area). All are manageable, but I would recommend applying as soon as possible because this year housing was over-capacity, and students who ended up waiting until the last minute got stuck in small rooms that were intended for one person, but ended up being occupied by two people. </p>

<p>Dining isn’t terrible, some days are better than others as far as food choices. Champion’s Choice is the newest dining hall and considered the best among students, but its hours are a little spotty compared to the other three. I can usually find something that I will eat in the dining halls, but as far as choosing a meal plan, I would evaluate your student’s eating habits before deciding on one. I had the unlimited meal plan my first semester and ended up downgrading my second semester because I didn’t use it nearly as much as I thought I would, it’s all based upon student preference and routine.</p>

<p>I’ve really enjoyed all of my classes at USF. Mine have been more lecture based with required reading to be done on my own time, and that type of system takes a lot of self-discipline. I enjoy it though, and I’ve learned a lot. Ratemyprofessors is a tool that I use every semester when picking my classes, and it’s helped make the most mundane subjects easier because the professor was really great. Your student will pick classes at orientation, I would suggest using that tool while doing so. </p>

<p>School spirit is pretty good around here, especially if you attend sporting events. Football games are something that I think every freshman should experience, because it really gets them excited about the school they’re cheering for. Student life is filled with clubs and activities to keep just about any student busy, we have hundreds of clubs to choose from. I’ve been very busy during my time at the university, and I’m glad that I have been. I know a bunch of people who didn’t get involved when they first started out, and it became harder for them to find something to occupy their time, and they got bored. Campus Activities Board (CAB) and Bulls Night Out, host a new event each weekend like movies on the lawn or fun events like casino night or dances. And on nights where there isn’t a whole lot to do on campus, there’s plenty going on in Tampa.</p>

<p>The surrounding area in Tampa isn’t too bad either, students just have to maintain situational awareness and pay attention to what’s going on around them. Fletcher Ave. has a reputation for being one of the more poor areas surrounding USF, but the campus maintains safety very well by providing SAFE team, blue emergency light posts and well lit areas on campus. </p>

<p>@andreina42: I’ve heard nothing but good things about the business program at USF. I don’t know too much about it, but in Juniper-Poplar there is a Business LLC, and they have special events for students in the LLC. I’ve met the dean of business college, and he seems to really care about student performance in the program.</p>

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<p>@Lizzy Are you in the Honors College?</p>

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<p>How well do they accommodate roommate requests.?</p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

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<p>I visited USF lat week and am going to college in the fall, but i did not get a chance to visit downtown tampa where i could see myself being sometimes. However, if you had to sum up all the things you love about USF, truthfully, what would they be?</p>

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<p>@Niquii: I’m in the Provost Scholars Program, which is a program in the honors college for students who wish to graduate in three years. </p>

<p>@DCruz: Housing can get a little complicated with roommate requests. If you request someone to be your roommate, make sure you put each other’s U Numbers on your applications, apply to live in the same buildings and mark the same preferences as far as smoking/non-smoking roommate, temperature, etc. If nothing else, housing tries to work with students on making changes, and if you can get another pair of roommates to make a swap with you, they’ll usually okay it once the semester begins.</p>

<p>@amberenergy: What I love the most about USF is there’s something for everyone. You can go clubbing in Ybor if you want to, or you can stay on campus and find some cool people to watch a movie or go to an event with. I like that even on those nights that I have no plans, it’s not difficult to find something to occupy my time, beyond being stuck in my dorm room. </p>

<p>It’s definitely a diverse university in that sense, and I think that easily sums up what I like about it. If you can’t find a club or activity that you want to join, you can always create one. I can’t even count the amount of clubs that I’ve seen freshman create this semester, and they’ve all brought people together that wouldn’t otherwise meet. It’s an exciting experience!</p>

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<p>@ amberenergy
Downtown Tampa is not super close to USF, and there really is nothing to do in Downtown Tampa area that you couldn’t do near campus to be honest. They do have a couple of museums though, but yeah other than that it’s pretty deserted and a sad excuse for a “downtown”. i think Channelside is a bit rundown these days too.
Like lizzy said Ybor is near downtown and is nice, but it’s more than just clubbing. Do visit in the day time and explore the area it’s a nice place that gets a bad rap bc of all the club people who invade at night on the w/ends.</p>

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<p>Im going to USF this Fall and I have a bunch of questions. Most importantly, would traditional or suite style be better for freshman? I really dont like using public restrroms but I also heard that you dont get as many chances to socialize if you stay in suite style. Would it literally be hard to meet people if I don’t stay in traditional style? Is there a good chance I will be compatible with my roomate? Also which dorms are the best? I heard Juniper-Poplar is good but I can’t really afford that unless I get scholarships. Does anybody know any good scholarship websites? Another question I had is about what I can bring. I have alot of clothes but my mom is saying that I will only be able to bring a little bit of them and maybe 3 pairs of shoes because I wont have a lot of closet space. Is this true? Do people typically dress down when going to classes? Also, how is life on campus in general? Sorry I have so many questions lol</p>

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<p>@SammiK: I’m glad you’re coming to USF in the Fall! I’ll just go in order of the questions that you asked: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>The main difference between traditional and suite style is that the bathroom in traditional style is down the hall, and in suite style it’s connected to your room. Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot of difference as far as socialization opportunities. The common areas in traditional style are just as busy as in suite-style, the main thing I’ve noticed as a difference is in suite-style you’re more likely to socialize with people in your pod or on your floor, and in traditional you’ll probably meet more people from the entire building. Either way, it’s not hard to meet people in either of these styles, and regardless, if you attend week of welcome events and join student organizations when you first get to USF, you’ll meet people. </p></li>
<li><p>With roommates, it’s kind of hit or miss as far as compatibility. I know people who have gone through a handful of roommates, but then again I know people (including myself) who get along with their roommate so well that they’re practically best friends. If you join an LLC, the advisor for your program may work more personally to get you a compatible roommate, but the general housing application doesn’t go very far beyond the smoking preferences and disability accommodations. You can request a roommate on your own if you want, but they can’t guarantee they’ll place you with that person. </p></li>
<li><p>Juniper-Poplar is probably the most convenient dorm on campus, since it has a dining hall, laundry room, printer and Starbucks/POD Market connected to the building. I live there this semester, and the only drawback that I’ve noticed is that Juniper-Poplar/Magnolia are the two buildings that are far away from all of the other dorms on campus. It works well if you have a lot of engineering/science classes. Other dorms that I’ve heard good things about are Magnolia (apartment), Holly (apartment), Maple (suite style), and the traditional dorms, Castor and Beta. Traditional is also usually the cheaper dorms that are still decent quality, so if money is a concern I would definitely suggest signing up for those. The other perk of traditional style is they’re essentially in the middle of campus and fairly close to MSC, so you won’t do as much walking as other students would.</p></li>
<li><p>I would look on fastweb for general scholarships to apply for, but the USF website as well as your high school may have more local/major-specific scholarships that you may want to check out. It doesn’t hurt to ask! </p></li>
<li><p>As far as what to bring, I would say only bring clothes that you honestly feel you would wear frequently. I have a lot of clothes that I hardly ever wear, and then again I also have some clothes that I wear too often. I would say bring summer/fall clothes, and then things you don’t wear send back home and trade out for winter/colder clothes. I would suggest bringing on colder weather outfit, 1 business/professional outfit (you’ll need it more than you realize), and then A LOT of t-shirts and regular clothes. You’ll have closet space, but maybe not as much as you’re used to back home. You’ll want to get some shoe storage shelves for your clothes. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>I know this is “AskLizzy” but I’m just going to add to Lizzy’s post on the clothes. </p>

<p>I strongly second changing your wardrobe biannually. Save room fr shopping! You’ll be able to send back clothes when you rotate your wardrobe. August - December my wardrobe will consist mainly of shorts (10+), pants (5+), tanks, summer dresses, combat boots, shoes, and sandals. January - May my wardrobe will consist mainly of pants (10+), shorts (5+), leggings, boots, and shoes. It’s good to keep 8 days worth of the other season’s clothes for the random cold/warm fronts. There IS room for all the clothes you want. I’m lofting my bed to get some more space. Bring a lot of professional outfits. 5 is a good number. </p>

<p>I’m going into engineering and I’ve seen the Juniper and Poplar halls but I still feel the tradtiotional would suite me the best. They’re nice by all means, but I’d rather have carpet in the rooms and the walk between the dorms and engineering buildings is SO enjoyable. I love those trees!</p>

<p>@lizzy I just wanted to make sure you had some affiliation with the Honors College. How are the scholarships for study abroad? Do you go to the Honors College events? What are the honors course like? I heard that they’re discussion based. Do you feel you benefited from those classes in some way or another?</p>

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<p>How is the nightlife at USF? Are there a lot of parties? What’s greek life like?</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the answers! Im really excited about going there in the fall. I ended up signing up for suite style in Juniper soo hopefully I get it!</p>

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<p>I would like to know what are the freshman dorms like? Also, are all the class size large?</p>

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<p>Can anyone tell me about the Computer Science program at USF? Are the classes/lectures large?</p>

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<p>Hi Lizzy, would you recommend living at Juniper-Poplar hall as a freshman? My intended major is computer science?</p>

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<p>I’m also an entering freshman majoring in cs. I will stay in poplar hall. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>

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<p>When/How do you go about choosing classes?</p>

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<p>Currently, if you have your major decided, you should be looking at the degree requirements, prerequisites, and flow charts to plan out your courses. If you have not decided on a major, you should be looking into areas in which you are interested. At your freshman orientation you will meet with an advisor and register for classes. Honors college priority registration does not begin until the Spring semester of the first year.</p>