My main choice was UF, but i was rejected. As far as i’ve heard, they’re the best college in Florida but that’s besides the point now. From here, I do not know where to go. I have applied to USF, UCF, and FAU. Which has the best engineering program? There is also the choice of going to Santa Fe and transferring, but i do not know much about that process. Feel free to give any insight on Santa Fe.
Also, does the bright futures scholarship apply to community colleges such as Santa Fe?
http://best-engineering-colleges.com/mechanical-engineering/florida
Florida mechanical engineering schools:
- University of Florida Located in Gainesville, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- University of Central Florida Located in Orlando, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- University of South Florida Located in Tampa, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- Florida State University Located in Tallahassee, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- Florida Atlantic University Located in Boca Raton, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- Florida Institute of Technology Located in Melbourne, 2 mechanical engineering majors
- Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach Located in Daytona Beach, 2 mechanical engineering majors
- University of Miami Located in Coral Gables, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- Florida International University Located in Miami, 4 mechanical engineering majors
- University of North Florida Located in Jacksonville, 2 mechanical engineering majors
- Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University Located in Tallahassee, 3 mechanical engineering majors
- Miami Dade College Located in Miami, 1 mechanical engineering major
- Daytona State College Located in Daytona Beach, 1 mechanical engineering major
- Seminole State College of Florida Located in Sanford, 1 mechanical engineering major
- Broward College Located in Fort Lauderdale, 2 mechanical engineering majors
- Indian River State College Located in Fort Pierce, 2 mechanical engineering majors
- Pensacola State College Located in Pensacola, 1 mechanical engineering major
- St Petersburg College Located in Clearwater, 1 mechanical engineering major
- State College of Florida Manatee Sarasota Located in Bradenton, 1 mechanical engineering major
- Florida State College Located in Jacksonville, 1 mechanical engineering major
If that is a ranking, shouldn’t FSU and FAMU be ranked identically, due to the shared engineering division? There may be an arbitrage opportunity, if one (probably FAMU) comes up with a lower net price.
Bright Future applies to community colleges.
Did you get accepted to the Gator Engineering @ Santa Fe program? If so, you may want to choose that option (but I don’t think mechanical is one of the programs offered this year).
https://www.eng.ufl.edu/students/programs/gator-engineering-santa-fe/
Otherwise UCF and USF are the next best programs in the state (based on ratings). However, the drop from, say UCF to UNF isn’t that great.
Of course, you can always go to a local CC (like Santa Fe) and then transfer to one of these schools (or even UF). UF would be the most competitive program to transfer into. For 2014, UF received 1003 transfer applications to the school of engineering. Of these, 379 where admitted and 294 enrolled.
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Gator88NE said…Otherwise UCF and USF are the next best programs in the state (based on ratings). However, the drop from, say UCF to UNF isn’t that great.
I agree!! I think there is no appreciable difference between the Mechanical Engineering programs of USC, USF, FIU, FSU, etc. The key factor in my book is the Companies that recruit Engineering Students at each of these schools, not rankings. If you really want to set yourself apart from your peers, attend a highly ranked Engineering Graduate School (or even UF) for 1 - 1.5 years after completing your BS Degree. Frankly, you can equally good an Engineering Education from any of the top six or so Universities on the list above as you would at UF. Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Programs does not varying that much across different Engineering Programs. They pretty much do the same courses, with some variability in elective courses available at each school.
If you did not get into the Gator Engineering @ Santa Fe program, I see no reason to attend Sante Fee College, when you could attend a local Community College close to you home, avoid paying in excess of $8,200 per year for two years for Room & Board. The key here is to get good-to-excellent grades at your local CC and then applying to UF.
Despite being rejected, UF offered me a spot in the Gator Engineering @ Santa Fe. I guess that would be the best choice. I’m just afraid of not being accepted as a transfer student to UF from Santa Fe even if i get the 3.4+ GPA.
Is transfer admission assured if you take the specified courses and get a 3.4 GPA, or is that just the minimum qualification to enter a competitive admission process? If assured, would the same assured transfer admission be available at some other community college?
Where did you get the 3.4+ GPA "Requirement? It seems that if you meet their specific GPA/Tracking Requirement you are assured of a spot in the Engineering Program and will technically be a UF Student as early as your First Semester. I don’t think you have anything to worry about as long as you meet their requirements. It is much better option than a Transfer AA Student, if UF is your ultimate Engineering School. I say go for it if UF is where you want to get your Engineering Degree. I’m still not sure about the fact that Mechanical Engineering is not listed as one of the 2015-2016 option.
I think the Sante Fe route is a win-win for you, since if you have the option of Transferring to other 4-year Universities if UF doesn't pan out.
…“Students are invited to participate in the Gator Engineering @Santa Fe (GE@SF) Program in response to their application to the University of Florida for freshman admission. Students in this program will enroll as Santa Fe College students during the first fall semester and will be admitted into the University of Florida based on successful completion of specific classes and obtaining a specific grade point average during the first semester of study. After the first semester, students will continue taking classes at Santa Fe College, but they are actually University of Florida students. In contrast to a traditional transfer situation, a student has to first complete her AA degree at a two-year college before applying to the University of Florida as a transfer student. These traditional transfer students are not guaranteed admission to the University of Florida even if they meet the pre-requisites.”