<p>We are from new york. our son has applied to both for 2008. We have visited both and the students all seem to really like their respective campuses.</p>
<p>as a parent of a Gainesville (UF) or Tallahassee (FSU) student, can you please let me know how your experience has been so far?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You should PM doubpleplay.</p>
<p>Our experience has been awesome so far (two sons at UF). I have a soph and freshman this year in Gainesville. Both went the honors route; both lived in Hume their first year and took advantage of the exceptional honors perks and classes. </p>
<p>UF is HUGE but also small due to so many clubs, groups, student organizations. Just walking through campus, you can see the myriad of enthusiasm and excitement of the students. The support of the university for student programs- intramurals, clubs, etc.- is amazing. Ask and ye shall recieve (most of the time). </p>
<p>You won't find more school spirit than at UF. They LOOOVE their gators. It's almost like a cult. The Gator Nation. Ya gotta love it.</p>
<p>Gainesville is the ultimate college town. It reminds me of, sort of, Chapel Hill (where I went to college), except it's a Florida town. Which means instead of pines you'll see lots of oaks, palms, water, and spanish moss. </p>
<p>The breadth of academic offerings is amazing. You can major in just about everything. UF is a great school for someone who is thinking about pre-med, or engineering, or journalism, maybe law, but, oh, it would be nice to try architecture, art, or music. Sigh. You won't have to switch schools if you change your mind, that's for sure.</p>
<p>Although I grew up in Florida, I attended university out of state, so I missed out on the excitement that is UF. I admit that I was disappointed at first that not even one of my kids wanted to follow in my footsteps, but now that they are so engaged and plugged in, I'm glad they are where they are. My oldest is a bio-engineering major/premed and my youngest is currently bio/premed.</p>
<p>I'm sure you've looked up UF on the official UF website. Here's another interesting site with fantastic pictures (I'm a visual person, so I like to see pictures :))</p>
<p><a href="http://gogatornation.com/%5B/url%5D">http://gogatornation.com/</a></p>
<p>Feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>thanks so much for the input. we are from ny and our son has applied to both uf and fsu for summer 2008. now the waiting game begins. i am just happy he got his applications done!</p>
<p>we visited both, loved both. can't go wrong with either, the way we see it. i know uf has a better academic profile and perception, but fsu seems very good as well. </p>
<p>i will be sure to take you up on the offer to private message you when questions crop up. everyone on this site is so helpful. cc makes it a so much easier to gather information.</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>parent2noles is a great source of FSU info.</p>
<p>i am in florida with my son up north dartmouth 08
most of his high school buddies are at uf </p>
<p>students can have a wonderful education there but there are many
friends doing the "5 year plan" for undergrad due to the
distraction and lack of focus during that freshman year</p>
<p>with the success of the sports teams brings many
early fall wild weekends, the greek rush is early (sons school
no rush til soph year)
the drinking is excessive at uf as is at my sons school
the problem occurs that some kids can party hard, study hard
and some cannot...</p>
<p>this is a huge school with huge first year classes and any online options for some classes which is a total ripoff for education at that level.. parents should judge if their child can handle little faculty influence that freshman year..when a student has no idea what they will be in life you hope an
amazing prof with great teaching skills will blow your child away with his/her
enthusiasm for a subjuct</p>
<p>40000 kids vs 4000 kids should be a big factor in choosing an undergrad
education</p>
<p>Definitely if you are interested in small classes, or a small school, do not consider UF, FSU, or any large university for that matter. Going to a 5000 student school is also no guarantee that you won't end up in classrooms with 300 students either.
Same goes for big football weekends, big sports, partying...if you want to avoid those things, you will want to stay away from large U's (anything over 4-5K students). </p>
<p>I'm a big proponent of the honors programs at public universities. The honors school at UF has made a big university into a smaller, more intimate academic experience for my sons. They live in a separate dorm (if they want), and can take their freshman requisite courses (Chem, Bio, Calc, etc.) that are usually auditorium style classes, in a smaller classroom. My son had about 18 kids in his Calc II class. He took Chem with about 30 or so. Compare that to what you get for the same classes in just about any university (about 200-500 students per class) and it's a great experience. And the honors students have their own advisors, their own orientation break out groups, etc.</p>
<p>About getting to know professors, etc...all I know is that my son just had to give three references for a job application- he had his Calc teacher, the head of the lab he volunteers at, and the chapter representative for his frat. He's gotten to know these people well enough to feel comfortable having them speak for him, so obviously there's some amount of mentoring available to students. I think it has a lot to do with the student...no one is going to take someone by the arm and steer them without the student asking first. The student does have to seek out mentors, but they are available for the asking. All in all, my son has had no problem finding people to help him out.</p>
<p>Also, about the 5 year plan-
Some majors actually take 9 semesters instead of 8. Chem Engineering for example. So when you hear of students in their 5th year, don't automatically assume they are screwups. Also, many students will extend their time to 9 semesters because they want to minor or double major. My son has figured out he can get two minors along with his major if he adds just a few classes. The fact that he's going four years tuition-free with $600 a year book allowance, makes the extra semester not a big deal financially- certainly worth it from an education standpoint.</p>
<p>Doubleday, </p>
<p>I've heard conflicting stories about the UF honors program, regarding registration. Do UF honors students get full priority registration, i.e. for any class they want. The reason I'm asking is that my D's seriously considering pre-pharmacy, and, at the moment, UF is her number one choice. She has the grades (4.0 uw, thus far) and the rest that goes with it, so getting in shouldn't be a problem, I think. However, we live near UCF, and I know that their honors program offers full priority registration of all classes. It's made a huge difference for my S who's there, in terms of getting every class, prof, and time he's wanted. So ... we're figuring options ... including doing two years at UCF and then applying to the UF pharmacy school, if it means getting classes that she needs with an easier route. </p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>This is a bit, but not entirely off topic. </p>
<p>Doubleplay, Im glad that State U Honors program worked well for your sons, but it is not for everyone. I look at the experience that my sons friends are having in a similar program in our state and Im glad he decided to go elsewhere. It has become kind of a grade 13 of their high school. The kids keep the same friends they had (four of his high school buddies just got an apartment together in their junior year), frequently come home weekends and arent involved with many extracurriculars that dont involve drinking or football. The State U's also rank high in Party Schools and Students almost never study in Princeton Review. As always, it is more about the student than the school, but it is not always wasting your money to send your kids out of state to a private, either.</p>
<p>parent2noles knows a lot as some one else said.</p>
<p>I am also very mixed on the large state school vs. smaller out of state college issue. My elder D is a sophomore at UF. She may well be on the five year plan (d/t a possible major change and/or need to retake a class etc). We don't mind, of course, since UF is such a bargain. Between the florida prepaid tuition plan and 100% tuition paid for by bright futures...she can take an extra year or so if she needs to. Large schools can be very overwelming for many kids. My D made loads of "friends" last year as a freshman but still, didn't really find her niche. This year she is joining a sorority as another way to make a large school smaller. UF has so much to offer but you have to really have a natural independence to actually find what you need. Like many college kids, mine is "a work in progress". She is just learning how and what she needs academically, socially and emotionally. I think that if she were in a smaller, more nurturing (and perhaps more one on one) environment she would find her way sooner. OTOH, she would debate me on this. She loves her huge school and just about everything about it. And, although we could have afforded to send her elsewhere, we are very happy from a financial standpoint. She can now apply to any graduate school without limitations.</p>
<p>zebes,
Sorry I can't answer that question, I really don't know how the honors vs. non-honors registration works. All I know is that both sons so far have gotten into the classes they wanted/needed. But that could be because they weren't trying to get into certain classes. I just don't know because we've never had the experience of not getting into a requested class.</p>
<p>However, from what I understand the honors students ARE given priority getting into the honors classes themselves. IOW, a regular student can take an honors class, but honors students have first dibs. Before registration, my sons get an email asking them to reserve their spaces in the honors classes.</p>
<p>Many students feel like they have had a hard time getting the classes they want- not because the class was totally closed out- but because the TIME they wanted to take the class closed out. I've never heard of anyone not being able to get into a required course, but I have heard of people having to take it at an earlier time in the day than they wanted, or having to wait until a space opens up.</p>
<p>Students are given staggered registration times (so they don't all pile onto the computer and jam everything up), and sections of classes open up in a staggered fashion as well. So say you want to take Calculus 101...it doesn't matter that you were assigned a registration time a week later than your buddy, because they only open up a certain number of Calc 101 sections per registration cycle. My son was told during freshman orientation/registration that the only time he could take his Chem lab was on a Friday night from 6:30 til 9:30. He did not want that section, to say the least! So he kept trying to "ping" into a different section until he was successful. The following week there was another orientation/registration. Those kids would have been offered new sections of the same Chem lab- sections which were unavailable during my son's registration process. Does this make sense? I'm not sure I'm explaining it very well.</p>
<p>I don't want to get into a "big schools are better/small schools are better" argument. Big schools are not for everybody, but neither are small schools. It all just depends on the type of school that a student wants to go to. Personally, I went to a public university (UNC- GO HEELS!) and loved it. Yes, I had the big auditorium classes. Yes, it was sink or swim at times. Yes, it could be impersonal. But I would have hated a small school. I would have loved UF as well; that's just the type of person I am (and obviously my kids feel the same way). That's what is so beautiful- all the wonderful choices that are out there to fit all our different learning styles/comfort zones.</p>
<p>Honors at Florida State has a number of advantages, including research opportunities. Our older daughter, now a senior at FSU, is in Honors and also completed the Honors-in-the-Major program in biochemical research. I strongly recommend Honors @ FSU for accomplished students. You will work your tail off, however. ;)</p>
<p>Honors main website: <a href="http://honors.fsu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://honors.fsu.edu/</a></p>
<p>Honors Medical/Law Early Admission Program: <a href="http://honors.fsu.edu/medical_legal.html%5B/url%5D">http://honors.fsu.edu/medical_legal.html</a></p>
<p>Here's a list of Honors advantages from the FSU website:</p>
<p>* * Smaller Classes: Honors sections of regular courses are generally limited to 25 students; honors seminars to 15 students
* Access to Faculty: While many lower division classes are taught by non-tenured instructors, honors classes are taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty. These teachers can become your mentors and advisors
* Great Peers: Because the classes are smaller, you can get to know other motivated, interesting people your own age
* Specialized Advisors: Our highly-trained honors advisors will work with you on an individual basis to achieve your unique academic and professional goals
* “Head-start” on Medical or Law School: You can compete to earn a place in the Honors Medical Scholars Program or the Honors Legal Scholars Program, two professional- track programs that are open only to students in the University Honors Program
* Study Abroad Grants: As an Honors student, you may apply for small grants to study abroad in one of FSU’s many international programs
* Honors-only Residence Hall: University Honors students may apply to live in Landis Hall, a premier, honors-only, residence hall that is right in the middle of campus
* Early Registration: University Honors students have the special privilege of being able to register for courses at the same time as seniors.*</p>
<p>As an example of what Honors can do for a student, D1 did well on the AP Calculus AB exam and so walked into Honors Calculus II at FSU. She had a small class (20 kids +/-) with a full professor and the class moved FAST. She was petrified at first, but came to really enjoy the professor (from Finland) and the class. </p>
<p>Expect to challenged in this college within a university.</p>
<p>I am the parent of a UF freshman, and we think it is a great school. He is in the engineering program, and if that is your interest, there is really no contest between the two schools. UF's engineering program consistently ranks very high nationally -- in the 30's or better, I believe. FSU's engineering program is joint with FAMUs engineering program, and they have had some problems in recent years. (I'm not saying it's a bad program, but it has had some financial struggles --also if you just look at rankings, UF's engineering program is clearly much stronger -- FSU fans, please don't flay me -- keep reading!)</p>
<p>However, we love FSU, too, and DS number 2 plans to attend FSU in three years. They have many wonderful programs, including probably the best fine arts programs in the state. It is located in a beautiful town and the weather is a bit milder than the more southerly parts of Florida. FSU is a highly ranked school -- top tier -- and I think it gets better every year. I will be proud to have DS2 attend there.</p>
<p>I think you have to look at the programs in your area of study at each school, and make a decision from there. Both are great schools.</p>
<p>No flaying by me, my dad received his master's at UF. I have family at both.</p>
<p>The engineering school is better at UF than currently at FSU. The rumor is that FSU is getting it's own engineering school apart from FAMU. Once this split occurs then FSU's engineering program will be much more competitive. The current system is weak.</p>
<p>Here's an example of the future FSU engineering program: <a href="http://www.hpmi.net/%5B/url%5D">http://www.hpmi.net/</a></p>
<p>And some other rankings: <a href="http://fsu.edu/highlights/rankings.html%5B/url%5D">http://fsu.edu/highlights/rankings.html</a></p>
<p>Agree RE UF/FSU having different strengths. I think most Floridians are equally proud of both universities- at least I don't see the "hatred" you see among other state rivals (although we do have our good natured rivalry). </p>
<p>The towns themselves are quite different, other than both being Florida towns. Gainesville is more "Ocala-ish"; more country/agricultural, strictly a college town. Tallahassee obviously is more sophisticated (state capital)- more like an old southern city. Anyone can come in and correct me if I'm wrong!</p>
<p>I agree with doubleplay's summation -- Tallahassee, as the state capitol, has a unique energy and intensity, particularly during legislative session. And DS 1 at UF tells me there is definitely a little "county" flavor to Gainesville. I believe that both Alachua County (UF) and Leon County (FSU) have some of the most educated residents in the state (Leon County being number 1). Both are really wonderful college towns.</p>
<p>Here's a link to UF admissions profile. The stats for admitted students are creeping up year by year (Mid 50th percentile = 4.0-4.4 WGPA; 1220-1400 SAT). The stats seem to be increasing by about 10 SAT points per year. It sure has changed a lot since I was applying (in the 70's)! </p>
<p>The typical UF student has had 4 AP classes, and over a 4.0 weighted. To get your recalculated weighted GPA for UF admissions, take out all non-academic classes, add .5 for honors and 1.0 for APs.</p>
<p>UF is good about giving AP credit. My youngest son just entered with 27 hours credit. He clepped out of freshman composition. This gives him a lot more flexibility to take classes he's interested in (He still has to take a minimum of 13 hours to be considered full time and thus get the Bright Futures scholarship).</p>
<p>UF has a 24,000 word writing requirement (different humanities/social science classes have different word classifications- some are 2,000 word, some 4000 word, and some 6000 word) and a 6 hour international/diversity requirement (at least two humanities/social science classes with an international focus). Here's a link to some gened information:</p>
<p>oops, sorry about that link being from 2001/2002!</p>
<p>Sorry to keep bringing this thread up, but I just found this website (Urban Meyer's) and it is an awesome insight into that which is unparalleled: the Gator Football experience.</p>
<p>Even if you're not a football fan, if you've ever attended a Gator football game, you walk away a changed person. It's an experience like no other. It's jaw dropping (little Gator pun there). Check out the "Swamp" video's.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.coachurbanmeyer.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.coachurbanmeyer.com/</a></p>