I've recently been accepted to UCF for the summer and FSU for the fall. I'm having trouble deciding on which one I want to go to, though I'm slightly leaning towards going to UCF. I Like the traditional college atmosphere at FSU but like UCF more overall. I'm still having trouble deciding where to go, and I was wondering if anybody can give me some feedback/their own opinion of both colleges.
You're not going to find an unbiased opinion on this page, but I think UCF is worlds better. FSU is very redneck, conservative, and religious, while UCF is very open and has people of every persuasion. The campus is far nicer. FSU feels like it was dropped right into a government area. There's not really a college area and it's just in the city's downtown. UCF is also much more modern and high-tech, while FSU is traditional and very sports-oriented, even though their team isn't that good.
I don't care for either so I think I can give an unbiased opinion in that regard.
FSU is in a similar boat as UF in that people perceive it as being better than it is because of the notoriety of it's sports team (which, like Syncronym said, really isn't that good). Take that away and you have a meh campus with meh academics and a party atmosphere.
UCF is the same except for the sports team (though the students still go crazy over the Knights) and has a much nicer campus.
If I were you I'd go for UCF if only for the massive aid they give given you live in Central Florida.
It is such a personalized decision! I have a student in each of these schools right now, 1 a Senior and 1 a Junior..They are VERY different schools!
UCF is modern, with lots to do on the weekends, many more job opportunities and the surrounding city is larger. The dorms have more choices for different styles of living. Depending on your major, such as Hospitality, it can't be compared (even though I know this will trigger an argument from FSU fans) due to the influx of tourists and the size of the city itself.
FSU is a close knit student body, with a traditional campus (with that Hogwarts feel), and a GREAT administration. Very organized, in our experiences. They are far more personalized in class sizes, and tutoring. The surrounding apartments are cheaper and bigger than that of UCF. The Study Abroad opportunities are amazing.
I, personally, find the crime to be around the same in both areas.
If you ask my kids, neither would EVER switch for the other school if given the opportunity. So go by your major, money and what type of atmosphere you would ultimately like to be surrounded by. No one can make this choice for you. Totally one that only you can decide! I like them BOTH for very different reasons. I'd be interested in knowing what you finally decide. Good Luck!
I agree with alongwait. Although I do attend UCF, I know that UCF do have its own flaws as well as FSU and any other university out there. If you haven't visited both campuses, I suggest you do so before making a final decision. We can only give our opinions, but take them with a grain of salt as every individual's college experience will be different. Good luck and let us know what your decision is!
Highly suggest visiting both campuses, as others have mentioned. O can promise you that once you do, you will have your decision. You're fall in love with one over the other, because they're VERY different campuses. Both are beautiful-FSU in a traditional way, UCF in a contemporary way. You have to choose the place you feel most comfortable at Best of luck!
To BNG...
You know you go to FSU when you hold more significance for sports then the actual education. College sports won't get you good grades, or a job.
UCF>Better campus
UCF>better internships
UCF>better area, with various jobs
Here is the perspective of someone who grew up in Central Florida, but currently attends FSU:
UCF has a newer campus, not necessarily better. It's just a matter of preference. FSU has red brick buildings and rolling hills. UCF looks like a modern office park.
UCF is notoriously overcrowded--moreso than FSU or UF--check the student-instructor ratios if you don't believe me. Classes are larger and it is more difficult to schedule courses that you need. The nickname "U Can't Finish" happened for a reason.
FSU is hardly "redneck." Tallahassee is the most educated metropolitan area in the state of Florida and FSU draws students from all over the state. Don't confuse the general football fanbase with actual students. Also, Orlando is not known for its educated citizenry.
The Orlando area may have more jobs, but most of them are jobs that don't require college education and are probably not what you are looking for, unless manning the snack bar at Sea World over the summer is your idea of an internship (OK, a bit of a cheap shot, but you get the idea). While Tallahassee is smaller, it is also the state capital. There are probably at least as many skilled jobs in Tally as there are in Orlando. Several times a week, I get an email regarding internship or job opportunities for CompSci majors at FSU. That being said, I'm UCF CompSci majors have plenty of opportunities as well.
Other than engineering, most of FSUs majors are higher ranked, including--contrary to popular belief-Computer Science.
Outside of Florida, FSU is much better known than UCF. If you plan to live in Central Florida, this obviously won't matter. If you plan on living out of state, if might make a difference.
UCF supporters hate it when people say this, but UCF is still a bit of a commuter college. There's nothing wrong with that. Plenty of smart people work and go to school part-time. However, UCF is so big (almost TWICE the size of FSU) that even if a lot of students commute, there are still thousands of "traditional" students on campus.
This is possibly an odd point to make, but I should mention that Central Florida has insane electrical storms nearly every afternoon during the Summer. I don't know if you are from Central Florida, but people who are not from the area are sometimes unnerved by this. If are you are bothered by lightening, keep this in mind. North Florida has lightning, but nowhere near as frequently as Orlando and Tampa.
Wow thanks for giving me the info, I'm still gonna have to visit both FSU and UCF to make my decision. It's really getting hard to make a choice, I don't want to be indecisive but after reading all of the comments I'm finding negatives and positives for both schools. It's gonna eventually come down to me, but I definitely appreciate everyone's comments/opinions.
@NicholasL I would urge you, it you haven't already, to post on the FSU board as well as the parent's lounge for differing opinions. It will be impossible to find an unbiased opinion on <i>any</i> of the boards, but the truth does lie somewhere in between.
Visiting these schools is a must. I fell in love with the rolling hills of Tally, the old brick architecture of both FSU and UF, the camaraderie of a comparatively smaller school and the feel of a college town (with opportunities that living in the capital can bring).
This decision will come down to you and you personally (and your parents of course! ). Leave no stone unturned when inquiring about both universities because, again, no body is completely unbiased when giving advice.
I loved both FSU and UCF and was torn between the two. UCF was the first uni I visited and I loved the modern and stylish architecture. Over time, though, that's become far less of a priority for me and while I still find it to be a great school, it's not for me. I just declined my acceptance to Burnett so a more deserving applicant can take my space and it was not an easy decision by and means!
Do you have a major in mind yet? Most people change 2-3 or even 4 times over the course of their studies but that could help your decision too since FSU is stronger in some areas and UCF is stronger in others.
Another thing to consider is if you have any plans to attend graduate or professional school in the future. Undergrad really doesn't matter if you're going to get a higher degree. If at the undergrad level, most employers will that FSU and UCF are just as good academically as one another. The quality of your major and the college its housed in in the university are perhaps more important than the overall reputation of the university as a whole. That parts quite a bit of a conjecture though...
Anyway, @NicholasL, these are the criteria I used in the last leg of my decisions. Personal fit, quality of intended major, desires to continued my education beyond grad school, old vs. modern campus, internship opportunities, etc. etc. Oh and if you don't happen to get my spot at Burnett, you might want to think about class sizes. All FL publics are big but UCF is ginormous! I ultimately chose UF, btw.
@WriteFluidity...I know your comment was a knee jerk reaction BNG but come now. You must realize that FSU is still a great school despite its sports. Not that <u> I </u> feel there is anything wrong with sports culture at college but apparently many posters feel a "jock" school to be inferior. BTW, UCF will accepted a big to join the Big East conference- a sports conference with an AQ bid for the BCS bowl. Expanding football and other sports is on UCF's agenda probably in large because it generates a ton of cash.
Just some reactions your comments:
<b> You know you go to FSU when you hold more significance for sports then the actual education. College sports won't get you good grades, or a job. </b> Being excited about your (potential? current?) school's team doesn't mean your grades will automatically be crap. That's a crude stereotype. Not to mention, FSU is still a large school, even if its half the size of UCF. Every sort of group and niche will be on campus- even those who *gasp* hate football!
<b> UCF> Better campus </b> It's all about personal tastes. I loved UCF, even though I admitted to favoring FSU and UF's old brick architecture. Many people I know hated UCF and its "disney vibe" (NOT my words). Modern doesn't attract everyone and not everyone cares that their dorms might not be aseptically please or that not everyone building looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright piece. Different things attract different people *shrug*.
<b> UCF> better internships </b>: I'd like to see some research on that? Of course UCF has great internship opportunities but so does FSU. FSU has been well established for over a hundred hers and has solid networking opportunities. Not to mention endowments fund internship and other opportunities and, currently, FSU's endowment is 10x as large as UCF's. You can't argue with that fact. Additionally, undergrad students spend more than 90% of their time within a FIVE mile radius of their university's campus. Most students don't receive internship opportunities until their junior or senior year and they usually accept do these during the summer. Of course the rare student will find a fall or spring internship opportunity but most will be recruited in off session months in, very likely, a completely different area. If one stays in Orlando, you can bet your bottom dollar UCF alum will be competing with those from UF, FSU, USF, UMiami, Rollins, etc. I'm not saying that any of these institutions are better than one or the another, just that Orlando is certainly not turning away positions for students from these other fine institutions.
<b> UCF>better area, with various jobs </b> Better area? Again, that's a personal preference. Great internships, yes, but jobs? We're still in a recession and most kids will be looking at typical student jobs - being barista at Starbucks, working in retail, becoming a server or hosted at a restaurant or obtaining a sales job. Even clerical jobs will be hard to come by, not just because of a lack of degree/experience, but because those are 9-5 jobs. Realistically, work as entry level programmers, financial analysts, etc. will be nearly impossible find until you have your degree in hand.
I am by no means putting down UCF. I love it! I'm personally sick of all the "who's got the bigger..." contests that go around here and I thought a peer struggling with a decision should know what he's hearing is not only colored by personal opinions, but often downright disinformation/misrepresentation of some twisted version of the truth. I admit to being biased myself- even though I'll be going neither of these fine schools in the fall. I support all of our publics regardless of who has the fanciest new building or the biggest, baddest sports teams.
Sorry all! I took so long proofing my post and editing insane typos and html tags that I was locked out after the 20 minute editing time limit I didn't even know I had! *doh*!
Last edited by wearypenguin; 04-01-2012 at 04:08 AM.
Okay, eff this! My OCD will not allow me to sleep until my previous post is fixed up and doesn't look liked it was originally penned with a purple crayon- no matter if anyone ever reads it or not. Please disregard my two previous posts if anyone even happens to wade through all of this rambling mess! :-)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @NicholasL I would urge you, it you haven't already, to post on the FSU board as well as the parent's lounge for differing opinions. It will be impossible to find an unbiased opinion on any of the boards, but the truth does lie somewhere in between.
Visiting these schools is a must. I fell in love with the rolling hills of Tally, the old brick architecture of both FSU and UF, the camaraderie of a comparatively smaller school and the feel of a college town (with opportunities that living in the capital can bring).
This decision will come down to you and you personally (and your parents of course! ). Leave no stone unturned when inquiring about both universities because, again, no body is completely unbiased when giving advice.
I loved both FSU and UCF and was torn between the two. UCF was the first uni I visited and I loved the modern and stylish architecture. Over time, though, that's become far less of a priority for me and while I still find it to be a great school, it's not for me. I just declined my acceptance to Burnett so a more deserving applicant can take my space and it was not an easy decision by any means!
Do you have a major in mind yet? Most people change 2-3 or even 4 times over the course of their studies but that could help your decision too since FSU is stronger in some areas and UCF is stronger in others.
Another thing to consider is if you have any plans to attend graduate or professional school in the future. Undergrad really doesn't matter if you're going to get a higher degree. And even at the undergrad level, most employers will know that FSU and UCF are just as good academically as one another. The reputation/quality of your major and the college its housed in at the university are perhaps more important than the overall reputation of the university as a whole. That's somewhat of a conjecture though...
Anyway, @NicholasL, these are the criteria I used in the last leg of my decisions. Personal fit, quality of intended major, desires to continue my education beyond undergrad, old vs. modern campuses, internship opportunities, etc. etc. Oh and if you don't happen to get my spot at Burnett, you might want to think about class sizes too. All FL publics are big obviously but UCF is ginormous! I ultimately chose UF, btw, for additional reasons that I won't get into here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WriteFluidity
To BNG...You know you go to FSU when you hold more significance for sports then the actual education. College sports won't get you good grades, or a job
...I know your comment was a knee jerk reaction to @BNG but come now. You must realize that FSU is still a great school despite its sports. Not that I feel there is anything wrong with sports culture at colleges but apparently many posters feel a "jock" school to be inferior. BTW, UCF accepted a bid to join the Big East- a sports conference with an AQ for the BCS champ bowl. Expanding football and other sports is on UCF's agenda probably in large part because it generates a ton of cash. In the end, all these universities want to be the same.
Just some reactions to your comments:
Quote:
You know you go to FSU when you hold more significance for sports then the actual education. College sports won't get you good grades, or a job.
Being excited about your (potential? current?) school's team doesn't mean your grades will automatically be crap. That's a crude stereotype. Not to mention, FSU is still a large school, even if its half the size of UCF. Every sort of group and niche will be on campus- even those who *gasp* hate football! Generalizations are never good to fall into. Half the girls I know attending UCF are typical ditzy blondes who just want to party in "O-town" but I have no delusions that those girls represent the majority of students at UCF. During my two UCF visits, I meant many intelligent, hard working and driven individuals- just like I did at all the schools I visited- including FSU.
Quote:
UCF> Better campus
That's really a matter of opinion. I loved UCF, even though I admit to favoring FSU and UF's old brick architecture. Many people I know hated UCF and its "disney vibe" (NOT my words). Modern doesn't attract everyone and not everyone cares that their dorms might not be aesthetically pleasing or that not every building looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright piece. Different things attract different people *shrug*.
Quote:
UCF> better internships
I'd like to see some research on that? Of course UCF has great internship opportunities but so does FSU. FSU has been well established for over a hundred years and has solid networking opportunities. Not to mention endowments fund internship and other opportunities and, currently, FSU's endowment is 10x larger than UCF's. You can't argue with that fact. Additionally, undergrad students spend more than 90% of their time within a FIVE mile radius of their university's campus. Most students don't receive internship opportunities until their junior or senior year and they usually accept these during the summer. Of course the very rare student will find a fall or spring internship opportunity but most will be recruited in off session months in, perhaps, a completely different area. If one stays in Orlando, you can bet your bottom dollar UCF alum will be out competing with those from UF, FSU, USF, UMiami, Rollins, etc. as well as top students from other great out of state schools. I'm not saying that any of these institutions are better than one or the another, just that Orlando is certainly not turning away positions for students from these other fine institutions.
Quote:
UCF>better area, with various jobs
Better area? Again, that's a personal preference. Great internships, yes, but jobs? Orlando may have the most recovered economy in FL aside from Miami (although college towns are some of the best places to be during economic hard times), but we're still in a recession and most kids will be looking at typical student jobs - being a barista at Starbucks, working in retail, becoming a server or hostess at a restaurant or obtaining a desk job at the uni. Even clerical jobs will be hard to come by, not just because of a lack of degree/experience, but because those are 9-5 jobs. Realistically, work as entry level programmers, financial analysts, etc. etc. will be basically impossible to find until you have your degree in hand. And maybe not even then...
I am by no means putting down UCF here, mind you all. I love it! I'm personally just sick of all the "who's got the bigger..." contests that go around here on CC and I thought a peer struggling with a decision should know what he's hearing is not only colored by personal opinions, but often downright disinformation/misrepresentation of some version of the truth. I admit to being biased myself- even though I'll be going to neither of these fine schools in the fall. I support all of our publics regardless of who has the fanciest new buildings and dorms or the biggest, baddest sports teams.
Last edited by wearypenguin; 04-01-2012 at 05:30 AM.
