Wow that’s terrific, @fbhsmom! BTW, my wife is a Gator.
@fbhsmom - My D is in the same boat. Turned down Stanford and Brown for the UF NMF deal. The Benacquisto is doing what it was meant to do - keeping bright kids in state. Hope our Ds have a chance to meet! Hume? Happy graduation!!
@madredos I agree with you!!! I think it’s great that it’s keeping bright kids in FL!!! I’m happy to have my daughter close to me too 
that’s a happy bonus! My daughter opted not to live in Hume. She couldn’t find a roommate she felt had similar interests. She wanted to find someone who wanted to prioritize academics AND still socialize and rush. So, since she has so many APs to deal with this week and last, she was overwhelmed and couldn’t deal with stressing until the last minute. She really wanted an honors roommate but wasn’t meant to be I guess. So, she is living with a girl from out of state who seems very nice and bright too. Her roommate-to-be applied to honors but unfortunately didn’t get in. They plan to live in Broward. I’m sure my daughter will spend a lot of time in that little library attached to Hume and involved with honors activities to try and meet everyone. I know she’s active on the honors facebook page Are you attending preview? We will be there June 5th! I’d love to get together sometime with the girls!! Happy Graduation to your daughter as well!!
@madredos my D is going to UF as well for free. It was a hard decision (I know it was tough on you too…Stanford wow). She will live in Hume too. Maybe they will meet or even be suite mates!
Go Gators! @fbhsmom, @greeny8, and @madredos congratulations! I went to Law School at UF. I wanted my Southern Californian NMF DD to apply there; but had not convinced her to consider it until after the November 1, 2015 deadline had come and gone. Though she was accepted at UC Berkeley (no merit aid), she will be going to the University of Oklahoma on almost a full ride… At least their football coach, Bob Stoops, had a connection to the Gator Nation, having been an assistant under Steve Spurrier.
What!?!?! @fbhsmom, @greeny8 @madredos It’s a Gator take over of the NMF thread and no one told me!!
Go Gators and Welcome to the Gator Nation!!
Congratulations to everyone who’s a NMF!!
@RayznHELL Since Spurrier left, we’ve attempted to recruit Bob Stoops 4 times…UF has to be one of the top 10 football coaching jobs in America, but so is Oklahoma. Perhaps your DD will be able to get you a ticket to a College Football Playoff game (preferable against the Gators)
@Gator88NE, I went online at ebay and bought a Florida Gators vs Oklahoma Sooners Championship Game T Shirt celebrating the BCS 2009 National Championship Game win by the Gators QB’ed by Tim Tebow. That was only time the 2 teams played each other. I probably should not wear it to a Sooners game. OU really makes a big deal of NMFs. They have them go on the football field at an early home game. As you may know, OU gives more scholarships and University of Oklahoma is No. 1 among all public and private universities in the enrollment of freshman National Merit Scholars. OU is home to over 800 currently enrolled National Merit Scholars.
@fbhsmom, @greeny8, @RayznHELL, @Gator88NE : You all made my day today. The Gator Nation is strong. H and I have 2 Gator degrees each, one of them from the law school. There is no doubt we have had some second guessing around here but D is a Lombardi Scholar and when she came home from that interview, she was the happiest I had seen her. Having the NMF award from the state is icing on the cake plus a cherry and some sprinkles. We are headed to Preview May 26 and 27 because she is technically a Summer B admit as she is going to Merida, Mexico for 5 weeks this summer with UF.
Broward is a great area. I was a Hall Director for Mallory in grad school. Mallory is part of the Broward group.
We also have a NMF friend at OU. Loves it. That is a terrific deal! Best wishes to your D, @RayznHELL .
@greeny8 - I will PM you about our girls meeting up at Hume.
Go, Gators!!
Okay, I just have to step in for a moment and make a comment about the gator nation takeover! I am a gator from a million years ago…so am smiling for each of you! I lived in Trusler Hall my freshman year (in the 70s)…the 4th floor was nicknamed the “nunnery” because there was no male visitation allowed! I had the best part time job on campus…lifeguarding at the pool right outside Trusler! I spent hours down on the boardwalk by Lake Alice studying and watching the gators swim! Loved the deep dish pizza at Leonardos also…is it still there?
I could not talk my S16 NMF into applying to UF…he primarily wanted to look at smaller schools (even though he did apply to a handful of large universities). He ended up at the teeny tiniest of of schools - for him a great fit! But for all of you future gators…I am SO happy for you!
@4kids2graduate - Leonardos is still there. If you would like, I will eat a slice for you when we are there for preview!!
Ohhhh @madredos…please have a slice for me! Such wonderful memories that I have of my 4 years in Gainesville!
@madredos Congrats on your daughter becoming a Lombardi! My D’s guidance counselor wanted her to go for it but she couldn’t for med. reasons (bad migraines impacted by weather among other triggers). It sounds like an awesome trip though!!! I bet she has a great time!!!@greeny8 I hope all our kids can meet hanging out at Hume (my daughter couldn’t find an honors roommate) or on the FB honors page. My daughter is pretty active on the group me chat I think. She is really excited for preview but nervous about picking her room tomorrow! LOL
So who here is going to UCF?
@fbhsmom - Did you daughter get the room she wanted? Has she been to Preview yet? My D is getting more and more excited about being a Gator.
@madredos yes! She will be in Broward in a double! She is thrilled… though after seeing how tiny the closet was during preview she was less than thrilled about that lol!! She also got all the courses she wanted and no mon or fri classes so not a bad way to start college! It’s great to be a gator!!! I hope your daughter has a great time at Preview too!!! I will def recommend she goes prepared with lots of choices for classes and times she wants to take them… she was pretty much on her own to figure that out… the advising wasn’t great.
@fbhsmom and @madredos
What is the financial aid package like with UF? I considered applying there but I missed the deadline.
@timbercreek16 - They award the Benaquisto to their NMF which is full COA. They require that you designate UF as your first choice school with NM and then if you do not receive an award from NM, they give you a school based award to qualify you for the state money. Is that what you are getting at UCF? I understand UCF has beautiful dorms. Congrats.
@madredos
Thank you! UCF is giving me $8500/semester on top of BF. I think it’s a few grand more if you choose to live on campus, but I did the math and unless I choose to live in cheaper shared bedroom dorms vs more expensive condominium style dorms 4 bed/2 bath, I wouldn’t have as much leftover after each semester. So I figured I should stay at home and save the excess money to buy a used car to commute to campus, help pay for car insurance, and help my parents knock out their mortgage payment. UCF also gives their NMFs a tech package, where you can pick a macbook, windows laptop, ipad pro, or surface pro to keep. So all in all I think UCF treats their NMFs well.
Y’all have me rethinking my decision not to head to Florida. :))
@timbercreek16 - You are a good kid. Best of luck to you in college.