FSU or UF choice

secgrad2011a1
Sat, 17 Jun 2023 16:18:30 +0000

I went to graduate school to both FSU and UF. Both are rigorous academically. The STEM majors typically require about 15-20 hours per week in upper division courses. The STEM programs have many international students and the elite in-state students are there too. So, the workload is very high on a weekly basis at both UF and FSU for STEM.

Personally, I preferred UF because it had the feel of a “public ivy” with its setting, location, and land-grant status. Years after I graduated, I still went back at times simply for a walk along Lake Alice and the comfort of being in the area. The students were also very nice. I remember one time in Tallahassee a woman in a mini-van almost ran me over at a clearly marked crosswalk when I was jogging. I informed police about that. It was disappointing. By contrast, some weeks later I remember walking around Lake Alice at UF and got to a crosswalk, and an undergraduate female student in her car beckoned to me that I had the right-away as a pedestrian and let me cross. She waited and let me go. I’ll never forget that polite gesture as a responsible driver. I still wear my UF Alumni shirt at many running events out west and often hear the call of “Go Gators”. I met one UF Alumnus at a mountain race in Montana. Gator Alumni are everywhere.