I was waitlisted at my top choice (UNC) so I’m trying to weigh my other options. I really like the size, academics, sports and friendly student body at UNC. Which of these four would have a similar feel? I’m out of state for all of them and am looking at business. I want a really welcoming friendly student body and a school that is well respected across the US, not so much for rankings, but more how people perceive the school outside of the state where it is located. Thanks!
Coming from the Boston area my perception of quality is that they are all excellent and you should be proud of being admitted to any. University of Wisconsin is particularly highly respected right now, but really any are great and I hope you feel very proud of such great acceptances.
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I would do one of the Floridas because they are cheapest OOS. They are all precived almost equally, with UF probably being precieved a little better since it is a top 30 and probably top 20 soon.
I agree that there is not a significant difference in opportunities between these schools and all can get you where you want to go in life.
Where we live in the Northeast (NY/NJ), UF and UW-M probably are marginally more respected academically than UGA: UW-M based on decades of being good and UF based on its march up the rankings lately. I would still say FSU is perceived up here as a notch below, but they are all close. UGA is really just catching on up here. It’s unlikely that UF/UGA/FSU will ever be as popular as UW-M because their states limit the number of OOS kids, but people know they are very solid schools and good bargains.
My daughter is at UGA (Honors), and loving it in her 1st year. She chose it over UF and FSU (visited UF but never really looked at FSU seriously). she did not get into UNC and did not apply to UW-M (too cold for her).
I think when people up in the Northeast hear UGA they all think immediately that it’s a good school, but few if any are choosing it over the prestige of UVA, UCLA, Michigan, UT Austin (my daughter actually chose it over UT-Austin and UCLA, but the honors college was a big factor). I do fear that the recent homicide at UGA last week will affect yield from OOS for this cycle, but I should add that the school is responding quickly and appropriately with both safety enhancements and well-being measures for the students.
One thing my daughter liked about UGA is that freshmen are required to live in the dorms for 1 year. this is not the case at UW-M and UT-Austin, where the OOS Greek life hopefuls tend to live in private off-campus dorms full of sorority/fraternity kids. To my daughter, even though she rushed, this felt wrong- like it might create a separation of the well-off and Greek life kids from the rest of the freshmen. I’m not sure if that happens at UF or not.
I will say that the main reason my daughter is at UGA is probably the friendly and relaxed vibe she got from the students and applicants she saw and met.
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I think they can all work.
Are you accepted to the business school for all of these? I would start by prioritizing direct admit.
Are the prices similar and/or do you have any cost constraints?
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Thank you for taking the time to respond! Do you know if freshman are required to live on campus at UF and FSU? Is your daughter finding it easy to fit in at UGA as an out of state student? UGA/UF/FSU all have such large in state populations, so I am worried that the students will all have social groups from high school and it might make it hard if I don’t know anyone.
Thanks! I’m not concerned with rankings, more about fit. Florida schools are cheap for OOS, but UF really isn’t that much cheaper than UGA. Where I’m from, FSU gets a bad rap for being a party school, but I also hear that UF is so competitive and has a cutthroat vibe among students. Do you think it would be hard for an OOS student to fit in here?
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my daughter has not found the OOS thing to be any issue at all at UGA. zero issue. but she is pretty outgoing. if anything I would say it gives her an instant connection to a cohort.
I know that at UF the freshmen are NOT required to live on campus. I remember our tour guide there, who was a freshman, did not, and it made for a really bad tour since she couldn’t answer any housing-related questions. I think only 80% or a little less than that of freshmen live on campus and housing is not guaranteed. it was important to my daughter that all freshmen live on campus at least for 1 year. FSU also does not require freshmen to live on campus- I know that most choose to but I do not know the %.
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I feel the same way as your daughter regarding on campus housing, especially as an out of state student. Thanks again for your reply.
UF and FSU have no requirements for living on campus and in fact many not everyone who wants to live on campus will get in the dorms
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Son is a third year at FSU. Loves it. Beautiful campus and happy kids. Got the OOS waiver and Honors program admission. Highly recommend Landis dorm for first year honors.
You can party there like most other schools or not. Being OOS hasn’t been an issue but he’s an extrovert. They have an OOS mixer the first week of classes to help. Lots of clubs.
Look at FSU’s stats the last five years. Not a safety school anymore. Acceptance rate is below 25% and getting better students every year. No bad choice on your list.
agree- none of these are safety schools. and there will be kids partying at all of them, as well as at Michigan, UVA, UNC, Yale, Harvard…
There will also be kids staying in to watch movies or play games or study at all of them.
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Were you admitted to the Honors College? At FSU and UGA in particular it makes a big difference (and note who above is attending as part of the Honors college or not).
I would say that UWisconsin has the highest profile nationally (UF has been rising rapidly but recently in the rankings but most people simply don’t know rankings).
If you calculate (tuition, fees, room, board) - (scholarships, grants) = what does each cost?
Is one of them direct admission for your major?
My son is an OOS freshman at UF living in an on-campus dorm, uninterested in rushing and hasn’t had any trouble making friends. Connected with another OOS student as a roommate through a UF insta account for admitted students and he’s had a great time with his floormates this year. He already signed a lease with current roommate and another OOS student for an off campus apartment for next year. He has returned to FL early for the last two breaks to spend a night with friends before heading back to campus with them (either they have a car or they took a bus). He chose it over UWis, didn’t apply to FSU or UGa – he just liked the UF campus and the feel of the place. We have family in FL so he’d spent time in the state, though not in Gainesville. The stats say about 19% of first year students are OOS or international in the current freshman class; it feels like his friend group is slightly more weighted OOS than that, but he has in-state and OOS friends.
Heard people mention in this forum that a lot of lower division business classes in UF are online. Might want to confirm if this is the case and if so if you are ok with it.
That might help to narrow down the choices.
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My vote for most similar feel to UNC is UGA. For reference, I went to Wisconsin and now live in FL and my kid has applied (and we toured) UF, UNC, UGA and FSU. My kid was admitted to FSU, deferred at UGA, and denied UF and UNC. I loved the UNC campus when we toured, and I also really like the other three.
In terms of academic reputation, I’d probably vote for UF or UW-Madison, but UGA and FSU aren’t too far behind. But for vibe, I think UGA felt the closest to me to UNC (they both claim to be the oldest public university in the US). While I loved Madison, UW has a little more urban feel and the climate is obviously much colder (I hated climbing hills with ice when it was -20 degrees!). They are all great options!
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Thank you! Based on my research, I would agree that UGA most closely resembles UNC in feel. I love Chapel Hill, and I think Athens or Madison would give me more of that classic college town than the Florida schools.
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Agreed. You have some great options! One thing to keep in mind as business major is whether you can be a direct admit. Many on your list do not direct admit by major. If so, look into how competitive each is to get in the business program after you hit the prerequisites.
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That’s a great point, and definitely one that I will consider!
my daughter at UGA (freshman) just had her big sister (a college senior elsewhere- at a smaller and more prestigious school) visit her for the weekend. her sister had the best time visiting her at UGA- she said it was so much fun going out at night in Athens and hanging out in the sun on Meyers Quad and walking on Milledge (where the sorority houses are), and just chilling in the dorm. she said all the people were so nice and funny. she’s a big fan of UGA now.