<p>My son is thinking of applying ed in the fall, and we understand that uf is large. Many have said (most of these people never attended uf) that at uf, you are “Just a Number”. As a uf student, can you please give me some insight as it relates to this perception?</p>
<p>Every school we have visited so far (UF included), tell you that there are many resources availabale to assist students with scheduling/planning what courses to take etc. what has your experience been like?</p>
<p>my son is thinking of majoring in either business or architecture></p>
<p>you have to see yourself in different prespectives. if you see yourself in relation to the ENTIRE student body, you seem smaller. if you place yourself against other students of the same major, class, clubs, dorms, etc. its small</p>
<p>Well if he is going to major in business, at times, I think he will feel like a “number.” A lot of those classes are online, you come in to take the exams 3 or 4 times a semester and that is how your grade is determined. Now of course, many of those course are not online, but then you have hundred+ lectures accommodated with dozens of “discussion” sections run by the TA’s. Not that this is a terrible thing, but if you want your son to have a relationship with his professor then HE has to do it. </p>
<p>It is very easy to not feel like a number by going to office hours and being engaged with other students in coursework. But for a lot of students in these huge majors (business), it is easy to get lost within the system. Keep in mind a lot of people do not mind this kind of structure for business, but if your son is a type of person who wants his university experience to be very personal academically, then it will be a problem. </p>
<p>Now for architecture, that is another story. I think you will absolutely <em>not</em> feel like a number. You have projects every week that takes hours and hours, but are very rewarding. It’s a tough program, but you have a lot of guidance along the way with professors, advisers, and fellow students. </p>
<p>UF is a huge school, you can easily get lost. In particular programs, you are going to feel like you are in a small liberal arts college (history, english, languages, etc.) due to the few number of students in those majors. But it is pretty safe to say that all of us at times felt like a “number.” I knew I did in taking physics 1 and 2 with 200 other students. But it got a whole lot better when I got into the actual courses of my major (electrical engineering) and there is no way I am just a number in a professor’s gradebook. I have always had advisers and professors helping me out in my coursework (in fact, engineers are required to see their adviser every semester). </p>
<p>The point is that I think your son will find many resources, both academic and personal, at UF that will make him feel like he is part of something. It’s just that he may have to go out of his way to do so. Hope I helped in anyway, if you have any more questions, ask!</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman in the business school. She took the Warrington Welcome, 1 credit class (first year Florida) last fall. The class was about 25 students and her professor turned out to be her assigned college advisor. She got to know a few people in her program really well (they did some community service projects together).This really personalized the program for her. Although there are some very large classes, she has never felt like a number (and she came from a small, private prep school).</p>