Any parents here have experience (good/bad/or indifferent) with sending their kids to Florida. I seem to remember there was someone here who had one graduating soon and another about to go. Just wondering what their experiences have been like. TIA.

UF named among Forbes' "New Ivies"

My son has about 7 days and a few hours (unless a waitlist school comes through) to decide whether or not to attend UF. Personally, I think it is a really strong academic school and it will only get better. Forbes seems to agree. UF is the flagship university of a very large and growing state. They seem to get the cream of the crop in the state, and they don't play DEI BS games. I can't imagine the sheepskins from UF getting anything other than more and more valuable as top achieving kids see the lack of value they are getting from the traditional Ivys, etc.

My son has visited a couple of times. The "vibe" he gives me is that the school is pretty geographically diverse, but there seem to be a lot of kids from the Northeast and the rest made up of Miami kids. Campus is very large. They are putting in a brand new set of dorms for the Honors students, and my son told me they look to be really awesome once completed.

As a UF grad, a semi biased post….

To your geographical point, about 80-84 percent I think are in state. It is really diverse within the state admits, but a good chunk of the state's population is in SFLA, so yeah a lot of kids from there.
It is also a unique cultural mix. The state has a large Hispanic population so that is represented. And with the state's Jewish population, UF actually has the highest number of Jewish students of any university outside of Israel (which is why Sasse took such a hard line). The Asian population has risen as well. It's not the party school it once was, but still something for everyone there like most big schools, and plenty of social stuff. The campus looks southern, but the vibe there isn't really that southern. Florida isn't really a southern state anymore in a lot of ways, even if it's conservative now.
Sasse's appointment and the other political happenings have been controversial among the UF community for a variety of reasons, so the full fallout from that hasn't been felt yet, good or bad. But on the plus side, in addition to the Forbes public Ivy designation, WSJ rated it as the number one public in the country last year (their metrics are largely ROI based). We did fall one spot in the USNWR public rankings from 5 to 6, but that was largely attributed to their methodology changing. Will be interesting to see that number this year. UF's research funding also crossed a billion last year for the first time and that doesn't seem to be going south anytime soon. I do think this years protest drama will help raise the school's visibiiity, particularly among Jewish kids nationwide, so I would expect our applications to go up.
Within the state, it's got a stellar reputation. Nationally that reputation has gotten better as the years have passed (I live out of state since graduation). Depends on your field too of course.
But in the end. kids should always pick the school that's best for them, not necessarily the one with the best ranking or the most buzz. So I hope both your kids make good choices for what they need, and enjoy college.

My son was torn between UF & Virginia Tech. Both my husband and I are UF alumni. We're Floridians, so it's also hard to turn away the Bright Futures scholarship. But in the end, he chose VT. UF is great for the over-achieving, academically-driven students, but doesn't really provide support or structure for those that aren't as disciplined to do it on their own, making it somewhat of a "sink or swim " weed out school. The academics and social life are great. Just comes down to what you want from a school.

bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

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Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

He Who Shall Be Unnamed said:

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UF named among Forbes' "New Ivies"

My son has about 7 days and a few hours (unless a waitlist school comes through) to decide whether or not to attend UF. Personally, I think it is a really strong academic school and it will only get better. Forbes seems to agree. UF is the flagship university of a very large and growing state. They seem to get the cream of the crop in the state, and they don't play DEI BS games. I can't imagine the sheepskins from UF getting anything other than more and more valuable as top achieving kids see the lack of value they are getting from the traditional Ivys, etc.

My son has visited a couple of times. The "vibe" he gives me is that the school is pretty geographically diverse, but there seem to be a lot of kids from the Northeast and the rest made up of Miami kids. Campus is very large. They are putting in a brand new set of dorms for the Honors students, and my son told me they look to be really awesome once completed.

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Where else is he deciding between?

Keep us up to date on what he ultimately decides....

What was disappointing about FSU was that the engineering program was combined with FAMU and was sort of off campus. ROTC was the same and added TCC. So you can't really get a true sense of community. The engineering program isn't that great, so can't be compared to TAMU, unless you count the multiple campus part.

BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

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Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

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Overrated.

Just Bee-cause said:

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What was disappointing about FSU was that the engineering program was combined with FAMU and was sort of off campus. ROTC was the same and added TCC. So you can't really get a true sense of community. The engineering program isn't that great, so can't be compared to TAMU, unless you count the multiple campus part.

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FSU isn't good for engineering.

University of South Florida in Tampa, and University of Central Florida in Orlando are better for engineering majors.

bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

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Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

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Overrated.

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In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

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If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

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I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

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I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

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UF is fine. Good engineering school.

You said what is FSU? I said FSU is overrated.
You said you were looking at it as an option for your son, thought you meant FSU.

bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

---

bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

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I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

---

UF is fine. Good engineering school.

You said what is FSU? I said FSU is overrated.
You said you were looking at it as an option for your son, thought you meant FSU.

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My bad. Just looked back and you are right, sorry I missed the line of the thread. I think we are of the same mind. Nothing wrong with FSU but it's not an Engineering school.

Looking at UF as an alternative to A&M or Georgia Tech as being in the same general category. GT is the highest rated Engineering school but also likely the most expensive (tough as an OOS Admit and really tough for scholarship money) and not excited about Atlanta. Facilities look incredible though. At UF I think he has a good shot at getting close to In State tuition.

aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

---

I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

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UF is fine. Good engineering school.

You said what is FSU? I said FSU is overrated.
You said you were looking at it as an option for your son, thought you meant FSU.

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My bad. Just looked back and you are right, sorry I missed the line of the thread. I think we are of the same mind. Nothing wrong with FSU but it's not an Engineering school.

Looking at UF as an alternative to A&M or Georgia Tech as being in the same general category. GT is the highest rated Engineering school but also likely the most expensive (tough as an OOS Admit and really tough for scholarship money) and not excited about Atlanta. Facilities look incredible though. At UF I think he has a good shot at getting close to In State tuition.

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Don't disagree with anything you are saying above vis-a-vis UF and Ga Tech. Ga Tech is just smack dab in the middle of Atlanta, to me it doesn't seem like a college campus as much as an extension of a huge city. I'm curious as to why you think UF will offer close to in-state tuition? My son isn't being offered all that much, unless we end up getting the Grandparent Waiver which gives him in-state tuition. Were my son in-state, however, they would offer him nearly a full ride (National Merit Finalists).

He Who Shall Be Unnamed said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

---

aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

---

I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

---

UF is fine. Good engineering school.

You said what is FSU? I said FSU is overrated.
You said you were looking at it as an option for your son, thought you meant FSU.

---

My bad. Just looked back and you are right, sorry I missed the line of the thread. I think we are of the same mind. Nothing wrong with FSU but it's not an Engineering school.

Looking at UF as an alternative to A&M or Georgia Tech as being in the same general category. GT is the highest rated Engineering school but also likely the most expensive (tough as an OOS Admit and really tough for scholarship money) and not excited about Atlanta. Facilities look incredible though. At UF I think he has a good shot at getting close to In State tuition.

---

Don't disagree with anything you are saying above vis-a-vis UF and Ga Tech. Ga Tech is just smack dab in the middle of Atlanta, to me it doesn't seem like a college campus as much as an extension of a huge city. I'm curious as to why you think UF will offer close to in-state tuition? My son isn't being offered all that much, unless we end up getting the Grandparent Waiver which gives him in-state tuition. Were my son in-state, however, they would offer him nearly a full ride (National Merit Finalists).

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• Alumni Scholarship: up to $8,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $32,000 over 4 years)
• Sunshine Scholarship: up to $16,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total up to $64,000 over 4 years)
• Gator Nation Scholarship: $20,000 per year (Fall/Spring, total $80,000 over 4 years)

Those ear the OOS Scholarships. Not easy but attainable. Gator Nation would basically put you at In State. Sunshine isn't quite that but a LOT more than GT which really doesn't have anything outside of Stamps/Gold. Worth a shot.

Good stuff. Hope your son gets one of them offered. As I said, UF is really generous with their in-state merit awards, and that is something that I really appreciate. It's good to see schools valuing merit and achievement. As an aside, has your son visited campus? If so, what were his impressions?

aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

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I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

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Yet you visited UNC?

Central Florida. Not North Carolina.

He Who Shall Be Unnamed said:

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Good stuff. Hope your son gets one of them offered. As I said, UF is really generous with their in-state merit awards, and that is something that I really appreciate. It's good to see schools valuing merit and achievement. As an aside, has your son visited campus? If so, what were his impressions?

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We haven't done a real visit of UF yet, drove by it a few years back. It's kind of a newer one on the radar for him but we will probably try and get out there sometime next year. Realistically it's going to be hard to get over the A&M bar for him as it likely won't make sense to pay more to go there but still keeping an open mind.

94chem said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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aggie93 said:

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bmks270 said:

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BoDog said:

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bmks270 said:

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It's the University of Texas of Florida.

---

Ok based on that metric what is FSU (please dont say A&M)?

---

Overrated.

---

In what ways?

I'm looking at it as an option for my son for Engineering as it checks a lot of boxes. Also like that they have a decent amount of OOS scholarship money. They come across as a very solid and balanced Flagship that does everything pretty well. Well funded and seem to be rising in reputation. Rated around 5/6 of Public schools which seems a bit high but after visiting some of the higher rated Publics I thought they were also overrated, particularly UNC.

---

If it's for engineering at a Florida public university, the order is this:

1). Florida
2). USF and UCF
4). FSU.

Their engineering is some combination with FAMU, and they don't have a strong reputation for engineering, they're just not known much for STEM. They're know for more liberal arts stuff than hard stem sciences, they seem to be good for law, education, psychology, business….



If you're considering Florida universities for engineering also check out USF which is AAU (and FSU is not), and top 50 public, top 100 nationally, and has better engineering and a lot of undergrad research opportunities. USF also has a good computer science program and is a leader in cyber security . Also affordable and gives lots of financial aid to good students. Tampa is a better city than Tallahassee with more opportunity as well.

UCF in Orlando also has a good engineering program and lots of internship and job opportunities in Orlando. While USF is higher ranked overall, UCFs engineering is just as good.

I would put FSU for engineering behind USF and UCF.

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I was talking about Florida. You had said UF was overrated in response to the message that UF is the Texas of Florida. FSU isn't a consideration for my son as I know they are not really an Engineering school and started as a teacher's college.

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Yet you visited UNC?

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It was kind of a 3 in 1. Went to UNC, NC State, and Duke over a couple of days. He wants to do Biomedical Engineering and they have a really interesting dual program with NC State and UNC where you actually are considered a student at both to the point of getting sports passes at both and your degree has both stamps. NC State was more impressive than expected. They have a really nice Engineering Campus and facilities. UNC was gorgeous so long as you didn't actually go in the buildings. Pretentious as hell too, went to a football game and hung out for a few hours beforehand and people just weren't friendly. Duke is really nice but stupid hard to get into and virtually no shot at merit. Can't see dropping $350k to go there.

My daughter got into UNC as a double legacy, and they offered her the low, low price of $55,000/year. So...we said no, and she's at Tulsa on a full ride plus stipend. UNC is great at science. NC State is great at engineering. Duke is great at taking everything you own and making you wonder when the payback is gonna happen (hint: it probably won't).

94chem said:

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My daughter got into UNC as a double legacy, and they offered her the low, low price of $55,000/year. So...we said no, and she's at Tulsa on a full ride plus stipend. UNC is great at science. NC State is great at engineering. Duke is great at taking everything you own and making you wonder when the payback is gonna happen (hint: it probably won't).

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You definitely made the right choice. That Tulsa scholarship for NM is amazing.

Don't get me wrong, UNC is impressive and for the right student or major it is outstanding.

UF is definitely pulling more OOS. In state students that would have scores to gain admittance would be receiving full tuition on Bright Futures scholarships. Then many have FL Prepaid (when tuition rates went crazy, everyone locked rates), so they aren't making much $$ on FL kids and I'm pretty certain just about everyone applies. USF is improving, but still more of a commuter school. UCF has very basic majors. Many kids are jumping over to FIT now.
As I mentioned, my son was accepted to UF & FSU, which would've been fully paid x2 with bright futures & FL Prepaid, but ultimately chose Virginia Tech - higher ranked engineering & Corps of Cadets. My daughter's heart is at TAMU, but we'll have to see about OOS scholarships. It's hard to pass up the FL $$!

We are planning to set up the visit/tour, etc this fall. Possibly the weekend when A&M goes to Gainesville.

Our twins are looking for sort of a deep south type of SEC school with great academics. Kind of like an Ole Miss without the second HS education. We were really hoping UF checked that box but doing further research it seems the majority of their student body comes from the north east and Miami area and that is probably the antithesis of what they are looking for....

BoDog said:

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We are planning to set up the visit/tour, etc this fall. Possibly the weekend when A&M goes to Gainesville.

Our twins are looking for sort of a deep south type of SEC school with great academics. Kind of like an Ole Miss without the second HS education. We were really hoping UF checked that box but doing further research it seems the majority of their student body comes from the north east and Miami area and that is probably the antithesis of what they are looking for....

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Florida is not the South.

Just Bee-cause said:

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UF is definitely pulling more OOS. In state students that would have scores to gain admittance would be receiving full tuition on Bright Futures scholarships. Then many have FL Prepaid (when tuition rates went crazy, everyone locked rates), so they aren't making much $$ on FL kids and I'm pretty certain just about everyone applies. USF is improving, but still more of a commuter school. UCF has very basic majors. Many kids are jumping over to FIT now.
As I mentioned, my son was accepted to UF & FSU, which would've been fully paid x2 with bright futures & FL Prepaid, but ultimately chose Virginia Tech - higher ranked engineering & Corps of Cadets. My daughter's heart is at TAMU, but we'll have to see about OOS scholarships. It's hard to pass up the FL $$!

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I'm a bit biased due to family ties, but USF isn't "more of a commuter school".

USF probably has the nicest campus housing in the state (way nicer than FSU or UF). Great honors college. More undergrad research opportunities than UF. Student body doesn't have a reputation for being elitist or arrogant like UF (hence why UF is the Texas of Florida).

Just for some extra comparison, among SEC schools, USF would be 5th in the SEC on USNWR rankings (just ahead of auburn, and after 4th place Texas A&M).

BoDog said:

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We are planning to set up the visit/tour, etc this fall. Possibly the weekend when A&M goes to Gainesville.

Our twins are looking for sort of a deep south type of SEC school with great academics. Kind of like an Ole Miss without the second HS education. We were really hoping UF checked that box but doing further research it seems the majority of their student body comes from the north east and Miami area and that is probably the antithesis of what they are looking for....

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UGA and Auburn are what you want. If you want private, consider Samford, Belmont, Davidson. I have a daughter in college in Atlanta.

Just Bee-cause said:

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UF is definitely pulling more OOS. In state students that would have scores to gain admittance would be receiving full tuition on Bright Futures scholarships. Then many have FL Prepaid (when tuition rates went crazy, everyone locked rates), so they aren't making much $$ on FL kids and I'm pretty certain just about everyone applies. USF is improving, but still more of a commuter school. UCF has very basic majors. Many kids are jumping over to FIT now.
As I mentioned, my son was accepted to UF & FSU, which would've been fully paid x2 with bright futures & FL Prepaid, but ultimately chose Virginia Tech - higher ranked engineering & Corps of Cadets. My daughter's heart is at TAMU, but we'll have to see about OOS scholarships. It's hard to pass up the FL $$!

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The key for A&M from OOS is getting $4k in scholarships. If you do that you get In State tuition along with the scholarship. Easiest path there is the Corps scholarships. That said there are others available as well.

If you can go to UF for free though that's awfully hard to pass up. By most metrics A&M and UF are probably as similar as you will find. Both have some strengths and weaknesses the other does not but generally they are both monster Flagship state schools with lots of money and strong Engineering and Business programs. UF is more diversified than A&M. A&M is stronger in certain areas and has more total resources. Gainesville and College Station have a lot in common in terms of size and proximity to Major Metros.

BoDog said:

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We are planning to set up the visit/tour, etc this fall. Possibly the weekend when A&M goes to Gainesville.

Our twins are looking for sort of a deep south type of SEC school with great academics. Kind of like an Ole Miss without the second HS education. We were really hoping UF checked that box but doing further research it seems the majority of their student body comes from the north east and Miami area and that is probably the antithesis of what they are looking for....

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I hope you aren't being overly influenced by what my son said. UF is a tremendous school, and it absolutely checks all of those boxes of a large school, great sports, and most importantly an excellent academic reputation that I personally think will only get stronger and stronger as time goes on.

BoDog said:

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We are planning to set up the visit/tour, etc this fall. Possibly the weekend when A&M goes to Gainesville.

Our twins are looking for sort of a deep south type of SEC school with great academics. Kind of like an Ole Miss without the second HS education. We were really hoping UF checked that box but doing further research it seems the majority of their student body comes from the north east and Miami area and that is probably the antithesis of what they are looking for...

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88.5% of students at UF are from Florida which is almost as high as A&M is from Texas. NY/NJ are the 2 biggest OOS states but they are still less than 4% of the student body. Next up is Georgia, Virginia, and Texas. I'm sure South Florida has a large percentage but I would imagine it spreads out around the state. There are 35k Undergrads so that means over 30k from Florida, that's a lot of different kids.

This is good to hear. I should probably take what I hear from our distant Florida relatives with a grain of salt...

In doing research on UF btw one thing I do like is they don't have an ETAM process and they are very much in favor of AP and Dual Credit transfers. Thus my son wants to do Engineering and will have 14 APs and 2 DCs and from what I am reading at UF he should use most of them. It's actually better to get through the weed out classes and move forward. I could see a path to getting a BS/MS in 5 years or less being very possible there even with some internships, for a strong student. That's much harder to do at A&M because of ETAM. You have to make a 3.75 Freshman year to get a premium major and it's a big risk to push yourself early. For instance if you get a 5 on the Calc BC Exam they encourage you to go to Multivariable Calc to start. At A&M it's going to be 152 or even 151.

That's why our's went big ten. One 4 in English lit, the rest 5's except for linear algebra and Organic Chem APs that didn't have tests. Tested out of foreign languages and APed out of all science and math. They even gave him credit for linear algebra. Started four hours shy of junior classification. Comprehensive honors BA, two BSs, and two minors, TA, RA and thesis as an undergrad. Texas universities can't compete with that.