Florida School Info need from Fellow F chatters:) | FerrariChat

Florida School Info need from Fellow F chatters:)

Discussion in 'Florida' started by LAfun2, Sep 10, 2004.

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  1. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    39,248
    California
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    Ryan
    #1 LAfun2, Sep 10, 2004
    Hello there,

    I was looking for some information regarding the following two schools. I have been to their website and studied them, but I would like to hear from a natives perspective, if possible.

    I thank you in advance for the help. :)

    Schools:

    1) University of Florida (Levin)

    2) Florida State University


    My questions were pretty general, so you can throw whatever you want in your post. I want to know how do Floridians look at these schools. Is one considerably better than the other? What are your personal views? How is the living situation near the schools? Any one have any idea on rent (say 1bedroom apt) or prices for a 1 or 2 bedroom small condo? Just looking at general info.

    Any recommendations on the school/lifestyle would be appreciated. Are there big cities near these schools? Are they more urban/suburban setting?

    Any of you guys attended either one? Would you do it again?

    **Only concerned about Academic quality, not sports** ;)

    Thanks for the help,

    -Ryan
     
  2. djoex

    djoex Karting

    Dec 7, 2003
    138
    Miami, Fl
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    Joe Yeung
    #2 djoex, Sep 10, 2004
    I have friends in both those schools, what i can tell you is... in both there are always parties ( may be useful info ), and i'm not exactly sure, since i haven't been personally at the locations but i've been told there are no "big cities" around. Another thing, most of my engineering friends and other people think UF is better ( academics ) than FSU. I think that covers almost everything, i dont think the rent is expensive. Again these things are what I hear from my friends that go to these schools and from the info i've gather thats how i picture them.
     
  3. Gatorrari

    Gatorrari F1 World Champ
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    Feb 27, 2004
    15,935
    Georgia
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    Jim Pernikoff
    #3 Gatorrari, Sep 10, 2004
    As a UF graduate, I'm biased, but I think both the school and the town are more appealing. The school is much bigger than when I attended, but they have done a good job maintaining green space and good traffic patterns. The campus layout is very logical and most everything is a reasonable walk or bike ride away.

    There is a bustling retail district along the north edge of campus and a small but pleasant downtown is less than a mile east of campus. The newer retail district is centered on the Oaks Mall near I-75, several miles to the west. Gainesville is, to me, the perfect size city, big enough to have all the amenities but small enough so that most of the time you can get from one side of town to the other in 20 minutes or so. I was able to get a nice apartment one block from campus, but that may be more difficult now; all the newer housing is west of I-75. They do have a pretty good bus system, however.

    And if you need a bigger place to shop, Jacksonville is a little over an hour's drive away. The driving time is similar to both coasts of Florida.

    I found the academics to be first-rate, and that was before they established a series of "eminent scholar chairs" to attract well-known scholars to their faculty. If there is a weakness (in engineering, at least) it is that they place a bit too much emphasis on theory and research and not enough on practical learning. (But then I think that is a trend among large U.S. universities.)

    FSU is an excellent school with an attractive campus but Tallahassee gives me a cold feeling every time I go through. Its one advantage is closer proximity to the Panama City/Fort Walton areas, as well as Biloxi and New Orleans, but on the other hand it is farther from all the attractions on the peninsula.
     
  4. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    39,248
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    Ryan
    #4 LAfun2, Sep 10, 2004

    Joe,

    Thank you for the information. No, the party statistics are irrelevant, since I will be pursuing a graduate degree. ;) So are these schools more in cities where the school is the major factor?

    It just seems in most state, if the "University" comes before the State, that school is better than if the name of the state comes before the word "university." Just generally what I have been hearing.

    Like UF>FSU, UC>CSU, UA>ASU. Don't know, just seems interesting, then again maybe I am spending WAAAAAAAAY too much time with the applications.



    Jim,

    Thank you for excellent first hand account. I don't know much about FL, except for what I heard about Elian Gonzalez, and all the women they show in MTV which seem be in Miami. :D

    However, none of those are basic concerns, as this is a strictly academic venture. :)

    So is UF basically the center of the town it is in? Like, all your neighbors are basically UF students, kinda town?

    WHat do you think about going to UF and not having a car? (just debating getting rid of all toys for a few years).

    Any specific reason Tallahasee gives you cold feeling?

    ALso what is the weather like at UF from say Sept-May?


    Thank you once again, for a great post. It is certainly helping me a lot!
     
  5. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Apr 28, 2003
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    Texas!
    #5 Texas Forever, Sep 10, 2004
    WTF! I guess times have changed since 1970 when the buzz was don't go greek -- go freak.

    Seriously, UF has always been the money school in Florida. FSU was a chick school, which when you think about it isn't such a bad idea. Until recent times, UF got all the bucks while half-ass U got the the spare change. (Remember, I went to FSU before Bobby Bowden.)

    Ryan, I think that you need to consider the advice of other lawyers, which is that if you are not going to go to a top-20 school, then you need to pick a big state school near where you want to end up practicing. Most of my good-time hippy buddies at FSU ended up as fairly big-time lawyers in Florida, and they all went to UF. Making $250 to $500 a year in Florida ain't bad. It ain't bad at all.

    Dale
     
  6. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    39,248
    California
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    Ryan
    #6 LAfun2, Sep 10, 2004
    Thanks very much Dale. Currently I am thinking of practicing in CA, as I have a home here and some other ties. I will be applying to the top 10 schools, but needed some holid back up schools (Ucla, UT, UF). THus was the reason for my inquiry.

    Seems like UF is the better school. Much appreciated. :)

    For 250/500 per year, I guess even the humidity is tolerable. :eek:
     

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