What are everyone's thoughts on UF (University of Florida)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the parent whose kid got into UF but is going elsewhere, for the reasons I gave upthread. I gave several reasons to avoid UF, and FL universities, but what irritating about so much of the anti-FL animus on this thread is that it's inarticulate and apparently unreasoned. One commenter helpfully spelled out their reasons: too many online courses at UF, and too much TA dependence. Great, but when challenged, these apparent reasons seem to fall apart (as explained upthread). What's left? It looks like people just hate Florida and Floridians. Well, fine, go ahead and hate the nation's third largest state -- I'm not a fan of it either. But does that really help someone -- the OP, presumably -- wondering whether their kid should be interested in attending this particular university? Maybe start from the assumption that this person doesn't antecedently despise the state it's in?

I don’t think the online classes bit fell apart, there is the entire online freshman experience and then a bunch of online classes “normal” kids have to take, particularly for business majors. To my knowledge, Florida is atypical in this respect, the Arizona schools being the only other system to extensively use online classes.

Too much TA dependence didn’t fall apart either, the poster just said every state school does it which isn’t true.

Lastly, there is the truly laughable endowment of less than $50,000 per student to which no one responded and puts Florida in the cellar compared to a
alleged peer schools. And the curriculum changes imposed by DeSantis. Not to mention the grifting tenure of Ben Sasse as president.
Then there is the truly min

1. Online classes are an issue only if you can't easily avoid them. Maybe that's true in the business school -- I have no idea. If so, that's a strike against the UF business school.

2. Every public research university has TAs -- I'm sure just as many, in many cases more, than UF. I think "TA" is confusingly being used here to refer to adjuncts. If there are a lot of adjuncts, that's bad. My kid looked into this (with parental help), and there's no reason to think this is a problem at UF: in fact, we were impressed that UF has tenure-track faculty where many rival schools rely on adjuncts (e.g. in the music school, one of my kid's side-interests). Again, maybe in the business school has a problem here -- I have no idea.

3. UF's per-student endowment puts it above UMD, VT, and UGA, among other respectable public schools. It's not especially impressive, but endowment size is really only relevant for private universities.

4. I entirely agree about the political shenanigans. Is that a reason to avoid UF? It's just as bad in many other red states. My kid's leaving the country partly in order to avoid this nonsense, but I don't think it's decisive on its own.

I don’t know why you keep saying adjuncts are worse than TAs. I disagree. TAs are graduate students, that isn’t who I want teaching my kids, they just graduated themselves. I would never send my kids to a college where they are being taught primarily by grad students.

Also, you know what’s better than having to tailor your schedule to avoid online classes? Attending a school that doesn’t rely heavily on online classes.


The better public schools, like UVA and UNC, have significantly higher endowments per student, $388,00 and $200,000 respectively. Even medium size privates are in the $200,000 to 300,000 range.

You're going to have to avoid research universities altogether, especially public research unis, if you want to entirely or easily avoid TAs. What you say above shows (maybe this is a useful exercise?) that you've effectively ruled out public research universities (and many private ones, too). I think it's perfectly reasonable to want to avoid TAs, but this really isn't a problem specifically for UF.

But still, you've now ruled out UF, and for a legitimate reason -- congrats!

Not really. Most of the good privates these days have professors teaching freshman undergrad. This is a public school issue, not a private research university one.
DD goes to Harvard and DS goes to Duke, neither have been taught by any grad students.

So your kids go to completely different colleges than the college the OP is asking about, but you felt the need to come on this thread to critique a school you have no personal affiliation with whatsoever. Interesting. I wonder why.

Honestly, maybe you have reading comprehension issues if you are "wondering" They said rule out private research universities too. Kiss my butt, weirdo.

blah blah

[Anonymous]

I don't think very highly of most Floridians so I guess I wouldn't want to subject my child to so many of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think very highly of most Floridians so I guess I wouldn't want to subject my child to so many of them.

Great. One less application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think very highly of most Floridians so I guess I wouldn't want to subject my child to so many of them.

Sorry your kid didn't get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually over 70,000. They still good.

Last year was over 70,000 applications. This year, it was over 90,000.

[Anonymous]

We visited about five years ago with our then high school age son. My parents live in Florida, and it was maybe a 1.5 hour drive. We soon figured out that ds would not have the scores/grades as an OOS student. But...

I LOVED IT! I was trying to figure out what I could do to go to graduate school there as a 50-something. The campus was lovely. It was a gorgeous April day, and both the outside areas AND the libraries were packed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think very highly of most Floridians so I guess I wouldn't want to subject my child to so many of them.

That's peak DCUM right there.

State of 23 million? "I don't think very highly of most [of them]."

YTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think very highly of most Floridians so I guess I wouldn't want to subject my child to so many of them.

That's peak DCUM right there.

State of 23 million? "I don't think very highly of most [of them]."

YTA.

Yep exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the parent whose kid got into UF but is going elsewhere, for the reasons I gave upthread. I gave several reasons to avoid UF, and FL universities, but what irritating about so much of the anti-FL animus on this thread is that it's inarticulate and apparently unreasoned. One commenter helpfully spelled out their reasons: too many online courses at UF, and too much TA dependence. Great, but when challenged, these apparent reasons seem to fall apart (as explained upthread). What's left? It looks like people just hate Florida and Floridians. Well, fine, go ahead and hate the nation's third largest state -- I'm not a fan of it either. But does that really help someone -- the OP, presumably -- wondering whether their kid should be interested in attending this particular university? Maybe start from the assumption that this person doesn't antecedently despise the state it's in?

I don’t think the online classes bit fell apart, there is the entire online freshman experience and then a bunch of online classes “normal” kids have to take, particularly for business majors. To my knowledge, Florida is atypical in this respect, the Arizona schools being the only other system to extensively use online classes.

Too much TA dependence didn’t fall apart either, the poster just said every state school does it which isn’t true.

Lastly, there is the truly laughable endowment of less than $50,000 per student to which no one responded and puts Florida in the cellar compared to a
alleged peer schools. And the curriculum changes imposed by DeSantis. Not to mention the grifting tenure of Ben Sasse as president.
Then there is the truly min

1. Online classes are an issue only if you can't easily avoid them. Maybe that's true in the business school -- I have no idea. If so, that's a strike against the UF business school.

2. Every public research university has TAs -- I'm sure just as many, in many cases more, than UF. I think "TA" is confusingly being used here to refer to adjuncts. If there are a lot of adjuncts, that's bad. My kid looked into this (with parental help), and there's no reason to think this is a problem at UF: in fact, we were impressed that UF has tenure-track faculty where many rival schools rely on adjuncts (e.g. in the music school, one of my kid's side-interests). Again, maybe in the business school has a problem here -- I have no idea.

3. UF's per-student endowment puts it above UMD, VT, and UGA, among other respectable public schools. It's not especially impressive, but endowment size is really only relevant for private universities.

4. I entirely agree about the political shenanigans. Is that a reason to avoid UF? It's just as bad in many other red states. My kid's leaving the country partly in order to avoid this nonsense, but I don't think it's decisive on its own.

I don’t know why you keep saying adjuncts are worse than TAs. I disagree. TAs are graduate students, that isn’t who I want teaching my kids, they just graduated themselves. I would never send my kids to a college where they are being taught primarily by grad students.

Also, you know what’s better than having to tailor your schedule to avoid online classes? Attending a school that doesn’t rely heavily on online classes.


The better public schools, like UVA and UNC, have significantly higher endowments per student, $388,00 and $200,000 respectively. Even medium size privates are in the $200,000 to 300,000 range.

OK, but or many schools, a significant part of the endowment really has nothing to do with undergraduates. For instance, if it is for the law school, there are no undergraduates there. Same with medical school.

[Anonymous]

Anyone waiting for Friday decisions? Ds was deferred and is really hoping to get in.

[Anonymous]

excellent school, they have a great honors program. and school spirit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:excellent school, they have a great honors program. and school spirit.

Not true!

Florida is super MAGA. Whole state sucks!

[Anonymous]

The University of Florida is doing everything right. Remember, a whole bunch of the older crowd has not idea of what the university has become. Back in the 1980's the admission rate was something around 70%. Now it is one of the premier flagships in the country in a massive, and massively growing, state.

[Anonymous]

UF has gone downhill since meatball Ron stuck his greasy fingers into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:excellent school, they have a great honors program. and school spirit.

Not true!

Florida is super MAGA. Whole state sucks!

Placism epitomized. I am certain there are many others who think the same about the DMV, or the northeast, or the U.S.

The least talented inevitably take comfort in where they originate or live, as if the water makes them anything special. You may think you are on the same team as the rest of the high achievers in this area, but you’re not on the same team and not even playing the same sport.