My classes have been interesting and taught by enthusiastic professors. In large classes, smaller SI sessions have been offered--usually with knowledgeable graduate students of the field who are very ready to help and answer questions.
Do you enjoy the experience at your school?
UCF wasn't actually my first choice, but boy am I glad I came! There are incredible services--anything a student could want from pre-health professions advising to career services to a really fancy gym with a large cardio area, many types of indoor courts for sports like basketball, volleyball, and badminton, a rock-climbing wall where you can get your belay certification, a full-floor of weight equipment, and free seminars on health and wellness usually at least once a week, and over 10 kinds of fun fitness classes that are free to students (i.e. spinning, kickboxing, zumba, ballet, boot camp, washboard abs, etc. etc.) There is a leisure pool, a sports pool, and almost any kind of club you could imagine--from chocolate-lovers, to the Asian board-game Go, to at least 4 different kinds of martial arts, to dance, and on and on. There are also organizations for students considering just about any professional career after their undergraduate, like health or law, and groups for many religious and ethnic groups that aren't necessarily exclusive.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
With costs rising and funding dropping, UCF is starting to have trouble with the amount of aid it used to give. Still, the college is dedicated to finding solutions to the difficult financial times without putting too much burden on the students. Bright Futures is a huge help for in-state students, but most students with whom I have spoken on the subject also received varying degrees of financial aid, from partial tuition to full tuition AND room-and-board. As a hint, though, they LOVE national merit semi-finalists, finalists, and scholars. One semi-finalist I knew received around $8000 per year on TOP of a full tuition scholarship from the college AND full bright futures from the state! She is EARNING money by attending, as the extra defaults to her account. She can use it for books, school supplies, and sometimes just living expenses, which is fantastic. They also offer many kinds of grants and loans for financial need, even if your GPA has taken a hit from your financial situation. My neighbor has received several subsidized loans from the government and the school and is managing to keep his out-of-pocket expenses down to between $800 and $1500 per year even though he didn't qualify for too much merit-based scholarship money. There is a great opportunity for students here to save money and still get a great education from knowledgeable and enthusiastic professors and assistants.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Be careful which meal plans you choose--some of them, while seemingly better bang for your buck are really just unnecessarily large amounts of food, especially for those living in housing locations that have kitchenettes in the common areas. For students who don't have transportation, however, and are in traditional housing, the plans can be very useful! There are many options, so look carefully and pick the one that's right for you and your needs so that you don't lose extra money.
Go to LINK events! I wish I had gone to more--they are really fun and you can win points used for the auctions at the end of each semester.
Take advantage of your student benefits. For example, in the union, students can get one free scantron daily from the Student Government, and certain students (Honors College members, Lead Scholars members) even have free printing labs--with basically no limits! All students qualify for a certain number of free pages from the SGA, and so don't let these things go to waste! There are also numerous student events that are both fun and informative, and may offer free meals.
Check out different clubs and drop in on a few meetings. Go to tables outside the union on the days that organizations have them set up--you can find some really interesting things that are not only fun to do but can look great on your resume. There are sporting clubs as well if you tend toward athletic, and not all of them are varsity-type if you just want to play for the fun and the love of the game. There are organizations and clubs for many types of career goals, as well as many religious and ethnic clubs and groups that aren't always limited to people belonging to the religion or ethnicity--only people who are interested. Some, of course, are more religion- or action-focused, and may not have much to offer to people who are just curious, but sitting in on a couple meetings may be interesting for curious people even if they don't feel any reason to join the ...
Which types of students will excel at your college?
Engineering students--after all, it was originally Florida Technical University and focused on engineering; in fact, UCF has some really awesome engineering programs, such as the 5-year master's degree program. My engineering-major friend is a senior this year, and he has just loved his time here and been very involved. All-in-all, the opportunities (including internships, scholarships, and just academic) for engineering students are really a strong plus if you're thinking of going into one of the engineering branches. The college also has a partnership with Disney and UCF students helped design some of the rides--a piece of the original prototype track for Space Mountain, I believe, is still on display in one of the 3 engineering buildings, given to the college in gratitude for the participation and help of UCF students and graduates for their part in its creation.
Pre-health-profession students. There are so many organizations, and even a pre-health advising center! The 7-year-MD program is very tempting if you can qualify, and there are organizations for just about any medical-related profession (including veterinary, dentistry, etc.)
Business students--even though several of the classes are starting to be more online-based because of financial struggle, our business program is very active and has a multitude of scholarships and opportunities as it is growing. The business building seemed like one of the busiest places on campus.
My classes have been interesting and taught by enthusiastic professors. In large classes, smaller SI sessions have been offered--usually with knowledgeable graduate students of the field who are very ready to help and answer questions.
UCF wasn't actually my first choice, but boy am I glad I came! There are incredible services--anything a student could want from pre-health professions advising to career services to a really fancy gym with a large cardio area, many types of indoor courts for sports like basketball, volleyball, and badminton, a rock-climbing wall where you can get your belay certification, a full-floor of weight equipment, and free seminars on health and wellness usually at least once a week, and over 10 kinds of fun fitness classes that are free to students (i.e. spinning, kickboxing, zumba, ballet, boot camp, washboard abs, etc. etc.) There is a leisure pool, a sports pool, and almost any kind of club you could imagine--from chocolate-lovers, to the Asian board-game Go, to at least 4 different kinds of martial arts, to dance, and on and on. There are also organizations for students considering just about any professional career after their undergraduate, like health or law, and groups for many religious and ethnic groups that aren't necessarily exclusive.
With costs rising and funding dropping, UCF is starting to have trouble with the amount of aid it used to give. Still, the college is dedicated to finding solutions to the difficult financial times without putting too much burden on the students. Bright Futures is a huge help for in-state students, but most students with whom I have spoken on the subject also received varying degrees of financial aid, from partial tuition to full tuition AND room-and-board. As a hint, though, they LOVE national merit semi-finalists, finalists, and scholars. One semi-finalist I knew received around $8000 per year on TOP of a full tuition scholarship from the college AND full bright futures from the state! She is EARNING money by attending, as the extra defaults to her account. She can use it for books, school supplies, and sometimes just living expenses, which is fantastic. They also offer many kinds of grants and loans for financial need, even if your GPA has taken a hit from your financial situation. My neighbor has received several subsidized loans from the government and the school and is managing to keep his out-of-pocket expenses down to between $800 and $1500 per year even though he didn't qualify for too much merit-based scholarship money. There is a great opportunity for students here to save money and still get a great education from knowledgeable and enthusiastic professors and assistants.
Be careful which meal plans you choose--some of them, while seemingly better bang for your buck are really just unnecessarily large amounts of food, especially for those living in housing locations that have kitchenettes in the common areas. For students who don't have transportation, however, and are in traditional housing, the plans can be very useful! There are many options, so look carefully and pick the one that's right for you and your needs so that you don't lose extra money. Go to LINK events! I wish I had gone to more--they are really fun and you can win points used for the auctions at the end of each semester. Take advantage of your student benefits. For example, in the union, students can get one free scantron daily from the Student Government, and certain students (Honors College members, Lead Scholars members) even have free printing labs--with basically no limits! All students qualify for a certain number of free pages from the SGA, and so don't let these things go to waste! There are also numerous student events that are both fun and informative, and may offer free meals. Check out different clubs and drop in on a few meetings. Go to tables outside the union on the days that organizations have them set up--you can find some really interesting things that are not only fun to do but can look great on your resume. There are sporting clubs as well if you tend toward athletic, and not all of them are varsity-type if you just want to play for the fun and the love of the game. There are organizations and clubs for many types of career goals, as well as many religious and ethnic clubs and groups that aren't always limited to people belonging to the religion or ethnicity--only people who are interested. Some, of course, are more religion- or action-focused, and may not have much to offer to people who are just curious, but sitting in on a couple meetings may be interesting for curious people even if they don't feel any reason to join the ...
Engineering students--after all, it was originally Florida Technical University and focused on engineering; in fact, UCF has some really awesome engineering programs, such as the 5-year master's degree program. My engineering-major friend is a senior this year, and he has just loved his time here and been very involved. All-in-all, the opportunities (including internships, scholarships, and just academic) for engineering students are really a strong plus if you're thinking of going into one of the engineering branches. The college also has a partnership with Disney and UCF students helped design some of the rides--a piece of the original prototype track for Space Mountain, I believe, is still on display in one of the 3 engineering buildings, given to the college in gratitude for the participation and help of UCF students and graduates for their part in its creation. Pre-health-profession students. There are so many organizations, and even a pre-health advising center! The 7-year-MD program is very tempting if you can qualify, and there are organizations for just about any medical-related profession (including veterinary, dentistry, etc.) Business students--even though several of the classes are starting to be more online-based because of financial struggle, our business program is very active and has a multitude of scholarships and opportunities as it is growing. The business building seemed like one of the busiest places on campus.