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Please forgive me if this isn't the correct place to post this, but these schools didn't have a specific topic under the individual schools topic. Mods please feel free to move as needed!

First let me say this, the traffic to and from Florida was horrific! I've drivin in just about every large metropolitian city in this country but have never seen anything quite like it this past week. Of course getting stuck in the final four traffic in Atlanta was expected but the rest was not. Whew!

Okay...our first stop. University of Tampa. Downtown Tampa is not hard to navigate even though there are tons of one way streets. The campus sits right in the middle of the city and we both noticed immediately the traffic noise. I realize that we both were probably a little more conscious of it then most people due to the fact that we live in the country where only about 4 cars a day come down our road. We arrived at Plant Hall, which in it's day was probably one of the most beautiful hotels in all the country. But today, it's starting to look a little run down. This is the main academic classroom on UT's campus, and the boy was not impressed. Our tour guide was a business major (the only major to have a brand new high tech building) so her knowledge of Plant Hall wasn't very good. Son is into math and science so after the tour we had to go snooping around the science wing of Plant to see the labs, and we didn't find any? The business building was very nice, brand new, with alot of the new computer technology. There is one brand new dorm and student center which was awesome, very large dorm rooms with great views of the Hillsbourough River, but I noticed that all the eating establishments in the commons areas were closed. And at 10:30 AM in the morning when most college students are getting up I found this odd. The tour concluded with an information session, which was very informative and well put together, but by this time the boy had decided Tampa just wasn't for him.

Next stop Eckerd. Absolutely AWESOME campus. Small student body of approx. 1500 students and a real feeling of friendship. The dorms where okay, nothing special, nothing bad, but the boy fell in love with their marine science center. I'm a tad bit concerned with the fact that their so small, but son seemed to like that. What can you say about their Waterfront area! Spectacular opportunities for work and play. The boy thought their sea rescue squad would be something he would be interested in as well. This school is still on the possibilities list.

Next New College. New College shares it's campus with the University of South Florida in Sarasota. Part of the buildings are originally part of the Ringling Circus families personal estates. These building have been well maintained and are beautiful! Very small student body of approx. 600 kids. The library here was impressive, and the science building was nice, however we got the impression that this school was definately for the "arts" kind of folks. Literature courses were definately the "tour de jour". There was a new small marine science center, but not anything to write home about. The information session was very well organized and informative, but beware of the admissions receptionist from hell. We had such high hopes before the tour on this one but it has been crossed off the list.

Florida Gulf Coast University....the #1 surprise! Before going here we had surmised that this was a comuter college and probably wouldn't be worth a look, but being in the area of Ft. Myers/Naples we decided what the heck! Upon entering the campus, which is off the beaten path (although by the looks of things growing) we came upon an oasis in the sand. Lush green grounds, a beautiful large lake, and since it was just established in 1997 brand new buildings full of all the best parts of the the UF campuses. High tech abounds! Every lab, every dorm, every desk, heck every seat is wired! The most friendly staff greeted us, our tour guide was knowledgable and even the kids taking the tour with us were great. The boy made friends instantaneously! The dorms, well I hate to call them dorms, are actually 4 single bedroom apartments complete with kitchen w/dishwashers and living rooms. The "Commons" building in the center is designed for living as well. All this overlooking the beach on the lake. They are building phase III of the housing and will be starting phase IV soon. Should bring the total housing up to around 1000. Right now the campus has a total of 5000 but the long term plan is to have a student body of 15000 by 2010 all the while keeping class size below 20 per class. Construction of a new basketball arena is going on as well as more classrooms, so there is alot taking place on campus right now, but surprisingly enough we really didn't notice first thing off the bat. The only problem with this school is the quality of the program. They have an established eviromental program, however they are just starting their marine science program this fall, so consequently the boy would be in their 2nd class. It's basically an unknown entity. This could or could not be a problem. The boy is going to try to correspond with some of the professors by e-mail to learn more about program, and if necessary make another trip down before applying to find out the specifics. All and all this schools is still on the possible list.

University of Miami. Going in I knew this would be his #1 choice. I was surprised to find it turned out #2 after the tour. Once again, gorgeous campus, well mainted, everything top of the line, but I think the traffic surrounding the university as well as the sheer size and number of students kind of intimidated the boy. The quality of the marine science programs and labs excited him, but I think that is the only thing holding it up to #2 at this time. The freshman dorms were awful! My walk in closet is larger. The beds if you can call them that looked like plastic covered bench seats out of a pick up truck that were permantely attached to the wall. No lofting here! The air was on but it was actually warmer in the dorms than outside, which was 88 degrees at the time. We saw a freshman bio lecture going on with over 200 kids in one class. So the class sizes are LARGE! This school is still on his list, due to the strength of program, but in order to justify the 30,000+ cost, he would have to get a large amount of aid to make it justafiable.

Florida Tech. I thought this school would be #2 on his list, but it's now off his list completely. He can't say why exactly, it's just a feeling he said he got. Everything is new and well taken care of. The campus is nice but not beautiful, and our biology specific tour guide was very knowledgeable, but for some reason unknown to me he just didn't care for it. The biology wet labs were okay, nothing to write home about, even though we had heard tremendous things about their program. The dorms, were adequate. This campus had much more of a comuter feel to it than expected I think. Although I get the feeling that the research opportunities here were the best of all we've seen. Definately looked better on paper than in person.

Out last stop...whew! Stetson. Absolutely beautiful in that it is old Georgian style mansion buildings, tree lined walk ways, what I felt a college campus should look like. Most of the buildings were old, well maintained however, but with a high school feel to them. The science building was newer, with good labs, and professors were friendly stopping to chat with our tour guide and introducing themselves to the tourees. DeLand was a delightful town, where people were very friendly. Our admissions counselor was fantastic, very helpful and considerate, she had even gone out of her way to set us up to talk to one of the marine biology professors later that afternoon. It was unfortunate that our schedule didn't allow us the time to stay till that evening to talk to him. No marine science center specifically, however son said he thought he could be comfortable there. It's not tops on the list but is still a possibility.

All and all our trip was productive. The junior has a much better idea of what he wants, needs, and more importantly how important a decision he has to make about where he goes to school. And it was a great opportunity for me and my son to become better friends! I hope you all enjoy your tours as much as we did, and I'm looking forward to our trip to North/South Carolina in June so much more!

By Dadster on Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 11:11 am: Edit

What a great post, 1sttime! Thanks for sharing this info. In addition to providing great comparative info on the schools you visited, your post also shows why it is SO important to visit in person - "... but it's now off his list completely. He can't say why exactly, it's just a feeling he said he got", "the #1 surprise", "looked better on paper than in person". If you don't go, you don't know! Great job, hope you had some fun on the trip, too!

By Barefoot Mailman on Sunday, April 21, 2002 - 12:33 am: Edit

Never heard of Florida Gulf Coast University, is it fully accredited?

>>The only problem with this school is the quality of the program.<<

Only? Without that, seriously, what else matters?

By 1sttimecollegemom on Monday, April 22, 2002 - 07:16 am: Edit

These are the facts as I know them.
U.S. News Ranking
Rank: Universities-Master's (South), second tier
Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Part of the University of Florida System.
The college was started in 1997, so yes it is brand new.

>>Only? Without that, seriously, what else matters? <<

Personally, I feel that there are several serious things to consider as well as program. Yes, I agree it's the most important, but not the only single deciding factor. If you have any concrete evidence supporting good or bad information about FGCU, I would be more than pleased to hear it. Since their marine science is an unknown at this time, we ourselves are having a hard time "rating" it.

By Barefoot Mailman on Monday, April 22, 2002 - 01:26 pm: Edit

Having never before heard of the school, obviously I have no concrete evidence supporting good or bad information about FGCU. My question was based soley on your comment, "The only problem with this school is the quality of the program".

>>Rank: Universities-Master's (South), second tier<<

What does this mean? Is this a new category, something other than a national ranking? It looks like a combination of regional and program-based (university?) subsections, a double-sub-category which might not bode well if it's a small group. IOW, it might be deemed problematic to be in the second tier of a group that is small to begin with.

I think your predicament shows why it's hard not to mention frustrating to venture into a new school because it's an unklnown entity. Given the uncertainess of unchartered territory, it's a risky proposition for such an important life decision.

By 1sttimecollegemom on Monday, April 22, 2002 - 09:41 pm: Edit

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/tools/cosearch.htm

This is the link from US news that gave me that ranking.