2009-03-23, 10:37 PM
Zaotsu Wrote:UF (University of Florida) - Accepted (No surprise) Simlar to above, but majority of friends are going here. Decent school, although it sucks for the field I wanna go into, Computer Science. Huge student population is a turnoff.
I go to UF. Computer Science isn't that bad... I'm a minor. The profs are good but the classes are large. Discussions are useless, don't bother going. (It is one of the only departments with optional attendance at discussion sessions, so I guess it evens out.)
The large student body isn't something that bad... Yeah, the line can get kinda long at restaurants around lunchtime, but aside from crowded-ish class changes in the very center of campus, it's not a big deal. You still run into the people you know a lot, because most of the core classes are in the same area (heck, most classes are in an area smaller than colleges with a tenth of the students). Plus there are literally hundreds of clubs and groups to get into if you want a smaller situation, and the Honors program for small, interesting classes. (It sounds like you'd get into Honors easily, judging from the rest of your colleges.) You have more to worry about with the large numbers of sorostitutes looking for their MRS degrees and the spoiled frat boys doing keg stands than the large classes. =P
Also, I could be wrong but I heard our Digital Arts and Sciences was pretty good... o_O But idk, most people I know are pure software. Hardware program is better... that's through Electrical Engineering, though you take the core software classes as well.
Anyway, I'm a chem major. I personally hate most of the department... It's mostly pre-meds. All they want to do is memorize and regurgitate and get an A, not actually learn. Ick. They put in a lot of new sections and courses for actual chem majors, but after I had already taken the course. x_x I have had some pretty good teachers, though. I really love the physics and math departments, though, and I'm minoring in those too.
One thing about UF is that we are going through HUGE budget cuts, so whole programs are disappearing... It's all the state's fault, but we have to take the bad cuts anyway. T_T
I got in to Northwestern, where I applied because of their Interdisciplinary Science Program, which is pretty selective... they only accept 20 people a year. (I got in.) I only applied there and UF. Northwestern gave me a decent financial aid package, but it was still really expensive, and I was worried that I wouldn't have a safety net if anything happened.
I went to UF because I grew up in Gainesville and can mooch off my parents, and even though I moved out right away, I visit them over the weekend. And guess what? This year I got really sick, so I got to have my parents to drive me to doctor's appointments and help with insurance and stuff. Yeah.
Anyway, four of the smartest people I know (stars of the math team, virtuosos on two instruments, statewide champions in multiple academic competitions, 1600 SATs, 5s on 15+ AP exams, etc.) got rejected from MIT. I know one guy who got rejected with a 4.0 unweighted, 13+ passed AP exams, being an officer in the band (one of the best in the country at our high school), and being statewide champion in multiple math team categories... He then went on to graduate from UF in three years with an honors thesis in Nuclear Engineering that a guy on the committee said was better than most PhD students'. The only guy I know who got in to MIT is a total suck-up jerk who has been working on buffing his college applications since he was about 8. And is smart, but not the smartest I know. =P All white and Asian males, though, so if you're more of a minority you'd probably have better chances.
I need to start thinking about grad schools right about now. =/ My bf applied to something like 11 schools, and got rejected by his top 4 and some of the mid numbers. o.O He has about a 3.9 and nearly has a Master's degree after four years of undergrad. So yeah. He is in mathematics, though... Lots of overachievers in that field. Still... my grades dropped after I got sick so idk if I'll get in anywhere I want to go. =(