TravelingChris Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Have any of you visited Florida colleges or had your children apply to them? WE are a family with middle income and the unbelievable EFC says we will have to pay 1/3 of our gross income on our second child's college. So one way we may afford to send her is to send her to schools instate. She may be eligible for a bright futures scholarship is she gets high enough on her tests. That would give us a full state tuition scholarship which we could use at a state school or take to a private college instate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 (edited) We feel your pain! The Bright Futures/Fl Access grant in addition to the guarantee of her cc (dual-enrollment) credits transfering were big reasons (along with long distances) why dd#1 is staying in state. She applied to Covenant (GA), King's (NYC), Flagler (St. Augustine), Florida Southern (Lakeland) & Palm Beach Atlantic (West Palm Bch.) She will be going to PBA in the fall. Our income looks great on paper, but in reality is not enough (we live in the highest cost of living county in the state.) Due to dd's great ACT score, she's gotten great scholarships from PBA, which along with the Bright Futures & FL Resident Access grant make the private school equivilent to a public since the publics are very stingy with their scholarship $$. As to state schools, we only visited Florida Gulf Coast in Ft. Myers, but if you have questions, I'll be happy to answer what I can. Edited June 7, 2009 by K-FL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 My ds is attending Florida State in the fall. He got the 75 % bright futures so his tuition is around $800 or $900 per semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Can you say "Party Schools?" That's my impression of Tally, anyway, based on anecdotal evidence. I think it's like any college--send them with strong boundaries, values and the knowledge that they will probably experiment. It's relatively easy to find out what colleges are strong in what areas. If they have a high ranking, they are going to advertise it on their website. The Princeton Review also has a great (thick!) book describing different colleges--atmosphere, frats/sororities/culture, as well as academic strengths and weaknesses. I found most libraries carry books like that. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Yes, it is a party school. But ds spent the fall at was was considered a highly ranked Christian school and it really affected his faith negatively. It just wasn't a good fit for him and while he didn't party or do anything wild, it was just killing his spirit. He was so excited to go and was minoring in religion until his Bible class which was just so unpleasant for him. For me it just depends on where God has him and aparently it wasn't at the Christian school that I thought would help him grow. Now many of his friends went there and loved it so we really believe that God had other plans for ds. He will be living with 2 friends from high school at college this fall and has found an awesome church that he is excited about. I can't say he'll never party there but I do think he has grown a lot this year and it looks like his priorities are in line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 The Princeton Review also has a great (thick!) book describing different colleges--atmosphere, frats/sororities/culture, as well as academic strengths and weaknesses. I found most libraries carry books like that. hth I checked what lists they were on such as "Reefer Madness," "Got Milk?" etc. on the Princeton website. That ruled out seemingly great academic schools like New College of Florida right away. If they make a NATIONAL list for some behavior we don't encourage in our darling dc, we don't want to send them or our $$ there. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 That is a great idea about the Princeton Review. She is my child with the strongest character but I do agree with not sending her to a school where she will be a loner. She is very anti-illegal drugs and is so not into partying. I will be looking at that site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) While Florida and Florida State may have party school reputations, there are also strong Christian ministry groups on both campuses. I grew up in G'ville, attended Florida both undergrad and law school. We then lived in Tallahassee for 11 years. I found that because the schools were so large and diverse, I could easily find a group of like-minded friends. Some small schools are dominated by the Greek system; not so with Fla and FSU because so many students are not in a soririty or fraternity. If your dd is not a partier, she will surely find others that share her value system, simply because they are such big and diverse campuses. She just needs to seek the right places -- student groups, campus ministries, local churches with a large college group, etc. I know many, many, many strong Christian kids (and secular non-partying kids) who have thrived at the large Florida schools. Lisa Edited June 17, 2009 by FloridaLisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The Princeton Review also has a great (thick!) book describing different colleges--atmosphere, frats/sororities/culture, as well as academic strengths and weaknesses. I found most libraries carry books like that.hth The main problem with the Princeton Review is it doesn't include all colleges - especially some top ranked Christian ones (like Covenant or Taylor to name two that I've looked for - two very top ones according to US News...though neither are in Florida). When reading the guide up front it says they won't include a school that doesn't allow anonymous polling of their students... so I'm guessing that's the reason. So, while I still use it (and have eliminated several schools based on some of their "Top 20" lists), I also need to look at stats via College Board or Princeton's online site to compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leslie Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 I not only went to UF, but became a Christian there. Remember, God is everywhere, even in Gainesville! We know kids who are there now and are leaders in Campus Crusade and it is huge -so huge they have a problem finding a place to meet. Another good college guide is Choosing the Right College by ISI books. It gives more than just academic info and shows a different perspective on the schools and a student's ability to get a great education there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I have to say, after reading more posts, that ITA about being able to find strong Christians on large campuses. I am encouraging my son to find a good Christian group, preferably really conservative, like CCC. My df and former roomie is in that ministry, and it was life-changing for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I just saw this thread. I don't know if you are still looking for information but here is my experience so far: :001_smile: My oldest daughter qualified for the 100% Bright Future. This used to mean 100% tuition paid however the legislature put a cap on the awards this year, so as time passes and tuition increases (15%/year anticipated) the award will not pay everything. It also does not cover dorm and meals. It is, however, still a great savings for us. She applied to two colleges in-state and several out of state. In state she applied at Stetson (private) and New College (State system) and was accepted at both. She choose New College of Florida, partially because of Bright Futures but also because it had the program she wanted. New College is the state honors school. They have total student body of 700. Students complete 7 'contracts' (semesters) and 3 ISPs (Individual Study Program) and finish with a 150 page thesis which they defend in front of the student body. The contracts and ISPs are planned with their counselors and receive a satisfactory or not satisfactory (no grades or GPAs). Emphasis is on interdisciplinary work and self-directed study. New College gave her one contract and one ISP for her dual-enrollment credits. I don't believe they accept AP, CLEP or IB. She is very excited to start the program this fall. A friend went there last year. There is quite a lot of partying (like any school) but there are also a lot of serious students. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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