The St. Petersburg campus is beautiful! A lot of very old, Spanish-influenced buildings. When I was in HS my dream was to come back to Stetson for law school....that was where I wanted to go! Now that I'm starting the application process, it's still high on my list, but it's so freakin' expensive.

I'm sorry; I didn't mean my statement as an insult. I just went back and reread it and realized it didn't come out the way I meant it.

What I meant was, where I grew up (Tampa - St. Pete area) we have some of the best beaches in FL (Sand Key beach is consistently among the top 10 of the country), and of course we would always vacation in the keys (can we say beautiful!)...so whenever we would "head north" to the panhandle I was always disappointed because the beaches weren't as nice as what I was used to, and I was always so bored. And of course, it's colder up there! The Ft. Walton area is nice, but there's not much to do in the area (at least what I consider not much to do). So I'm biased towards the more southern parts of the state. But that's just me.

All of the performing arts at FSU are absolutely outstanding. Education and communications are also well regarded. member, FSU got its Phi Beta Kappa chapter before UF did, so there is a legacy for liberal arts. Also, some of the social sciences, like criminology and political science are well regarded. FSU's business school also has a strong regional reputation.

Basically, any program that popped up in the last 30 years (except for the film school, which is outstanding) is suspect.

Where you are skating on thin ice is with the hard sciences and engineering. FSU is competent there, but not worth paying the out of state tuition. Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, UCF would be a better choice for computer science.

You know, you really didn't say anything I didn't say before.

Across the board, UF is a better school. That is all.

it is good
 

to ask for opinions from people "in the know", but remember they are just that....opinions. your best bet would be to do some hard core research into the programs that you and your husband are interested in and get expert advice.

when you are talking about state schools in florida, one is probably just about as good as the other, reputation wise. i don't think that a comp. science grad. from uf is going to make anymore than one from fsu, ucf or usf because they went to uf. now mit or ga. tech is another story. i would think that the individuals specialty and what they could bring to the company would matter more. visit the campuses to get a feel for them, visit the departments and check out housing while you are there. housing goes fast in all of the major college towns in florida-sometimes people must sign up a year in advance for an apartment.

as far as beaches go, which is best is a matter of taste. i think that the panhandle beaches are lovely--sugar sand dunes and clear aquamarine water and actual waves. the farther south on the west coast you go, the less wave action you see. for surfing the atlantic coast has better wave action, but the beaches are less attractive physically-hard-packed sand and flat, flat, flat. the keys have no naturally occuring beaches, and beaches you see there were trucked in. i lived in texas & oklahoma for a while, and the lower midwest is just as humid as the south, and the temp. can be higher in the lower midwest, so don't let that stop you. if weather were the only thing that mattered, we would all live in san diego or hawaii.

I encourage you to check out the UCF grad program for Computer Science. The facilities and programs are ranked top in the state for this field. You also have the advantage of living on the edge of a big city with many intern and career opportunities, affordable housing and a great nightlife!


Other universities in the area where your BF could apply for a history masters, etc., are Rollins College, Stetson, UCF, etc. Rollins is a great choice for higher education in arts and sciences.

Good luck, whatever you choose!