Florida State University Top Questions

My first thought upon visiting Florida State University for the first time was that it looked like universities should look, like in the movies of course. Coming from South Florida, the lovely old brick buildings and shady oaks with Spanish moss trailing everywhere were very new to me. My research into things like academics and internship opportunities officially convinced me I wanted to come here, but before I knew any of that it was love at first sight. And three years later, as I walk down the campus, I am still pleasantly surprised sometimes by just how beautiful it is--especially as the seasons change. That is not to say that everything is perfect. Most students will tell you that parking is rather hectic and the cost is always rising. However, these are issues that I would face at almost any school I can think of. If I have to deal with them, I rather deal with them at the beautiful Florida State University.

I don't have many bad things to say about FSU. The campus is one of the prettiest in the nation. Tallahassee is an interesting city. It has it's beautiful parts, though as is with most college towns if you stray a block or two in the wrong direction you'll find yourself in a shady neighborhood. There is a good number of people in the school. Gyms and restaurants get crowded at times but it's nothing too bad. The people can be jerks, and the people can be nice. It depends on who you're surrounding yourself with and where you are. The teachers are great and helpful, and football reigns supreme. If I could change one thing it would be parking. Parking is miserable and I myself have racked a considerable amount in parking tickets.

There are a lot of great things about Florida State University. I love the pride that the students have in their school, especially during football games. One of the best experiences I had as a freshman here at FSU was my first football game. Everyone had the school colors on (garnet and gold). There were parties before and after the game. There were just tons and tons of students around the stadium getting ready to cheer their school on, and this is the way it is for every football game here at FSU. Once I entered the stadium, I saw that most of the seats were covered with FSU students, and when we did the war chant, I felt like all of Florida could hear us. The marching chief's are also a big part of our football games. The first time I heard them play, I was blown away by how loud they were. Florida State University is also a beautiful campus. I love walking to class in a November afternoon with a light breeze. Stepping on a brick path, looking up to see trees and hills; it's very pleasant. Another thing I love about this school is the people. You can walk around and ask anybody directions or whatnot, and will always get an honest answer. The administration is also very nice as well, even if you have an intention of transferring to another university, you will not be treated any differently. FSU is filled with all kinds of people, but there is a great sense of unity. I really do feel like I am a part of a huge family. One thing that I really want to emphasize is that this area is very rural. I come from Pembroke Pines, Florida so i can drive to South Beach or Miami very easily. I am used to palm trees, buildings and plenty of things to do. I decided to come to FSU for many reasons, among which was this rural feeling. There are plenty of hills (which is surprising for me because I have lived in south Florida all of my life and I did not expect to find hills here). I wanted to experience something different, and so I was very excited about moving up here to Tallahassee. After two years of being here, I can easily tell you that I HATE Tallahassee. Outside of the Florida State campus, there is almost literally nothing. There is no real city. There is no airport. There are a couple of clubs that get old very quickly...and a couple of parks. These things are great to experience with friends for a year, but after a while I began to realize how much I missed home (Miami). This place began to feel more and more grey and dead with each passing month. Most people just go to parties, or just walk around and hang out. On campus there is Club Down Under, were there are many different kinds of performances from a Chinese ensemble to a hypnotist. There is also a movie theater, bowling ally and several performance halls in which students from the School of music have performances. I can give more information to anyone who is interested in becoming a part of the Florida State University School of Music, which is pretty hard to get into. I am a Music Minor. In a nutshell, FSU is a great school with great education, great staff and awesome students, but is located in a very dead city.

I love Florida State University. I find there to be a good balance of people here, my classes are challenging and interesting at the same time, the campus is beautiful and it's close to home there's not much more I could ask for in my school.

FSU is located in a cool, historic city, so there's always new things to learn about and explore. It's a big school, but not gigantic. It has a pretty positive reputation for both academics and athletics, so people are usually impressed and interested to hear that you go there. I spend a lot of time at the gym, its probably my favorite place on campus. Its a great facility and its open until midnight most nights, and they offer great group fitness classes. Tallahassee is definitely a college town, but its still the state capital, so there is more going on. FSU has a great administration, in my opinion. They seem genuinely concerned for the students and our success here. The biggest recent controversy here was an off-campus shooting last year. There is a huge amount of school pride, most people here are proud to be Seminoles.

Overall, I really enjoy my school. The things I really enjoy about this school include the curriculum, the professors, the campus, and the heritage. The major I am in is pretty unique to this university and has given me an edge on the career search after college. The professors I have has are very engaging and interesting; they push their students to think farther and really excel. The campus is composed of picturesque brick buildings and large trees. The school was originally an all-women's college, and the traditions of that institution have adapted into the traditions we currently hold today; this creates a multi-faceted school identity which students can grab hold of and apply to their own lives. The one thing I would change would be some of the strict rules of the dormitories. The school is just the right size for me; I can see myself as a part of it while also meeting so many new people. Because I am an in-state student, when I tell people I attend FSU, their reactions are usually charged with the rivalry between the several Florida schools; if they support FSU, they congratulate me. I spend most of time at the Marching Chiefs field and my dorm room.

I absolutely LOVE Florida State University. I have learned so much, gained real world experience, and made a network of friends. One of the best things about FSU is the beautiful and state of the art campus. 24 hour access to the main library, on campus gymnasium, multiple computer labs, and lounges are all amenities that work to enhance a student’s overall experience. It is hard for me to think of something to change at FSU but if I had to name one I would improve the parking situation. There is a limited amount of parking garages. It often times it gets hectic and is a frequent student complaint. Administration, however, is working on alleviating some of the traffic by building new garages. When I tell people I go to Florida State University the response is usually positive, however, it is difficult to bring up the university without bringing up our football team. I live on campus and spend most of my time either at work, going to class, or participating in extracurricular activities. FSU is definitely a college town and I much prefer this atmosphere as compared to a big city where the university tends to get lost. The school’s administration is a strong one and is always pushing toward excellence. There an enormous amount of school pride and it is most apparent during fall when students and alumni come together and enjoy football games. One experience I will always remember about my time here at Florida State University would be moving into the dorms freshman year. Finally moving away from home and living on my own was the best decision I could have ever made. I would not be the person I am today if I had not attended FSU and for that I am forever grateful.

FSU was my first choice school, and as it usually goes, I had a harder time getting in. Overall though, I love my school, but it's certainly not some kind of college Utopia. When it comes to your financial aid or many of the administrative services, there's a pretty big bureaucracy and you can get the runaround. Just recently I was almost kicked out of my classes because halfway through the semester they realized that I forgot one piece of paperwork. The school itself is large but not ridiculously so. You can walk from one side of campus to the other in about 30 minutes, even with the hills. The hills are really my only complaint about the setup of the school: all my classes are way uphill, and I usually arrive red-faced and panting like I'd run a mile. Most of my time on campus is spent either in one of the Student Unions, in Oglesby Union or just on the Union or Landis Green. In the fall and spring, the normally oppressing weather really lightens up, and you'll see just about everybody outside enjoying before either the temperature drops into the 30s or it rises into the high 90s. Tallahassee is most definitely a college town, with more places that deliver than don't (though be careful, some of the fees they want to charge are nothing short of ridiculous). With many great diners and some pretty cheap drinks right across the street and along the strip, even staying on campus without a car means you won't have to be too far from where the action is. Our biggest controversy in recent history was about three years ago, when many of the football players were caught buying their grades from a TA for an online class. We ended up having many of our wins and some awards taken away because of it. There is most definitely a lot of school pride, and while I'm proud of my school, I think that gets confused with "football" pride. I'm not a big football fan, although I'm happy when we win, but even when you put that aside, FSU is a great school that has some of the top programs in the country for certain majors, including both of mine. Probably the most unusual thing about this school is how, even though Tallahassee is in a very conservative part of the country, there's not a lot of bad feelings if you're not a conservative Christian or a good ol' boy, and in fact the school is pretty liberal. I myself am not conservative or Christian and I've never been made to feel inferior or bad about my choices. Even the most conservative students are usually open-minded enough to talk and have some really good discussions about life in general. I've never seen people fight about it or have anyone make a big deal of it, which in this part of the country, makes FSU a nice university with a pretty chill atmosphere for it's students. The one experience I'll always remember is the first time I saw the Evangelical preachers who travel to universities come to campus. It was really disconcerting that, like I said before, everyone I met was pretty chill, and then suddenly there are loud, screaming preachers yelling at me that I'm a slut for wearing jeans. Nowadays I can look at them and shake my head in amusement, but at the time, I was really upset. If you're sensitive and can hear them in the Union, I would advise you walk pretty far around them. Definitely the biggest complaints in the school have to do with administration. While tuition costs go up, our financial aid goes down, and when there's a problem with money or registration, it becomes a huge issue since no one likes to email other departments to get conflicts resolved. Just three weeks ago I was sent from the first floor to the third floor 3 times in 20 minutes because the two departments were being stubborn and wouldn't just talk to each other. Try to get everything in early so if there is a problem, it can be resolved fast.

The best thing about Florida State University is its friendly atmosphere. There's an air of southern hospitality in Tallahassee that you just don't get in SoFla. We have the smallest acreage-wise public university campus in the State of Florida, so we have a very pedestrian-friendly campus. There are a ton of people here, 40,000+, but I wouldn't let that daunt you. FSU offers over 500 clubs and organizations that you can join to find your niche and make campus a lot smaller. Plus, our stadium holds 80,000+ and boy, is it amazing to see that many garnet and gold arms doing the chop during the fight song on game day! The only thing I'd change about FSU is the parking situation. Parking pretty much sucks at every college campus and its no different at FSU, but we do have a pretty reliable campus bus system if you want to avoid the whole car situation.

Florida State University is a great school that has many flaws through no fault of their own. Most professors (or should I say teacher assistants) do care for the prosperity of their students but depending on your department there is no telling who will be standing at the front of the classroom when it’s time to begin. For me (editing, writing and media major) it’s rare to have a professor who is the one teaching the class. I mean there is a professor in a faraway land who dictates what we learn and when but as for the presentation of the material, the duty usually falls on the teachers assistants due to an overload of classes to administer. Now that might sound terrible, but its actually not that bad; the TA's are more recently undergrads themselves so they can relate to many obstacles students face and have more innovative methods of relaying the information. But let’s say you’re in a major that requires a lot of math or sciences, you’d be lucky to even get someone who can properly speak English for you to understand! All of this is a direct consequence of education budget cuts which obviously also directly affect Florida State students.