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Luciano
Student
Coconut Creek, Florida
2
Questions
Asked
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Should I stay at UCF or go to UF?
I am graduating high school and going to UCF. However, I have already gotten my AA degree and I am considering applying for a transfer to UF. I am a mechanical engineering major and honestly I think both schools are great but UF might be a better fit for me. Do you think it is worth the hassle?
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1 answer
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach, Mentor
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Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Luciano,
UF or UCF - that's a very personal decision. If you are very much concerned about rankings, UF would be the better choice. I can't say if it is worth the hassle though. Ranking are not a great indicator of good undergraduate education. And in engineering, your skills and experiences will be much more important than your "pedigree". Higher ranking does usually translate to better funding though.
The department at UCF, i.e. the number of faculty, is much smaller than that at UF. That would affect the number of different sub-fields and research directions that you would find represented and that you could get involved in. On the other hand, faculty in a smaller department would be more likely to pay individual attention to students. You can check out the research profile of each school. Also have a look at research centers and institutes on each campus. That gives you an idea of strong funding.
Personally, I love the UF campus, but Gainesville is a pretty small town. UCF has the advantage of being in a larger city if that is important to you.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/mechanical-engineering-rankings
https://research.ufl.edu/about/centers-and-institutes.html
https://www.research.ucf.edu/about/centers/
UF or UCF - that's a very personal decision. If you are very much concerned about rankings, UF would be the better choice. I can't say if it is worth the hassle though. Ranking are not a great indicator of good undergraduate education. And in engineering, your skills and experiences will be much more important than your "pedigree". Higher ranking does usually translate to better funding though.
The department at UCF, i.e. the number of faculty, is much smaller than that at UF. That would affect the number of different sub-fields and research directions that you would find represented and that you could get involved in. On the other hand, faculty in a smaller department would be more likely to pay individual attention to students. You can check out the research profile of each school. Also have a look at research centers and institutes on each campus. That gives you an idea of strong funding.
Personally, I love the UF campus, but Gainesville is a pretty small town. UCF has the advantage of being in a larger city if that is important to you.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
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