Florida State University

I graduated from FSU December 2002. Since then I joined the military as an officer, was injured and discharged, then got a good job as a sysadmin. FSU was a very fun school, your average large state school. The coursework was challenging, but not overly challenging. It did not give me enough real world experience and most of what I learned did not help me find a job. It served me better in gaining an audience (combined with my short military experience) with companies to show that I was able to add some value to their company.

As stated above, FSU did a poor job of preparing me for the job market. I did not know enough applicable job skills for my particular field. If I could do it again, I would've still gone to FSU for my degree, but I would've made an effort to get extra education outside of FSU (professional certification courses). Those were not available when I was at FSU. For the HS students, if you are looking for a fun place to party, FSU is a good school. I had a lot of good, somewhat crazy, times there. If you are looking for a respectable university that will help you in the real world, FSU will do that too. FSU is not MIT, but they aren't a mail order university either. Overall: B.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

FSU has a lot to offer, but you have to take it for what it is. I'll admit, I was a UF reject who was a bit bitter about coming to FSU at first. I came into FSU thinking I'd be surrounded by idiots, and the student body was actually more intelligent than I figured (not to say the school doesn't have its share of morons). FSU does have a lot of good programs in a number of areas and is on the rise. Nonetheless, it IS a large state university and has many of the problems associated with such: being a number in the system, tuition dollars wasted in the bureaucracy, "too many" classes being taught by TA's, etc. Not to mention if you're one of those people who hates the amount of attention that the athletic department gets that will piss you off too.

Anyway, you can get a good education at FSU for a good price. As others have probably mentioned, there's a lot of organizations, something for everyone, etc etc. But as I said, there are many areas in which FSU is lacking, so you have to come in with the mindset that you're at a big state university and not a top school. As for Tallahassee, well, it's a college town. I grew up in South Florida so it was a big downgrade as for as stuff to do is concerned, however Tally is a nice town (well, except for the areas around campus, hehe) and it's a good community to go to school in. Plus if you're majoring in the social sciences, for example, there are obviously a lot of opportunities with the state government being literally just down the street. To conclude, unless you have an aversion to big schools where you have classes with 60 other students (sometimes even 200, 300, 1200 students! no joke!) and you have to figure things out on your own a lot of the time, FSU has a lot to offer and certainly worth checking out.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2008

Education Quality: A+, Individual Value: C-

There are positive and negative aspects to FSU. The faculty are excellent and very helpful. The classes are involving, intellectually stimulating and fun. The students, however, are a different matter. Many students are just there to party or get free football tickets while the rest of us actually go to school to learn. While you are probably going to make at least one or two friends, the campus is very cliquish in a way that resembles a high school film: you are either a hipster, a jock or a geek, and people will let you know it. Intellectuals tend to be looked down upon. Also keep in mind that there is a lot of people drama and gossip travels fast, so a sense of civility and decorum is very important.

2nd Year Male -- Class 2013

Campus Maintenance: A-, Social Life: D