This article was written by Carrie Kuecks, class of 2019.
Located in the charming college town of Gainesville, the University of Florida (UF) offers students both a quality education and a lively college experience.
UF is home to 16 colleges and offers 100 undergraduate majors from Accounting to Zoology. The university is especially well-known for its pre-med and journalism related majors. Given the large size of this university, with 50,000 students that call UF home, there are many great programs, clubs and organizations offered and there is essentially a major for just about everyone.
Currently, UF ranks as the top college in Florida according to the U.S. News & World Report. In addition, UF ranks ninth in the list of top 10 best public universities. Although many Gators call UF home, the student-to-faculty ratio is 25:1. In addition, the large student enrollment produces a massive alumni network called the “Gator Nation,” which currently includes more than 400,000 alumni.
In addition to strong academics, school spirit at UF is incredibly strong. The Florida Gators excel in sports such as football (three-time national champions), basketball (two-time NCAA national champions) and baseball (winners of the College World Series in 2017), just to name a few. During football season, the school shows incredible enthusiasm and unity to support the team in their homecoming event where alumni visit and dress up covered in blue and orange.
Students at UF enjoy a plethora of all sorts of activities on campus. UF offers more than 1,000 student organizations and clubs. Students can partake in clubs related to their majors, political and/or religious beliefs or clubs strictly based on having fun such as “Geocaching Gators,” and a rock climbing club. Gators can also participate in Greek life, however, it does not entirely dominate the social atmosphere. Students at UF gather at the student union that features a game room, pool, table tennis and a bowling alley. On Friday nights, the student union hosts “Gator Nights” providing activities for students such as free movie screenings, arts and crafts and games. UF’s average SAT score is 1340 and has an acceptance rate of 38%.
Whether studying in one of the campus libraries, cheering in the football stadium (known as “the Swamp”) or chilling in a hammock in the Plaza de Americas (a popular green space on campus), all UF students know it’s great to be a Florida Gator.
