University of South Florida

I enjoyed visiting the main campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa. There are also campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee. It's important to note that the university does not provide buses between the campuses.

Their applications have increased significantly since they joined the common app, and as a Florida public institution, they require test scores. So admission here is more selective than one might think. Average weighted GPA of the most recently admitted class is 4.1-4.59. They do not look at essays or letters of recommendation, only grades, rigor and test scores. One important thing to know about admissions is that housing fills up mid-March, even for incoming freshmen. So students must make a decision before May first and put down a housing deposit if they want to live on campus as freshmen.

Greek life is very big here with 40 fraternities and sororities, but so are club sports; there are 40 of them as well. Additionally, there are 15 intramural sports and of course, varsity sports, including their newest: beach volleyball. There's a brand new building for the honors college, and they're in the process of building a new $61 million nursing and STEM building.

About 18% of students come from out of state, but with an all-in price tag of about $31K for them, University of South Florida is a great educational value!