 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
Mrs. Aardvark
Member
| Joined: | Thu Jan 31st, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 71 |
| Mana: |    |
|
Posted: Tue Apr 29th, 2008 05:40 pm |
|
We came to our visit to University of South Florida in a roundabout way. My daughter wants to attend college in a warm clime, and she is a dancer, although she is not interested in majoring in dance. In researching schools, I have discovered that colleges offering strong training in classical ballet are few and far between, and those providing such training to non-majors are scarcer than hens teeth. Thus, when I heard of the dance program at USF, it sounded like it was worth checking out. Dance classes are open to all, audition is for placement only, and Gretchen Ward Warren, who literally wrote the book on ballet technique (Classical Ballet Technique) is on the faculty.
If it weren’t for the ballet, USF would have been an unlikely candidate for our consideration. The school, founded in 1956, has a total of 44,251 students (the nation’s ninth largest public university), with 28,925 undergrads on the Tampa campus. Per the Princeton Review, only 3% of students are from out-of-state. The Princeton Review indicates only 12% of students live on campus, raising the dreaded specter of a commuter school. This is countered somewhat by the 2008 USF visitor guide, which states 50% of freshmen reside on-campus.
The stats for the hordes of incoming freshmen are not shabby, with an average GPA of 3.71 and an average SAT of 1148. The Honors College (1685 students enrolled) requires a weight GPA of 3.8 in addition to an SAT of 1300 or ACT of 29.
The university does make an effort to break down the masses into more manageable Living Learning Communities. These include housing for business majors, engineering majors, first year students, honors students, as well as substance free housing.
We drove into Tampa from our lovely hotel on St. Pete’s Beach. After crossing Tampa Bay on the causeway, enjoying the sun glistening off the water, we entered Tampa proper. The views of Tampa from the highway are uninspiring, including chain hotels, a mall, billboards, and a large brick high school.
Exiting I-275 (Busch Gardens shares the exit), we passed through a low-rent commercial district on a divided highway. We stopped at the entrance to pay our $4 parking fee and get a campus map. Since the Tampa campus is 1,700 acres, we drove several minutes to get to our destination, the Dance building.
The sprawling campus is filled with utilitarian multi-storied buildings interspersed with plenty of parking lots. Palm trees and other greenery soften the effect to some degree. My daughter’s initial reaction was “this is huge!” as she had never before been on a university campus with streets and stoplights. We later walked from the Dance building along the edge of a more traditional university green to the admissions building and bookstore. In the end, she seemed to prefer this campus to the smaller Eckerd College campus.
Since it was the last day of classes, we were able to attend a special ballet demonstration for three of the four class levels. The dance studios include a small viewing gallery which was largely filled with parents. I spoke with one father from Ohio who said his daughter, a freshman, is double-majoring in ballet and business and has been very happy her first year. Although she would like a car, she has gotten along fine without one.
Although I am by no means capable of assessing ballet talent, the demo clearly indicated that USF provides no nonsense classical ballet training.
We stopped by the admissions office to pick up a brochure, but decided against waiting an hour to take the tour. On our departure, we found housing complexes, a public park and an office park within a few miles radius. There is no pedestrian oriented off campus shopping within walking distance.
It appeared that my daughter would be willing to consider this school (she bought a t-shirt and actually wore it to school today) – she asked me if I thought she could get in. Personally, I’d have a few concerns about USF academics. I would prefer my daughter’s college education to be in the traditional liberal arts mold, and I have heard of one student, who is combining ballet and premed, taking her college courses online in order to manage her schedule. In addition, the Princeton Review gives USF an “academic rating” of only 72 (as a comparison, Tulane, another school under consideration, received an 85), and the US News report gives it a “peer rating” of only 2.6 (George Mason, another “Third Tier” university, had a peer rating of 2.9).
On the other hand, the ballet department is a hidden gem and possibly there are other USF departments which are hidden gems as well.
Last edited on Tue Apr 29th, 2008 05:42 pm by Mrs. Aardvark
|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3329 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Apr 29th, 2008 08:05 pm |
|
| Another excellent review, Mrs. A. Thank you for taking the time to give your impressions of these schools!
|
Canadian
Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 30th, 2008 12:03 am |
|
| Yeah, I find your reviews interesting, Mrs. A, and we are done with the admissions process!
|
Mrs. Aardvark
Member
| Joined: | Thu Jan 31st, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 71 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Sat May 17th, 2008 01:48 pm |
|
Since my daughter expressed interest in this school, I've done some sleuthing to see if I could determine its academic appropriateness.
Browsing the web site, I found an office of academic assessment (a good sign), and decided to send in an inquiry:
...since we are out of state, we are unfamiliar with USF and the type of education it provides. I am hoping that you will be able to provide
me with some insight.
I am impressed with the efforts of USF to assess the academic development of your students. I especially appreciate that you have recognized important issues to address (for example, the fact that "the University derives the majority of its students from an educational milieu where writing skills are poorly developed").
Is USF currently in a good position to provide students with the writing skills and intellectual development targeted by the university? Is there a
special path within the university you would recommend for an entering student? My daughter is undecided in her career plans, and would be some kind of liberal arts major. In addition, as a parent, I see that she needs to develop her analytical skills.
I know USF is a very large school and I am concerned about how students develop intellectually in such an environment. Thanks for any light you can shed on this issue.
I received the following response:
Dear Ms. Aardvark,
It is impressive that you are delving so deeply into a college rather than relying on numbers, such as rankings. You are certainly correct; USF is indeed a very large institution. Our revised General Education curriculum however, requires critical thinking in all courses and process writing in which students must revise their papers after receiving feedback, in four courses. In addition, many liberal arts faculty use writing as the primary means to evaluate student learning. You might also want to read about our Honors College.
Looks like the office and I see eye to eye on the plan for a liberal arts education, but still no insight into their ability to execute said plan (and, after reading about Professor X in the Atlantic Monthly,* it's clear to me that execution is a huge part of the battle).
As further evidence of a lack of necessary resources to successfully carry out ambitious plans, the English department listed only two advisors for what must be an enormous number of English majors.
I also sent out inquiries to several CC posters who have familiarity with the school. Responses were tepid. The college review web site gives USF the lowest rating of all schools on my daughter's list in terms of students who would return if given the alternative to go elsewhere (55%).
So my efforts to reassure myself about the academics at USF failed.
* Atlantic Monthly reference: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200806/collegeLast edited on Sat May 17th, 2008 01:51 pm by Mrs. Aardvark
|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3329 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Sat May 17th, 2008 08:09 pm |
|
| Mrs. A, I like your approach to doing due dillengence on the colleges that might interest your daughter. This is exactly the sort of digging AND thinking that I think is good for parents to do. Our children aren't likely to really look deeply at these sorts of questions -- they're more focused on other things. But, parents can, and should, do due dillengence to reassure themselves (or not) that the investment they'll be making at particular institutions will be worthwhile. Nice job.
|
Canadian
Member
|
Posted: Sat May 17th, 2008 08:57 pm |
|
| I wish you'd been researching the schools my son was interested in! Amazing work.
|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3329 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu May 22nd, 2008 06:01 pm |
|
Mrs. A, I thought you'd be interested in this article, discussing budget and faculty cuts at the U of South Florida:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/22/na-usf-to-cut-450-jobs-majors-safe-in-budget/
|
pk
Member
| Joined: | Thu Jul 24th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Jul 24th, 2008 08:36 pm |
|
My daughter is a dance major pre med at USF. It is a jewel as far as dance training. As it's a huge liberal arts school-everything is available. The price tag is great too. It's a beautiful campus and although most students live off campus there is so much going on on campus. Many apartments are walkable to campus. The football team is up and coming quickly so USF seems to be attracting new attention. There are many research and medical opportunities here. If I can answer any questions for you please ask away. The dance department is as good as it gets.
|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3329 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Jul 24th, 2008 08:46 pm |
|
PK, first welcome!
Second, I recently visited USF as part of a counselor tour. We noticed that there were articles in both the Tampa paper and the USF student paper talking about cut-backs in faculty and departments. We asked the admissions rep about these issues and he kind of hemmed and hawed about how these cutbacks might affect students.
Is the dance program safe from budget cut-backs? Has your daughter noticed any problems with the availability of classes, or professors leaving?
Thanks for sharing your first-hand information. Unfortunately, on the day we visited, it was pouring, so I didn't get a chance to talk with many students.
|
pk
Member
| Joined: | Thu Jul 24th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Thu Jul 24th, 2008 08:58 pm |
|
Thanks for the welcome,Carolyn. I will be checking into these cuts and what it means for the dance department. My daughter has had trouble getting into a class she needed for one of her sciences. Talking with friends from other schools I can say they've had the same problem. I think such a tough major along with the required sciences is not the easiest route. But it is doable (and it will be good to have employment after college)! Cuts are everywhere, prices of schools are going up,oye.
|
Current time is 04:45 am | |
|
|
|
|
