UF v. Miami... and is 26 old? Forum

[Sky'stheLimit]

Ahh I'd love to add Gainesville to my list of schools I can dream about, but I haven't gotten in and I'm starting to think I'm waitlist bound. Pretty disappointing since UF has always been really high on my list. Sadly, that picture is now officially my first impression of Gainesville.


Sky'sTheLimit - I guess I assumed that, if they were going to raise the GPA stipulation that dramatically, they would change the curve to make the relationship similar to previous years. Wishful thinking on my part. I'll be the first to admit I don't really know what the situation is and I simply pulled that link off another thread, but I'm definitely looking forward to visiting Miami and clearing this up face to face.

I was wishing too Go visit! It's quite a unique campus. It's older, but definitely has a certain appeal to it. Most people either love it or they hate it. The adcom's were awesome.

That said, UF is probably my #1 due finances/scholarship requirements at UM.

[msv5010]

I've done so much research that I thought I had everything figured out, but every time I come on here I find conflicting information. I'm visiting in a couple weeks so I figured I didn't need to call, but I do want to clear this up as soon as possible. For example. I find it odd that the median would be lower for the entire school. Doesn't the median usually go up after 1L?

Out of curiosity, if not UF, where are you leaning? We have pretty much the same schools in mind (UM, UF, Rutgers, SH...).

[Sky'stheLimit]

FSU or UM

FSU for guaranteed in-state

UM, b/c no school ranked even remotely close can rival the career prospects (though not to disillusion you, it's still the legal market). UM is the best LS in a big city. For me, what it has come down to is that when I visited, I thought could see myself happy there during LS. It's a great school to attend, if you receive scholarship.


I was thinking about SH and Rutgers, b/c my dad lives like 45min away and I could commute . However, I dont want to be anywhere near NY coming out of TT. You're thrown right into the meat market (NJ does have interesting clerkship opportunities).

I threw apps to Tulane, UWisc., William and Mary, and UGA, b/c I got fee waivers and/or would love to attend, if I had shot at being accepted and unlimited money.

I applied to LSU also. On decent scholarship, it would definitely be an awesome school to attend. The whole Civil law thing scares me, but if its free/almost free and an SEC school, it would be hard to turn down. I still haven't heard anything on a scholarship yet .

The rest on my profile were just some random fee waivers that I thought I would like to attend, if I got $$$$.

[utexas2010]

From personal experience I think Gainesville is a complete dump. I stopped there on the way to Miami, ironically, and was thrilled to hurry up and leave. There is nothing visually appealing about the city of Gainesville or the surrounding areas...think of it as Florida's long lost cesspool. I really do not know about the school itself but all I can think of is the "Mexican" food I ate there and how horrible it was haha...probably the worst I have ever eaten. This disappoints me b/c I like UF sports but don't let the name "Florida" fool you. It's more like being in the middle of Louisiana. But then again, dumb college students love an isolated party town where they can drink all day and run into the woods or whatever. I will take the beach, women, international influence, and beauty of Miami anyday.

Perhaps I should go now to the UC Hastings thread and deliver my verdict based on my drive through San Francisco.

From my limited personal experience, Gainesville is a great small city with everything you could possibly need. It has a population of about 100,000, and the amenities you would expect to service such a population, plus everything that comes along with UF - sports, culture. Night life? Who cares, I'm done with undergrad and going to law school. The beach at St. Augustine is 2 hours away, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville are each an hour and a half away. There are three diverse state parks and one big lake within city limits. One of those state parks has animal life ranging from alligators to bison. Temperatures are in the upper-60s in January, and there are palm trees and Spanish moss all over. Traffic is not bad, and the whole west side of town seems upscale and free of crime. There is also a nice hospital. Also, cost of living is cheap.

Miami I have lived in. I like it, but it isn't paradise for everyone, and has its problems. Traffic, crime, and cost of living are big ones.

For law school, I'd honestly rather live in Miami, all costs being equal, but I'll be perfectly happy in Gainesville.

Who says I didn't stay there a week with a friend? haha, not trying to argue with you, it was just my opinion based on what I saw. UF is still a great school.

[Lomax]

Who says I didn't stay there a week with a friend? haha, not trying to argue with you, it was just my opinion based on what I saw. UF is still a great school.

I never assumed that you didn't, and I'm glad that you don't hold a senseless grudge against UF.

And now I think I'll go post on the U Chicago and Northwestern threads to report on my week-long stay in the Windy City. The food wasn't quite up to par, so they'd better watch out!

[mps]

I really hope I'm missing something so I can keep dreaming of South Beach.

If you find yourself unable to dream of South Beach, why not dream of Gainesville's beautiful sinkhole (Devil's Millhopper) instead?

omg! hahah. i went to UofC, so i think even this sink hole beats what i am used to.

[Visirale]

I too am considering UF or Miami. I know UF is the "better" school. But, I absolutely hate and cannot stand Gainesville.

In fact, I was accepted and enrolled at UF for undergrad. Then I spent a few days there over the summer, and found Gainesville to be too much to put up with. I'm a city kid and absolutely cannot stand the small-town feel of Gainesville. Furthermore, I hate not having any civilization around as soon as you leave the town. It's an emotionally draining experience for me just to be there. Given the draining properties that come with law school, I just don't think I'd mentally survive three years there. I ended up going to a smaller private school in more urban setting, and don't regret it at all.

I visited UM for an unrelated grad school (Architecture) this weekend. The campus is more to my liking. I also fell in LOVE with Miami as a city. I thought I'd be content to stay in Orlando all my life, but after experiencing Miami I have to admit I think I'd be drawn to live and work there. MUCH more culture than Orlando (and about a trillion times more than Gainesville). I love Spanish culture and can speak it, so that's no problem for me either. Miami also just started up a dual-degree program where you get your JD as well as a masters in music business in 3 years. I really want to go into entertainment law, so this is appealing to me.

I am certain I will get enough of a scholarship at either to make the cost negligible or non-existant. I guess I'm not picky about the cost of the Miami apartments listed in this thread, I was paying $850 for my undergrad apartment last year so it seems to be in line with that or close to it.

Finally, if I do get into a school like Vanderbilt or Duke, would their placement in Miami be better to the point of considering going there for significant more debt?

Thanks for all the advice so far, it's been very informative.

[Lomax]

I just don't think I'd mentally survive three years there.

. . . .

Finally, if I do get into a school like Vanderbilt or Duke, would their placement in Miami be better to the point of considering going there for significant more debt?

Hey, if you're that much of a nut case, then it's probably best for you and everyone else that you stay in the big city and away from a town from which you can still see a few stars.

Duke, perhaps. Vanderbilt, probably not.

[OptionsMakeItHard]

As someone who grew up in Miami (right near UM, actually), I can say that your quality of life (given how you've described yourself) will be much, much better in awesome Miami there than at UF. I have a few friends at the law school who have done well and are working in big firms in NYC/DC now, and also some who are sort of bumming around.

With that said, I can tell you, from having tons of family friends who are lawyers, that UF is a well-respected law school in Florida and (as you know) higher ranked than Miami. With in state tuition there I'm sure would be a big savings too.

On the other hand, the girls at UF are infinitely hotter than at UM... and hotter than anyone almost anywhere else haha. Decisions!