Florida Atlantic University

Academia.

FAU's College of Business courses are challenging; more so than I'd expected from this up-and-coming university. Coming from a community college I'd expected class sizes to improve at a more expensive university. HA! Core classes are almost always held in an auditorium of up 250 students. As you enter your senior year and the courses become more specialized, however, class caps come down to 40, 30, even 20 students. Now, the office of the College of Business is not so impressive. At Boca campus, advisors and staff are unfriendly and unsupportive. I have found that Davie campus advisors are sharper and more eager to help, and these observations are based on multiple interactions at both campuses.

FAU's Accounting Program!!

FAU has two undergrad accounting programs, one a regular level and the other an honors level (Accounting Scholars Program). To start, the School of Accounting is the most unfriendly, uncaring school ever organized! Unless you are in the scholars program of course. All of the professors are knowledgeable in their subject, but their teaching skills could use some improvement.

Campus Safety.

I feel safe on FAU's campus. It gets a little dark at night though. They have on-campus police and service aids that patrol 24/7, emergency phone booths that dial directly to campus police all over campus (but don't ask me how to use one!), and an emergency indoor and outdoor intercom system can alert the entire campus instantly when necessary.

Social Aspect.

Build a four-year university in the middle of a wealthy neighborhood and what do you get? A school so boring you will drive the sixty miles to Miami despite the gas prices just for a little brain stimulation! Man, FAU is boring! Wait until 2011/2012. By then, they plan to have an on-campus stadium for their football team who, by the way, won Division I Sun Belt Conference Championship in 2007. Not bad at all for a ten-year young team. They also plan to add another couple thousand beds in a new dorm complex and much needed greek housing. So wait another five years and FAU will be on and poppin'. But for now, there is the beach, the mall, and ONE handful of one-room clubs and bars that draw the same crowd every night. Gets tiring real quick!

That said, if you are looking for an excellent education and are pretty self-sufficient in self-advisement, go FAU! Wanna live near the beach? Go FAU! Want a school with the latest technology and newest everything! Go FAU! Want money in your pocket after college? GO FAU! Want a social life, nooooo FAU. Want the crazy college experience you've seen on tv? Noooo fau.

Oh yeah, and parking sucks. AT EVERY UNIVERSITY!! So quit complaining! There are enough spots, they are just really, REALLY far. Oh yeah, and don't lose your OWL Card. Tie it around your neck if you have to. You need it for everything especially if you live on campus, that's why it's so easy to lose, and they charge you $15 bucks a pop. I'm about $75 in OWL card debt. Oh and another thing, there isn't much of the flava you'd see in Miami here. Nope, diversity in Boca is limited to Jewish and Brazilian and Retirees.

If your start year is before Fall 2011, go somewhere else! This school wont be exciting before then!