The University of West Florida

Date: Jan 11 2010
Major: Anthropology (This Major's Salary over time)
When I first came I wasn't sure I love this school, but after four years it really grows on you. UWF is not very well known compared to other colleges in Florida's state system, which is a shame because I personally feel it's the best one with the exception of UF. It has the best archaeology department by far, however. I'm being completely honest and basing this opinion on what I've witnessed at other colleges, and also what I've heard now that I work in the field. I've been on job sites with other archaeologists, as far north as North Dakota, and west as Wyoming, and people have still heard about this school's program. It has a very positive reputation in this particular field, so if you want to study archaeology in the South East, this is the school for you.

As far as academics in general go, it's pretty good, but there's still room for improvement. I know that a few of the other departments also carrying a great reputation, such as their engineering, international relations, and buisness schools (I think these are the others). There are a few other majors which are very good too. However, if your looking to major in something more general like English or History… meh. It's probably average. UWF seems to be a university which specializes in a few things, and throws all it's weight behind those departments (like the anthropology/archaeology/maritime studies), rather than spreading it around. For a small school, I actually think this is wise.

Speaking of size, class size here is great. The largest class I've had was about fifty people, but once I got into more major specific classes, most were under twenty. A few of my classes had less than ten.

This is not a school known for athletics. I, however, think this is a plus. The "football culture" at some of Florida's other big schools was a real turn off for me when picking a college. Plus, if you like to play sports, but your not and athlete or just want to play for fun, I think there are probably more opportunities here than there would be at a school with larger and more competitive programs.

The campus itself could be better; however, they have improved (and are still improving) SO much since I first came to the school! They recently built a new large gym, and a new, really stunning, science and engineering building. When I first came to UWF, they were using portables for classrooms, now those are all gone thankfully. The look of the campus has really improved. Unfortunately, this was a school built during the bleak architectural period of "functionalism". Some of the buildings are still really ugly (I'm thinking in particular of the South side residences). They seem to be making an effort though, so I'm sure this will change in the future.

In the spring, the campus beautiful with all the flowers blooming and the Spanish moss hanging from trees. The rest of the year it kind looks a little shabby. The overgrown bushes aren't particularly safe, as the campus (which has heavy tree cover in a lot of places) gets really dark at night, and there are a lot of blind areas. However, Pensacola in general is pretty safe, and the area the campus is located is very safe. I would be more worried about wildlife jumping out at me than a person.

Campus life, to be honest, sucks. It's not really the fault of UWF. They try. Pensacola just is not a really exciting town. There IS stuff to do (the historic downtown is really neat, for example), but it's not a big city, and so your choices are limited. It's not a totally isolated city either. There are about one million WalMarts in Pensacola, and you can walk to Target from campus (it would be a long walk, but it's doable). There's also a decent mall in the area. It's best to have a car if you come here. Also, most students are commuters, so there's never much going to do on campus during the weekends. I think this too is improving, but it can still get boring. I think I had more fun once I moved off campus honestly (and it's so much cheaper to live off campus!).

The students and staff are very friendly here. I didn't get the sense of academic snobbery among my professors, which I got at the school I transferred from. Everyone seems pretty approachable. Pensacola is deep in the south, and so the population of the city can be a little less than "academic"; however, you get over that after a while, and soon the church groups that shout hellfire and brimstone from the street corners (and sometimes on campus) are more amusing than annoying. If you are looking to come to a school located near religious services, then look no further. You cannot throw a rock in Pensacola without hitting a church.

Overall I think UWF is a really good school. If they keep headed the way they are, it'll be a really great school soon.