FAU,
oh where to begin?! 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!