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The University of Central Florida

How this student rated the school
Educational QualityD Faculty AccessibilityC
Useful SchoolworkF Excess CompetitionF
Academic SuccessC- Creativity/ InnovationD
Individual ValueD University Resource UseB
Campus Aesthetics/ BeautyB+ FriendlinessC
Campus MaintenanceB+ Social LifeB
Surrounding CityF Extra CurricularsB
SafetyB+
Describes the student body as:
Friendly, Approachable, Snooty, Closeminded

Describes the faculty as:
Helpful, Arrogant, Condescending, Self Absorbed

Male
Average
Lowest Rating
Useful Schoolwork
F
Highest Rating
Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty
B+
He cares more about Surrounding City than the average student.
Date: Jan 11 2010
Major: Mechanical Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
I entered the undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program at UCF with the hope of obtaining an internship / Co-Op, and gaining practical experience, which would help me find a full time position in my field of interest.

I applied to multiple positions through the UCF Co-Op office for 6 semesters, and had one voice mail left on my phone from Siemens, I returned the call and left my own voice mail but they never returned my call, and I had one interview with the Seminole County Facilities Maintenance Management Department for a drafting position, not an engineering position, which I did not get.

Overall, I simply couldn't get anything, and some of the employers who posted job positions through the Co-Op office were either not inclined to fill the position or did not take the program seriously. For example, for three semesters, Walt Disney would post an engineering position and cancel it at the end of the semester, and my Co-Op counselor told me of situations where students would be hired and wind up doing janitor work or of a man working from his house who only wanted "women" applicants.

I contacted a member from the Career Center about my situation, and she told me that it was just the students with the highest grade point averages who usually got the positions. Also, I knew several engineering students who either did not get the position or an interview.
The engineering department at UCF is centered on research, and there is a lot of opportunity for work as a research assistant in the MMAE Department, which includes subject matter such as Power Generation, Petroleum, Aeronautics, and HVAC.

Most of the engineering professors are full time researchers who are required by there respective departments to give lectures for a certain number of courses. Some are helpful both during and outside of class and offer relatively fair tests. However, I believe others were self absorbed in their research programs and made no attempt to facilitate learning for their students.
The area around UCF has a lot of crime, and I found some of the people to be in-hospitable and simply mean. During my entire experience, I can cite 13 separate crime related incidents that occurred to UCF students from muggings and rape to theft and murder. For example, during the Fall semester in 2007, a student was mugged outside of his apartment by a group people and had the bone next to one of his eyes crushed, and nothing was stolen from him, which suggests that his attackers simply wanted to hurt him. While jogging along the sidewalks, I was taunted multiple times by drivers traveling along Alafaya, which is something I never experienced when I was at FSU. There are decent people who live in the area, but I felt there were enough of the bad ones to make living there uncomfortable.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed from my experiences at UCF. I learned a great deal from my classes, but could not obtain a high enough GPA to warrant an internship. As far as living in Orlando is concerned, Orlando is a big city, and big cities have a lot of crime and strange people.

If you think you can excel in your respective engineering field and obtain a relatively high GPA, and/or if you?re interested in research and prefer to live in a relatively large city, then I would recommend UCF.

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