Florida State University Student Reviews

Like this school?

The following reviews are the views of students or alumni at this school and are unrelated to the school data and other editorial content on usnews.com. These reviews neither reflect nor impact a school's position within the Best Colleges rankings.

The Best thing about FSU is how "homey" it feels. It seems like there is a disease that once you go to FSU and live in the area, you can never leave! (or at least while in college) People are friendly here and everyone hangs out with everyone. There is a pride that you get when walking on campus because there is so much history. The school pride definitely lowered when our football team wasn't doing too good, but we still stood up for the team and have pride that we are the Seminoles. The most recent controversy on campus was Our football coaching staff and people quitting...aka: getting fired.I spend most of my time at the Psychology building or the library. when I tell people that I go to FSU I get great remarks. People get proud, envious and happy. I do not know much about FSU's administration, but obviously they are doing good things. what I would change is our roads- they are so crappy and everytime you drive anywhere you are getting jerked around. It also makes the campus look "dirty", so I think clean up and construction is needed to make our campus look nicer. Parking lots need to be paved because people get stuck in the rocks sometimes! Also- because campus is so old, everything is so tight and random. There will be random poles and weird stuff everywhere. But this all adds to the feel of going to FSU so its cool! of course, more parking is needed, but they have done great at building garages. I always remember my freshman year and all the randomness with it. One of the best years of my life.

Emily Junior

The best thing about FSU is that there is always something going on around campus, and there are always activities hosted by some group to participate in. If not, there is always the Student Life Center where they play movies that are picked out by the student committee, and there are other things to do at the Student Life Center. The best thing is that are many alternatives to going to the club or drinking everynight, although there is still the option if you want to drink and go clubbing. One thing that I would like to change about FSU is that there should not be so many students smoking so many times a day. There are always kids and adults smoking all around campus especially right outside of the dorms and classroom buildings. I don't think that there is such a thing as a school being too large, unless the only thing you are going to college for is trying to be ranked within the top 50 students academically. Then you are not going to college for the full experience, which is essentially networking with the leaders of future endeavors to make the world a better place. The larger the class size the better your chances of succeeding then, and enjoying your college years while they happen. Many people would argue that there are way too many students on campus, but the companionship that you can find when you take the time to meet all of these students is much more rewarding than what you would experience on a smaller campus. When I tell people that I go to FSU I am usually asked how I like it, and then they tell me that they would rather go to UF and don't have much reason as to why they would choose UF over FSU. I wish that there wouldn't be as much of a rivalry between UF and FSU students outside of football, but there is always somebody that likes to bring up the assumed inferiority of FSU students to UF students. Other than this rivalry most people like to hear what is great about FSU and why I chose to go there. Most of my time on campus is spent in the dorm. Otherwise it is spent at the Student Life Center of the Leach Center. The Student Life Center has many things to offer in terms of entertainment, and the Leach Center has much to offer if you are involved in any sport or just want to work out. FSU is definitely known as a college town, and there is always something to do for college students anywhere around town. The town definitely caters to the college ages and the clubs are constantly hosting events that are attractive for college students. There are also many bands that pass through town, mostly at the Beta Bar, that many college students like. The administration at FSU is helpful. I haven't experienced much beyond the advisors for the College of Business, but they have been beyond helpful in helping me accomplish what I want. At the University Center, the Academic Advising Center also is helpful for those involved in any of the FSU sports, and can also provide a job for junior and senior level students in terms of tutoring. The biggest recent controversy on campus involved a fight in the dorm between an intoxicated student and a non-intoxicated student. The intoxicated student confronted the non-intoxicated student and started calling him names. The non-intoxicated student will be called John and the intoxicated student will be called Harry. John asked Harry to go into his room and leave him alone because he was clearly drunk and acting stupid. Harry refused to leave John alone and eventually Harry lost his temper and started yelling at John, and at this point the RA called downstairs for more help, and the downstairs lobby called the FSUPD. When the FSUPD got there they ended up charging John with endangerment even though Harry was clearly intoxicated and could not think correctly. The moral is that if the police are coming, wear nice clothes so that you don't get falsely charged for something you didn't do. There is a lot of school pride at the football games. There are sometimes where pride turns into stupidity and a Seminole fan will fight a fan of the opposing team because of the banter between the rivals. There are always other sporting events to go to throughout the year, but they do not draw nearly as vast a crowd as the football games. There really isn't anything that unusual about FSU, but there are some rumors that some of the dorms are haunted, such as Cawthon Hall. Besides that, the building next to Suwannee Room looks kind of ominous at night when the lights are out. One experience that I'll always remember at FSU is when my friends and I all decided to go to one of their apartments, and I danced and sung multiple songs all night until we fell asleep. Besides that, the blackout due to the plane crash was pretty memorable as everybody decided it would be a good time to scream and run up and down the halls of the dorms. The most frequent student complaints are usually about the noise in the halls during the night. A lot of the kids often come back drunk and noisy in the middle of the night and wake up some of the kids in the dorms. The next most common complaint is being hungry or bored, which is frequently solved shortly after.

Evan Sophomore

The best thing about FSU is the sense of community; I love walking around campus in a sea of garnet and gold. The campus is, however, extremely spread apart; I'd like to see a faster, more efficient transportation system on campus. Our campus is large, but it is very spread apart, and is, by no means, crowded. This makes the campus visually appealing and emits a positive atmosphere. When I tell people I go to FSU, they either admit to being gator fans or are alum themselves. It is a great sense of community; it makes for instant friendship in strangers! I find myself spending most time on campus on our central green, Landis Green. It is a quaint area central to campus, and the hot dog stand there is delish! I love spending lunch time there between classes! We do have several colleges in Tallahassee, FAMU, FSU, and TCC. There are lots of twenty-somethings in a very small area! I've found our administration to be very efficient in working towards the good of the student body, addressing concerns very quickly and professionally. Our biggest complaint is the price of tuition and the cutting of library funding. I am unaware of any large controversies recently. Seminoles are full of pride and that is a central ideal that an FSU student quickly picks up on within the first few days of being on campus. My most memorable experience on campus was my first semester exam week, when I entered the jam packed Strozier library which had weeks before, been barren. It was quite the studying experience!

Mandy Freshman

The best thing about FSU is the football games. Every game day, home or away, you gather with a bunch of people (some you know, some you don't) and you end up watching the game as a group. It truly is an UNFORGETTABLE experience. The one thing I would change would be more REAL professors teaching classes and less grad students. FSU is the perfect size; at first it seems huge but after a week you will know it like the back of your hand. Tallahassee is a great college town! There are two major colleges and lots of smaller colleges in the area so there is something for everyone. FSU has a reservation that a lot of students go to where you can tan, play volleyball, kayak, canoe, or swim in the lake all for free. There are malls, movies, clubs, bars, parties.. anything you can imagine is here. The FSU administration could be better. My personal opinion is if you aren't 100% sure what you want to do go in as exploratory major that way you don't get screwed over. The advisors only answer what you ask them and don't go into more detail that will be useful down the line but be firm and they will eventually help you. There is so much pride at FSU. If you are a fan of our rivals you will get taunted while in Tallahassee but it is all in fun. People take the "Seminole Pride" to the extreme with body paint and costumes. One experience that I will ALWAYS remember is my entire freshman year. It is extremely scary but very eventful. Live in a dorm if at all possible; it is worth it. Dorm life is part of the college experience and a life changing event. The first football game will give you a since of awe. Watching a game on tv will never be the same after that. The first party is also eventful. You will see similarities between the college parties in movies but yet realize it it totally different. The most common complaint of students is parking and towing. Tallahassee is very tow happy so DON'T BRING A CAR!! Especially if you are living on campus.

Amanda Junior

I LOVE FSU! The people are friendly and the school spirit is amazing, which is what drew me to FSU in the first place. If I could change something, it would just be to add more parking for both students and teachers. I think that the campus is just right. I love how the actual campus is compact, so we don't have to walk too far to get from one side to another. The population of students however is perfect. Not too many people that you can't get a feel for the school, and not too little students to be butting into your personal life. The only reaction that people give me when I tell them I go to FSU is teasing about the football losses and recently, the cheating scandal. I live off campus so the place I spend the most time at are my classes in the Rovetta building. FSU is definitely a college town. Every marketing and business is revolved around student satisfaction. I think that having FSU, FAMU, TCC and Keiser all in this one city helps make Tallahassee a college town. When I think of Tallahassee, I think of college town before I think of capital city. The football cheating scandal is a pretty big deal. We pride ourselves in academic honor and something like this, makes us look bad. We are huge on football, and I feel let down by our players. My most favorite thing about FSU is our pride. I know I have pride because of all the wonderful things that FSU has to offer. I will always make FSU my number one school no matter what because of the values it has instilled in me. I also feel like my peers and teachers have pride too. It means a lot when teachers tell students that they love this school. Pride is something that we can't break down. I do find something not necessarily unusually, but I've always questioned why there are those concrete snake/dragon looking things that block off roads around Westcott. It's not really the experience, but the people who have made my experience at FSU, I cannot forget.

Ali Sophomore

FSU isnÕt just a place where you go to classes and take tests, itÕs a home. FSU is essentially a small town with all the amenities. We have on campus grocery stores, restaurants like ChileÕs and the Park Avenue Diner, seven libraries, a movie theatre, and our own police force. The staff at FSU really cares for the students, from the maintenance staff who will rush to fix broken elevators to the FSUPD who offer free self-defense courses and bicycling lessons. We have a health center which offers a womenÕs clinic, allergy clinic, two general practice clinics, psychiatric counseling, etc. Sometimes this can be a little overwhelming for some students because the campus occupies such a large space with a large student body (40,000 students). But to me it feels like a home away from home; I donÕt need my mother to send me care packages, everything is right here.

Emily Senior

Visit Unigo to see 125 other reviews and videos on Florida State University.

U.S. News College Compass - My Fit

Find out how this school measures up based on your preferences.

Sign Up Now!

Calculating this school's fit to see if it meets your personal preferences.

Save this school

Edit your preferences

Find out how this school measures up based on your preferences.

Save this school

Edit your preferences

Advertisement
College Search
Within miles of Advanced Search
Students also applied to…

Florida International University

Miami, FL

University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Now Hiring
Now Hiring Powered by After College
@JOB_TITLE
@COMPANY_NAME - @JOB_LOCATION

@JOB_DESCRIPTION

See more jobs »
Show More Show Less
U.S. News College Compass

Expanded Profiles for 1,600 Schools

SAT Scores and GPAs

Comprehensive Financial Aid Info

Knowledge Centers

Looking at colleges? Find out what you need to know.

Applying to College
Paying for College
Finding the Right School
Studying in the United States