[kyle19125]

USF's Undergraduate Business School is actually ranked (though not highly at #129), on par with LSU and the U of Kentucky which isn't bad company. UCF doesn't appear in the rankings at all. UF is #44, U of Miami is #53, FSU is #85 and FIU is #110. Also consider availability of classes and ability to graduate on time as UCF wears the acronym U..Can't..Finish thanks to an enrollment of over 60K, while USF is half that size with 30K. In terms of the city comparisons Tampa actually feels like it's in Florida with more of a coastal vibe with it's location on Tampa Bay and 30 minute drive to beaches, which has an appeal for many.

The Complete Ranking: Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014 - Businessweek

[Arcenal813]

The rankings won't matter much, tbh, as the State Universities in FL are all pretty much comparable.
It boils down to campus preference.
I started my program at UCF, finished it at USF. I MUCH preferred USF over UCF for a lot of reasons: UCF, for one, was WAY too crowded. Need to speak with an adviser? Be prepared to wait 3 hours. USF, while still a very large school, did not have that overcrowded, Times Square-ish feeling.
I also found the campus to be in a much more accessible location.

As far as graduating from USF over UCF or vice-versa, there didn't seem to be any advantages from one over the other for me. USF did have stricter entrance requirements for my program, however.

[BucFan]

I left USF for a smaller school up in the NW (back in the 80s).....didn't like the student to teacher ratio.....some classes seemed to have 300 students (Calculus course for instance). Oh yeah, and the instructor was Chinese who I could barely understand. Not enjoyable. So much is involved with selecting a school, isn't there?

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by BucFan

I left USF for a smaller school up in the NW (back in the 80s).....didn't like the student to teacher ratio.....some classes seemed to have 300 students (Calculus course for instance). Oh yeah, and the instructor was Chinese who I could barely understand. Not enjoyable. So much is involved with selecting a school, isn't there?

I took Calc II at USF and it was in a class of maybe 30 students. When I took Complex Analysis (A post-Diff Eq course) we were maybe 20.

Both USF and UCF seemed to enjoy hiring foreigners who could barely speak English as professors. "Yo SEE-lek DI Noht wheat gherrroh vult!" translated to "you select the node with zero volt.) Gah!!! The horror. I skipped many lectures due to this, and preferred to just learn through the powerpoint files uploaded on BlackBoard.

[Happiness-is-close]

Originally Posted by BucFan

I left USF for a smaller school up in the NW (back in the 80s).....didn't like the student to teacher ratio.....some classes seemed to have 300 students (Calculus course for instance). Oh yeah, and the instructor was Chinese who I could barely understand. Not enjoyable. So much is involved with selecting a school, isn't there?

I took calculus at USF, and there was 30-40 students. The teacher was fron India though and was very hard to understand.

[posmo]

Thanks for all the advice guys...I'm not fully set on Econ as the degree, in fact now more leaning towards either Business Management or Accounting (most likely this if I can be convinced). As for USF or UCF, kind of torn. I know a lot more people in Orlando and I'm familiar with the town-I also liked how busy downtown Orlando got with 20 yr olds (Church st, the bars, etc). Not sure how St Pete/Tampa compares in the nightlife sector, but it does seem that the universities are similar, with USF being smaller.

Any accounting or finance majors care to shed some light?

[BucFan]

Good luck. Tough decision. I started with Finance/Accouting aspirations decades ago and ended up in health care....got to go where the jobs are in demand, there's some job security, and your professional interests will take you. You want to be challenged, constantly learning, leave the workday feeling fulfilled and appreciated.

[OptimusPrime69]

They're both very comparable schools.
I find USF to be an ugly campus, however located in a better city
.

UCF might be ranked ever so slightly better. Tough call., Either school I don think u can go wrong with.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by posmo

Thanks for all the advice guys...I'm not fully set on Econ as the degree, in fact now more leaning towards either Business Management or Accounting (most likely this if I can be convinced). As for USF or UCF, kind of torn. I know a lot more people in Orlando and I'm familiar with the town-I also liked how busy downtown Orlando got with 20 yr olds (Church st, the bars, etc). Not sure how St Pete/Tampa compares in the nightlife sector, but it does seem that the universities are similar, with USF being smaller.

Any accounting or finance majors care to shed some light?

I'm 28 years old and my girl friend is 22 years old and she will be graduating this week actually. I've been pretty successful career wise in life so far, so I've been acting as her mentor in many ways. She originally was a management major and I convinced her to change to either accounting or finance. I have way too many friends who chose management and it's not really a good major for finding a job after graduation unless you want to work retail or at a brick and mortar store, which often don't pay much or include benefits.

Accounting is the best business major for those worried about finding an actual career that pays you a salary and benefits. It's an actual trade that is in pretty high demand. I have a lot of accounting major friends and 100% of them landed accounting jobs with full benefits and salary at a major firm. You can also get your CPA soon after getting your job, which will increase your salary potential by a good amount. Eventually, you could even open your own firm, but most people I know choose to continue working up the ladder in one of the big four firms.

Finance will require you to have good problem solving skills. Many people who go down this route will start off as a financial analyst and then work their way to other positions such as a consultant. You could also go toward a financial planning path and eventually becoming a wealth manager. If you go to Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte etc and you check out their internship opportunities, you'll notice they want someone with a finance major as a requirement (or an accounting major for those jobs).

Just go on various big firm websites and you'll notice economics, management, marketing etc are some of the worst majors for business students.

As far as the cities go, I would go with UCF because you already know people there and are familiar with the school. A HUGE part on getting a good opportunity whether it's an internship or job is networking. One of my GF's friends literally studies 10am to 2am during exam weeks and she gets straight As. However, their mutual friend just landed a really great job with a big financial firm and he hasn't even graduated yet. How did this happen? It was because he is very good in social scenes and attends a lot of corporate mixers and events. He ended up having a conversation with someone pretty high up and that is how he was offered the position. My point is networking is one of the most important things for people in business.

[BucFan]

helpful/practical advice - couldn't rep you.