Florida State University Reviews

At Florida State, you will find...

At Florida State, you will find all kinds of people. You can always tell who all the frat boys are because they wear Sperry's, Guy Harvey shirts, polo shirts, or khahki shorts. Sorority girls are usually the ones wearing a dress and heels throughout campus. You meet someone new everyday.

It was easy to find off-campus...

It was easy to find off-campus housing.

It is nice to have a place to stay...

It is nice to have a place to stay after freshman year, but it's perfectly fine if you don't. Many students here live on campus, as I do.

It's very convenient. There are...

It's very convenient. There are apartments on all four sides of the campus. If proximity is your issue, there's a solution to that, and if price is your concern, there's a wide range of apartments to choose from.

FSU doesn't have enough housing...

FSU doesn't have enough housing for all its incoming freshmen, so thousands have to live off campus with no other choice. Do your research and read reviews online. Many places take advantage of students.

FSU is known, and regularly ranked...

FSU is known, and regularly ranked in the top 10 by the Princeton Review, as having prison-like dorms. Smith is the worst. The higher you are in the building, the fewer roaches you'll have. Be prepared to spend as little time as you can in your room. The honors dorms are the nicest, as well as the all-girls dorms. But really, it's mostly crappy.

Most everyone loves football. It's...

Most everyone loves football. It's a state school. Some people actually applied because of the football team. Intramural sports are a good way to stay in shape and meet people. They are often over-run by the Greek system, but if you can get past that or are in a fraternity/sorority yourself, you shouldn't have a problem.

Florida State University has a...

Florida State University has a very diverse group of students. You are never alone, and there is always someone here who has the same interests as you! We do have more girls, so guys, this is a great place to meet the ladies! Overall, great social environment!

The on-campus bus route only runs...

The on-campus bus route only runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, which sucks, but it's free, and so is the city bus if you have a student ID. So between the two, you can get pretty much anywhere in Tallahassee. FSU also has buses to south Florida for weekend trips at a great price (about $80 round trip) and is a great alternative to Greyhound.

The biggest doubles are in the...

The biggest doubles are in the brand new dorms—Wildwood and DeGraff—neither of which you have to purchase a meal plan for, plus DeGraff is practically off campus because it's on the other side of Tennessee Street. The only downside is that they are all doubles only. The renovated dorms are all really nice, except for the fact that you have to buy a meal plan. Plus, a lot of them have special requirements, like Cawthon is for music majors and women in the WIMSE program, Jennie Murphree is all girls, Reynolds is the wellness living hall, which means no smokers, drinkers, or drug users, Bryan is for freshmen only, and Landis is for honors kids, leaving only Gilchrist and Broward for the average student. All of the renovated dorms are suite-style and have singles, doubles, triples, and quads. Then you have the community-style halls where you have to walk down the hall to use the restroom or shower, but on the plus side, you're more likely to socialize with your neighbors and you don't have to buy a meal plan. Deviney and Dorman are pretty nice—they have a little more space, better furniture—and Kellum and Smith are awful. You can't even move your bed, and you have no closet to speak of. There's also Salley, which is suite-style. The suites have a separate study area that you share with your suitemates, but the bedrooms are so ridiculously small that you can basically only have your beds bunked, and you have to share the dresser and the closet. If you've gotten through one year on campus and decide to do it again you can live in McCollum or Ragans, which are apartment-style and pretty nice. If you get a normal apartment in McCollum, you have to share the bedroom with someone, but it's a two-story apartment with a full-sized kitchen. They also have single "efficiencies" but good luck getting one! Ragans is really nice, but the bedroom is TINY!

The dorms are cool. From first...

The dorms are cool. From first choice to last, I would put Murphree, the all-girls dorm where I lived, Reynolds, Bryan, Salley, and Cawthon—though I think this one is restricted to music majors since it was renovated. Smith and Kellum tie for worst—they call these ‘the zoo.’ Both are coed and, from what I hear, they’re a lot of fun, but they’re not the nicest in quality.

I moved off campus my sophomore...

I moved off campus my sophomore year. Trust me, it’s much better than living in a dorm. Plus, there are tons of apartments within walking distance. Living off campus is affordable and worth it.

Some are nice, and some are pretty...

Some are nice, and some are pretty crappy. I lived in Salley, one of the most social places to live, and it was just renovated, so it’s really clean. If you can get into Broward, it’s the nicest dorm on campus.

The population is mainly white,...

The population is mainly white, but there are plenty of other races and cultures represented. Many clubs involve people from varying groups. There is definitely some diversity, but not to a great extent.

The ethnicity at FSU is fairly...

The ethnicity at FSU is fairly diverse. In fact, my freshman year, our group of friends nicknamed ourselves the ‘United Nations’ because of our broad range of ethnicities.

There are beautiful men and women...

There are beautiful men and women here. The guys are incredible, and there are so many different types to choose from. If you can’t find your soul mate here, you probably never will. They are all gentlemen. The girls vary more so. They can be really sweet Southern belles, or they can be snobby, but they’re the types of people you will find anywhere you go.

FSU is notorious for its beautiful...

FSU is notorious for its beautiful people. Lots of ‘blonde bombshells’ from the beach, as well as ‘Latin lovers’ from South Florida.

I can’t really comment because I...

I can’t really comment because I don’t do drugs. But if I said we were a completely drug-free campus, I’d be lying. It’s around, but it’s not like people are getting wasted in the hallways or anything.

In my four years, I would say that...

In my four years, I would say that 90 percent of my teachers were great! I made a lot of great friendships and relied on many for recommendations. You would think that for a big school, it is hard to get special attention, but all of the teachers are very good about making themselves available to you and offering help. If you make and effort to know them, then they will be more than happy to get to know you. If you do go, please make the effort, it helps a lot to get to know them personally. Overall, they were great!

FSU has done a great job improving...

FSU has done a great job improving its facilities over the past 10 years. They have plenty of new dorms that are great, the workout place is second to none in the nation, many new classrooms are state of the art, and the campus, in general, is very beautiful.

Despite being an old campus, FSU...

Despite being an old campus, FSU has done a good job of modernizing equipment and remodeling the buildings. The downside to this is that there’s a lot of construction going on, but once you know where it is, you can avoid it for the rest of the semester. Most people hang out at the gym or the Union. I like hanging out on Landis Green. There’s usually some kind of protest or something going on, and people bring blankets and sit out and study. It’s great on a sunny day.

In my eyes, Greek life plays a...

In my eyes, Greek life plays a major role in the social scene, but this is coming from a Greek. You do not have to join a sorority to have fun in college, but it helps—you meet a lot of awesome people. I definitely recommend going through recruitment, and if you don’t find a house that you are 100 percent sure about, you don’t have to join. Greek life is everywhere at FSU. We are the people in the paper for doing awesome philanthropic work, and also for bad stuff like drinking. The community has mixed feelings about Greek life, but the sororities and fraternities are working hard to get a better image. All student organizations can participate in events like homecoming, but Greeks dominate all the competitions. We always do a lot of service work and have a lot of socials to get to know everyone.

FSUPD are very strict about...

FSUPD are very strict about underage drinking. You can cry and yell and all that, but they’ll still write you up for it. Sometimes, they’ll just make you pour out your drinks, but if you make a scene, they’ll make tough on you.

Parking is horrible. Some people...

Parking is horrible. Some people use the free bus system to get around the parking problem; I usually wait in the parking lot for a space, which can take up to 45 minutes during busier times of the year.

There is a drug scene, though it’s...

There is a drug scene, though it’s kind of hush. People don’t walk around talking about it. If you use drugs, you won’t have trouble finding them, but if you don’t, you won’t have to worry about being surrounded by the drug culture.