For UCF, I had the pleasure of interviewing John and Sofia. They gave me insight on their student life as general students at the university. Thank you again for your in-depth answers! - Denisse
JOHN
What makes this school so special to you? Was it your first choice and your dream school?
What was your reaction when you opened your acceptance letter?
Were you awarded financial aid? If yes, how would you rate the financial aid package given? Was it able to remove some financial pressure?
What major did you pick and why?
What kind of classes would you highly recommend students to take in high school before going off to college?
"UCF wasn’t my first choice, but it was still my second choice and ultimately I’d say it was the best choice overall, there were almost no cons after I weighed out the pros and cons."
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"I was actually in Orlando on my way to the school when I found out I was accepted. Honestly I wasn’t very surprised, but I was happy to say the least and it was good to know I had the school secured."
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"Yeah I actually did get financial aid, most of my college money came from merit and the work I put in, and that alone is easily a 10/10 and I have little to no financial pressure on my shoulders."
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"My major is Digital Media, better known as Game Design. I chose this major because video games have been such a huge part of my life since I was a kid, and I think there’s a beauty in gaming. From the outside, they’re just distractions and temporary entertainment, but to me they have the potential to be intricately crafted worlds with so many messages to convey, while also being a fun escape from a growingly scary world that is full of conflict and hatred. Video games give people a window into the mind of the developer, their personality and what goes through their head and that has always fascinated me. My dream is to captivate an audience and build a community of people with different ideas that come together and accept each other through the medium of my games."
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"I’m mainly gonna recommend AP classes here. I recommend AP Lang and AP Calc AB at the least, AP Lit and AP Calc BC if you can. The Calc classes will help you get a lot of credit for math in college, and plus I think Calculus is a beautiful course and just as big of a checkpoint in math as a whole as Algebra. And the English courses are because there are going to be a lot of essays you have to write in college with a very specific style of writing and those classes teach you what you need to be ready for those. AP Capstone and Research are also great for this purpose if you can take them, overall if you challenge yourself with hard classes like that then you’ll be more than ready for college."
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SOFIA
What makes this school so special to you? Was it your first choice and your dream school?
What was your reaction when you opened your acceptance letter?
Were you awarded financial aid? If yes, how would you rate the financial aid package given? Was it able to remove some financial pressure?
What major did you pick and why?
What kind of classes would you highly recommend students to take in high school before going off to college?
"This school has always been a dream of mine because it has a great engineering program and it gives me the opportunity to live closer to my family and get away from what I'm used to in my hometown."
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"I was super happy to see my acceptance. I don't really have big reactions but I knew it was definitely where I was headed."
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"I wasn't awarded financial aid other than bright futures and it's honestly a life saver because I don't really have a lot other than what I've saved up teaching kids programming and doing robotics camp."
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"I've always loved mechanical engineering so it's natural that I would pursue it especially since my role model (my teacher) is a mechanical engineer. I want to keep working with this kinda stuff because I'm really passionate about it and I feel like if I keep tweaking my projects that I have or continue to inspire young minds through programs or camps then I'll be able to make a difference."
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"I would recommend taking as many AP English classes as offered in your school, I’m by no means going to pursue an English degree but it saves you a lot more money in credits and it improves your ability to create a well developed essay which is essential in college. I finished taking all the higher level English courses I could in terra and do not regret the amount my writing developed and my ability to understand and retain information is essential to note taking and understanding textbooks."
ELLI
This was my first interview with VCH and worked alongside Denisse on interviewing for my dream school University of Central Florida. I interviewed Elli, a rising junior at UCF and a member of the color guard team and a social media ambassador. - Alexis
Are you an in or out of state student? If you are out of state or even from a part of the state farther from Orlando, did you find the transition into UCF difficult? Was there any specific aspect, program, or people that helped ease your way into college life?
"I’m an in-State student from Tampa, FL! Transition was easy for me because, luckily, I had some high school friends that came to college with me! My advice about easing the transition: UCF, being the biggest school in the nation, offers almost 800 different clubs you can join. You should join 1 as a “hobby” club, and 1 as an “academic” club! Hobby so you can have some fun and meet new friends, and Academic so that people that are more experienced with your major can help you make choices such as which classes to choose!"
As a student athlete, how have you found ways to dedicate the right amount of time around colorguard and academic studies?
"Surprisingly, being in color guard actually helps me stay ahead in my studies! Though it seems like it would take time away, it makes me work harder and faster, and I even get ahead in my classes because of it because it forces me to create a schedule for myself! When it’s not color guard season, I tend to fall behind more!"
What aspects of the school allowed you to really fall in love with UCF and make the decision to attend?
"UCF was sooo beautiful to me when I started touring schools in high school. Schools like UF and FSU had an “older” feel, but I love the modern feel of UCF. The buildings and landscape are so beautiful and the campus is SO clean compared to other schools! UCF is the biggest school in the nation. You’re BOUND to meet someone who likes what you like! They have everything from a quidditch team, to a fashion club, to ping pong club!"
As a social media ambassador, what opportunities have been opened to you such as internships or future career connections?
"Being a @ucf.edu Social Media Ambassador, I’m exposed to a handful of wonderful people who are all different from me! But there’s one thing we all have in common: we all have massively positive attitudes. You’ll never find a grumpy UCFSMA! Knowing people that are so different than me really expands my network to anyone they know that could help me with my career!"