The old adage “the grass is always greener on the other side” is so popular because it resonates with anyone, regardless of age, gender or nationality. As a college student you can find yourself daydreaming about the greener side, wondering about brighter schools, better football teams, and adequately staffed financial aid offices that don’t require hour-long waits.
We have news though that could squash your envy —UCF isn’t that bad.
Each year, the financial magazine Kiplinger puts out a list of the top 100 schools that it says provides the best value for students. Best value, according to Kiplinger, is regarded by the schools that have strong academics but don’t cause massive debt.
In 2009 UCF was on Kiplinger’s list, and in 2010, they moved up six spots to secure the 36th spot.
Kiplinger is not the only media outlet to draw positive attention to UCF either. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report included UCF in its “Great Schools, Great Prices” list. UCF was ranked in the category of top 20 national universities that provide the least amount of debt for graduates. The Report also included UCF as one of the top five “Up-and-Coming Schools.”
UCF’s place on the latter is a good explanation for some of the envy you could feel toward students at more established schools. Some things simply come with time. But the recognition UCF is receiving is well deserved.
UCF is not perfect. But we trust that when a top financial magazine assembles a list like this that they are confident the school is providing a decent education.
We know a lot of students barely skim the relentless e-mails they receive from UCF in their Knights account. We, too, have wished for days without constant e-mail updates on the traffic situation outside the Arena. But if you take a moment to read through just one of those messages you’ll see how hard your school is trying to help you.
With unemployment at 10 percent, finding a job, especially in your field, can be a terrifying thought. At least your school is attempting to help you find one: A mass e-mail this week included information for an assistant instructional designer job that included working with the full-time instructional design staff to support online faculty at UCF.
Another noteworthy aspect of this e-mail is that the school is spending more money on helping their online faculty. This is crucial since not all Web courses are currently created equally, which can easily lead to a poor online experience if designed poorly.
Once you take a moment to read those annoying e-mails, you will realize that UCF is attempting to provide you every opportunity they can. UCF offers a weekly Weight Watchers meeting for students attempting to lose weight or exercise more. It offers seminars on a vast range of topics in an attempt to better prepare you for the staggering unemployment rate and depressingly competitive job market.
And UCF is earning its title as one of the top up-and-coming schools because of all this. Sure, we might not have a great football team, and yes, you will have to wait in line for more than an hour to speak with a financial aid adviser.
Start the new semester off right by reading at least one of those bothersome e-mails and appreciate the school’s attempts to better both you and your education.
After all, the grass is already pretty green on our side.
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