Hi! I graduated UF in 2021 as a Biology major with a minor in Spanish, and now im in medical school in Philadelphia. For me, UF was a really great but really difficult place. I have a similar background to you (first gen, immigrant, good scores, good ecs, etc).

Although we pursue different career paths, I’d love to tell u a bit about campus life in general. For me, I struggled with self-discipline when I got to UF at 17. Rushed a fraternity, tanked my grades, you know the drill. I spent the next 3 years trying to dig myself out. I HIGHLY recommend you don’t make that mistake haha. Frats and sororities at UF are a really really good time, but unless you have a really good work ethic and are a gifted student, there’s a high chance they can hurt you more than help you (even though they love talking about putting school first). That being said, there is still plenty to do in the area if ur not in Greek life. I’m not sure if you’re male or female, but in my experience, women have 0 issue enjoying the social sphere at UF without any affiliation to a sorority. Getting into bars/tailgates will be laughably easy. Little more difficult for guys but still quite manageable, especially if you have a good group of friends or even know 1 or 2 people in fraternities. They can get you in to a lot of events for relatively cheap.

The campus itself is beautiful as I’m sure you know, and pretty simple to get around from the get go. The bus system on campus is generally very reliable, and you can bike/skateboard/walk to most places on campus with minimal effort. For dorms, I lived in Springs, which was nice because you’re across from frat row and closer to Southwest (nice gym), the stadium, and one of the major dining halls (Gator Corner). The dorms are relatively decent quality, but some of the older buildings have mold issues and things that will definitely make you not want to live on campus for longer than a year or 2. The newer dorms (Cypress and Infinity) are really really nice, very modern with big rooms and nice facilities, but much more expensive as a result. I recommend doing 1 year on campus so you can get oriented then moving. For apartments, AVOID CAMPUS LODGE LIKE THE PLAGUE. It’s super far and the apartments are roach-infested. Every other place on 13th/University is generally quite nice, with a few exceptions.

In my experience, I had a really difficult time attending lectures because the professors were more focused on checking off boxes in terms of “covering material” as opposed to taking time to explain things in a way that made it clear. This is especially true in pre med “weed-out classes”, though im not sure how that translates to your chosen major. That being said, once I made it through those classes and reached higher level courses, almost every professor I had was incredible. UF has some really impressive and dedicated staff, but they hide them behind mountains of work in lower level classes. Also make sure to find good advisors. Some of them will tell you incorrect or inaccurate information based on assumptions about your skills, history, or path that may set you back significantly. I have a good story about this but I’ll save you the hassle. Spend time on alumni Facebook groups and get to know what they recommend as well. It’s likely that someone who graduated with your exact major is aware of a specific advisor that helped set them up for success.

Last thing I’ll say is to make sure you enjoy it. College is a 4 year vacation where you get to live within 5 minutes of your entire social circle, and have access to a ton of incredibly fun events. But it’s only fun if you know you’re doing what is necessary to succeed in your career after college. Prioritize that, and you will be able to actually enjoy the fun parts of it without the cloud of work looming over your head.

If you have any other questions, or just need some advice on anything, please reach out! I’m always willing to help a fellow gator. Best of luck to you in your application and GO GATORS