Florida State University Top Questions

The demographic of this school is pretty spread and even. The majority I would say is white, Christian kids from florida, but we do have a strong minority base as well. Also the LGBT community is very strong and active. Since are school is so large, you can pretty much be any type of person, and find people who are just like you. It's nice to be able to have people with your similar interests and style. Overall, everyone's pretty nice and has a solid respect for their fellow student. People are very school spirited here, so just the fact that you are studying at this school gives you automatic respect and recognition from most people. There are many students that are politically active here (we are located in the capital), every once in a while we'll get some type of political protest on Landis and that's always fun, it never gets too heated. The divide between left and right I believe is quite even. There are of course many liberals because it is a college town, though there is a large number of conservatives as well because we are technically in the south. But the divide is actually pretty even and quite nice, no one side over-powers the other. Like me, many students aren't really sure what they want to do in the future, but luckily we have this great thing called the "Career Center" where there is a number of people willing to help you with anything from making a resume, to just talking about your passion, and the best part about it is that it's all free. It's nice to know that the administration here cares and is willing to help.

There is no word to sum up the students at FSU. They are all so amazing and nice, I haven't encountered one mean person here. Everyone is so kind and helpful. If you are lost or need help in anyway you can stop any student on the street and they will help you. They are also all itching to get involved. There are tons of clubs that you can join, political groups, environmental groups, teaching groups, greek life and more. There is something here for everyone.

One of the great things about FSU is that there is a very diverse population of students from different races, religions, orientations, and socio-economic groups. Even though the students are primarily white, there is a strong presence from other racial groups. Students often dress down for class in comfy clothes, since the focus is more on learning than a fashion show. There isn't much of a pressure to look pretty or dress up on campus. Students interact over academics, clubs, and other groups. Most of the students are from different parts of Florida, there isn't much a presence of students from other states or countries.

There are a lot of leaders on FSU's campus that are interested in a certain cause and work hard to reach their goals and to raise awareness among other students.

A lot of the way I view the student population comes from my experiences from what I have involved myself in on campus and my major. When I was a pre-med student I noticed and apparent difference in the level of competiveness amongst students in that same major, but when I changed major fields I would say it almost felt like a whole new college. The student demographic completely changed- now I feel like people are studying for themselves- to learn about something they are actually interested in as opposed to filling some sort of role. Students come from all sorts of backgrounds: from right outside of Tallahassee to all the way across the world. FSU offers many different outreach programs and help. They have many financial aid opportunities and counselors and Global programs to help any student settle into the FSU lifestyle.

Any experience I've had with activist groups on campus has been great. They're all very excepting if you give them a smile and say you aren't interested, and they're just ecstatic when you agree to sign their petitions! I've not seen any student openly have a racist attitude towards anyone in an LGBT group, a religious affiliation, or for simply being Middle-Eastern or African-American. In a classroom setting, any tension that my be there at home or off campus seems to disappear entirely and students all participate and interact happily together. Concerning financial backgrounds: they're all over the place. Florida has been hit pretty hard by this recession in particular fields including architecture and public schooling. My father and mother worked/work in those respective fields and have been hit pretty hard with what's happening in the nation. That being said, Florida has a great program called Bright Futures. It's a state-wide scholarship that has fairly simple requirements to achieve, and with the standards it takes to get into FSU, almost every student I know, that isn't from another state, has it. It pays for 50-75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our tuition depending on which bracket you fall into, and this makes just about everyone sit a lot more comfortably than they previously may have been. So even if your financial background isn't the greatest, it's really hard to tell most of the time on campus.

FSU has a pretty active community. There are lots of different religious groups for students to join, as well as political groups. The College Republicans are extremely outspoken and are all over campus, but they're really the only group that likes shoving their ideology in your face. FSU is pretty laid back - most people wear jeans or sweatpants and t-shirts to class, but you don't look out of place dressing a little nicer if the mood strikes either. The financial background is pretty varied, as is ethnicity. Most of the students are from Florida, as it is a public Florida institution. I don't think that any student would feel out of place at FSU - there's really a wide range of people at FSU, and most people seem to interact pretty well. There's a great pride group for the LGBT community as well.

Being a college campus, FSU fosters the ideologies of today's youth. Maybe disfranchised, definitely cynical to the bone, FSU's student population makes every group, minority or majority, feel welcome. FSU offers many different culture-based clubs, whether it be an ethnic culture or a genre-type culture (Cypher, the hip-hop club is an example), FSU is has a niche for anyone willing to express themselves to their peers. There are also venues for LGBT and other gender-based organizations. Often the on-campus movie theater will hold an LGBT Club-hosted film festival, screening modern examples of gay and lesbian cinema for any interested students. Despite the wide variety of students and clubs, FSU sponsors concerts and other social events that unify the different cliques and make them work together for the same goal. Large school events often feature performing acts from different groups all on one stage, bringing their differences together to promote tolerance and appreciation for other cultures and interests. Generally, though, the trick to fitting in with a daily routine is to be casual and friendly. Any student, no matter what his or her background, is receptive to benevolence. To not stand out in the FSU student body, just smile and be yourself.

I am in the Honors Program, so my classmates are fellow Honors students from diverse backgrounds and cities around the world/country. They are all extremely smart and supportive of those around them.

The student body varies here at FSU. In a typical day I will run across your stereotypical “bros” and “brahs” as well as your stoners, geeks, Goths, etc. Due to my major, I run into a lot of creative writing people mixed in with those who want to become journalists. From what I have seen, many people on campus are politically active and are more than willing to take part in protests whether it is on campus in the student union or right in front of the capitol building. Furthermore, there are various organizations on campus which help promote equality for everyone regardless of race, gender, or sexual preference.