Florida State University Top Questions

From my perspective, there are a couple specific stereotypes that most divide FSU. Many people feel that Greeks are "stuck up" and dominate organizations, taking control over certain aspects of university involvement for their own advantage. On the other side are non-Greeks, who are sometimes perceived as being lazy and uninvolved. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if someone is "Greek" or not to be involved, but any kind of organized effort will dominate over one person alone. The best way to have a voice at a large university like FSU, is to join an organization that shares your values and interests.

Florida State University has a wide range of students, from jocks to sorority girls to mathematical guinnesses and with that wide range comes many stereotypes. For instance, all black students came into Florida State University through the CARE Program. All english majors are weird Harry Potter obsessors.All sorority girls are rich girls who join sororities in order to cover up their slutty past. All football players are cheaters who get paid. All of the homecoming candidates are stuck up individuals who live for attention. All student government members care more about themselves than they do about the school. All frat boys get drunk and party every night and most commonly all Florida State students hate the Gators. I can't say whether or not these stereotypes are true (well maybe the last one), the point is that no matter what kind of student you identify yourself as at Florida State University, stereotypes will always be there. It is up to the student to decide if they want to fit those stereotypes.or not let what other people think keep them from being a successful student.

Florida State University is widely known for its Greek life and the student body’s great appreciation for football. These attributes have led to FSU being labeled as a party school. While our students do know how to have a good time, there is much more to this university. There are plenty of sororities and fraternities that throw monthly fund raising events, along with clubs, athletic teams and student associations. There is always some sort of student activity on campus. We have a school movie theater, a twenty four hour library, restaurants, market days, a circus, and even festivals for special occasions. Football is a huge event every fall semester. However, it is not just the students who are interested in the Seminoles, football games are a city-wide event. There are festivals with food stands before every big home game called “Downtown Get-Downs” and every Seminole fan, student or not, can participate. While Florida State University is known as a party school, it has many things to offer to a very diverse student body. You do not have to take part in the party life to have fun at FSU.

The majority of students at Florida State seem to be Greek. You can't drive down a major road without seeing at least 7 cars with Greek letters on the back windshield. Homecoming Week is dominated by the Greek system; no other group stands a chance of winning. The rest of the students fall into various categories. Some of the are very politically active, and, on campus, there is usually at least one type of protest going on. Others are very religious. There are tons of religious groups on campus ranging from Christians to Buddists.

Many people particularly from out of state think that all Florida schools are party schools. The reality, however, is that Florida State University is about much more than that. While we are fortunate enough to have wonderful weather and close-by beaches, we also have great professors, research opportunities and a variety of interests represented on our campus. You can almost always find students lounging around Landis Green--playing Frisbee, suntanning, listening to music--but you can also almost always tell that half of them are reading for class or writing a paper. It's really the combination of fabulous location and challenging academics that makes Florida State special.

FSU has a very "party" oriented image. There is a large Greek population, but the student body is pretty diverse in their interests. The party stereotype is reasonably accurate. Tallahassee does drink a lot, loves tailgating, and there are no shortage of bars. However if that's not your scene you will find other things to keep you occupied.

FSU has consistently been listed among the top ten party schools in the country as well as on top ten lists for schools where students do the least studying, most notably on the Princeton Review. With an largely well known and successful collection of athletic programs, as well as Greek Life, and close proximity of night clubs to campus, some as close as a walk across the street, it's no wonder why Florida State is known as a party school.

There is a stereotype that FSU students party a lot, do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sexual intercourse, that type of deal. I find this to be somewhat accurate, truly there are a lot of students that party a lot and do a good bit of all those activities but as a whole I think it to be about as average for any college.

FSU is known for being a big Greek and party school. There are a lot of people involved in sororities and fraternities, and there's definitely people that go out every night of the week. But everyone isn't like that. There are plenty of people who party responsibly and in moderation, or not at all.

The common stereotype of students at Florida State University seems to consist entirely of bad images of art students. From my experiences here, there is some truth to our label as an art school; in comparison to the University of Florida, for example, Florida State is stronger in the arts and humanities while UF's programs focus more on the maths and sciences. However, our school consists of many different people; there are dancers, frisbee players, math students, future teachers, writers, painters, and graphic designers. In this way, the myriad of personalities creates an emphasis on individuality on campus which can not be quite as prevalently found on larger campuses. Another stereotype of our campus is the high party rate. This is both true and false. While campus is full of tailgating on gamedays leading to a plethora of red solo cups littered everywhere and many students I meet discuss their active social life, I personally have been to two parties since coming to FSU, both of which were small. So, while there are many parties for those who feel the need, there is no pressure to party for those who do not wish to participate. All in all, we are not a so-called "party school."