FI(YOU?)

Introduction
Incoming freshman should definitely put FIU on their list of schools to consider if they plan on continuing their education in Florida, particularly in Miami. I chose FIU because of its esteemed and nationally-recognized Business programs and soon found out that most of the programs here are nationally-recognized and on par with other top-notch schools such as the University of Florida and University of Miami. Many students come here to study International Relations, Business, and Architecture to name a few of the popular degrees. High school students who are not commited to working hard or balancing study time with the fun-filled Miami culture should not apply. It's easy to get distracted by going out every night and those students may soon find themselves getting kicked out for academic failure...

Campus Life and Social Life
Dozens of events are held on and off-campus every week, whether they are school-sponsored or not. There's always something to do around here in Miami. There are nightclubs for every musical taste and every scene. The school has fifteen Division 1-A athletic teams. The games aren't packed, but there's a significant turnout. Much of it has to do with our football team being so young, but it will change over time as the team gets better. This year we'll be playing some nationally recognized schools...one of which, UM, they expect to eventually become our full-out rival. With over 200 registered student organizations, there's a place for everyone to get involved and even take a leadership position in whatever their area of interest. Advertisement
Academics
Right now it is moderately easy to get into FIU (but this will be changing soon). However, relatively easy admission is not a reflection of the schools academic quality at all. Most of our departments are very good academically. Most professors provide convenient office hours and are easy to access, and class sizes averages 35 students...though of course, you will have some classes with over 100 students. The largest classes here have 300 people max. A word of caution: one of the worst departments is MAC (Mathemics-Calculus). College Algebra has the highest failure rate at this school. TAs are very helpful, as usually they will be the people you will be talking to about minor issues. Many times, the TAs will be a little more lenient with your late assignments than the professor will, so use them to your advantage, but don't take advantage of them. The workload varies depending your area of study. During your Gen Ed classes, you won't get much work every day, but be sure to study often and start long-term assignments early! You will be thankful when the end of the semester nears and the rest your classmates feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders when they're suddenly bombarded with work "out of nowhere" and staying up late studying for five tests all at once.

Student Body
The student body is amazingly diverse here whille still maintaining a Latin "sabor." Being in Miami, Hispanics do make up a large percentage of the school's population, but students here may be from two minutes down the street or halfway around the world. There is really no typical student in terms of likes or dislikes, ethnicity, or hometowns. Currently, the school is big on its commuter population: many students are from the area and have no need to live on campus.

In Closing...
I can't honestly say FIU is a well-known school at the moment, but you'll definitely be hearing of the school soon in the years to come. With one of the nicest campuses, the best dorms, 15 division 1-A teams, a future rivalry with UM, an upcoming Medical School, and outstanding Business, Law and Engineering programs, FIU is undoubtedly on its way to being competitve with the two dominating schools in Florida. If you plan on studying in Florida or specifically in Miami, FIU is definitely a school you will want to check out.