Florida Gulf Coast University — Local services in San Carlos Park

I'm writing this review in response to the negative comments I've seen, and the topics/"problems" they describe. I'm an incoming freshman with test accommodations, specific housing, transfer credits from Duel Enrollment, and with a food allergy. FGCU has been nothing but amazing, when visiting I was welcomed with warm smiles and a friendly atmosphere. They are at the pique of environmental awareness, with a food forest, campus-wide solar power, a food forest, and 400 acres of reserved nature. The dorms and buildings are modern, with the dorm rooms being some of the best I have seen. I've attended a multitude of their events, and have visited/compared them to other universities, and few even come close to this school.

Volunteering Requirement: FGCU does have a graduation requirement of 80 volunteer hours for incoming freshmen, and 40 for transfer students with 60+ credits. This equates to 20 volunteer hours a year, or 10 a semester. Students can earn hours doing on campus work, off campus work, and participating in event planing. I understand this is not for everyone, but with having around 365 days to complete 20 hours, for most this would be a simple task. I understand fully that people who have to work 1-4 full time jobs to pay for university may not be able to do this, but there are options that can assist with this. There is a Live Learn Community housing option that focuses on volunteering, as well as tending to the food forest. This would be able to provide ample opportunity for those who have difficulty finding time to volunteer.

Accessibility (testing): For accessibility, FGCU has one of the most detail oriented Accessibility offices I've seen. The rooms are fantastic, the accommodating spaces are wonderful, and I had no problem getting my papers approved. If you/your child had to get accommodations for the ACT/SAT, use the same paperwork for that. If not, send a letter to your pediatrician/specialist for them to write out the details of you/your child's condition/disability. You can also type it out yourself, in detail, exactly what your conditions entail along with the specific accommodation needed for it. Then send that letter to the doctor to get it revised and approved. After getting the paper written and approved, send it to the office for accommodations. With this, it should get approved.

Food Allergy: I have a gluten allergy, which means I cannot eat any food that contains gluten. Including seasonings and sauces such as soy sauce, teriyaki, most BBQ sauces, various seasonings...the list goes on. When going to FGCU, they had the best accommodation to my allergy. It was one of the few universities I didn't get sick at when eating there. They had Gluten Free pancakes, waffles, pizza, BBQ, fries, bread, seasonings, sides, and everything you could think of. Now, they recently added gluten free options to the menu as a constant, but yo do have to request for the Pizza and pancakes/waffles to be made. All you need to do is ask one of the chefs by the allergy station. If you have another form of allergy, they will sit you down with their head chef and nutritionist and create your food plan. After that, they will be in contact with you for when you eat.

FGCU is an amazing university with kind staff, forward thinking operations, superb campus security, and one of the most student-focused dorms ever. Out of all colleges I've seen, FGCU is the most well rounded, only being...

A TRUE AND CONCISE REVIEW!!! To start off, I am a local to southwest Florida and have lived here my whole life. While looking into colleges, the most adorable option was to stay at home. I graduated from FGCU in 2021 with my Bachelors of Science in Child and Youth Studies and am currently attending for my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. During my bachelors I had a few run ins with my advisor, the main issue was that she was not communicating with me what courses I needed as extra curricular, then had me enrolled into my program while I was missing some of those extracurricular courses. Fast forward to my final semester before graduation, she calls me to let me know that she had made a mistake and enrolled me for a course that would not count as an extracurricular “oh and I see here you will not only be missing those 3 credits for that course you didn’t need, but you are missing 6 more”. In the end, after going over all of my courses and signing up for graduation etc. I was encouraged to take 5 courses my final semester at FGCU. This caused a great amount of stress, I ended up paying more than I needed to for my final semester since I was advised to take a course I never needed in the first place, and to appeal my tuition for that course was a nightmare so I never got my money back. Aside from that experience I reregistered for my masters since the graduate advisors are different than undergrad and I did love many of my professors at FGCU during my bachelors. The campus is also very clean and many people in certain offices are just as friendly as the people in other offices who are NOT. Through my masters I have noticed that more now, after Covid, than ever. Many staff in some offices are very condescending and try to shake off your needs as they are too important to help you. Whenever I ask questions I am belitted and treated like a child, as if it were not their job to be helpful. I also had a professor with the audacity to tell me that her life is so much more stressful than mine that she does not have time to answer “simpleminded questions”. Everyone has hard times! Life is not easy for anybody! I was absolutely disgusted reading that email, an adult responding that way to another adult is absolutely insane. If you don’t want to teach or help students build their skill set/ hone their craft, then DONT BE A PROFESSOR!! I have met 3 professors in the college of education with those attitudes. Aside from those bad seeds, there are still so many other supportive and friendly people in the college of education. One of my professors has nominated for awards while others have supported me in my journey and helped me find jobs. As mentioned, the campus is clean, there are many student resources and those staff are very friendly and willing to help. There is also a lot of nature and views around the campus if you enjoy going for a run/walk. My only advice to anyone looking into this university, be ready to stay on top of your own courses and what is needed, if you have questions don’t hesitate to ask your advisor but be sure to keep track of all your own needs. Do not count on certain professors to have empathy or a drive to help you learn, some have absolutely none. DO be responsible for your own learning, make friends in your classes to help you, and enjoy your time in college because...

I just can't say enough about the experience I had while attending FGCU. As everyone will tell you, it is a beautiful campus that leaves very little to be desired in terms of its appearance.

Student housing is another perk. I can't imagine a better on-campus style of student life. That is not for everyone, especially me, and I am happy to say there are great options for those wishing to stay CLOSE to campus but not ON campus.

The facilities on campus are also fabulous. Class sizes range from 180+ to 12-15. I thought that was great because I felt like I got to experience both a large University setting and a small/private University setting as well. The administration is fabulous and organized, which is important for ANY student, but especially those who are on scholarship or any kind of financial assistance.

Also, university president Dr. Bradshaw is the man. He supports FGCU at as many sports/academic functions imaginable. No event is too big or too small; he is there.

Sports at FGCU have been improving in terms of national success, but regionally/locally they are simply dominant. FGCU competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference in NCAA Division I. I would be willing to bet that in the last 4-5 years, across all sports, FGCU has won more A-Sun titles than the other top 3 schools combined. Basically, in the A-Sun, FGCU dominates and watching them do so is always a good time.

The teachers are great, and with average class sizes around 30 students you can really get to know them and vice versa. That is important to most any student. I received excellent experience and advice from my teachers which ultimately led to my pre-graduation employment in the field of my choice. Can't beat that.

If I had to complain about one thing regarding FGCU it would be the heat. Florida is hot, but the swamplands of Southwest Florida is not to be underestimated. It is scolding. Kids will literally fry eggs on the pavement as a means of entertainment. Average "feels like" temperature I would guess to be in 90's. Humidity year round. Just overall a swath of inescapable scolding clouds follow you like your own shadow EVERYWHERE YOU GO. However, the scales are leveled by surrounding beautiful beaches, even more beautiful women, and shorts -...