The College Campus Series is an opinion-based review of various college campuses visited by the author, Tommy Capobianco. The intent is to provide an unbiased review of various campuses through the eyes of a high school student. The author has no connection to any schools reviewed and will do his best to ensure each school is given an equally fair and honest review.

As a high school junior, it may seem a bit early to begin looking at colleges. However in the words of my wise mother, “It is never too early to start looking. Before you know it high school will be over; time flies by so quickly.” So, we made our second college visit of the year to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. I will categorize my opinions between pros and cons:

Pros:

• Free Parking Passes- this is major for a college. Most other schools will charge you a fee just to get your car on campus, let alone park anywhere. FGCU students can obtain a parking decal at no cost, saving the young, poor college student some big bucks.
• Phone Notifications for Laundry, Buses- not that this is the most important thing ever, but I thought it was pretty cool. FGCU’s laundry facilities are hooked up electronically so that you can get a notification on your phone when the wash is done. Additionally, the buses are also tracked electronically so you’ll be able to tell how far away it is. This is beneficial as you can look at the schedule and determine whether you’ll be able to make it where you need to go in enough time.
• Free Tutoring- this is a major plus for FGCU. Students are able to obtain tutoring services for free at the library in many subjects. Additionally, the writing college also offers consultations on essays and reports free of charge, so if you’re stuck on a paper, don’t worry!
• Free Arcade- while this may not appeal to everyone, for those gamers out there this is definitely a pro. On campus, there is an arcade free for FGCU students to use full of old-fashioned arcade machines such as Pac-Man, pinball machines, etc…
• Free Movie Theater- FGCU students have the opportunity to enjoy movie nights put on by the film department free of charge. Additionally, students can also play their own movies and watch them with friends.
• Eco-Friendly- while this may not really be important to some, it may be to others. FGCU makes it known that they try to be as sustainable as possible with eco-friendly air conditioning and solar power. The campus is also on a nature preserve, so land is conserved and there will always be nature for students to enjoy, especially the lake at the center of campus.
• 92% Job Placement- this is probably one of the most important items, so that is why I saved it for last. FGCU boasts that 92% of graduates have a job lined up after they leave campus. That is an impressive number and if accurate, is definitely an attractive aspect of the university.

Cons:

• Small- while FGCU has roughly 15,000 students, a respectable amount, only about 2,000 live on campus. That is a major blow for me; that is more than 85% of the student population either commuting or living off campus. For comparison, Freedom High School’s student population is more than 2,100, so this is basically an expensive high school size-wise.
• Gym- even though it’s free, the gym really wasn’t that nice. It was basically one medium-sized room filled with workout machines, with a few rooms in the back for classes such as yoga. There really wasn’t anything special about it.
• No Football Team- this was a major downfall for me personally. One of the big parts of being in a college is tailgating and attending football games. While the school does have a basketball team that plays in a nice arena, it’s just not the same as football.
• No Greek Living- while FGCU does have Greek Life such as fraternities and sororities, it was made clear on the tour that they do not have Greek living. This means that fraternities and sororities do not have their own houses and in fact live in dorms just like anyone else. While this may not be bad for many people, those interested in participating in Greek life will be disappointed.
• “Beach Front Dorms”- don’t be misled by this phrase. FGCU does have a beach on their campus, however that beach is on a lake, not the ocean. Even though the university makes available a boat to use for watersports such as waterskiing and tubing, it is still a lake. A lake with alligators.

To be perfectly honest, I did not have high expectations for Florida Gulf Coast University. The tour guide we had was very knowledgeable, nice, and loved the university dearly. The campus was modern as the school is fairly young, but it just didn’t cut it for me. The school was too small for me and the lack of a football team really turned me off. Don’t get me wrong, FGCU was a great school, it just wasn’t what I was really looking for and as a result it will go towards the bottom of my list.

Don’t just take my word for it, check out FGCU for yourself! Information for tours can be found at http://www.fgcu.edu/Admissions/Prospective/schedule.asp