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| IST Building in the background |
Florida Polytechnic University (FPU) is a
Science/Technology/Engineering/Math (STEM) school that only specializes in
these fields. FPU would be a terrible
college to go to if you wanted to major in sociology, but for the student who
is all things techy, this is a heaven on earth!
This is a brand new university created for high tech workforce
development by the State of Florida three years ago. Though they are young, a considerable amount
of capital is being pumped into this school by the State of Florida. This capital investment is providing the 1400
students a lot of small class sizes, a beautiful Innovation, Science and Technology (IST)
Building designed by architect Santiago Calatrava,
which houses cutting edge technology including a supercomputer, 3-D printing lab,
cyber gaming and media lab, cyber security lab, robotics lab, and a big data
lab.
Students who are a good fit for FPU are problem solvers,
naturally curious and love the idea of all things technical. They are good math students and prepared to
work in collaboration with teams on project-based solutions. Shy students who may fall into this category
would be right at home at FPU as it is made up of other students just like
that. The student body would be more
excited about a robotics competition than they would a big football game. The social activities on campus are geared
toward kids who would feel very comfortable at a Dragon Con event. Camaraderie and community are well intact in
this young university, and the dorm rooms are the best equipped rooms that I
have seen all week. Students share a
suite with three other students where there is a common bathroom, and a full
sized washer and dryer in the suite!
Never have seen that before…
This new school is hungry to attract good students and is
already attracting very good faculty. As
you might expect, there is a small female population at a polytechnic school
(18%), a statistic that they are wanting to change. Future construction of a business park on the
same property is planned and will open up corporate opportunities for real
world work experiences. A great example
of this is Suntrax- an applied center for testing autonomous, driverless
cars. It is currently being built next
door. In all, this university has come a long
way in a short time and a great option, again, for a student who may not be
able to generate the test scores to get into Georgia Tech, yet has the desire
to go into a STEM field.
Florida Polytechnic University Profile
GPA- 3.95
SAT- 1290 (super score)
ACT- 29 (super score)
ABET accreditation is underway.
$32,000 per year total cost, financial aid available
