Rosen College @ UCF

[Traveliz]

THanks - I have to say that the 100% placement rate didn't surprise me just in that any job could be considered hospitality and there is such a huge need there.

Sounds like you aren't into those classes yet - would be interesting to hear from someone taking the more specific classes.

You don't need to be specific but would say if you work in attractions or whatever area and which park or hotel?

Love to hear the different perspectives.

Liz

 

[coasterphil]

I'm in operations at MGM.

 

[BeenieFL]

I agree with Coasterphil in some levels, and others not so much. The courses or not challenging, but lets face it Hospitality is not exactly rocket science, it is an easy subject to learn, and most of things I have learned has come from things I have learned in the classroom and applying them to my job. The program at UCF is relatively young when you start comparing Rosen to schools such as, Cornell or UNLV, which is what a lot of people do. I think there are many things that could improve with the program, I am graduating in a month and do not have job that is going to pay my bills, and the school is not being exactly helpful because I DO NOT want to work in a hotel or restaurant. The school is also starting to crack down on no shows for interviews and it is really only a handful of students who do that and the student must write an apology letter to the interviewer. Of course you are going to have unprofessional students, after all it is still college, but for the most part I have seen most students are professional. Sometimes I refer to Rosen as more of a training camp and not college, due to the ease of the courses which do get very repetitive the more upper level classes you take. The staff is always telling everyone to be professional, to network, to join clubs, go to different companies to interview different managers, and things of that sort.

I am specifically on the Theme Park and Attraction Management track, and am taking all 4000 level courses, and I will admit they are not that challenging for the most part. All in all though, I do feel that I have received a quality education from Rosen and would still suggest Rosen to anyone who wants to be hospitality major. I am sure you could ask many different students from any university, for any major and some might love their program, whiles other hate it. Not sure what else to add, as me a coasterphil obviously have different opinions. I must add though, that I was accepted into the University of Florida's tourism program, and chose to go to UCF because of the campus and the fact that I could actually work in the Hospitality industry while getting my degree. I do not regret this choice as far as education goes (but it would have been nice to have been there for the 3 National Championships), anyways hope this helps once again, and feel free to PM me as well if you have any questions about Rosen or Disney.

 

[Traveliz]

I agree with Coasterphil in some levels, and others not so much. The courses or not challenging, but lets face it Hospitality is not exactly rocket science, it is an easy subject to learn, and most of things I have learned has come from things I have learned in the classroom and applying them to my job. The program at UCF is relatively young when you start comparing Rosen to schools such as, Cornell or UNLV, which is what a lot of people do. I think there are many things that could improve with the program, I am graduating in a month and do not have job that is going to pay my bills, and the school is not being exactly helpful because I DO NOT want to work in a hotel or restaurant. The school is also starting to crack down on no shows for interviews and it is really only a handful of students who do that and the student must write an apology letter to the interviewer. Of course you are going to have unprofessional students, after all it is still college, but for the most part I have seen most students are professional. Sometimes I refer to Rosen as more of a training camp and not college, due to the ease of the courses which do get very repetitive the more upper level classes you take. The staff is always telling everyone to be professional, to network, to join clubs, go to different companies to interview different managers, and things of that sort.

I am specifically on the Theme Park and Attraction Management track, and am taking all 4000 level courses, and I will admit they are not that challenging for the most part. All in all though, I do feel that I have received a quality education from Rosen and would still suggest Rosen to anyone who wants to be hospitality major. I am sure you could ask many different students from any university, for any major and some might love their program, whiles other hate it. Not sure what else to add, as me a coasterphil obviously have different opinions. I must add though, that I was accepted into the University of Florida's tourism program, and chose to go to UCF because of the campus and the fact that I could actually work in the Hospitality industry while getting my degree. I do not regret this choice as far as education goes (but it would have been nice to have been there for the 3 National Championships), anyways hope this helps once again, and feel free to PM me as well if you have any questions about Rosen or Disney.

What do you want to do with your degree?

Liz

 

[BeenieFL]

What do you want to do with your degree?

Liz

I would love to stay at Disney and work my way up, but sometimes that can take a while, years even, to move your way up to a management position, even with a degree. Meanwhile I would only be making $7-$8 an hour as front line employee working my way up through different positions within the company. What I would really love to do is get involvled with the sports complex, or sports in general. Kind of one of those things that I figured out during the last few years in college. I would probably go back and change my major if I knew then what I know now. But that is besides the point, I am planning on staying with Disney for a whlile and seeing how things work out there. Still not sure what exactly I want to do though....

 

[Haveamagicalday!]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, I had a crazy few days at work (I'm a CM too, so you can ask me questions about that as well!) and totally forgot about this. I also want to preface my thoughts with the fact that this is just my outlook on the school. For the most part, everyone else here seems to be having the time of their life with no regrets as to their choice of UCF and Rosen. I'm going to keep my thoughts relatively brief, as I don't want them to take over this thread. If you have more questions, Liz or Hope, feel free to PM me and I'll answer them. I'm currently in my first year-I'm actually a Sophomore as I had 36 credits from AP courses to start off-but I've spent so much time looking into every aspect of the school that I consider myself fairly knowledgeable.


To be perfectly blunt about my disappointment, the school is a joke. I have confidence that they could put a tremendous program in place with the resources and facilities here, but the program isn't going anywhere if it continues to attract the students it currently does. To say that the classes aren't challenging would be an understatement. I could argue that all my course are still in the intro arena and things will likely toughen up, but looking at the grades around me in those classes I know that can't be the case. If it were, the graduation rate would be horribly low. Getting pass the grades issue, most of the students don't know how to handle themselves in professional settings. They blow off interviews they sign up for on campus. They show up for company information sessions and ask inane/inappropriate questions or spend the entire time sending text messages right in front of the presenter(s). The school still has great placement after graduation simply because the industry is so desperate for help and a person with a college degree has still proven something over a person without one. Anyone who argues that this is a top program, which is pretty much every person involved with this school, must not have ever looked into another one or is simply taking the fact that 100% of grads are placed into jobs and using that as the end-all indicator of greatness.


That is terribly scattered and I could go on in more detail about things that have bummed me out so far (including my job, but thats another thread), but like I said it really wouldn't be fair. If you guys want the full rant or just have questions about the program in general feel free to ask me. I'll answer objectively, subjectively, or both depending on what you want.

wow. I'm glad someone told me. Honestly, would you advise going to this school?

 

[coasterphil]

Speaking on behalf of myself, no. On behalf of the general student population here, yes.

You have to examine why you want to come down here for school and weigh everything for yourself. I know that the price would've been a major sticking point for me if it hadn't been for the scholarship and the surprise of my parents and grandparents each covering one full year of expenses. Without those things I wouldn't have even considered coming down here. Just throw out why you would like come down here and your reservations. That way I and BeenieFL can try to help you figure it all out.

 

[MikeinOrlando]

I am also attending classes at Rosen and can agree with everyone else. The classes are not that hard. The biggest thing you will have to deal with are the group and individual projects you will be assigned. Some of them are VERY time consuming. I work for Marriott and think this is an excellent mix of in class and real world experience. I agree though with some of the Disney folks who say it's not as easy to find a management position right after graduation if you want to stay with the same company you have worked for while attending school. The mindset with some of the employers seems to be that they even though you finally have the degree and all of the experience, you still have to jump through the same hoops as the people working their way up the ladder without the degree. They basically still treat you as though you don't have the degree. It seems the only way for most to overcome this is to either transfer to another location or change companies all together. Also, once you have your degree, look outside of the Orlando area. There may be better luck in finding jobs if you go into a market that has few Hospitality Majors applying.

 

[LurkerLisa]

Okay - I don't attend, but my daughter does and we pay out of state tuition. She did get a "silver" level pegasus scholarship which is a partial fee waiver of about $6000/year. She is a 2nd year who lives at the main campus and has no plans to move to the Rosen campus due to the lack of "college" feel/life. She calls hospi a "slacker" major, but is minoring in business and that's harder. She will have to take classes at Rosen for the 1st time 2nd semester soph. year. The main campus is a good place to start if you want the "big" school experience.

As to slacking students - well since she is at the main campus it is not something that just happens to hospi students. I really feel that there are some college students who have no idea about how to conduct themselves as professionals. She has had more than one bad experience with group projects and students not fulfulling their part.

She LOVES UCF and wouldn't dream of attending anywhere else. She is also in something called LEAD Scholars that is an honors service program that you have to apply for must have good grades and a record of volunteer work (NHS is a good start) This program requires community service hours and campus involvment, but you get excellent housing and early registration for classes. She also loves this.

PM me if you have any questions

 

[Traveliz]

Okay - I don't attend, but my daughter does and we pay out of state tuition. She did get a "silver" level pegasus scholarship which is a partial fee waiver of about $6000/year. She is a 2nd year who lives at the main campus and has no plans to move to the Rosen campus due to the lack of "college" feel/life. She calls hospi a "slacker" major, but is minoring in business and that's harder. She will have to take classes at Rosen for the 1st time 2nd semester soph. year. The main campus is a good place to start if you want the "big" school experience.

As to slacking students - well since she is at the main campus it is not something that just happens to hospi students. I really feel that there are some college students who have no idea about how to conduct themselves as professionals. She has had more than one bad experience with group projects and students not fulfulling their part.

She LOVES UCF and wouldn't dream of attending anywhere else. She is also in something called LEAD Scholars that is an honors service program that you have to apply for must have good grades and a record of volunteer work (NHS is a good start) This program requires community service hours and campus involvment, but you get excellent housing and early registration for classes. She also loves this.

PM me if you have any questions

Thanks for your opinions! BTW we are in Illinois also. My daughter want to be at Rosen itself as she will be going in as a junior and will probably still be working at Disney.

Liz

 

[Sammie]

If you want to live in Orlando and get a degree in HM, then Rosen is as good as any other.

However if you live out of state and are only transferring thinking Rosen will give you a leg up in the industry or specifically Disney, then you are wasting your time.

Your chances of a job with Disney are just as good in another college and not necessarily HM. Actually Disney prefers the school of hard knocks.

 

[Haveamagicalday!]

If you want to live in Orlando and get a degree in HM, then Rosen is as good as any other.

However if you live out of state and are only transferring thinking Rosen will give you a leg up in the industry or specifically Disney, then you are wasting your time.

Your chances of a job with Disney are just as good in another college and not necessarily HM. Actually Disney prefers the school of hard knocks.

This is exactly what I was wondering. So basically if I went there hoping it would give me an advantage in having more experience within the company, and expecting a management position upon graduating, I'm wrong. So what is the best thing to do? Work at Disney for years until you work your way up?

 

[DisneyGuy77]

I am a masters student at Rosen, so I can not comment as to how difficult the undergraduate program is. I can say that the masters program is not easy, nor is it an easy program to get into. A lot of masters programs requirements are either or, i.e., they require a GPA of a 3.0 or a 1000 on the GRE. The Rosen College requires both. Is it as difficult as a masters in chemical engineering? Can one really compare apples to oranges? When comparing hospitality schools, I would say it is one of the best imo. I think a lot depends on what your goals are as well. If your goal is to have a career with Disney, it’s hard to acquire experience working there when you are attending school at Northern Michigan.