@fbhsmom D was accepted into U of F as OOS (Virginia). She is absolutely THRILLED to be going to U of F and to be accepted as OOS. U of F has from the beginning been, far and away, her first choice. Her stats are competitive. (GPA: 3.93 UW; 4.54 W; SAT 1400; great ECs; put together what was easily her best essay among all her college applications.)
She definitely feels bad about those who didn’t get in, but kind of the same thing happened to her brother when he was applying to engineering schools. S was accepted at top schools, but not from his home state school, Virginia Tech. He decided to go to UCF (Burnett Honors, $44K merit) and has LOVED it. He wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but UCF for engineering.
Don’t know what D would have done if she weren’t accepted to U of F. She did get acceptances from UCF (BHC, $42K merit), USF (Honors, $50K merit), and JMU (Honors, no merit). Still waiting to hear from UVA, but D isn’t waiting. She’s a GATOR! She is so excited!
@fbhsmom Thank you for the kind words. My only problem is somehow I did not get into the honors program which I was very much looking forward to. on the field we should be contending for a national championship real soon!!
I hope someone can reply to this post.
When I got accepted a few days ago, I was really excited since I thought I got accepted into a top university. I accepted the offer immediately. Now, however, after reading a bit more about the university there are many people who really dislike this university. I started to regret accepting this offer over Penn state. And people in my school are getting into universities like UMich, TAMU, Purdue, UW Madison, IU Bloomington, Georgia Tech, UCSB, UIUC, UMass Amherst. Is the university on the Overall same level as those?
Is the University as prestigious as some people say it is?
@tippy46 I’m not sure what you are getting at. UF is now ranked as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation. Of the public universities you listed, Univ. of Michigan and UCSB are ranked higher while UF and GaTech are tied. The others are ranked below UF. All are good schools. My suggestion is you tour the schools that have accepted you and make the decision that is best for you, regardless of ranking or perceived prestige. UF’s decision deadline is May 1st and I’m sure you can change your decision before that date.
As to the chatter on this forum about UF. Most of the folks who contribute to the forum are fans of the university or aspiring students (and their parents, of course.) During decision time, some people get upset about UF’s holistic admissions policies, which are sometimes perceived as unfair and random. Emotions run high and hurt feelings are real. However, I don’t think many folks on the forum doubt the quality of a UF education.
Are you a Florida resident? If so picking Penn State over UF would be crazy. UF and Penn state are peers, but Penn State is a heck lot more expensive for a Florida resident.
Yes (in the same ballpark) and yes. You’ll find UF engineering is nationally well recruited.
@Luska19 You will be an amazing student at U of F, as your record speaks for itself, and I’m sure you’ll shine on the gridiron as well. Don’t be too disappointed by Honors; only a tiny sliver of applicants received admission to the Honors Program – D didn’t get it, either (OOS, Va). But she’s VERY excited about attending U of F. She also has been involved in her school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes for 4 years and currently is one of the leaders. She’s a dancer, but I’m sure she’ll find time to come root to the Swamp to root for the Gators!
@tippy46 I agree with GatorDad305 that you tour U of F before you decide. College selection is a very personal decision. I’ll just say that S was accepted into Texas A&M engineering, as well as to U of F. Even though these are great schools, he decided to go to UCF for engineering, and loves it. D is set to go to U of F – she toured U of F twice, and attended the U of F Summer Media Institute last summer, which led to it being her first choice.
We toured Penn State last summer (actually spent three days there, as one of our Ds was at PSU volleyball camp). The tour was great but I asked the guide about the weather. Be prepared for very cold weather! I asked if it got down to the 40s and 30s. She said it was regularly around 20s and teens in the winter. Yikes.
@VABogart I appreciate that. Good news is that I did end up in the honors program after all. Yes FCA is definitely one of my favorite HS activities and I look forward to her coming to the Swamp and rooting for us.
@GatorDad305@VABogart I toured UF Because Im a Florida resident finishing my highschool in India. I have Florida prepaid but prepaid will pay for whatever it can in Penn State too. However I’ll basically be going to UF for free. Is it the right decision that I accepted UF over Penn State? Still waiting on UCSB and Virginia tech tho.
@Luska19 Congratulations on the Honors Program! Richly deserved.
@tippy46 UCSB and Virginia Tech are terrific places, too. Sounds like you’ll have great schools to select from. I think UCSB is the one that has on its campus map, in the bottom corner, an arrow with steps, which says, “steps to the beach.” Nice.
@tippy46 Congratulations on all of your college acceptances. Know that you have incredible choices. I will tell you that based on the statistics I’ve seen, UF appears to have higher academic standards than Penn State in terms of admissions. My son got into both schools and chose to attend college in our home state to avoid taking loans. My suggestion to you is to make a list of pros and cons for each school you are considering. The right choice may jump off the page. Good luck!
@tippy46 Note that you can use Florida Pre-paid at UCSB and VT, but it only pays the equivalent of in-state tuition (and some fee’s, based on which plan was purchased and when). Lets say that’s $6K a year.
VT’s OOS tuition is $29K a year, while UCSB’s is $38,676. VT may award you additional merit or need based aid, but UCSB will NOT.
VT’s has a highly regarded engineering program, but in general (considering all programs) UF is more well regarded. If the $ difference was reasonable, say no more than $5 to $10K a year, then you could select either school, based on which you think is a better fit. Spending a few thousand dollars more a year to attend VT is perfectly reasonable, if that’s the school you prefer, but don’t do it because you think VT is more “prestigious”, and definitely don’t do it if the cost is $10K or more a year.
UCSB is far more expensive, and Florida Pre-paid isn’t going to do much to reduce that cost. For engineering, it simply doesn’t make any sense to choose UCSB (OOS) over UF (In-state).
@tippy46 - I normally do not like to insult anyone and I apologize if my comment comes off that way: With all the time before applications are submitted, followed by the time in between decisions, there is more than sufficient time to engage in due diligence to research university programs. Besides touring campuses, which I understand logistics and finances may make it difficult, students also have the ability to reach out to professors and attending students. My D has reached out to professors at universities during the application process and they were more than willing to respond. With all the tools and resources just fingertips away, there is no reason not to know which program best fits the student.
