<p>I had a meeting today with my guidance counselor today discussing colleges and I told her that FSU is going to be my safety school. I have an extremely strong course load, phenomenal extra curriculars, a 32 ACT, and a mediocre GPA (3.45/4.0) </p>
<p>I did not plan on applying for the October 15th deadline because I am really busy doing all my other applications but she told me if FSU did fill up their class during this pool, that they would not even have a second round. This seems absurd to me that they would close it off if they had applicants that were much above the qualifications for FSU during the second round. Is it possible they will fill it up and close it off to students who are over qualified? With my stats, would you guys say its safe to apply later, or would it be better to just get everything done now (possibly sacrificing some essay quality)</p>
<p>I would say that it is not a safety school if you wait to apply in the second group. I think that there are times that admissions would rather take a student who makes FSU their priority over someone who just considers it a safety. </p>
<p>Last year there were 3 admissions cycles and I don’t think they took many/any from the last cycle other than placing them on a wait list. Obviously with two cycles I doubt they will fill totally with the first cycle. But I do think that they may get the most competative applicants during the early cycle. So you will have even stiffer competition during the second cycle, as the slots left will take even higher grades and scores after the bar has been set. That is what happened last year.</p>
<p>If its not that high on your list, and it is merely a safety, let it go and take your chances.</p>
<p>Hate to break it to you, but you’re not overqualified for FSU. I wouldn’t be surprised if they flat out rejected you with those stats. One of my friends got deferred with much better stats than yours.</p>
<p>FSU is quickly moving up to the top of my list, with UM and UCF. It’s really becoming a very selective school.</p>
<p>The mean ACT range for FSU is 23-28…
I’m not saying I’m over qualified, but my 32 ACT score is much higher than their mean. My course rigor is also quite challenging (9 AP courses), I founded a debate program at a middle school in my county, and I am the president of our mock trial team, debate team, and SS National Honor Society. Although my UW gpa is a bit low, I am still ranked in the top 14% of my class and my course rigor is much more difficult. I’ve taken more AP classes than most of the kids who are ranked in the top 10 in my school… </p>
<p>Am I severely underestimating FSU? Or was something lost in translation</p>
<p>FSU had some 33K applicants last year and cut off the bottom 20% of the freshman class due to funding issues. The admissions rate consequently decreased to some 36%. They will cut the applications process short when they have the class they want. The SAT average increased some 47 point in one year to SAT 1265 and ACT 28. (see: [FSU</a> Highlights](<a href=“http://fsu.edu/highlights/students.html]FSU”>Strong Students and Outcomes | Florida State University))</p>
<p>While your ACT score is stronger than the average, your GPA is not and you are planning to apply rather late, which is an error. You are being overconfident and should have applied in early August. Applying early would have greatly increased your chances at acceptance. As a Florida resident you are at an advantage over OOS applicants.</p>
<p>It seems your information is a bit outdated as well. This is from the FSU website: </p>
<p>The middle 50% of the Fall 2008 accepted freshman class is: 3.7-4.2 GPA; 1190-1330 SAT (Critical Reading plus Math); 26-29 ACT.</p>
<p>The top quartile of our Fall 2008 accepted freshman class rivals any selective school in the nation with an average GPA of 4.43, and average SAT of 1398 (Critical Reading plus Math), and an average ACT composite of 31.</p>
<p>Yes, once you recalculate the GPA it makes a big difference. I’m surprised your GC didn’t already do this ahead of time for you. My son’s GC here in IL did and it was a bit of a disappointment. Just be sure to write a killer essay!</p>
<p>If you are interested in attending FSU, you need to apply early. If you are on the fence, roll the dice and apply late. Also, you may miss out on scholarship opportunities if you apply later.</p>
<p>It looks like the days of FSU being a safety school are coming to an end. </p>
<p>The current freshman class had the highest academic record in the history of FSU. I look for this trend to continue. Our state graduates a tremendous number of high achieving high school seniors each year, but doesn’t plan to build another large university any time soon. With the slow down in the economy, more high achievers will choose to stay in-state to take advantage of their Bright Futures Scholarship opportunities (as long as they are available). </p>
<p>Plus, out of state students see the educational value found at Florida public universities. (OOS tuition rates in Florida are still relatively a big bang for the academic dollar.) As Florida schools’ stats become more impressive, the number of oos applicants will increase.</p>
<p>So, subsequently the application process will only become more and more competitive. </p>
<p>If you want to attend FSU, work hard in high school and apply early first round. </p>
<p>Also, be forewarned, if you are accepted, don’t slack off in your classes! Senioritis is not a myth! Many seniors last year sadly had their acceptance to FSU rescinded due to poor grades on their final transcript that were made after their acceptance.</p>
<p>I agree, skibird. Instead of new large universities and larger existing universities, the move to the two tiered system is happening. The new “State Colleges” designation means that there will be more slots for freshman overall, but fewer slots at the Universities, and more students getting 4 year degrees at a State College. FSU, UF, UCF etc will become more competitive. </p>
<p>We saw in our high school good “B” students who did not get an acceptance to a single state univerisity, not even the more regional UNF/FGCU/UWF.
To the OP, your ACT score is in the top 25% for FSU, but your FSU GPA is in the bottom 25%. And that is based on last years numbers. For this current group of applicants, and given the economy and the fact there will probably be even more instate applicants, your ACT could quite possibly be below the top 25%, and your GPA could drop into the bottom 15-20%. </p>
<p>Crazier things have happened. Get the application in.</p>
<p>The one thing that my son and I noticed with Fall 2008 admissions is that they really did not give much regard to ECs. It seems that they really only took GPA and test scores into consideration. We know people who should have been accepted and were not. We even know 2 girls who got into UF and not FSU. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I know this horse has been dead and beaten for a while now, but FSU isn’t really a safety for anyone anymore. If I were to bet, I would say that you get in. But I wouldn’t consider it a safety. And are you really considering going to FSU? Because if you’re not, it would be nice for the rest of the applicants if you didn’t apply. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that if you don’t think you’re going to go there, you may be taking up a slot that someone who has dreamed of going there might take. </p>