OOS from VA got in with honors. 4.0/4.7 35 ACT,Full IB with assorted EC’s. I am very happy he got in.
I agree with the frustration of not getting in instate but I think they do it right. I wouldn’t want a university with no diversity. I hope my child learns from diversity of experiences. As UVA could fill its entire university twice over with Northern VA students. I want him to meet and study alongside others from outside my geographic area. I want my child to learn from others. We have been on the other side where we got rejected while those in his school with lesser scores got in a certain college but I am sure the other student had something they were looking for my child did not have. It stings today but everyone will find their place. Son got in UVA but wants to experience something new and U Florida is at the top of the list.
Thanks for answering my question about honors. Yes it appears my D24 did not get accepted to the business honors program.
I didn’t mention her stats so hope this might be helpful to others.
D24, accepted OOS from Texas (black female)
SAT 1450
Top 5% from top public HS
Varsity athlete
Part time job since 8th grade
Mid ECs
3.9 UW, 4.6 W gpa
10 AP classes (4s and 5s so far)
Volunteers regularly at one organization (helps refugees) since freshman year. Maybe 100 hours a year?
Multiple state and local art awards
Her dad is a Gator alumni so that definitely influenced her decision to apply.
For those comparing to UT, it’s equally or perhaps more heartbreaking for qualified Texas kids. UT Austin auto admits top 6% of class but major is not guaranteed. My daughter did not get her first choice business major and saw many many less academic stat kids get into business. We have other friends with kids with near perfect SATs, multiple computer club ECs, designing robots, etc did not get into CS. They are either rejected outright or placed into the liberal arts college. I think there is no perfect system. But I am absolutely in favor of programs that encourage geographic diversity. Kids being surrounded by the same type kids they grew up with is not the real world. Learning from others with different viewpoints is so important!
Congrats to all those accepted. This college admission process is not for the faint of heart!
Doesn’t UF have less of a Deep South feel than UGA? Both have great campuses and Athens is probably a nicer town. I know UGA is more Atlanta-dominated, but sorority and things appear to be more like Bama and Ole Miss. I would assume UF is slightly different given more geographic diversity? What gives off a more intense vibe?
I really liked the feel of UF campus as well as UGA campus. Both feel very different than the northern schools obviously.
Also, I think in order to help with rankings on a national level, you absolutely need a certain percentage of OOS. In general, it is good to get the perspective of people from everywhere.
My daughter is UF class of 2027 and in honors program. She lives in the brand new honors village. We are OOS (12 hours away). Priority registration is a great benefit with honors program, among many other things. And the sunny weather is a nice touch. Plus plenty of diversity at UF. Yes, most students are from Florida because it is a huge state. But they are from various areas.
I would agree that UGA has more Deep South to it, but 20% are from OOS, and a lot of Atlanta kids who are not stereotypically Southern. anyway our daughter I think liked the idea of stepping outside her Northeast comfort zone.
I didn’t realize I was posting in a UF thread- it’s a great place too and I would def not have minded if she had chosen it! If she had gotten into the Honors program there, maybe she would have!
Great post here. In state in Texas. My D24 was dinged at UT and accepted at UF. Will likely be accepted at Rice. At least UT takes top 6% of all public schools graduates in state. My daughter goes to boarding school and that hurt her. This year has been brutal for everyone.
I don’t think there’s a Deep South feel at all to most of Florida, and that carries to the Universities here. Ocala, sure - Deep South, and maybe some of the Panhandle, but Florida is a state with many diverse cultures, so it’s hard really to say it feels anything other than “Florida.”
I’ve heard UGA also has a lot of very large classes and the social scene (sororities) can be pretty insular (Atlanta dominated) and perhaps less friendly to OOS. And it just feels more southern. The town and top part of campus is pristine/idyllic.
I would assume a lot of kids at UF know each other from HS as well, but it is a bigger state.
Congratulations to all who get in and to those who didn’t, admissions decisions do not define you or your abilities. And if it makes you feel better here are UF’s overall bachelor’s graduation statistics:
53% have jobs at graduation,
34% did not complete an internship
4 yr graduation rate in the 70s%
5 yr rate over 90%
These stats are quite good for a large public university where I’ve found there are typical more course requirements (major and distribution) vs. private universities. My state’s flagship public university, a few steps behind UF, has a 6 yr graduation rate of 82%. Several other of my state’s public universities have 4 yr rates in the 50ish% range, increasing to 60ish% for 6 yrs. So depending upon how one looks at it, these stats are either excellent or not so good.
To those who didn’t get it, depending upon your goals and what you want out of college, your alternative choices may not be that different from UF. For example, my oldest attended an average public univ. in my state, where she ended up being the top student in her major. Her grad school options were better than if she’d attended the more competitive flagship state school for college. She’s now at a top 25 med school.
It’s not over until its over. There’s always transferring in later too. My advise, check placement reports of all schools you’re interested in, including what percent are responding. If they’re vague or non-existent, there’s a reason. If wanting grad school, I think your undergraduate performance (in/out of class) and grad exam score mean more than where you attend college. (as long as it has sufficient resources)
large classes have not all all been an issue for my kid at UGA but admittedly she is in the Honors college. large classes will be an issue at any large public school for certain into classes though, usually with breakout sessions run by TA’s. personally I think it’s fun to have 1 or 2 of those large lecture classes- it’s exciting.
as far as sorority scene at UGA- rush was intense but fun for her. seemed like a crazy exhausting process but not malignant or toxic. the OOS kids had no issues, as far as her crowd goes anyway, getting into sororities they liked. there didn’t seem to be any bias against them except for a few Old Row sororities that they were never interested in.
I don’t want to keep hijacking a UF thread, sorry…
Two things: my kid is a freshman. I hope they made the housing process a little easier than last year—they started with a new portal and it did not go so smoothly! But he found his roommate through some Instagram account for new students, and they both had their orientation/preview appointments the same weekend in mid-July (I’m not sure if they planned that) and that is when the housing appointments opened—it was weird. You got assigned a slot based on your priority. I think the appointments were all online. He just happened to be on campus. Even though the appointment process wasn’t seamless, they got a room in a dorm that’s been a lot of fun, and he and his roommate and another guy from their hall have signed a lease for an off-campus place for next year.
On online classes, I assume it varies. My son’s focused on math in CLAS and has had one online course a semester—his choice though—one was a gateway class to a potential dual major and the other was to meet a core requirement. He did come in with maxed out AP credit (UF lets you bring 45 credits, which for my kid was about 11 classes). Last semester he had a mix of sizes of classes but his only huge lecture was Calc 3 and he had a smaller section. This semester all his classes are 30 kids or less, except the one online class.
Sometimes, it’s better to be a big fish in a slightly smaller pond than a small fish in a big pond.
I have friends who sent their kids to great and expensive schools for undergrad, and then when they went into the grad physicians program, they were told to retake one or two classes to get a higher grade (the schools didn’t care that they went to a high tier undergrad), and all of the other students in their cohort came from state schools and did not have to retake classes.
I think it is wherever the child will be happy and flourish. At the same time the school must have the resources and allow access to those resources. All the public univ. in my state are large, so instead of 9K freshman, there were 6K freshman at the public univ that my med student attended. She wasn’t in student gov. but did receive a university level award for best new club (her club involved students and also impacted her college town). She was also received an award as the top student in her science major. She’s smart but I don’t know if she would have been the top in her major at the flagship state school. For grad school, yes, I’ve also heard the name of the college doesn’t matter but we tend to keep gravitating towards more competitive names. It’s the grades, grad exam scores, and what one achieves in college. It’s the terminal degree one secures (the one one uses) where the name counts. If education will end after a 4 yr degree, then I’d say the college/program’s name matters as long as it doesn’t break the bank.
I personally prefer private Tier 1 Research universities. Another one of my kids is attending an ivy where she has only 11 core requirements and a major requirement. No minor requirement (although she has one), and no minimum upper level courses requirement. Although she’s a liberal arts major, all her courses are hard and she does more writing than when my one in med school attended college. None of her AP counted (almost all 5 scores) at the ivy yet she’s agreed to finish in 3 1/2 yrs (taking regular course loads) to help me save money. Plus, my D can work at BA degree level pay for the 6 months she’s saving by finishing school early. The 6K student public school’s catalog stated most 4 yr degrees take 4.5 to 5 years to finish. She’s prelaw, and is doing paid research under a notable law professor. Benefit of an affiliated top ranked law school. So this situation worked better for her than attending any of the public univ. in my state. Each child has to be treated differently based upon their abilities, interest, and personality.
They have the resources and access but are expensive. Most of these are need based schools and don’t offer merit scholarships as they are tough to get in to start with. My D applied to 20 schools. Some safe schools, some state schools, and 12 very competitive private schools. A few of these offer scholarships which are extremely competitive. She’s received a full at a private univ. close to UF’s reputation and is awaiting results from the others. We’ll be near full pay so I don’t know what we’re going to do if she gets into one of her ultra competitive schools. They won’t work for premed (course grades are typically curved so it’s tougher to secure the needed 3.9GPA) but would be more viable for everything else. I also don’t want her to sweat for grades all through college. I read an MIT alumnus’ Reddit positing where he said 1/2 of his entering class finished in the bottom 1/2 of his class. The math is the math.
Very well said. We share the frustration and angst of seemingly unfair NOT love at 1st sight from our respective top in-state schools. I do believe all those who got in even with much lower stats deserve it as much as our own high achieving kids. Small probability event happens, very sorry for those got the very unexpected news. At the moment it can be hard to swallow, especially in terms of the price tag differences. However, it will all work out, and most likely for the better in the long run. Give the poor kids a hug and tell them they will DO GREAT anywhere they go. I believe in diversity mix of IS and OOS as much as I do with some affirmative actions to protect IS taxpayers’ children for any states.
I agree that “fit” is an overlooked or minimized factor in college selection. We got into Purdue for engineering - a great school, but not sure if the fit is right.
And also agree that the end goal is an important factor - grad school or not. No one ever asked me (employers etc) (or cared) where I did my undergrad, just the grad.