<p>Let me start by saying that I love UF. I also think my (our) school is underrated and that I am a serious critic of the methodology that US News uses. I think it could be picked apart EASILY by a bright student who has taken all of stats 2. Having said that, I am also a pragmatist. I realize that the rankings are here to stay and even more so, that they MEAN something to millions of people. Therefore, in my opinion, UF should "game" the system- not to the extent that maybe Washington University, as they in my opinion are over ranked. the UF administration should make decisions that make the University's ranking reflect more accurately it's place. I feel UF should be ranked in the mid-low 30's based on a lot of factors, the most important is the student body quality is of the high 20's University caliber. Therefore, I sent this letter to the UF president, I am interested in what his office response will be.</p>
<p>By the way, X-NYer-I think, putting our different opinions on the SAT gap aside, we share a lot of the same goals and hopes and dare I say views about UF. Maybe if enough of us are vocal, the administration will hear us and ake decisions that will move UF up to where it should be ranked. For what it is worth, I think UT is getting hosed too, but considering it's student body qualification, there is more justification for that than for UF.</p>
<p>Here is the letter:
Mr. President,</p>
<p>I am sitting here wondering why for the fall of 2008, UF (a school
that I both love and am about to be an MBA alumni from) just had
the most competitive pool of applicants in it's history, yet the administration has
made decisions that have lodged us AGAIN in the #49 spot
in the USNEWS Ranking. FSU has faced the same budget hurdles as
UF, yet they have managed to spike over 10 slots in the ranking.<br>
Further, FSU should keep rising in the rankings as they are
cutting enrollment. FSU, seems to be cutting "from the
bottom" of the applicant pool, as evidenced by the ~50 point SAT
jump this year. Meanwhile, UF is rejecting 12% of it's applicants
with 1400 SAT and even worse, I received data from the admissions
office showing that the SAT score gap between Asian and Black
freshman admits over the past 3 years is 134 points (see attached
file from UF admissions). As a future UF alumni, potential alumni
doaner and general fan of UF, I am requesting an explanation as to
why FSU can figure out how to address it's status as an under
ranked school, yet UF is rejecting extremely smart applicants,
practicing affirmative action with regards to SAT and GPA and
just making decisions that keep us in a mire of being underrated
and out shined by schools ranked 10 slots above us that UF should
easily leapfrog in the rankings. I look forward to your response.
Thank you.
Thomas Slawsky</p>
<p>Machen talks the talk about becoming a Top-10 public, yet his devotion to achieve this endeavor is only moderately strong. I would think he would go all out to get UF where it ultimately needs to be. Clearly we are not trying to game our statistics like Wash-U, and that a false sense of Social Justice is truly his primary objective over true academic excellence. Let's get into the Top-10 publics then remake it a primary goal to improve diversity on campus. Basically our rankings should be Priority #1 in my opinion.</p>
<p>Also it should be noted: When UF topped out at as the 13th overall best public in 2007 he said it was nothing but smoke and mirrors. Said true substance was not achieved to have excellence year in and year out.</p>
<p>Tom,
I believe there are enough people on here that we could constructively assemble all the data in the hopes of determining how to improve UF in the USNWR ratings as that is all that the general public seems to care about.</p>
<p>First step is to disect the new USNWR data.</p>
<p>You all realize from that "other" UF thread how much heavy lifting there is yet to do.</p>
<p>I am truly surprised at the very low cost of out of state tuition for Florida. I would imagine there imagine with winning two basketball championships, one (soon to be two) football championships, with the weather and the beautiful campus in Gainesville, there would be a bundle of prospective students hoping to come to Florida. </p>
<p>Again, why is the out of state tuition so low? It does not help the value perception. I'm sure they could raise it to the level of U of Texas at Austin, and not suffer any problems. </p>
<p>If they handle everything properly, Florida should ultimatley be up there with UCLA, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, etc.</p>
<p>I have the course book for Washington U. There is no doubt in my mind that it is deserving of its ranking. In my humble opinion, it deserves to be ranked with Chicago and Northwestern. The faculty is over-the-top outstanding. I know some friends who attend...both who were accepted by Cornell. Both selected Washington U. after visits, and absolutely love it. As the Ivies have become next to impossible to get into if not an athlete, URM or legacy, Wash U. is evidently getting some incredibly bright students as part of a spill over effect. I understand an awful lot of applicants to the Ivies from around the country are also applying to Washington U. as their alternative choice.</p>
<p>So, what you are saying is that black students who are admitted to UF are stupid.
If all students at UF are like you, I'd rather NOT step foot in a campus full of racists.
I always knew that whenever blacks are used in a statistic some racist's true colors will show.</p>
<p>If you're that concerned about rankings then get the hell out of Florida. You have your education, and you want to take another's education away just because FSU is managing to do alot better with its students. For your stuck up information, alot of blacks, like myself, come from poor economic situations and do not have the support that more privileged and successful students have. Therefore, we tend to have lower SAT scores. We can't go to private schools, or take $2500 Princeton Review courses. But damn, if someone is good enough to get into UF he has the drive and wishes to make better of his life. UF is a public school and uses funds provided by ALL OF US, And he is thankful that UF has not prevented him from getting the quality education he seeks because he is not Asian. and by the way, FSU will admit those UF rejects, and by the looks of things, FSU has made the better decisions, hasn't it?</p>
<p>Also, it took alot of self-restraint not to be profane, but I am so angry that all you care about are some stupid rankings and prestige. Damnit, stop riding USNWR's dick you racist dildo.</p>
<p>UF does practice affirmative action in their admissions process.
I applied to UF last year with a 1520 SAT, 4.4 GPA, top 3% of my class, IB student, numerous ECs (sports, music, organizations), many awards and distinctions, double legacy (mom and dad), as a WHITE MALE, and was not accepted. Not that it mattered, UF was my "safety" school.
I nevertheless managed to get in on the same criteria as my UF Application to UNC Chapel Hill, Berkeley, Emory, Vanderbilt, Penn State Schreyer's Honors College, Duke, Swarthmore, and some other colleges.</p>
<p>A good friend of mine in my graduating class, a black female, also applied to UF with a SAT score in the high 900s, a 2.4 GPA, and was accepted.</p>
<p>A similar situation happened to one of my friends who goes to a different school in the same district as me.</p>
<p>It is without a doubt that UF practices affirmative action in their admissions process.
Can someone say reverse discrimination?</p>
<p>I highly believe that UF should revamp their entire admissions process before it can even begin to be considered a public ivy.
Many deserving students will be turned away based on their race. The admissions process should be based solely on achievement, merit, and the essay, NOT on your skin color.</p>
<p>Danny: As a last minute decision I chose to attend UCF, so I could stay in Orlando and take care of my mother. She has recently passed away so I plan on transferring soon, most likely out of state. I may consider reapplying to UF, however, as a transfer to stay close to family, since I already have over 70 credits.</p>
<p>Life isn't fair, and everyone comes from different situations and backgrounds. If we are trying to eliminate racism, affirmative action is the WORST thing we can be doing to solve that problem. Admissions at all colleges should be completely race and income blind. I agree that it's not fair that some kids can afford to take super-expensive SAT prep classes, but that doesn't matter. It's not fair that the professional athletes in this country make millions of dollars for playing a game. Maybe we should take away their income because it's not fair? All of this "fair" stuff is crap. Admissions should be completely blind to a person's race and income when deciding who gets in and who doesn't. </p>
<p>larryw09, take a look at Knight's little situation. Did he do anything to contribute to his friend's possible economic disadvantaged position? Probably not. So how is punishing innocent potential students in order to improve diversity fair? Luckily for him, he got into a bunch of other schools. But others aren't so lucky. </p>
<p>As a white male who is basically on the 50% mark considering GPA and SAT of admitted students to UF, I am scared to think that I may not make it because of my gender and color. I'm am NOT racist by any means (one of my best friends is a black female, and my best friend is American Indian). You are being racist, because you are advocating the use of race to be a factor in admissions decisions... so in essence, you're giving minority students a leg up on majority students. That's called DISCRIMINATION. I don't care if all of the students at UF happen to be black, or white, or Asian, or Indian, or whatever, as long as they're the most qualified students for admission. That should be the aim of an educational institution.... to select the best qualified students out of their respective pool. A college education is a privilege, not a right. And to claim that someone deserves to be in a school because they happen to be black and that they've come from an economically disadvantaged position is complete crap. </p>
<p>And for the record, I am not a rich-private school kid, and I have never taken any SAT prep class. </p>
<p>Improving diversity and education starts at the bottom, and not at the top. We need to improve our inner-city schools and neighborhoods with better facilities and programs, not sacrifice our top university in the name of "fairness" or diversity.</p>
<p>"Therefore, we tend to have lower SAT scores. We can't go to private schools, or take $2500 Princeton Review courses. But damn, if someone is good enough to get into UF he has the drive and wishes to make better of his life"</p>
<p>I guess you weren't smart enough to realize that 25 bucks for a review book or a free library card to borrow said book would provide the same info as a class. Or is it that you REALLY didn't HAVE to study for the SAT, so why bother. But in your case, I'm guessing that all of the studying wouldn't help you hit UF's average now.</p>
<p>"UF is a public school and uses funds provided by ALL OF US," </p>
<p>You MIGHT have a cogent argument here if you were able to think outside the box and see that the tax money funds the public university SYSTEM. Some schools should be easier to get into than others due to social responsibility. There is no reason that there shouldn't be a pecking order within the system.</p>