Acceptance to UF

I’m planning to apply to UF this year since I’m a senior in high school. If my SAT score is in the 1200s-1300s do i have a good chance of getting in? How competitive is the school? I have a 3.9 GPA weighted which might be too low for the school but I’m not even really sure.

I’ve also passed 6 AP exams so far, have over 100 hours of volunteering, and have leadership positions in multiple clubs and can hopefully write a kickass essay. Will this help my chances?

UF is very competitive. It uses a holistic admissions so looks at stats as well as ECs. It also tries to balance the class so wants students from all areas of Florida. You chances will be much better if you are from a high school that doesn’t have as many applicants.

UF looks at many factors but GPA and rigor are critical. Have you computed your “UF GPA?” Only count your academic classes and give a 1 point bump for AP/DE and a half-point for honors. This recalculated GPA is almost always lower than your district, weighted GPA. Looking at last year’s stats, 75% of kids admitted had recalculated GPAs of 4.2 and above. Also, 75% of Fall admits had SAT scores of 1330 or above. Given what you said, I would say UF is a reach for you. I would make sure to apply to a couple safeties. Because of UF’s holistic process, no one is a lock. If you feel strongly about UF, you should apply. If you really want to go to UF, then you might consider the Innovation Academy, which is purported to be less competitive – but research it first because it is not a traditional admit.

@GatorDad305 when UF publishes their mid ranges is that for Fall admits, not summer admits? so when you stated “75% of Fall admits had SAT scores of 1330 or above”. does this and what UF publishes only show fall stats? so the mid ranges for GPA 4.3-4.6 and 1330 to XXXX is that fall stats?

@Melissa96 & @GatorDad305 have a question maybe you can answer. in the past a lot of people state look at your school to see how many kids get accepted and that is a good indication for the following year… obviously not exact but people say a good indication? is that the case? with in reason of course? my daughters school accepted about 35 kids this past year out of 520 kids (6% or so). is it safe to assume those 35 kids that got in are probably all ranked with in the top 45 of their class? with maybe 1-2 outliers at best? If outside the top 50 then that would be kids outside the top 10% of their class… any guidance is appreciated… my daughter is ranked 15 in her current class of 565 kids (4.63 recalculated )

There is no statistical difference between fall and summer admits at UF.

@FlaParent I have heard it multiple times? You are saying the kids who get into the summer have the same exact profile as the fall admits? But I am not sure they include the summer admits in the statistics when they talk about the class profile. ? But I am no expert so no clue? Anyone else know ? Thoughts ?

The reason I ask is because the UF common data sheet says
L
C1. First-time, first-year (freshman) students: Provide the number of degree-seeking, first-time, first-year students who
applied, were admitted, and enrolled (full- or part-time) in Fall 2018. Include early decision, early action, and students who began studies during summer in this cohort. Applicants should include only those students who fulfilled the requirements for consideration for admission (i.e., who completed actionable applications) and who have been notified of one of the following actions: admission, non-admission, placement on waiting list, or application withdrawn (by applicant or institution). Admitted applicants should include wait-listed students who were subsequently offered admission.”

When UF publishes the mid ranges that does not included IA or PACE?

@jhmoney I don’t know if UF accepts a consistent percentage of kids from a particular high school year over year.

@jhmoney - For what It’s worth, at our school, which averages ~180 students in the senior class, UF has been fairly consistent with the percentage of students they accept. The number applying has not been as consistent as the percentage accepted. Two years ago, it was 79% (89/112) and last year it was 73% (68/93). When looking at the stats of the students admitted, there is a constant. All students with a GPA of 4.45 or higher were accepted. Those below that threshold were denied. Not sure if this has much meaning, but I think UF is much more stat conscious then they admit.

@Anisqoyo Very interesting. How do you have access to such statistics?

My experience is similar to @Anisqoyo 's. It is only anecdotal, but having watched 2 local high schools in my area for several years, there appears to be a general cut-off at each school regarding number of students accepted and their associated GPAs/Class Ranks. There are always some outliers, students that you would expect to get in that don’t and some that you would not expect to get in that do. So, it is not a hard and fast rule and there is always some head scratching in February. But, we don’t have the benefit of reviewing the applications and essays, so we should not judge the results (though many people do).

With such a large application pool, very difficult (and impractical) fro UF to be as “holistic” as you think. Don’t know any of this with certainty, but my guess is they’re quite objective (stats) to make it to the first found or two. Then they can get a bit holistic. So winnow the massive pool to X and then look at all the other stuff. Expect to need scores in their admitted range to get to the point where they will consider other matters.

@Anisqoyo @rickle1 I sat in a presentation by UF admissions twice and here is what they stated… they read every essay twice by two different readers… there is no name, no SAT, no GPA no geographical location attached to the essay. Each of the 2 readers put a grade to the essay. if the grades are so different they have a 3rd reader place a grade… if the readers are similar, they then pass the essay up and attach it to an application with the rest of the info… they said they dont want to read the essay with any bias. if find that hard to fathom with so many essays…40k plus. since they do not start the process of reading until after Nov 1st with a window of just over 3 months (take into account Thx Giving Christmas etc) I think its impossible to do it that way… My child has spent 3 years working so hard and obtaining outstanding grades… she wrote her essay in just under 1 hour (not edited by her yet) but just shy of an hour… I thought eh essay was amazing… How can they give so much weight to an easy of 600 words written by my child in under an hour… again not edited be her yet… and oh by the way… I’m guessing 25% of the kids have someone else write it for them by a paid professional…

@Anisqoyo @rickle1 I have a friend who use to be a an admission officer at Penn. here is what she said… " of course we tell everyone we read every app (even the ones with 2.0 GPA and 1000 SAT). she then made the hand gesture with quotations… :" we read every app/essay. basically saying yeah right! with schools getting 40-60k apps each year, they would hire temp readers for the process… but she said the first thing they do is do a quick glance as the profile of the app… with low gpa and scores they might spend another 1-2 minutes on the app/essay… best case with kids in the swim lane of good GPA/SAT they can only spend 4-6 minutes per application… not a minute more… this is their way of saying “we read every essay”. they spend very little time on it… I can’t imagine UF reading every essay by 2 people with out a GPA and with out a name and then passing out along to the application…, this would take 4-6 months EASY… even the EC’s and other items… they don’t drill down to find out what exactly they did… ok this kid has 200 hours couple of leadership slots, but most importantly their GPA is where we want it, move them along… some might even get the "this kid is in " and move it along to that pile… does anyone agree with my thoughts? I just hope my daughters efforts of 3 solid years places here in the acceptance pile she really wants it…

No way UF reads 40,000 essays twice. No way.

^ We’ll never know how or if they really do it. Same can be said for most schools. I can tell you, albeit quite subjectively, after looking at this for several years now and knowing tons of kids who were accepted and rejected, the decisions looked right to me (i.e. top kids getting admitted, next tier half and half, next tier rejected). I think the holistic approach takes its greatest form in that second tier (just guessing). And holistic goes well beyond essay. ECs, LORs, achievements (like being an Eagle Scout or a Black Belt, or 1st violin)

@rickle1 what do you mean “And holistic goes well beyond essay. ECs, LORs, achievements (like being an Eagle Scout or a Black Belt, or 1st violin)”? and when you say top kids getting in… any examples? like my daughter has a 3.96 unweighted, 5.0 weighted and a 4.635 UF recalculated… SAT 1310 waiting on this one she took 10 days ago… hoping to get to 1340 ish