Chance me for the University of Florida.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
1

PERSONAL

White, M, Middle Class

Intended Major: Business Information Systems (Most likely)

ACADEMIC

GPA UW: 3.7 (my weakest area which will in all likelihood prevent me from getting admitted)

GPA W: 4.0-4.1

SAT: 1380 (Took again 8/25, hoping for 1400+)

ACT: 31

RIGOR

Top 10 Public High School in Florida (exact ranking varies from year to year)

10 AP Classes

9th: Human Geography (5)

10th: US History (4)

11th: Comp Sci Principles (4), Lang (5), Microeconomics (3), US Gov (5)

12th: Stats, Literature, Environmental Science, Pysch

Mostly honors classes other than that. Took three years of Spanish (B’s all the way through)

EC’s (* denotes EC’s that were also a class)

NHS (10-12), Chorus* (8-10), FBLA (11-12), Journalism* (11-12), Beta Club (11-12), Lacrosse (8-9), Bowling (10) [I don’t plan on talking much about either of those sports, although I might list them]

VOLUNTEER WORK

Worked with a reputable local science/environmental organization as both a camp consular (two years) and a volunteer. Developed a good relationship with their volunteer coordinator.

American Cancer Society as a volunteer at Relay For Life (9-12) and fundraising efforts.

Over 100 hours of volunteer work in total.

OTHER

SCUBA certified

CPR certified

AP Scholar with Distinction

A few other weak awards

Plan to do Air Force ROTC. Would like to be an officer in the Air Force.

2

I have really similar stats with a 3.6UW and a 4.2W UF GPA. I think you have a decent chance but it really depends on your essay at this point I think.

3

You have good test scores. Might consider re-taking the ACT as it appears you did better on it. Nothing else you can do about your GPA. It’s a little low for UF but you have solid rigor. Biggest concern is UF’s holistic admissions. You haven’t mentioned any leadership or a strong, ongoing EC. You are very close but I would really focus hard on the essay and figure out how to use every inch of the application. They want superstars, so you have to show them. Good luck.

4

@Gator88NE Thank you! I did take the ACT again and I’ll be receiving my score on Tuesday! Hoping I improved. As for leadership, I had an internship, have a job, currently a church chanter/leader, church sunday school teacher, and I have family responsibilities. Hopefully that’s enough! I’m really happy with how my essay has turned out so hopefully they like it just as much

5

@PhilM1 I was replying to @chancemeUF. If you publish all your info, I would be happy to give my thoughts.

6

Oh shoot haha I’m dumb sorry lol

In State/Out of State: In state

Unweighted GPA: 3.6
Weighted GPA: 4.8
UF Recalculated GPA: 4.2
ACT/SAT scores: 31
Rank: 45/553 (top 8%)

Course types: APs and honors

Community Service Hours: 196

EC: I had an internship, have a job, currently a church chanter/leader, church sunday school teacher, and I have family responsibilities. Also nhs (11-12) HOSA (10-12) K is for Kids (9-12). I volunteered at a physical therapy place for 3 years and at the hospital for one summer

7

@GatorDad305 ^^^

8

@PhilM1 You have a good chance. Your GPA and test scores are in the lane and you have done a lot ECs. Make sure you work hard on your essay and highlight leadership in your application. Holistic admission is tricky and they are looking for superstars - so make sure you show them. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

9

@GatorDad305 Thank you! I will be sure to let you all know. Hopefully I will have good news to share. :slight_smile:

10

Do the top 45 people in your high school’s graduating classes typically get into UF? To me, that is the best predictor, assuming that your SAT/ACT is in the range they are looking for as well. Since you are at a fairly large in-state school, UF admissions knows your school very well. I believe they have a general feel for where the cutoff is by class rank and/or GPA for your school going into the process. It is not a hard and fast cutoff, but I think it will give you a good idea of your chances.

11

I actually don’t know :confused: What I do know is that about 30ish people from my school decide to attend which means that they accept more than that from my school. I also know that top kids can sometimes get rejected from UF (idk if it’s yield protect or not). Like this one kid I know last year who was top 10% had a 4.5 uf gpa and a 34 ACT was rejected from UF and got into U Mich and Emory. However, a girl who was also top 10 percent but had a 25 ACT got in. Idk if that helped or made matters worse haha. Just goes to show you how random the process is.

12

@fl1234 ^^

13

Does your school use Naviance? If so, that should give you a good idea of typically who from your school gets in. If not, your school’s guidance counselor should be able to give you similar data based on the last couple of years’ classes. I would sit down with him/her and take a look at last year’s class to see what it looked like. He/she might also be able to guide you to what UF is looking for in the essay.
I know that it seems ‘random’ sometimes, but I don’t believe that it is. We don’t know what the 34 ACT kid’s essay looked like or whether he/she had meaningful extracurriculars, etc.

14

@fl1234 Sadly my school does not use Naviance :confused: The only information I was able to pull out of my counselor is that about 30ish kids attend each year. She told me she doesn’t have that type of information.
You’re probably right about that one kid. I’m confident in my essay though (it’s unique to only me out of the whole school) and my extracurriculars (most are also unique to only me) so hopefully that’s enough to make me stand out among my peers.
Do you know if it’s true that UF looks at how long you spent on the application or how early you apply to show demonstrated interest? Also do they actually start looking at apps early?
Thank you

15

Sorry, I don’t know about demonstrated interest at UF.

16

@philm1 From what I have read on the forums over the past year and from some firsthand information, UF does look at your interest in attending. How much weight is given to it is only known by the admissions staff, but going on the official tour shows interest. They also can see how much time you spend on the online application and they use that as part of the process too – again, how much it weighs is unknown, but they can see that. They also consider if you have other connections to the school such as parents or siblings or relatives who attend. This is a positive thing but does not guarantee you admission. (There are many kids of alumni who don’t get in.)

As to when you apply, I have heard that applying early helps but UF says it doesn’t matter. Admissions is NOT rolling. From our tour, the admissions guy recommended not waiting until the last minute. I believe they do start reviewing applications before the deadline – they have a lot of essays to read and each essay is read by at least two people.

To recap, all of these things have potential to be helpful and have no downside:

  • Showing interest and taking the official tour.
  • Spending time on the application.
  • Not waiting until the last minute.
  • Letting them know your alumni connections (which is on the application.)
17

@GatorDad305 Thank you! That’s really good to hear. I’ve taken an official tour, spent lots of time perfecting my app, and submitted it super early. I have a cousin that goes there but I never mentioned that because it only asked for siblings or parents. I really hope I get in

18

I ended up getting a 1420 superscore for the SAT.

19

@GatorDad305 ^^^

20

@chancemeUF Congratulations. That’s an impressive score. That helps your cause as last year the middle 50% of fall admits scored between 1300 - 1450 – so you are closer to the top of that range and above the range for summer. UF weighs test scores less than GPA and rigor, though, so be sure to work hard on your application and your essay. I think you have a good chance. Let us know how you do.