Chance Son-----High SAT/So-So GPA

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
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<p>Chance my son please. And also provide some insight, if you can.</p>

<p>Florida resident.</p>

<p>His SATs are as follows:</p>

<p>800 CR
800 writing
700 math</p>

<p>His ACT is 34.</p>

<p>His unweighted gpa is only 3.6. Perhaps 3.7. He is only a B student in math and science, although he does take all AP classes. In other areas, he is an A or A- student. </p>

<p>weighted is around a 4.3.</p>

<p>He is in the top 5% of his class (barely, by two people) at a highly rated public high school in Florida.</p>

<p>On AP tests, he has four 5's, two 4's, and two 3's (calculus and physics) </p>

<p>So on paper, he would seem to have a good chance. However, his ECs are not particularly strong. He HAS been active in debate, travelling to various competitions at various universities, and goes to "debate camp" every summer. And he has published a couple poems. And he has gone to various "creative writing camps" every summer. But no sports or leadership positions. </p>

<p>He is very intellectual. Kind of a University of Chicago/Johns Hopkins type personality.</p>

<p>He is excited about going to UF Honors if he gets in, but my fear, based on other postings I have read here , is that there is some risk that he might get rejected because of UF's "holistic" approach. It seems far fetched, but I recently read a post on this sight theorizing that UF purposely rejects many top kids to keep their yield rate high, because they assume the kid will ultimately go to a top 20 private college, but in our case, for financial reasons, and because he has already passed 8 AP tests, and doesn't want to throw away those credits, it is likely he would attend UF if he does get in. That would get him into graduate school one year sooner. Also, do you think he could find his place at UF, if he is not a party person, and doesn't care in the least about football?. Or listen to music? Would the honors program help him in that respect? Are there some guys who DON'T go to football games? Are there frats for non-party super intellectual type kids? Any insight would be appreciated.</p>

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<p>i think your son is the type of candidate that would be potentially rejected as overqualified. my understanding is that if you get rejected when you’re obviously qualified, you have a very very good chance of getting in with an appeal.</p>

<p>as for fitting in: if he doesn’t feel like he’s going to fit in here, but will fit in at a school like chicago (where i imagine he has a good chance of getting into), he should forget all the AP crap and just go to chicago. i say that for his own sake. going to a school you don’t like when you have that much potential just because of some credit issue is foolish, imo. but you did mention that he’s already warmed up to UF, so perhaps this is irrelevant.</p>

<p>that said, there are a lot of different types of people here. theres not much reason to suspect that he wont find anyone to hang out with by virtue of his intellectual prowess or interests, or lack of interest in getting drunk every day of the week (and especially during/after football games). if he’s interested in getting out and meeting people he shares interests with, he will. he’ll only have issues if he doesn’t want to make the effort–something that seems to happen more than you’d expect, but not often.</p>

<p>however, i would very very strongly encourage him to give football a chance. i think the more entrenched in the gator cult a student is, the happier they’re going to be. its really none of my business, but as someone who came to UF not really caring about football, it hurts me to see people who refuse to give it a chance because they don’t want to have an open mind about it.</p>

<p>by the way, what major is he looking to do?</p>

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<p>^^^ I wouldn’t worry about him getting into UF/honors </p>

<p>IMO, the cases where highly qualified applicants get rejected are rare… If it does happen you can always appeal. </p>

<p>

I hope there is… I don’t party and I don’t care much for football…</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I’ve given it a chance… I used to live across the street from Sparty Stadium at MSU. I don’t hate football, but it doesn’t particularly appeal to me.</p>

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<p>I would like to add that I think essays are usually one of the more overlooked parts of college apps, and that in this case (being potentially overqualified) I think it is the most -important- part. I think the essay is where you can show the admissions committee that you really want to attend, and aren’t just applying to UF as a safety school.</p>

<p>That being said, I don’t think overqualification is as much of a problem as some people think. I have a friend with nearly identical gpa and test score and better ECs who got in to the university and the honors college without trouble.</p>

<p>And I agree with the above points that there are all kinds of people here at UF, no matter if you drink/like football/etc. I’ve found that honors students are usually less inclined to party all the time.</p>

<p>As for football, I look at it like this: There is no harm in going to at least 1 game. Chances are, a lot of people you know will be going/watching anyways. Worst case scenario is that you spend $10-15 on a ticket and waste an hour or two before you walk out of the game. Best case scenario, you discover the excitement and passion that is the swamp on a saturday night. Worth a chance.</p>

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<p>He’ll get in. My advice is to write a great essay and SHOW them that you want to go to UF in your writing. I know a few people with higher SAT scores and perfect UW GPAs that were admitted and I know they did not put much time in to their applications because they wanted to go elsewhere.</p>

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<p>Even though I am a big sports fan, since my son is the product of a divorced home, he never became a sports fan, because he grew up with his mother.</p>

<p>He doesn’t even understand the rules of football.</p>

<p>As for a major, probably English and/or Political Science.</p>

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<p>Hello-
At my preparatory school here in Miami, in the last two years, there has been two very similar scenarios. In both occasions, both freshman applications had an excellent GPA, SAT’s in the 2300 range, an ACT @ 35 and like your son, minimal EC’s. Honestly, they both came from very wealthy families from South America and both their families traveled a great deal in lieu of attending EC’s. Both were declined by UF, but both were accepted into MIT on a full ride.
I hate to say it but, my advise; deviate from the truth on the EC’s portion of the application as the admissions committee will never be able to verify this information anyways ! GOOD LUCK !!!</p>

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<p>THAT got me into trouble when I was a kid (40 years ago).</p>

<p>My mother convinced me to say that I was on the soccer team.</p>

<p>The colleges started sending me coach’s evaluation forms.</p>

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<p>WOW, an honest applicant. What a breath of fresh air !
Did you note the sarcasm ?
Do you seriously think we believe that your kid with a 4.3 GPA and scoring perfect on two sections of the SAT for a total combined score of 2300 will be rejected by the admissions committee into UF because he is overqualified ?
Additionally, I’d suggest that your kid make the decision and not you .
ALSO you wrote:
“if he is not a party person, and doesn’t care in the least about football?. Or listen to music? Would the honors program help him in that respect? Are there some guys who DON’T go to football games? Are there frats for non-party super intellectual type kids? Any insight would be appreciated.”</p>

<p>I hope you are kidding ???</p>

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<p>Why the hostility?</p>

<p>In answer to your question, yes, I am indeed fearful that he might be rejected for being over-qualified, for the simple reason that I have seen numerous posts here where super top people have been rejected by UF, while at the same time getting accepted to MIT or UVA. </p>

<p>It seems UF admissions is very subjective, and perhaps very PC as well.</p>

<p>And as for my question about honors, that is a serious question as well. I am asking whether perhaps the honors program offers a bit of intellectualism, in a sea of what seems to me to be an over-emphasis on football and partying.</p>

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<p>the honors college is by no means an island of intellectual hope in a sea of hedonism and depravity. as mentioned, UF is very large, and very diverse. to say there was an over-emphasis on football and partying is to suggest that there are any overshadowing emphases at all. there are people who party every single night and do very poorly in school. there are also people who never ever leave their room because they take 20 credits a semester. there is an entire, very densely populated spectrum in between and no one is going to care what your son does either way. your son is welcome to do whatever he wants, and associate with whoever he can for whatever purposes he’d like to–and he can, whether its inside the honors college or out. the enormity of UF’s population offers him that opportunity. the honors college might be a good start just because of proximity and the fact that its proactive, but it’d be more than incorrect to say that it comes close to having a monopoly of ‘intellectualism’ on campus. smart people will be everywhere.</p>

<p>also, don’t mind cnmpsyd. he just gets like that sometimes.</p>

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<p>…and the choir said “AMEN!” to Autumn’s post. </p>

<p>Autumn is correct in pointing out that in such a large student body you are bound to find all types of kids. I’m not sure what makes you think that everyone who is at UF (or any college for that matter) is there to live a live of drunken debauchery. Yes, I am sure there are party types, and there are those who do not party.</p>

<p>I’m going to venture a guess here based on the little bit of information you have provided and say that maybe a frat is not for your son. The membership of many frats (and sororities mirror that of the university as a whole. There are party types and more serious types of kids. There are kids who were at the top of their class and those who maybe were not totally off the charts. However, they are at UF, apparently they did something right. Maybe your son needs to experience people and appreciate differences rather than insulting himself?? Just a thought…</p>

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<p>@OP: Is your son applying to the New College of Florida? It sounds like a great fit for him.
Applicants are not rejected for being over-qualified based on test scores or GPA. Additional coursework and significant research projects are reasons that students with great numbers are rejected at state flagship schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>He is actually visiting New College on Monday.</p>

<p>His mother and I both lived in Sarasota, and his grandparents live there.</p>

<p>My problems with New College is that no one has ever heard of it, even in Florida (I know, a shallow reason, but a reason nonetheless) and because it has no grades, and therefore to me may be a bit too left wing for my taste.</p>

<p>Perhaps a school where they teach you that the culture/architecture of Italy and the culture/architecture of Chad are equally good.</p>

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<p>they have a history of getting students into top graduate programs. i think they overemphasize that, because while they have a list of students who went on to do great things, it isn’t a ‘recent’ list so much as and exhaustive list.</p>

<p>but i also agree that new college might be a fit for your son as well. i feel like new college is a place where you can go to become a spectacular failure if you don’t push yourself, while it can be a great asset to you if you do.</p>

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<p>Floridadad, my son would get along great with your son and he is going to Florida. My son is the intellctual type he would just as well discuss any intellectual topic or read a good book than go to a party. On the same note he loves to party, loves to go to Gator sporting events, and he will probably rush a fraternity in the winter. My son also loves to fish, hunt, sail, hike, loves museums and is a history nut. He is majoring in Enviromental Engineering at UF. He was also accepted at MIT and Ga Tech, but decided on UF.</p>

<p>I graduated from UF in '81 so he has been a Gator all his life. But the main reason he decided to go to UF over MIT and Ga Tech is in his words: "dad the students just seemed like they loved being at UF. While the impression at both Ga Tech and MIT was the opposite.</p>

<p>OK so he may not start off with a huge salary. But believe me when I tell you it doesnt matter. What does matter is that he loves his school and when he graduates he considers the 4 or 5 or 6 years he spent at his school the best years of his life.</p>

<p>Case in point. I graduated with a degree in Ag-Business. Today that is considered a joke career. but because of UF being the AG school in the state and the connections I developed while at school. I have been and still am today very successful. So dont worry about the MIT’s of the world if he wants to go to UF incourage it. And like someone said if he does not get in because he is over qualified appeal it and he will get in. </p>

<p>Someone else pointed out his essay. I suggest that his topic for the essay concentrates on this very subject. Tell the truth tell UF where he has been accepted and then tell them why he wants to be a Gator and how he can impact the Gator Nation today and tomorrow.</p>

<p>Good Luck and Go Gators.</p>

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<p>Floridadad: </p>

<p>Your son will get into UF, no problem. As for the idea of UF rejecting the highly qualified, your son does not fit into that category. Those types of kids are the ones that spend 5 years in Bosnia or something doing service work or who have invented a new innovation for a computer chip and have started making money off of it. </p>

<p>Your son’s record is very very good. 800 Critical Reading will get you into UF no matter what the hell else is on your application. the reason is partly that many athletes come in with low SAT scores, and so taking in more high scoring applicants will balance out the SAT interquartile range. Just so you know, your kid is a certified genius. That SAT score translates into an IQ in the 140 or 150s, which is where genius is considered to be present.
I say this because you seem to have this attitude of disapproval toward his non sociability and his intellectual nature. It’s really quite disgusting to see parents holding kids to these completely arbitrary standards. Kid’s in the top 1 percentile of intellectual abilities, not of just his age group but the entire countries’ population. Of course he does not fit your conception of what a normal boy should be like. He’s a very unusual and rare type. INTJ or INTP, if you care to google those acronyms and find out what im talking about. If you do so, more of your sons behavior can begin to make sense to you, so you might be able to accept him more fully. </p>

<p>Let me continue that your son will be absolutely fine in life, no matter what college he ends up at. it’s readily apparent. Colleges make millions in creating this lie: 'Your kid will fail in life unless he goes to a(our) good college. " It’s ********. your undergraduate degree doesnt matter. what happens afterward, or instead of, does. </p>

<p>Debate is literally the most beneficial thing any teenager can do to prepare for work life. Strong reading, writing, communication and argumentation skills are prized in the workforce. critical thinking is the only important thing to learn in school, and debate gives you that. You also seemed to think UF doesnt value debate as an extracurricular activity, which couldnt be further from the truth. As far as clubs go (so excluding sports recruitment, music/ and cabinet), debate is used as the highest point value in their system for churning out internal numerical rankings of all their students. </p>

<p>My only latent concern is that your son is not going to write an good essay to bring your application to life. People are ■■■■■■■■, they dont take the essay seriously and then they get rejected. It more than likely will not matter in the slightest because, as i said, he has high SAT scores so theyll be slobbering at the mouth to get him. Stop worrying and start saying hell yes to in state tuition.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your very useful response</p>

<p>I will check out intj and intp, as you recommend.</p>

<p>And thanks for the information about the value of debate.</p>

<p>I am concerned about him not being particularly social however, even though he is a good looking kid.</p>

<p>I say this because all my friends went to Ivy schools, except for one, and that one was very social, and went to Cortland State University, and became a multi-millionaire.</p>