<p>Currently a junior, race second-generation Hispanic (dad is Salvadorian, mom is Mexican)
Location: Germantown, Tennessee (suburb of Memphis)
GPA: unweighted 3.34, weighted 3.7 something (sorry forgot lol). My school uses a very tough grading system where 93-100 is an A and 85-92 is a B. I also go to one of the top 5 public schools in Tennessee.
Class Rank: 186/566
Avg. Grade: 91.09
Honors I've Taken: Honors Geometry, Honors English, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Spanish III, Honors Algebra II
Honors Currently Taking: Honors Pre-Calculus, Honors Spanish IV
APs I'm Taking: AP Chem, AP Bio
Next Year's Honors/AP: AP Calc BC, Ap Physics C: Mech, AP Statistics
my grades have definitely improved a LOT since freshman/sophmore year. 1st semester this year got all As and 1 B.
SAT: 800-M/640-R (yuck)/740-W (10 on essay)
ACT: 30 overall :/
PSAT: 206 overall
EC: Member of Model United Nations, member of 30+ Club, member of the high school bowling team. I have been bowling since 2000 and have won numerous citywide and statewide competitions and also a scholarship. I also play tennis and raquetball recreationally. I'm planning to get a lot of service hours this summer once I'm done studying for my AP exams, and also I'm going to 2 engineering-related summer camps.
Other: 2nd statewide in the National Spanish Exam, 2007, National Hispanic Scholar, National Commended Student
Intended Major: Materials Science/Enginnering or Chemical Engineering. I'm very interested in nanotechnology.</p>
<p>Around 30 students in my senior class got in this year and I'm trying to compare their stats with yours. Your SAT is really good, extracurriculars look good, course load looks good. Weighted GPA - lots of my friends were over 4.0 but many did not have as high an SAT as you. I think hispanic will work for you, but not sure about out of state. I wish you the best of luck and you should definitely go for it. 800 SAT Math - you should be an excellent engineering student!</p>
<p>I cant comment on whether youll get in or not, but Im a materials engineer at UF specializing in electric nanomateials. I too had an 800 on the math (as did pretty much all of my colleagues) but that math that you have to take is a killer, especially if you take it through the honors college. With that being said, the MSE dept is arguably top in the nation. Best of luck.</p>
<p>My GPA went up to 3.42 and my average grade went up to a 91.68. I'm assuming that will only help but I would still like to see what my chances are for the honors college.</p>
<p>How does U Florida's reputation compare with GA Tech in terms of grad school admission to places like Caltech, MIT, etc?</p>
<p>There are no chances for the honors college. If you meet the set criteria, you are in - no questions. They DO ask you to do an application after being invited, but by all accounts I have seen this is just a formality to make sure you are interested.</p>
<p>Your SAT covers the testing requirement, so the only other thing they will do is calculate your GPA by UF standards (drop non-academic courses like Physical Education and Driver's Ed, make the honors courses count for 0.5 more than normal and advanced placement courses count for 1 point more than normal on the 4 point scale). If, after this calculation, your GPA is more than 4.0, you will have met the second requirement and, assuming you are admitted, will be invited to the honors college. If you don't, you won't be invited. In this case, your school's tough grading will count against you heavily.</p>
<p>Now, if you were in-state, I would say there was a good chance (but not a guaranteed one) you were in. As it is, however, I am unsure.</p>
<p>Pardon my french, but that's so effing stupid. Are adcoms not aware that different schools have different grading systems?</p>
<p>I'm going to start a high school where 5-100% is a 4.0, then everyone could get in...</p>
<p>I don't think adcoms (in the guys-who-admit-people-to-university sense) are responsible for this policy; it seems to have come from the honors college itself.</p>
<p>University</a> of Florida Honors Program: About Us</p>
<p>If you feel you have a strong case for your GPA, by all means contact the honors college at <a href="mailto:honors@ufl.edu">honors@ufl.edu</a> . Or contact Mr. John Denny directly at <a href="mailto:jdenny@honors.ufl.edu">jdenny@honors.ufl.edu</a> . He is the interim director, as seen here: University</a> of Florida Honors Program: Advising and Staff</p>
<p>However, if all else fails, you can always enter the honors college by lateral admission. Lateral admissions occur at the end of the fall semester and require a 3.5 GPA. People with 14 credits or more are given preference, at it is considered advisable to have the highest GPA possible and to have been involved in the UF community via extracurricular activities. Keep in mind this would be the last chance to join the honors program.</p>
<p>University</a> of Florida Honors Program: About Us</p>
<p>Finally, I do agree that the GPA thing isn't the best idea, since unlike standardized testing, there is little standard in the way schools grade courses. Still, starting a high school where 5-100% was a 4.0 wouldn't let everyone in, since they would still need the SAT/ACT score.</p>
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How does U Florida's reputation compare with GA Tech in terms of grad school admission to places like Caltech, MIT, etc?
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<p>I couldn't tell you for sure, but I can tell you that I personally know of people going to both of those schools for grad school there from UF engineering. I think I responded to your thread elsewhere but UF's highest ranking program is probably the materials science and there are a few hotshot professors around doing nanotechnology-related things.</p>
<p>
[quote]
UF's highest ranking program is probably the materials science
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</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that many go on to top ranking programs from the MSE dept. Of the 8 people I know in the dept: 3 med school, 1 PhD BU (Biomed Eng), 1 PhD GTech (Biomed Eng), 2 PhD UPenn (Biomed Eng), and 1 PhD UF.</p>