College rejections increase

Colleges & Universities A-Z Florida State University
1

<p>There is a good article in the WSJ today under this title. If you have a chance try to read it, especially if you are still a bit off from actually applying.</p>

<p>I'll give a few of the main points I read.</p>

<p>Applications are up across the board especially at the top schools, at one school they were up about 8% year/year. The US Dept of Education noticed this trend in applications started in 1995/1996 and will continue till at least 2013.</p>

<p>Rejections are also up due to increased applications, and more kids are accepting rather than going somewhere else. Schools are now more worried about overcrowding so they are accepting less students.</p>

<p>Applications are up due to three factors: The increased number of students applying, growth in international applications and schools recruiting more agressivly internationally, also a much greater use in the common application form at many schools. Kids are now applying to 10-20 schools.</p>

<p>Experts are now encouraging earlier engagement in the process in the soph year vrs the junior year and applying to more likely schools like your safety and match school vrs reach schools which aren't happening for the applicants with a high degree of success. More parents and students are looking more seriously at safe schools or being advised by their guidance departments then in the past.</p>

<p>Colleges are warning that not many wait listed students will be taken, it's not that they don't want to take them, but they can't.</p>

<p>The greater competition is making applicants more frustrated, even those not applying to highly selective schools.</p>

<p>The problem of selectivity is moving down the chain to lower tier schools. Kids who were very qualified to attend a lower ranked school in previous years are having trouble getting in because it is so intense this year.</p>

2

<p>Its really sad, because although applications are increasing these schools just can't offer more slots for those who are qualified and would have probably been automatic in years prior, i also dont agree with what certain schools are doing in trying to increase the stats of there incoming class by only offering admission up to a certain cutoff point, thats not the best way of doing it, I think we need another university boom in florida, maybe we can add another two universities inorder to lessen the burden on the fiu's,ucf's,uf etc.</p>

3

<p>Well I'm not sure about all the other campuses, but with FSU and UF being landlocked so to speak it seems like UCF and USF have the best chance for expansion based on what I have seen, but UCF is already like the 5th largest campus in the US.</p>

<p>I can't help but think that acceptance rates at USF, FAU, FGCU, FIU are going to drop also as per the article comments, the situation just moves down through the University system.</p>

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<p>"I can't help but think that acceptance rates at USF, FAU, FGCU, FIU are going to drop also as per the article comments, the situation just moves down through the University system."</p>

<p>I have no doubt that you are correct. This is why Higher Education leaders in Florida are converting our Community College System into hybrid style colleges that offer Bachelors degrees.</p>

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<p>^ There is a lot of merit to doing that beyond the overcrowding. Some kids aren't yet ready to make the major leap to a full fledged University, and even the 2+2 and 2 +3 programs are a great idea for some kids so it's great they have this Hybrid college idea. </p>

<p>Having said that though with the common application process and low cost application fees they will still apply to the big 3 or 4 or 5, the logic being that you never know and it's worth a shot.</p>

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<p>I only count a Big 2: UF & FSU</p>

<p>UCF, USF, FIU, and FAU have a long way to go before they are nationally reputable. Probably not going to happen in the next 20 years (USF has the best chance I think).</p>

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<p>I don't believe I would give quite as bleak an assessment as you did on the other schools.</p>

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<p>I would... </p>

<p>I pretty much spend the majority of my time researching issues in Higher Education (Not just the state of Florida, but Nationally as well). It takes generations of strategic management, tremendous sacrifice, luck, and hard work to become a Nationally recognized University. I would honestly like to be proven wrong, and I have a great affinity for all institutions within the state of Florida, however UF & FSU are the great institutions within our State University System. I will say however, USF has a chance if they can truly raise a Billion dollars like they are proclaiming as a possibility.</p>

<p>Let's also not forget, the Citizens of Florida will never support ambitious Higher Education spending. Ya, we did create 2 new medical schools last session, however we had a 3 billion dollar surplus. Now that the Housing Boom has basically crashed, the Legislature is going to become alot more stingy about future Higher Ed Appropriations.</p>

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<p>But I don't think you are saying that a student cannot get a fine education with excellent career options at most of the state universities and in fact some of the programs at the tier 2 universities are excellent. I believe you are just addressing national reputation and prestige.</p>

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<p>"I believe you are just addressing national reputation and prestige"</p>

<p>Correct</p>

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<p>"I can't help but think that acceptance rates at USF, FAU, FGCU, FIU are going to drop also as per the article comments, the situation just moves down through the University system"</p>

<p>Agreed minus FGCU. They're trying to grow so fast that they're likely to be taking on lots of students even in times when people get rejected from their safeties.</p>

<p>"I only count a Big 2: UF & FSU
UCF, USF, FIU, and FAU have a long way to go before they are nationally reputable. Probably not going to happen in the next 20 years (USF has the best chance I think)."</p>

<p>We have some ways to go, it's true. It depends on what you mean by nationally-reputable ... nationally-reputable for a single program or just a namebrand identity or something else? In any case, the schools in Florida are making great strides -- whether it's FAU's medical school or FIU's law school or UCF's optics research. </p>

<p>It's always important to put colleges into perspective from a time standpoint. Harvard is a world-respected college and it ought to be -- it's over 300 years old. That's plenty of time to develop. Similarly, UF and FSU both have 50 years on schools like FAU, UCF, FIU.</p>

<p>That being said, we must be cognizant of mitigating factors. There's a certain naming system for universities that plays into how well the 'reputation' carries you outside of college. Even if an employer knew nothing else, schools named "University of <em>(state name)</em>" or "(state name) State University" were usually the first schools established in that state, so knowing this you might give a school more credit than it may actually merit. </p>

<p>Living in Florida, I know FSU is a good college, but I'm not sure if, say, Iowa State is as good of a college. I can ASSUME Iowa State is a good college because of the rule I stated above. The point of this being that we must be careful not to confuse actual national recognition with recognition of this fact. </p>

<p>"It takes generations of strategic management, tremendous sacrifice, luck, and hard work to become a Nationally recognized University."</p>

<p>Right. Also, a recognized athletic program helps a LOT. No one can deny that the success of FSU football helped propel the university to greater heights. A perfect recent example was on 'The Colbert Report.' Colbert interviewed one gentleman, making a point of how he was an FSU alum simply so they could do the 'Seminole Chop' together (forgive me if that's not what it's called). He didn't bring up the various other rankings, he didn't say, "I see you went to FSU, that's an excellent college!" or "FSU, birthplace of Taxol!" </p>

<p>He brought up the football culture. So athletics definitely helps.</p>

12

<p>Yep - UF is enjoying that effect right now...</p>

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<p>What's important is Cybermom's comment that students are getting a great education where ever they go. Putting aside the other factors that is what matters.</p>

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<p>I also agree with Cybermom's comment. </p>

<p>But we do need to be cautious about churning out too many Bachelor Degrees at Florida's Community Colleges. I sometimes question the education that these students are going to be receiving. We need to just focus on critical shortage fields for now. I also think that we should conisder tweaking the 2 + 2 System as well (they have something like a 35% success rate in actually graduating with their A.A.).</p>

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<p>"Yep - UF is enjoying that effect right now..."</p>

<p>Yeah, tell me about it. I watched the (UF/Ohio) game and as soon as UF got the lead, I could just picture what the new license plates would look like.</p>

<p>"What's important is Cybermom's comment that students are getting a great education where ever they go."</p>

<p>Absolutely. I mean, I'd really love to know what people at FSU are learning in their Bio 1 class that I didn't learn in FAU's Bio 1 class, especially since my Bio professor got his degree from FSU. You know? Or... what is Harvard teaching in their Bio 1 class? I've always wondered. If I'm ever in that area one day, I'm going to try to sit in on a class and find out.</p>

<p>"But we do need to be cautious about churning out too many Bachelor Degrees at Florida's Community Colleges. I sometimes question the education that these students are going to be receiving. We need to just focus on critical shortage fields for now."</p>

<p>That's a long topic, of course, because the two largest 'critical shortage fields' that an undergraduate could fill are nursing and teaching. The people who would make great nurses go to medical school instead. The people who would make great teachers go into something else because pay for teachers is so low in Florida. I know plenty of people in my premed classes who would be happy to teach high school Biology/Chemistry/Physics... but not for $40k a year. $60k to start, well, there you go. But Florida would rather spend millions of dollars on research trying to figure out how to attract people to teaching when they should be using it to pay teachers more money.</p>

<p>So in my experience the people going into these fields are, by and large, people who seem to fall in love with the subject any time they talk about it. "Oh, I love teaching! I can't wait to have my own class with little kids and they'll be so cute!" and their eyes just glaze over. </p>

<p>That's absolutely wonderful that they're SO into it and they're probably going to make fantastic teachers, but these people are too few and far between to really fill the need here in Florida.</p>

<p>It's the same thing with medicine -- Florida is scared out of its mind that we're not going to have enough primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, etc) physicians in the future, so they're trying to punch out people who are deadset on being a primary care physician. </p>

<p>But those primary care specialties have low prestige, okay hours, and low pay, so people choose "high-profile" specialties instead... like plastic surgery. As a result, Florida IS going to have a primary care physician shortage no matter how many medical schools they build here.</p>