S24 instate FL.
GPA 3.0 UW, 3.3 W
rising senior
SAT 1420
looking at summer 24 admission chances - 1st choice: USF. He is also planning to apply for UF/FSU ( reach), FIU/FAU (most likely)
Major - Political science
Any guidance on schools, chances for instate HS students?
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I think USF is likely especially if he has rigor in his schedule, AP, AICE, IB, or DE. GPA is Low but SAT score is High
Another option that may help his chances at USF is to apply to the St. Pete campus. ( Campus is gorgeous on the Bay about 6000 students)
Students can take classes at any campus and his sophomore year if he is living off campus just get apartment by main campus and take all his classes there.
UF is probably a no, unless you consider the innovation academy at UF which is a Spring/Summer schedule with only the option of online classes in the fall but u can live on campus in the fall. then a maybe depending on rest of app. Rigor, ECâs and Essay
FSU probably a no, but better chance than UF. Apply EA and Summer and hope for pathways
FAU is a good safety. Also look at FGCU for a safety
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Thanks @kevi2900
With covid/remote in freshman year has brought his GPA down. His grade trend and rigor is in good trend.
I heard from USF officers that the entry criteria is the same for all campuses.
He got few APs in junior and plans to take some more in senior year (just Psychology is in limbo, may be AICE).
Is Political science major easier to get in USF?
He liked FIU as well.
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Iâm not sure if FIU is likely - the issue is theyâll recalc the GPA. If itâs like UF, I believe itâs plus one for an AP and +.5 for Honors.
Per the CDS, 68% had over a 4.0 - and you wonât be there. The SAT is strong - but will it overcome a GPA delta?
That you have FAU and Iâd add FGCU, UNF, or UWF - could help.
There are also affordable OOS schools but sounds like you want to stay in state.
Best of luck.
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@mango2school Perhaps you can recalculate GPA using the UF method? If other Florida public universities use the same method, it may be helpful to compare to GPA ranges listed on their web sites.
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I agree that FSU and UF are out of reach. Try applying for summer at FSU and/or AspireTcc2fsu.
Usf you can try. FAU, FIU sure (at FIU try Honors to increase sense of community and like-minded peers, you never know).
Can you look into private colleges? Eckerd near St Petersburg, UTampa, Stetson University ?
Some private colleges outside FL even honor Bright Futures
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UTampa is not rated high. I checked NPC and they only provide $4k grants.
Tuition is $33k and Iâm not sure how much would bright futures cover.
What do ratings have to do with anything ? If itâs a school youâd like, can afford and fits well - great. If not, great too.
Donât worry about rank.
If youâre open to OOS youâd have a lot of options.
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Technically this is true
However, majority of kids want main campus and St Pete summer app less competition and more leeway.
Upward trend with grades and 1420 SAT still a decent shot at main campus.
If you can visit both campuses or at least check out some online videos to see if St. Pete is even a fit for him
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Private schools are businesses and we canât afford it. Ratings are both ways, schools expect good GPA/scores and $. Same way, we expect value from the schools and how can we find objective quality, ratings and other career ROI.
If you canât afford a school, you canât afford a school.
But your comment was - Tampa isnât rated high - not exactly true and itâs become very popular.
I donât know your budget but there are many schools of varying costs - and yes, you have great options in the state of Florida - if youâre ok in Florida. And there are also schools (private and publics) with aggressive merit aid.
Best of luck.
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From UF website
GPA RECALCULATION PROCESS
The above range represents the core, weighted GPA on a 4.0 scale that UF calculates as part of the evaluation process. Dual-enrollment courses in core areas and any AP, IB or AICE classes receive an extra 1.0 credit weight, meaning that an A is worth a 5.0 on a 4.0 scale. Pre-AICE, pre-AP, pre-IB and Honors classes receive a 0.5 credit weight, meaning that an A is worth a 4.5 on a 4.0 scale.
UF,FSU,USF,UCF,FAU basically use the same method to recalculate GPA
FIU is vague if they consider non core classes
FGCU states they use your transcript weighted GPA and if school doesnât weight they use the same as schools above.
However many Florida school districts give a higher weighting ie. 2 points for AP etc⊠vs 1 pt in recalculated for above schools ( clear as mud )
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We checked Niche chances (we are not sure how reliable it is), there is a good chance based on GPA and SAT scores.
If USF/FIU didnât pan out, FAU is our safety.
We researched UNF/UWF/UCF/FGCU and narrowed down to the list that is manageable.
We looked at private schools and LACs also.
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BF is a state program so the student gets the amount set by the state for a private school. If this student is eligible for BF he can use it at a private school,and heâd get $211/cr for the top award, plus $300/sem for books and if for the lower level (medallion) itâs $158/cr but no extra for books. There is a limit of 120 credits at a privte school, so often it âruns outâ for the last semester of senior year (my daughter needed 131 credits to graduate and only had 3 or 4 credits of BF left for her last semester).
Doing a summer start at any of the schools isnât an easier admit. A lot of Florida kids apply for a summer start because they want to get the required summer sessions out of the way.
Another option to get into UF or FSU is to start at the community colleges associated with the school. Those students get to live in some university apartment buildings, can use some of the facilities, can join some of the clubs. It is not the same as a 4 year experience, but very close. I know a girl who really wasnât ready for college and couldnât get into FSU but went to Florida State CC and lived in a dorm and loved it. She ended up doing well before and after her transfer to FSU. A guy I know went to Santa Fe in the drama program and was admitted to UF and UCF, but went to Coastal Carolina and loved both the CC experience and the transfer experience.
BF is good for community colleges too (covers tuition and fees)
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UTampa tuition alone is $1,731 per credit hour.
Even if BF pays $211 / hr, it will be $1500 / hr.
It will be $30k x 4 = $120k!
Iâm not sure if that price tag is worth it.
Aspire Tcc2fsu would be the program for FSU and it would be a safety for this student (w/ a shot at honors program). FIU honors same thing.
FAU wouldnât have honors bc this student wouldnât match what Wilkes wants, though it could be worth a try if they want (Wilkes is very very small and specific). Itâs a relative safety but the 3.3 weighted, if it follows the FL system (+1 AP/AICE/IB, +.5 honors/pre-Ap/IBâŠ) is low-ish.
Iâll try finding the âgridâ for FL publics.
That being said, this student is hobbled by a bad freshman year and thus a 3.0GPA that doesnât reflect their actual jr/sr achievements. This will especially hurt at large universities where the line work admission system doesnât really focus on exceptions to the rule.
All universities listed make sense (except UF, because a weighted below 4 makes that impossible), but this student may be able to get into sth more suitable than FAU without honors or AspireTCC2FSU.
Iâm advocating for private colleges in addition to public universities bc a more personalized admission team that weighs his upward trend and is willing to pay for his test scores could yield better results than at a public university. Some OOS colleges could also work better, especially if they have a BF agreement.
You would run the NPC, not calculate per credit - that SAT score is worth merit money.
If theyâre not affordable after running the NPC, then theyâre not affordable. But they shouldnât be pushed aside outright, because the sticker price rarely(basically never) is the net price, especially for a boy who has academc rigor and high test scores.
I agree UTAMPA is not a top college and their merit aid may not be all that deep so depending on major FAU might be preferable and if unaffordable them clearly itâs off the table.
In Florida top private universities would likely be UMiami, Rollins, and Eckerd. What do the NPCs indicate?
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Default backup is CC if we donât get any acceptances.
He wants to go to a good law school after undergrad. we are looking for cost effective schools so we can extend the $ to law schools later.
We checked FUSE transfer to USF. Seems to me that pathway is kicking the can by 2 more years.
Other than FSU, FIU has a better political science program.
Another consideration is Tampa/Miami/Tallahassee would open up opportunities while at school for internships/jobs that would be helpful towards law school admissions.
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Internships are of marginal value for law school. The key is a strong GPA and great LSAT score.
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The AspireTcc2fsu cc to fsu guaranteed admission pathway with the honors option is definitely a viable one.
FIU Honors sounds better than FUSE for political science.
For a good law school (UF I assume, or top14), he will primarily need a strong GPA and high LSAT scores. Classes taken may factor in (philosophy/political theory courses that show comfort with difficult concepts, psychology, perhaps some basic business classes and/or some quantitative classes especially statitics&stats applied to social science,
courses demonstrating a solid understanding of African American and/or Hispanic history along with synthetic skills - IOW, one step beyond gen eds in his area(s) of strength and most especially no âavoidance of hard/theoretical/writing intensiveâ classes.) A minor is not necessary, he can fashion a cluster of courses that make sense for his purpose as long as he can explain his reasoning or title them on a resume. Internships and other experiences - which may come from opportunities afforded by Honors colleges/programs- will then strengthen the application but wouldnât be 1st criteria. Volunteering in environnements different from his own may also matter later in the process.
In short, the name of the University wonât matter but the types of support, experiences, opportunities for growth it offers will matter.
Have you been able to run the NPCs (directly on each college website)?
Whatâs your budget v. EFC ?
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Where you go to school wonât impact law school. Harvard has 174 schools represented and many that most would diminish.
Your GPA, LSAT, and work experience, if any after school, will be what matters. And internships can be found most anywhere - you neednât be in Miami or Tallahassee. In fact, in some of the smaller locales, they might be easier to find.
For poli sci, Iâm not sure âwhich is betterâ or that it matters. Also, if the studentâs interest is poli sci, great but for law school they can major in anything - so make sure the student studies what they want.
You might find a 6 year program which includes law school and can perhaps save you money.
If you have need, schools out there might give you a need based grant.
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